From Greg Parent
Elko, MN — (April 22, 2013) — Adverse weather throughout the month of April with continued rain and snowfall have forced the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) to push back the season opening weekend for all divisions to May 3-4. Ron Bernhagen, UMSS CDO and co-owner of the St. Croix Valley Raceway (SCVR), had remained optimistic early in April, but as the cold/wet weather continued day after day, it soon became apparent that the season opener scheduled for all three UMSS divisions on April 26 at SCVR would not be possible. “We have not had any opportunity to dry out and get on the track,” stated Bernhagen. “The Cedar Lake Speedway, just 30 minutes south of us, would also be in the same predicament. There is no way we can prepare an adequate racing surface for sprint cars and dry out the pit area in time to hold races on the last weekend in April,” continued Bernhagen.
With the originally scheduled April 26-27 opening weekend for the UMSS scrapped due to the weather, the UMSS winged sprint division will kick off their season on Friday night May 3 and Saturday night May 4 at the Elko Speedway with the 2nd Annual Spring Dirt Nationals. Bernhagen, who was in contact with Elko Speedway owner Tom Ryan this past week, indicated that Elko only needs a few days of decent weather leading up to their May 3-4 weekend in order to get their track into racing condition. The temporary dirt surface in addtion to the concrete and blacktop pit area and infield gives Elko a big advantage over the regular dirt tracks here in our area this spring.
The May 3 Elko feature pays $1,000 to win while the May 4 feature pays $1,500 to win. There is a $500 Clean Sweep Bonus in effect from GRP Motorsports if one driver is able to win both UMSS features on opening weekend at Elko. The Saturday night Elko race is a Minnesota Mafia Point Fund event and will also kick off the eleven race MN Mafia Point Fund season schedule. With the first two planned UMSS races at SCVR and CLS falling victim to the weather, the Minnesota Mafia announced that the Open Wheel Nationals scheduled for June 28-29 at the St. Croix Valley Raceway will now be Minnesota Mafia Point Fund races. Further details on the 2nd Annual Open Wheel Nationals will be released soon.
In addition to the Clean Sweep Bonus on opening weekend at Elko, GRP Motorsports will also pay a $100 UMSS Past Point Champion bonus each night to the highest finisher in the feature event amongst previous UMSS point champions. Drivers who are eligible for this bonus are Leigh Thomas (2009), Cody Hahn (2010) and Jerry Richert, Jr. (2001 & 2012). GRP Motorsports will also pay out a $100 UMSS Hard Charger Award each night to the driver who advances the most positions in the A Feature. UMSS drivers who finished in the top 25 in the final 2012 season point standings are eligible for this bonus. The season opening weekend at Elko should be a great way to kick off the UMSS season, as many fans and drivers are anxious to go racing given the extremely poor weather in April.
The UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series (TSCS) will attempt to get their 2013 season underway at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday night May 3 along with the UMSS Micro sprints. SCVR will try and lift the lid on their season one week later than planned with all of their regular Friday night divisions on the program. The TSCS non-winged sprints will then head south on Friday May 10 for a show at the Elko Speedway, as they have the opportunity to be the support division for the much-anticipated first-ever appearance by the World of Outlaws 410 winged sprints at Elko. The following night May 11 will see the TSCS sprints and UMSS micros on the program at SCVR for the first of two Bullring Blast programs featuring the WISSOTA late models and open wheel modifieds. The month of May certainly has several big events in the first two weeks to provide race fans with some exciting sprint car racing action.
With many race teams and fans waiting for the season to get underway, area race tracks and racing series are hoping that the month of May and the remainder of the season will see greatly improved conditions for racing. Check out the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or their Facebook page to see where the popular sprint car series has events scheduled during the 2013 racing season or to keep tabs on how your favorite UMSS driver is doing. You can also contact series President/CDO Ron Bernhagen at 612-363-5302 for questions regarding any of the three UMSS racing divisions.