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NMRA-TQ MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIP BANQUET
by Tim Kennedy

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.

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