MIDGET RACERS INAUGURATED

DUTCHTOWN -- Midget racers will debut at the Motorsport Raceway 1993 Season Preview Saturday.

The facility, located just south of Cape Girardeau at the Dutchtown exit off Interstate 55, has undergone a year-long renovation.

The clay-dirt oval has been widened and enlarged, and a guard rail and steel mesh fence have been added to make it possible to race modified midget cars.

The Motorsport Raceway becomes the third track for midgets in Missouri.

Modified midgets, sometimes referred to as micro-sprint cars, are winged, open-wheel dirt track cars powered by modified motorcycle engines that burn alcohol fuel.

Also running Saturday will be classes of racing four-wheelers and flat-track motorcycles.

Practice starts at 6 p.m., with heat races beginning at 7:30. Admission is $5, and pit passes are $3.

In case of rain, races will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday.