Dwarf cars satisfy local racing duo's need for speed

PUNTA GORDA — Racing without mirrors — as Dwarf cars do — Mike Belusar doesn't always know what's behind him.

The important thing is what Belusar sees in front of him, and on his last two trips to Charlotte County Speedway, that view has been glued to the checkered flag, as have his hands.

The Bonita Springs resident made it two wins in a row by edging Phil Krauthoff in the Dwarf Cars 25-lap feature on Saturday night.

The Dwarfs were the fastest cars on the program's card, and none was quicker than Belusar's apple red No. 82.

Speed is one reason why Belusar — who has raced everything from motorbikes to dune buggys to go-carts — enjoys Dwarfs.

"Most of my life I've been involved in some kind of thing going fast," he said. "These are a blast because they're real fast and they handle real well."

At close to 11 feet long and 5 feet wide, these open-wheeled pocket rockets with six-speed transmissions can reach speeds of about 150 miles per hour, though not on the 3/8 of a mile asphalt at Charlotte where most of the night is spent in second and third gears.

In addition to the pair of victories at Charlotte which netted him $600, Belusar has also captured a Dwarf race in Orlando this season.

The races are competitive, yet seldom dirty.

"It's fun," said Belusar's teammate Sam Mancuso of Naples. "All of our guys are real clean racers. We all like to put it back on the trailer at the end of the night."

For Belusar and Mancuso, track friends for several years, that means occupying the same trailer. Belusar has been racing Dwarfs for the past five years and got Mancuso involved in the series about a year ago. While Belusar reels in checkered flags this season, Mancuso continues his ascension on the charts.

"I'm getting faster every race," said Mancuso, who finished in the middle of the 14-car pack on Saturday.

Involved in racing all his life, Mancuso, son of a pro driver, used to race Corvettes, and like Belusar, also floored go-carts for some time. So far he's enjoyed the adjustment to Dwarfs.

"The motors are very reliable. The cars — for how fast they go — are fairly inexpensive," said Mancuso.

While relaxing in the pits prior to Saturday's heat and feature races, Belusar noted that Dwarfs tend to be less prone to crashes than other race cars.

"It's a lot easier to avoid the wrecks because they have such good car control. It makes them a little safer and more fun to drive," said Belusar. "You don't get too many wrecks. Luckily we've been doing pretty good as far as that goes."

After making that statement, Belusar probably should have knocked three times on the track's wooden offices. His trip to victory lane nearly evaporated on the first lap when he got tangled up with another driver heading into the second turn in the feature.

"I was going to duck in behind (the leader)," said Belusar. "I didn't realize the No. 18 car had his nose up there. I cut over and kind of chopped him off. He thought I saw him, but I didn't see him. We don't have mirrors in our cars. They've got to be all the way beside you before you see them."

After the mishap, Belusar regrouped and led the rest of the race without any wrecks, though another caution with two laps left brought the pack closer to the rear of No. 82.

"I wish it could have just kept going. I didn't want to see that caution because it bunches everybody up behind you," said Belusar.

On the restart, Belusar smoothly maintained his one-car length lead over Krauthoff, who settled for second.

Belusar, who won Saturday's race with his eldest daughter and grandchildren cheering him on, is halfway to capturing the four-race season for Dwarfs at Charlotte.

"My goal is to win all four," he said.

The Dwarfs will be in Citrus next weekend, but Belusar won't be there. He splits his racing time between driving Dwarfs and working out of state for USAC National Midget and Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Nicholas of Naples, a 17-year-old who drives for Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises.

In addition to Charlotte, Belusar and Mancuso race elsewhere in Florida, including tracks in Citrus, Ocala and Orlando.

"We don't go to all of (the races), but when you're winning like I am, you want to go to all of them," said Belusar.

For some drivers, the next best thing to winning is the behind-the-scenes work of repairing, tweaking and grooming their Dwarfs.

"The cool thing is that all these guys love working on their cars during the week," said Mancuso. "Not that they're disappointed if they don't wreck, but if they do wreck, then it's kind of like, 'I've got something to do for the next week.'"