By Cody Morris
Tulsa, Oklahoma (4-24-2012) – As the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP enters into their impressive and historic 33rd season of sprint car action, it is only fitting that the season opener be held at the only venue that has hosted the Sprints On Dirt each year since its’ 1979 founding.
Crystal Motor Speedway will host the 2012 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP season opener this coming Saturday night, April 28th.
The event will feature the first of three visits to the semi banked, 3/8 mile Crystal, Michigan oval, and the debut of a 2012 ASCS SoD slate that features 24 events spread across a dozen different tracks in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Canada.
A perennial powerhouse in ASCS SoD action, Grand Ledge, Michigan’s Dustin Daggett laid claim to his first ASCS SoD championship since the Michigan based Sprints on Dirt merged with Emmett Hahn’s nationwide American Sprint Car Series.
Daggett has piloted the Mott Motorsports no. 2m to ASCS SoD victory lane numerous times, but few were sweeter than the I-96 Speedway score late last season that clinched his first Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP championship.
This Saturday night’s season opener at Crystal Motor Speedway is only the beginning of a 2012 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP campaign highlighted by three visits to Crystal Motor Speedway, a Memorial Holiday Weekend triple header versus NRA rivals in Ohio, including the famed Eldora Speedway; eight MAHLE/Clevite Short Track Challenge events, the annual Canadian Sprint Car Nationals in Ohsweken, Canada; and a highly anticipated ASCS SoD inaugural debut on June 16th at Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway.
Per ASCS Sprints on Dirt series’ director Mike Strevel:
The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP is excited to announce two new additions to the level of support that Engine Pro of Grand Rapids, Michigan already provides. The first is an exciting Engine Pro Lucky Dog program that will award a driver an additional cash award amount of at least $100 per feature race. A random finishing position will be drawn by the feature race winner and that driver will be awarded the $100 prize if he has decided to participate in the Lucky Dog program and has placed the large Engine Pro decal on their nose wing. If the position drawn does not have the decal the amount will roll over to the next race and increase to $200. This will continue over the course of the season for all SOD sanctioned events. If someone wins the prize it will start again at $100 and this will be an exciting promotion for the entire 2012 season.
The second promotion is the July 21, 2012 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP event scheduled for Crystal Motor Speedway. Crystal is the only track to host the series for every year of the 33 year history of the group and to celebrate this occasion the track will host a 33 lap feature event paying $2,033 to win and $300 to start the feature. Also the National Racing Alliance (NRA) series from Ohio has agreed to co-sanction the event and will add to what is expected to be an incredible night of 360 winged sprint car racing. The SOD/NRA challenge race will mark the return of the NRA to the Wolverine state after several years’ absence.
Crystal Motor Speedway is located in Crystal, MI, 5.5 miles north of SR 57 on Crystal Road, then east on Sidney. For more information, contact the track at 989-235-5200.
The 2012 season marks the 21st year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by MavTV, ASCS also consists of eleven different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.