The 2004 BCRA racing schedule has been finalized, with the possibility of several additional races in the offing.

The Midget division has 21 races on the slate. The Midget Lites have 17 with one or two more expected. BCRA's Vintage division runs in 16 venues with either the Midgets or the Lites, or both.

The Midget opening round is the annual season-opener at the Stockton "99" Speedway on Sunday March 28. During the course of the season BCRA will co-sanction five races, four with USAC and one with the WMRA. The BCRA/USAC events include the three Madera Speedway "Gerhardt Classic", Vukovich Classic" and "Harvest Classic" events plus the October 9th race at the Kings Speedway in Hanford. The Gerhardt Classic on April 10 at Madera will also be a USAC National with 33 cars going the 100 lap route. BCRA teams up with the WMRA at the Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon on May 15.

The BCRA Midgets will close the season on October 16 at the Santa Maria Speedway with the 50-lap Johnny Baldwin Classic.

Several new car owners are expected to compete this season.

The big news in the Midget Lite division is that half of the races will be without their traditional wings. Originally perceived as an experiment with a race or two, the idea was well received by the majority and the scheduling is split between the two disciplines.

For many it will be a new experience in wingless mode.

The Midget Lites return to a couple of old venues after an absence of many years. The Merced Speedway will host two Lite races, the first since 1995, and the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico will include the Lites on May 8 with the Golden State Series Sprint Cars.

The Lites return to their regular venues at the Placerville Speedway, Twin Cities Speedway and Reno-Fernley Speedway.

TOP PRIZE: Frank Guerrini Jr. won the two top competition awards at the San Francisco Rod, Custom & Motorcycle Show held at the San Francisco Cow Palace over the January 9-10 weekend. Guerrini entered his pristine Stealth/Gaerte Midget dirt car and took home the first place award in the Competition category as well as the best
overall in competition. Guerrini duplicated his efforts of last year when he won the same awards with his pavement Stealth/Gaerte Ford when the show was still at the Oakland Coliseum....congratulations Frank!

Also in the BCRA display were the vintage Midgets of Stu Donaldson, a beautiful 1937 Dreyer/Ford V8-60, and Tom Belfiore's sharp '63 Edmunds/Chevy II. The BCRA display attracted thousands of viewers.

MISCELLANEOUS: Former BCRA Midget driver Dave Strickland (1963-1067 - four feature wins) will soon be inducted into the Colorado Motor Sports Hall of Fame along with such standouts as Wally Dallenbach. Dave went on to capture 25 national USAC Midget wins after moving back to his native Colorado....Congratulations Dave.

Former BCRA Midget driver Donny Oliver (1094-1998 - '96 car owner champion) will be returning from Indianapolis to Concord for a stay of a year-and-a -half to two years. Oliver's father Jerry Oliver died in his sleep of heart failure on January 1st. Donny will be in Northern California to attend to his father's affairs. Jerry had been the co-owner of the Midget and was a former stock car driver of great talent in the mid-1060's.

Donny moved back to Indy several years ago and currently is employed by Sam Schicht Motorsports, the builders of the cars that run in the IRL Infinity series. Donny is a fabricator and assembles the race cars, plus preps them before they reach the track. Recently he had an opportunity to drive an Infinity machine at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during a "fun" day for employees. After a 150 laps on the one-and-one-half mile superspeedway he was running close to the speeds of the division regulars - at times over 200 mph.

Its a sad circumstance that brings Donny back to us. We'll see him around the BCRA Midget races, and hopefully in the cockpit. Any car owners seeking a talented driver?