From IRA
McHenry, IL — (April 17, 2013) — While weather has played havoc with the season opening event for the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, both fans and drivers are chomping at the bit to get the season underway and for fans attending shows this season they are in for a real treat as the level of competition within the series is at an all-time high.
The IRA has proven itself to be one of the top regional race series in the country, and they have a solid history to back it up with. 2013 looks to be no different. While it’s anybody’s guess as who the point champion will be, there is a big schedule of events that will feature numerous top guns aiming for victory lane. It’s going to fun seeing how it all plays out.
The series once again has a strong core group expected to compete a good portion of the 2013 Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series schedule, numerous have won IRA A-main events over the years.
These include event winners include (by registered car number) Mike Reinke, Jim Moughan, Scotty Neitzel, Scott Young, Scott Biertzer, Scott Uttech, Darrell Dodd, Travis Whitney, Bill Balog, Todd Daun, Todd King, John Haeni, Dennis Spitz, Raymond Hensley, Mike Kertscher, Tommy Sexton, Steve Meyer, and Bill Warren who have all experienced IRA victory lane. John Serrnett and Brooke Tatnell are IRA winners too and are expected to support the series at some of their northern dates.
Numerous champions are part of the roster, including Balog 2008-2012, Whitney 2006-2007, Neitzel 2004-2005, Haeni 2002, and Dodd 1979 & 1987-1988 are former IRA Champions. While drivers such as Neitzel, Warren, Wayne Modjeski, Lance Fassbender, and Jeremy Schultz have all captured MSA 360 titles, as has TJ Leudtke the 2011 IRA Rookie of the Year who plans to run a handful of IRA contests this season. Daun, Dodd, Sexton, Kertscher, and Kris Spitz have either Wilmot or WOS titles to their credit, and Mini-Sprint titles have gone to Kertscher and Scott Uttech.
IRA loyalists and perennial top 10 point drivers Dave Uttech, Bill Wirth, and Modjeski have led many IRA A-main laps, and are hungry to score their first Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series victory. It’s easy to add Phillip Mock, Russel Borland, Robbie Pribnow, and Kris Spitz to that list new A-main winners this season.
Add to that a number of former series regulars like Scott Young, Steve Meyer, Todd Daun, and Raymond Hensley expecting to compete more frequently this year and the series drivers’ roster becomes increasingly impressive. Past IRA regular Nick Alden plans on rejoining the tour regularly, and both Jereme Schroeder and Alan Hafford are aiming at the 75% participation target too. Multiple appearances are also in the plans of Rusty Egan, Scott Lenz, and Chad Tessman. Plus we all hope Scott Biertzer is feeling well enough to come back and compete on a regular basis returning from bad luck and a hard crash during the 2012 season.
The battle for the rookie of the year title will have a new level of excitement in 2013 as the series is blessed with a trio of drivers with proven talent that will be aiming for the honor of this seasons’ Rookie of the Year. Alphabetically, Lance Fassbender and Jeremy Schultz are recent MSA 360 Sprint Champions while Bryon Walters steps up to 8 cylinders after spending years in Midget ranks. Given the level of talent among the rookie class this season you can expect each will be contending for A-main victories along the way.
Based on the amount of teams IRA has to draw upon it should make for a very exciting season, and not knowing who all is going to show up from week to week will certainly keep things interesting.
Of course there will still be the solid IRA base, but there is certainly going to be plenty of teams more focused on getting to victory lane, and letting the points fall as they do.
Balog the defending series champion is not “officially” running for the championship, however he has 22 nights on his schedule so he’ll be around plenty. Bill has a few WoO shows on his schedule that include prep for the Kings Royal and Knoxville Nationals.
Plus a few teams, such as Mike Reinke for an example, may not run the entire schedule leaving the title chase wide open. The road to the championship this season will be interesting as nobody quite knows how it will play out.
Look for youngsters Phillip Mock, Russel Borland, 2012 series rookie Robbie Pribnow, Mike Decker, and Brandon Thone to take even larger strides forward this year. Mock and Borland had top 5 season’s last year and look to climb the ladder even further in 2013. Thone has already started his season by running events in Ohio and Iowa. And while the youngsters seek to topple the hierarchy expect grizzled veterans of the IRA such as Darrell Dodd and Dennis Spitz look to show that they are still more than willing to mix it up with todays’ young guns.
A new sense of excitement will prevail this season as various travelers some test the waters and try to wrestle victories away from the series regulars. These include travelers Brooke Tatnell, Cap Henry, Jim Moughan, and Lucas Wolfe have some IRA shows penciled onto their schedules as well. While all the appearances are not known yet you will also see some star power from some of the motorsports biggest names. While the details are still in the works you can keep an eye out for some interesting announcements. For as they say where there’s “Smoke” there’s fire, and even some “Young Money” too.
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com