|
Los Angeles, CA.-
FORD FOCUS MIDGETS: I made my first visit to Small Car Race Engines
and More (SCREAM, Inc.) on Thursday afternoon, January 22. SCREAM,
from its 300-sq. ft. premises at 1408 W. 259th St., Harbor City
(near Torrance), is the original and exclusive supplier of Ford
Focus engines for USAC Midget racing. In fact, on January 20 the
USAC sanctioning body and Ford Racing Technology announced an
agreement to extend Ford racing sponsorship of USAC's Ford Focus
Midget racing through the 2008 season.
I received the grand tour from SCREAM owner Keith
Iaia, a former USAC TQ
Midget and Midget owner/driver. Keith's wife Mata runs the office
and the only other employee is Josh Lakatos, who puts the Focus
racing engines together after the stock engines arrive in wooden
crates from Ford. He is able to complete three Focus engines a day.
Josh, the USAC 2003 Ford Focus California North driving champion in
his own # 4 car, competed in the January 7-10 Chili Bowl Midget
Classic in Tulsa, OK. He drove a Beast/Ed Pink Ford for the Pace
brothers of Arroyo Grande, CA and loved the experience. "The
engine had good power and the track was really good with no
ruts," he told me. Keith said SCREAM may expand to a larger
building soon.
When the four-cylinder, 16-valve internally stock
2.0 liter Ford Focus ZETEC engine first competed in a full-size
Midget chassis during 2002 the engine cost $7,500. SCREAM has now
out-sourced the foundry work instead of doing it in-house. That work
includes the bell housing, oil pan, intake manifold and brackets.
SCREAM now only assembles the completed Ford Focus engine and ships
it to customers via a trucking firm. Shipping cost to the Carolina
is about $300 and to the Midwest about $150.
The 2004 complete Ford Focus engine package as of
1-1-04 costs $8,250, a price guaranteed for one year. That
price includes complete FF engine, assembled and mounted on
motor plate. The Ford ZX3 engine assembly is modified by SCREAM. It
includes Hilborn fuel injection, air cleaner, ram tubes, fuel pump,
SCREAM intake manifold, electromotive HPX ignition, Moroso plug
wires, DC Sports stainless "Tri-Y" exhaust with muffler,
ITG air filter, modified wet sump lubrication with SCREAM oil pan
and Master Lube accumulator, remote air filter, SCREAM bell housing,
aluminum flywheel, starter, clutch, hydraulic release bearing and
motor plate. Options include clutch master cylinder ($52),
fuel bypass spider ($219), battery with battery box ($199.95), power
steering pulley kit ($320) and Earl's plumbing (20% off with engine
order).
SCREAM sells complete Beast/Ford Focus Midgets
ready to race starting at
$24,500. Keith said SCREAM is now able to keep up with the
growing demand for
Focus race engines, but older dual (dirt and paved tracks) Midget
chassis are harder to find these days. New Midget chassis builders,
such as Beast, Stealth, Rick Stewart and Dave Ellis, are working to
supply the growing demand for new Midget chassis. Keeping up
with increasing engine demand has won SCREAM an award from Ford.
SCREAM, one of ten independent Ford engine warehouse
distributors/outside suppliers in the region, earned the most money
for Ford during 2003. As a reward, SCREAM won a trip for two to the
2004 Daytona 500.
As a cost-effective way to get started in
open-wheel racing, Ford Focus Midget racing is expanding rapidly
despite the current sluggish economy. In fact, FF Midget racing is
currently in the midst of explosive growth. Engine reliability is a
Focus engine strong point. Most of the original Focus racing engines
are still racing without any problems or tear-downs according to
Keith. Of course, some engine problems have occurred if owners
didn't follow precisely the specified engine maintenance (oil
changes, recommended cooling, etc). The Ford Focus Midget engine
could be compared for cost-effectiveness and ease of ownership to
the reliable Vortec crate engine from General Motors that has
been used for years in ASA stock car racing.
Keith said Ford Focus Midget car counts presently
are 40-45 in California, 35+ in the Midwest, and 20 or so in the
Carolinas region. Former AMA motorcycle racer Hank Scott, father of
USAC Midget driver Ryan Scott, is spearheading the Focus expansion
to the Carolinas. Focus Midget racing will be expanding in coming
years to the Pacific Northwest (WA and OR). In fact, SCREAM was
completing three Focus engines for shipment to Fred Brownfield in
Washington the day I visited SCREAM. Racing promoter Emmett Hahn
wants to introduce Focus Midget racing at his Oklahoma tracks
according to Keith. Bobby Seymour, son of the late USAC car owner
Boston Louie Seymour, also wants to bring Ford Focus Midget racing
to Northeastern states.
SCREAM owns three complete Beast /Ford Focus
Midget "house-cars". Last April at an Irwindale Speedway
USAC FF point race, J. J. Yeley drove the white # 1 car and NASCAR
star Kurt Busch made his open-wheel debut aboard the blue # 2 FF
Midget. Both drivers raced impressively. A new dark red # 3 FF
Midget is a display car that appeared during January at the PRE
trade show in Indianapolis and at the Tulsa Chili Bowl. On Tuesday,
January 27 Keith brought out all three of his "house"
Focus Midgets to the Irwindale third-mile track for a
"play-day". Drivers included Josh and Keith, USAC National
Midget championship car owner Steve Lewis and his wife Loretta,
front engine drag racer Mike Chrisman, Formula SAE 600 cc driver
Oliver Kho, plus Ford engineer Hank Dertian and FOMOCO's Jim Long.
The latter two flew in from chilly Michigan to test drive the
Focus Midgets. They all loved the experience and logged respectable
laps
solo, and with two or three cars on the track
USAC Ford Focus Midget racing began in California
only during 2002 with 13 to 20 cars on hand for the 18 races. Purses
were $3,920. Owner/driver Todd Hunsaker won the inaugural Focus
championship and 30 drivers earned FF points. The 2003 season season
expanded to California North and South separate point series and
added a separate USAC Indiana (Midwest) point season. In 2004, the
USAC California FF Midget schedule shows 30 races at nine tracks
(seven dirt and two paved), including a series-high seven races at
Irwindale Speedway. USAC's year two of Midwest FF Midget competition
has increased to 24 races at 15 tracks in seven states (IA, IL, IN,
KS, KY, OH and WI).
The new USAC Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus Series
will begin with 13 races at five tracks in three states (KS, NC and
VA). Venues include long-time stock car tracks at Hickory, NC and
South Boston, VA. A new USAC FF Midget series will debut this year
at the fifth-mile paved Indianapolis Speedrome. A boost to Focus
Midget racing prestige was announced months ago. The FF Midgets will
compete for the first time at the annual three-night Belleville, KS
Midget Nationals. FF Series competitors will have a night of
their own at Belleville on Thursday, July 29; the event will be a
point race for all three regional FF Series--California, Midwest and
Carolina/Virginia.
USAC Ford Focus Midgets will begin the 2004
season on Saturday, March 27
with a point race on the Irwindale Speedway third-mile. The race is
a preliminary event for the second annual Steve Lewis PRE-promoted
Festival of Speed Mopar Twin 25s featuring USAC National/Western
States Midgets. There is a $50,000 bonus for any driver who
wins both 25 lap mains on the half-mile. On February 6 a PRE release
from Lewis announced the Ford Focus race will have the addition of
three CART Champ Car drivers racing FF Midgets for the first time
with the Focus Midget regulars chasing USAC FF points.
Look for added national and international
attention for this 2004 USAC Midget season opener when Mexican
drivers Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain, Jr and Canadian
Patrick Carpentier strap into Ford Focus Midgets and compete March
27 at Irwindale. Jourdain and Carpentier test-drove FF Midget SCREAM
"house cars" on the Irwindale third-mile two years
ago when they were in the area to race with CART at California
Speedway in Fontana. Both drivers got up to speed quickly during
their afternoon test runs and both drivers enjoyed the experience.
They should have an advantage over fellow CART driver Fernandez, who
has never sat in a Midget.
All three CART (now OWRS) drivers finished in the
top eight positions in final 2003 CART point standings and they will
be in the area promoting the OWRS opener at Long Beach April 8-10.
Their Champ Cars use Ford-Cosworth engines so driving Ford
Focus-powered cars does not present a manufacturer problem. I
understand all three CART drivers will participate in a practice day
at Irwindale before they have to test their FF Midget racing skills
for real against FF Midget veterans on March 27. Be there to see
this historic USAC FF race in person. Who knows, maybe Ford Focus
Midget racing someday will become an international racing series.
|
