By Greg Parent
As winter finally begins to loosen its grip on the Upper Midwest area, the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) is looking forward to its sixth season of winged sprint car racing action. The 2014 season schedule currently has 23 dates booked for the popular travelling series at 12 different tracks. Action is slated to get underway on the opening weekend in May when the UMSS kicks off the season at St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday May 2 and makes the short trek to the south on Saturday May 3 to the Cedar Lake Speedway. In early September, the season concludes with the 14th Annual Richert Memorial at the Cedar Lake Speedway which also features the IRA Outlaw Sprints. In between, there is plenty of action at a variety of tracks for local area race fans to see the thrills and excitement of winged sprint car racing.
As for the tracks, St. Croix Valley Raceway heads the list with six racing events including the 3rd Annual Davey Tabor Memorial, a doubleheader weekend in July for the 3rd Annual Open Wheel Nationals, the 2nd Annual UMSS Dan Grams Memorial, and the final night of the 22nd Annual Kouba Memorial. Cedar Lake Speedway is scheduled for three UMSS appearances including their traditional spring and summer stops along with the aforementioned 14th Annual Richert Memorial. North Central Speedway in Brainerd also has three shows on the schedule, as they give the middle of May a try with a solo show and then conclude with the always popular two-day Labor Day Weekend event with the 13th edition of the Mighty Axe Nationals.
The UMSS winged sprints will make two appearances at the Princeton Speedway for the 13th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial on June 6 and the opening night of the 22nd Annual Kouba Memorial on August 15. Ogilvie Raceway is also slated for two UMSS winged sprint shows, as the Big O runs June 7 and August 9. For the fourth year in a row, the Rice Lake Speedway will host the UMSS on Memorial Day Weekend with a May 24th appearance. Returning to the schedule for the third straight year will be single shows at the Granite City Speedway on June 1 and the KRA Speedway on August 14. Hibbing Raceway will attempt their fourth Rumble on the Range on July 5 while the Proctor Speedway is hoping for no fog or rain on July 6 for their third Twin Ports Sprint Special. Viking Speedway hosts its second-ever UMSS show with a Saturday night August 23 appearance on the big half mile.
The first-ever UMSS show in the state of Iowa is scheduled on Thursday June 26 at the Cresco Speedway located at the Howard County Fairgrounds in Cresco. This show features an increased purse for a special appearance at the Howard County Free Fair. The UMSS continues to work on booking one or two additional shows to go along with the Cresco date. All in all, the 2014 schedule provides race teams and fans with numerous opportunities to be a part of the increasingly popular Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series. The UMSS website has been updated recently with scheduling information along with several documents in the Rules/Forms section of the website under the Series Info heading. Check out the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or follow along during the season on our Facebook page.
2014 UMSS Winged Sprint Schedule as of March 15, 2014 (3rd edition).
Friday, May 2 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(Season Opener)
Saturday, May 3 – Cedar Lake Speedway(6th Annual Spring Sprint Special)
Saturday, May 17 – North Central Speedway(Spring Sprint Show)
Friday, May 23 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(3rd Annual Davey Tabor Memorial)
Saturday, May 24 – Rice Lake Speedway(Double Dare Sprint Special)
Sunday, June 1 – Granite City Speedway(3rd Annual Granite City Sprintacular)
Friday, June 6 – Princeton Speedway(13th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial)
Saturday, June 7 – Ogilvie Raceway(5th Annual Big O Sprint Showdown)
Thursday, June 26 – Cresco Speedway, Cresco IA(Howard County Free Fair)
Friday, June 27 – TBD
Saturday, June 28 – TBD
Saturday, July 5 – Hibbing Raceway(4th Annual Rumble on the Range)
Sunday, July 6 – Proctor Speedway(3rd Annual Twin Ports Sprint Special)
Friday, July 11 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(3rd Annual Open Wheel Nationals)
Sat., July 12 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(3rd Annual Open Wheel Nationals)
Friday, July 25 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(2nd Ann UMSS Dan Grams Mem.)
Saturday, July 26 – Cedar Lake Speedway(6th Annual Summer Sprint Special)
Saturday, August 9 – Ogilvie Raceway(August Heat Sprint Special)
Thursday, August 14 – KRA Speedway(3rd Ann King of KRA Sprint Challenge)
Friday, August 15 – Princeton Speedway(Kouba Memorial Night 1)
Sat., August 16 – St. Croix Valley Raceway(22nd Annual Kouba Memorial)
Saturday, August 23 – Viking Speedway(2nd Annual Viking Sprint Special)
Sat., August 30 – North Central Speedway(13th Annual Mighty Axe Nationals)
Sunday, August 31 – North Central Speedway(13th Ann Mighty Axe Nationals)
Saturday, September 6 – Cedar Lake Speedway(14th Annual Richert Memorial) with IRA Sprints
TBD = To Be Determined