Race Car History

As the sun shined down on the water soaked racetrack at the Yavapai County Fair, things began to look up for the excited Dwarf Car Racers. After heavy rain and flooding, the first official Dwarf Car race came very close to cancellation.

The race event was scheduled as Demolition Derby and Dwarf Car races Sunday, September 25th, 1983. The mud was deep on the racetrack with large puddles of water everywhere. With the help of several determined volunteers, everyone worked all Saturday and Sunday morning to dry the track to make sure the show went on.

The Demolition Derby got the crowd warmed up with a showing of twenty cars. The crowd came alive when the Dwarf Cars hit the track. People were amazed to see this new class of hot little race cars. Ten cars were out of Phoenix, Arizona and one car from Prescott, Arizona who added the last nut and bolt that day.

Ernie Adams took the first heat and Daren Schmaltz won the second heat. Allen Neff won the consultation race. Bob Rowe won the trophy dash and main event.

These eleven drivers were the pioneers of Dwarf Car racing. Each driver knew this would be the beginning of something huge. Ernie Adams and Daren Schmaltz (founders) have many strong ties to the Dwarf Car Racers to this date. Ernie has gone on to make street legal Dwarf Car Cruisers and Daren is currently building a new Dwarf Race Car for his sons. The other drivers have all since moved on but they all remain a part of car racing history made that  rainy wet weekend in Prescott, Arizona, September 1983.