SACRAMENTO, Calif.
The Towe Auto Museum, located just a few miles from the birthplace of midget racing, is celebrating 75 years since that historic first race with a special exhibit that showcases the evolution of the sport.
The exhibit, which runs through June, includes artifacts from the first race and cars typical of that era, including a 1934 Henderson powered by a motorcycle engine and a ’37 Gilmore Special that is a knock-off Kurtis.
“From a racing perspective, midget racing became a stepping stone for drivers getting to the Indy 500,” said Karen McClaflin, executive director of the Towe Museum.  “But from a historical perspective, midgets introduced auto racing as family entertainment, and in the post-war years was much a part of Americana as drive-in movies.”
The race, held June 4, 1933 on the quarter-mile oval inside what was then known as Sacramento Stadium, lived up to the pre-race hype offered by promoter Charlie Curryer, who offered each driver $15 in show-up money. The now-defunct Sacramento Union, one of the city’s two daily newspapers at the time, described midgets as “one-seat autos of various colors that look like toys, but they burn up gas to the tune of 50-60 miles an hour.”
The crowd, estimated by some at 3-5,000 and others at 1,500, saw Dave Oliver of Oakland set the quickest qualifying time on the flat quarter-mile at 24.20 seconds. 
For a fifty-cent ticket (including a five-cent tax), fans saw 13 entries and 10 events billed as the “Australian Pursuit Race.” 
Midget racing continued at the facility, later renamed Hughes Stadium, until 1964, when it moved across town to the quarter-mile clay oval of West Capital Speedway. Hughes Stadium, on the grounds of Sacramento City College, continues to be used for football, while the track where the “mighty midgets” raced now hosts track and field meets, including Olympic trials over the years.
The Towe Auto Museum is located at 2200 Front Street, on the banks of the Sacramento River.  Information on the museum and the “75 Years of Mighty Midgets” exhibit is also available at www.toweautomuseum.org.