Troy Ruttman won a 100-lap USAC Short Track Stock Car race in San Bernardino, Calif. in August of 1956. That marked the beginning of USAC racing at the famed Orange Show Stadium.
In 2009 USAC once again returns to the facility, this time to inaugurate its involvement with the Orange Show Quarter Midget Racing Association as part of USAC's new .25 Midget Racing Series.
Billed as the "fastest quarter midget track in the country," the track's motto is "if it takes you 2-1/2 seconds to turn left you aren't at the Orange Show!
Located at the National Orange Show Fairgrounds, the brand-new banked 1-20 mile track is situated behind the Orange Show Speedway's South Grandstands and opened its 2009 racing season last Saturday. The November 6-8 "Ernie Bose Race" presently is slated as the finale at the Orange Show in 2009.
The Orange Show has hosted numerous USAC events through the years, including Midget and Ford Focus Midget competition. Notable USAC winners, in addition to Ruttman, have included A.J. Foyt, Jimmy Davies, Bobby Olivero, Jay Drake, Sleepy Tripp, Cory Kruseman, Don Horvath, Hank Butcher, Johnny Moorhouse, Billy Cantrell, Rick Hendrix and three Joneses, Parnelli, Page and P.J.
"The tradition of USAC racing at the Orange Show is significant," says USAC Developmental Racing Series Director James Spink. "We are fortunate to be able to add this venue to our 2009 calendar of .25 Midget racing and we look forward to a long and lasting relationship with one of the finest quarter midget racing venues in the country today."