John Shewbrooks Racing has a now expanded to Three Quarter Midget car
racing. A Three Quarter Midget, referred to as TQ Midgets, is about
1/2 the size of a World of Outlaw sprint car. The TQ midgets runs
mostly on dirt tracks in the Midwestern part of the United States. The
car is powered by a Honda 750 motorcycle engine. The frame is about
the same size as a full midget.The following article recently appeared
in newspapers in southern Indiana:
On land or water, veteran
driver having time of his life
Ron Ware
Classic Motorsports
August 27, 2009 06:49 pm
— INDIANAPOLIS — John Shewbrooks Jr. might be the only race driver who
wouldn’t mind seeing a puddle of water on the track. If nothing else, it
might make him feel at home.
For more than 35 years,
Shewbrooks has competed in the rough and tumble world of hydroplane
racing, capturing five American Power Boat Association national
championships. But that’s nothing, he quickly discovered, compared to
wrestling a
UMRA three-quarter midget car
around the bullrings of Indiana.
The 54-year-old Ohio resident
fulfilled a lifetime dream two years ago when he purchased one of the
open-wheel, open-cockpit cars, intending to drive it a couple of times,
then sell it.
Instead, as the United Midget
Racing Association visits the Indianapolis Speedrome on Sunday, he’s still
behind the wheel of his yellow No. 7, gamely trying to master a sport that
never seemed so difficult from the grandstands.
“I’ve had a lot of fun
racing,” Shewbrooks said from his home in Waverly, Ohio. “But I found that
driving a three-quarter midget is a lot more difficult than driving a
hydroplane. A hydroplane is very difficult to drive at 75-90 percent
throttle, because they want to blow over.
“Midgets are difficult at about any speed. Even when you’re driving around
on a yellow-flag lap, you have to pay attention to what you’re doing.
They’re hard to drive on a short track. They’re hard to drive on a long
track. It’s a very big challenge on any kind of track.
“I get out of the car, and I’m soaking wet. I’m worn out. Then I look over
at these 20-something kids, and they’re like, ‘Let’s go again.’ “I’m not
complaining. I’m having the time of my life.”
Shewbrooks, whose late father, “Capt. Jack,” raced both hydroplanes and
midgets, owns five national championships and more than 60 wins in the
APBA’s 2.5-liter modified inboard class. He still races three or four
times a year in his 18-foot boat, “Sho nuff III,” and is planning to
compete in New Zealand and Australia in early 2010.
He’s still looking for his first UMRA feature victory, although he’s a
career-high 12th in points heading into Sunday’s race at the Speedrome, a
nearly flat, fifth-mile paved track whose tight confines require a
combination of patience and aggressiveness.
“I find the dirt is a bit like driving a hydroplane,” he said. “The
pavement seems really foreign to me. That’s where I struggle the most.”
Shewbrooks has been upside down a time or two in his midget, but he’s
shown an ability to avoid serious accidents — perhaps a carryover from his
day job. He’s a quality assurance audit manager at the nuclear power plant
in Piketon, Ohio.
He became interested in TQs through his next-door neighbor, Roger Ramsey,
who owns the car that Tate Martz has atop the standings in the new Midwest
TQ Racing League. After ruefully discovering he couldn’t squeeze into
Ramsey’s car, Shewbrooks bought one for himself before the 2007 season and
quickly embraced the sport. He’s a member of the UMRA Board of Directors
and a goodwill ambassador for the organization, whose alumni include
NASCAR star Tony Stewart.
At least eight drivers have
raced both hydroplanes and in the Indianapolis 500 — Salt Walther is among
the most recent — but Shewbrooks knows that window of opportunity has
passed him by.
“My regret in this thing is I didn’t start racing cars when I was a lot
younger,” he said. “At 54, it’s hard to contend with these kids who are
starting out in their 20s.”
Shewbrooks plans to turn his car over to one of those youngsters next
season. Jon Steed, a 17-year-old high school senior from Milroy, is
scheduled to run for UMRA rookie honors while he takes the year off.
“At my age and the nature of this sport,” he said, “I think we’re going to
have a whole lot more success with a younger driver.”
Not that Shewbrooks is ready for an easy chair — or inner tube. He’s eying
USAC Ford Focus midgets or even winged sprint cars for 2011.
Above, John is pictured in competition in Indiana and some days go like this...
|