Midwest Midget Sportsman Association

Midwest Midget Sportsman Association (often abbreviated to MMSA) was a travelling race show which owned the one design cars and paid drives to race. It is the main 'location' in the book Bullring Days One: On the Road.

The Midwest Midget Sportsman Association

Near the end of the 1947 racing season Frank Blixter and Spud McElroy were alongside each other in the infield for a big race in Pittsburgh. They spent time bitching about how Kurtis Kraft midgets were ruining midget racing.

They decided on a set up where they owned all the cars and could keep them competetive fairly cheaply. Herb Kralick was the third investor and found them a warehouse where they could build cars.

Frank mostly worked on promoting the races and Spud on building the cars. The car was mostly Spud’s design, although Frank and Peewee had some in it, too. The design was based on older Ford parts so spares would be easy to find in junk yards.

They ran mostly Friday and Saturday evening races the 1948 season, totalling 58 dates. Frank knew he needed help with setting dates and making arrangements. When he bumped into Carnie Wollett in the winter he was quick to hire him.^BR1-11

By the time Mel Austin joined in May 1950 they raced almost every night from April to October, and rarely the same place two nights running.

A driver's pay was $20 a week plus $20 for winning a feature race, $10 for second and $5 for third.^BR1-6 Expenses included $2 a day for food and an occasional fill of gas for those with their own street car because other guys rode with them.^BR1-7

There were twelve cars, but not always twelve drivers so sometimes a driver took two cars in the heats and had to be careful not to qualify both for the feature. Spud McElroy sometimes drove when they were short of drivers if there was someone else to run the flags.

The Cars

The Midwest Midget Sportsman car was a custom design four feet wide and less than eight feet long. A rail frame suported a standard Ford V8-60 engine, clutch and transmission connected by a universal joint to a standard Ford rear end. There were three gears though most races were run in a single gear. Gauges for oil pressure, water temperature and tachometer with an electric starter in the cockpit. For racing on short tracks - around a quarter mile - there was a 2 gallon gas tank^BR1-6 which was replaced with an 8 gallon tank for longer tracks - a mile or so.^BR1-12

There were differences between the cars in the body work just for the sake of looks.^BR1-6

Spud used restrictor plates in the carburettor to keep the racing close, or to keep a bad driver out of the way, and changed them as needed.^BR1-7

The best year for MMSA was 1952, and Frank and Spud decided to sell it off at the endo of the 1954 season.^BR2-15 A carnival operator named Ron Bush bought the whole operation but the bank re-possessed it and sold everything for scrap. Except that there was still one complete car and a lot of parts which Bush hadn't wanted in Frank's uncle's barn.^BR2-16 Mel Austin ofered to take it as a project for his Autoshop II class and Frank gave it to him, provided he cleared the barn.^BR2-17

Mel's shop class rebuilt the 2 car and built a replica 66 both with V8-60 engines provided by Livonia Import Autos.

People

• Frank Blixter - part owner and promoter
• Spud McElroy - part owner, mechanic, ran the races
• Herb Kralick - part owner, owned a Ford dealership in Livonia, Michigan
• Carnie Wollett - advance man arranging places to race and to stay
• Vivian Kralick - Herb's daughter, ran the MMSA office from Herb's dealership. According to Hoss she’s the real boss of the organization.
• Peewee Svoboda - welder who helped design and build the first cars
• Hattie Novesky - wife of Chick, joined in with general chores on the road
• Lillian Eberle - picked up Mel when he won at Matoon, Illinois and spent nights with each of the guys in rotation (except Frank by his choice). Stayed with MMSA about three months.

Drivers

Those who drove for MMSA for anything from a few weeks to a few years:

• Hoss Korodan - one of the original drivers, in charge when Frank and Spud were away, drove 57, left before the 1951 season
• Woody Vanderglessen - one of the original drivers, left after the 1951 season
• Chick Novesky - chief pussy hound until he picked up Hattie, drove 69, left after the 1951 season
• Rocky Turnupseed - last of the original drivers, left to get married just before the 1954 season, drove 14
• Skimp Winkelman - ran in fall 1949 and intermittently afterwards
• Bud Gaborski - ran in fall 1949 and fall fair season a couple of times
• Shorty Notwicki - was injured in a crash in Independence, Missouri in 1950, was killed before the neat season started, drove 2
• Slab - beaten up by locals and left in hospital at Baraboo, drove 39
• Pepper - allowed Slab to influence him and did better after Slab left, drove 86
• Giff Elliott - left at Oconomowoc WI in 1950, drove 66
• Mel Austin - joined at Oconomowoc WI in May 1950, drove 66
• Dink Braithwaite - joined at Baraboo in 1950, drove 53
• Sonny Ochsenlaager- joined at Prairie du Chien in May 1950 for the summer, drove 77 and the following summer, drove 72
• Squirt Chenowith - from New jersey, joined at the start of the 1951 season drove 72
• Blackie - for the first part of the 1951 season, left at Livonia early June
• Dewey Blodgett - just out of high school hung around and helped with the cars winter 1951-52, jumped at the chance to drive the 1952 season
• Buck Jacklin - had run in 1949, returned for the 1952 and 1953 seasons
• Scotty Lombard - from New Jersey joined at the start of the 1952 season
• Perk - from New Jersey joined at the start of the 1952 season
• John Adorney - joined in Livonia June 1952 from Herb's service department, left when drafted in 1953, drove 2 then 77
• Dutch Kindleberger - ran the first part of the 1953 season until Memorial Day
• Red - from New Jersey drove for the 1953 season
• Hap - joined at the start of 1953 season, crashed in Schererville and was left in hospital, drove 53
• Junie - joined at the start of 1953 season, crashed in Schererville and was left in hospital, drove 57
• Buckshot- joined at the start of 1953 season, stayed in Schererville when Hap and Junie were in hospital, drove 27
• Arlene Pewabic - joined in Schererville in 1953, drove 2
• Sandy Kempa - joined at Geneseo, Illinois the day after Arlene Pewabic in 1953, drove 69
• Rusty - drove for the 1953 fall season
• Ace Wheeler - for a few months in 1954
• Tubby - joined at the start of the 1954 season

Championships

At the end of the season Frank Blixter worked out the season standings based on winnings.

1950^BR1-13

• 1st Hoss Korodan
• 2nd Rocky Turnupseed
• 3rd Mel Austin

1951^BR1-19

• 1st Mel Austin
• 2nd Chick Novesky
• 3rd Rocky Turnupseed

1952^BR1-25

• 1st Mel Austin
• 2nd Dink Braithwaite
• 3rd Scotty Lombard

1953^BR1-34

• 1st Mel Austin
• 2nd Dewey Blodgett
• 3rd Arlene Pewabic

1954^BR2-16

• 1st Dewey Blodgett