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the first NEMA victory driving the Kerhan #17 V-8. The years of 1953 and 1954 saw the fortunes of midget racing at their lowest ebb. Total purses of less than what is paid to the winner of a race feature today were common place. The group credited with keeping NEMA afloat during this timewere; Milt Dentch, the first club president, car owners Ray and Wen Kelley, and John McCarthy; drivers Al
Pillion and Ray Roberts; racing officials Lenny Poe and many others. NEMA gradually outgrew its humble beginnings and emerged as a solid professional division. The early rules of NEMA restricted the use of costly specialized racing engines, specifically the twin overhead camshaft
271:. These engines were so powerful and expensive that owners with modified stock engines had little chance at the top prize money. By 1957 the stock block powered machines had developed to such an extent that this restriction was removed and from this time until 1968, NEMA crowned an Offy non-Offy champion, with one being the overall champion. Along with this improved competition with this rule change came a renewal of interest in midget racing among competitors as well as the fans, who came out in large numbers to see the Ford Falcon and Chevy II engines take their share of wins over the mighty “Offy”.
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On March 8, 1953, a meeting was held at the
Thompson Speedway Clubhouse for the purpose of forming a new midget racing organization. The founders were dedicated racing men determined to salvage the remains of what had been the most successful spectator sport in the United States. The first officially
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of New York, with each organization running its own program. The cars and drivers came from the ranks of several other racing organizations which had fallen on hard times and the pits of the infant organization were filled to capacity with no less than forty six cars signed-in. Fred Meeker captured
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NEMA remains one of the main short track sanctioning bodies in the country and one of the largest in the northeastern US. With 10-15 races a year, the series runs at some of the most historic tracks in
America, and when top the feature event, NEMA midgets support some of the top series such as;
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Ford Focus Midget engine, and are limited in components they are able to use; all to control cost.
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May 30, 1953. It was a two billed show in conjunction with the
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in the United States and is the oldest sanctioning body of
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937:Auto racing organizations in the United States
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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932:Auto racing series in the United States
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42:Please improve this article by adding
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264:American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC)
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55:"Northeastern Midget Association"
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881:"John Zych Jr. NEMA Champ 2015"
228:Northeastern Midget Association
119:Northeastern Midget Association
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841:"NEMA History: THE BEGINNING"
44:secondary or tertiary sources
861:"NEMAracing.com Who We Are"
286:NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
234:) is a sanctioning body of
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157:Northeastern United States
249:racing in North America.
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450:Dave Humphrey/ Lou Fray
31:relies excessively on
820:Season Starts 5/7/17
901:"2016 NEMA BANQUET"
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51:Find sources:
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29:This article
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904:. Retrieved
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844:. Retrieved
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762:Russ Stoehr
698:Russ Stoehr
690:Russ Stoehr
682:Russ Stoehr
658:Russ Stoehr
610:Russ Stoehr
522:Bobby White
490:Bobby White
482:Johnny Mann
474:Butch Walsh
466:Johnny Mann
418:Ray Roberts
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192:John Zych Jr
184:John Zych Jr
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562:Billy Mann
378:Dick Brown
370:Dick Brown
362:Al Pillion
338:Al Pillion
269:Offenhauser
239:auto racing
236:short track
137:Auto racing
921:Categories
906:2017-01-09
886:2017-01-09
866:2017-01-09
846:2017-01-09
827:References
738:Ben Seitz
730:Ben Seitz
722:Ben Seitz
714:Ben Seitz
546:Lee Smith
530:Lee Smith
506:Lee Smith
410:Joe Csiki
402:Walt Gale
394:Joe Csiki
386:Joe Csiki
330:Ray Burke
247:open wheel
243:midget car
202:nemaracing
66:newspapers
33:references
634:Joey Coy
618:Joey Coy
602:Joey Coy
296:Champions
96:June 2017
284:and the
133:Category
306:Driver
303:Season
275:Current
253:History
174:Midgets
171:Classes
143:Country
80:scholar
176:Lights
153:Region
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807:2016
799:2015
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311:1953
245:type
87:JSTOR
73:books
816:2017
290:USAC
282:ISMA
232:NEMA
226:The
204:.com
166:1953
59:news
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