Chris Seelman photo
By Jacob Seelman
HOLLY, Mich. — Defending Must See Racing Sprint Car Series (MSRSCS) champion Jimmy McCune is leading a talented contingent of winged sprint car stars to two brand new race tracks, as the series embarks on their second weekend of competition in 2016 this Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22.
McCune, who won the first two races of the season at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway and Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway on April 15-16, will be looking to make it three straight victories to kick off the year when the drivers of MSR invade the state of Ohio for the first time in two years. He currently leads the points standings by four markers, with the top four separated by a scant 13 points.
“It’s a great start to the season, but we’re always looking ahead to the next set of races because we want to win each time out,” the Toledo, Ohio native said. “I’m excited that we’re back close to home for some races leading into Little 500 week … because it allows for a lot of our sponsors and supporters to come out and see the great show that this series puts on and what we’ve been accomplishing early on this year. The goal is to bring them two more wins and really make a statement going into (Little 500) week at Anderson (Indiana).”
The stars and cars of Must See Racing will visit the three-tenths mile Shady Bowl Speedway in DeGraff, Ohio for the first time in series history on Saturday, May 21 for round three of the 2016 season. Sprint car racing of the winged variety has been on and off over the last three decades, but has seen some Hall of Fame drivers visit the track’s victory lane, including Jack Hewitt in the inaugural All Stars Circuit of Champions event at the Bowl on August 25, 1989.
The next night, on Sunday, May 22, the winged warriors move to the lightning-fast, half-mile Spitzer Motor Speedway of Mansfield for the fourth of 16 races on the series’ 2016 schedule. Again a new track for the MSRSCS, the event will also be taped for a later broadcast on MAVTV’s “Dirty Thirty” program, produced by Sean Buckley with Rob Klepper on the call.
The fast-paced pair of races will be rounds three and four of the American Sprint Cup, a six-race mini-series within the MSRSCS national championship with a separate points fund and contingency awards that pits the Southeast’s finest sprint car stars against the winged warriors of the Midwest Must See Racing regulars.
Following Sunday’s race at Spitzer, the series will move to Anderson, Indiana’s high-banked quarter mile for the Must See Racing 60 on Wednesday, May 25 — making for a stretch of three rounds in five nights that could be crucial in establishing early-season momentum for the championship contenders. McCune swept all three MSRSCS stops at Anderson in 2015.
The reigning series champion will have a hefty slate of challengers in his quest for another weekend sweep, however, with all-time series wins leader and quick qualifier Brian Gerster, leading southern contender Johnny Bridges, National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Jeff Bloom, multi-time sprint car champion Jason Blonde, two-time Little 500 winner Jacob Wilson, NASCAR modified champion Bobby Santos III, young rising star Grant Galloway and Georgia veteran Jay Dunham, among others ready to carry the banner and level the playing field.
The weekend kicks off when pit gates open at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Shady Bowl, with grandstand gates following at 4 p.m. Sunday’s gate time at Spitzer is 10:30 a.m., with grandstands opening at 12:30 p.m.
For more information on Must See Racing and the American Sprint Cup, including schedule updates, race results and driver information, visit www.mustseeracing.com.