From MSCS
Haubstadt, IN – August 26, 2011. Tri-State Speedway at Haubstadt,
IN, will host the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series on Labor Day
Weekend. The race is scheduled for Sunday evening September 4th.
The 30 lap feature to be held to complete the “Labor Day Weekend
Challenge” will pay $3,000 to win and $200 to start. Drivers will
earn starting spots based on passing points in the heats or a top
four finish in the B Main or last chance race. A 21st provisional
starting spot is available to the top eligible MSCS driver not
earning one of the transfer spots.
MSCS has sanctioned a race on Labor Day Weekend at Tri-State Speedway
for the past seven consecutive seasons. With Monday being Labor Day
and a holiday, most fans and race teams can hit the road to the
speedway without the usual Sunday night anxiety of the next day being
a work day. Car counts for this event over the years have ranged
from 28 and above to the existing record for the weekend which was
set at 46.
The last four Labor Day Weekend Challenges have produced four
different winners. The event has not only attracted some great
fields of cars and drivers, it has served as a diverse challenge that
has brought forth terrific driving performances. Collective efforts
have to rate as trendsetting or breakthrough accomplishments! For
example fans have watched as sprint car drivers have sampled the
thrill of victory in the MSCS series for the first time.
The win by Blake Fitzpatrick last year was his first ever in series
competition. He had closed in on a victory by running fifth and
second in the Weekend Challenge the two prior years. Likewise the
win by Scotty Weir in 2009 was his first with MSCS. In 2008 Hunter
Schuerenberg won a second feature in a row with the prior win at Mt.
Vernon serving as his first MSCS victory. A win in this very event
by Chris Windom in 2007 also counted as his first MSCS career
victory! From 2004 until 2006 Daron Clayton dominated the races with
winning performances at Tri-State on three successive Labor Day
weekends.
Current MSCS Points leader Brady Short of Bedford, IN, has had his
share of wins in MSCS including two series victories so far this
season. He has had an ongoing presence at the Labor Day Weekend
Challenge that stretches back to the 2005 season. In the last four
seasons he has finished third, second, fourth, and third after
finishing fourth in 2005. Close was the result each time out, but a
victory was not in the offering. To the actual victor each season,
Brady Short’s competitiveness along with that of the other 19 drivers
has served further enhance the challenge. Overall twenty-one
different drivers have earned one or more of the top 5 spots! The
fields have been deep in talent. Some of the other challenges include
the 120 quick turns around the track, track position on those
inevitable restarts, and the lingering possibility of the leaders
encountering lapped traffic as the race draws to a conclusion.
The Labor Day Weekend Challenge also serves as an unofficial
beginning to the end of the rest of the season. The arriving 5, 4,
3, 2, 1 countdown includes some big purses. The Fall Clash at
Bloomington in mid September will pay $5,000 to win. The Haubstadt
Hustler Sprint 50 the next night and the October 1st Lawrenceburg
Nationals both pay $10,000 to win. Both of the $10,000 to win events
are co-sanctioned with USAC. The season will then end with the
series returning to Haubstadt on Saturday October 8th for the
inaugural Harvest Cup paying $4,000 to win and serving as the 2011
season finale. The new MSCS Champion and Rookie of the Year will be
crowned that night.
Fans are reminded that a complete program of UMP Modifieds will be on
the card with the MSCS Sprint Cars at Tri-State Speedway on September
4th. The “Labor Day Weekend Challenge” will offer non stop open
wheel excitement at every turn. The first heat race will take the
green flag at 7:30 P.M. C. D. T. The outcome of the ensuing laps of
racing remain as unpredictable as the headlines to follow!