By Greg Parent
August 10, 2016
The six race Midwest Power Series will round out the 2016 Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series (UMSS) winged sprint car racing season with added purse money, point fund and an opportunity for one lucky driver to roll the dice for the chance to win $100,000. Sponsored by Midwest Power Equipment, the six race series will utilize six of the final seven events on the 2016 UMSS winged sprint car schedule. The six race series will kick off on Friday August 19 at the Princeton Speedway and move a short distance to the northeast on Saturday August 20 to the Ogilvie Raceway. On Thursday August 25, the K.R.A. Speedway in Willmar will host their 4th annual UMSS night at their west central Minnesota track for the third Midwest Power Series race. Making their inaugural appearance at the Madison Speedway in Madison, Minnesota on Saturday August 27, the UMSS sprints will run the fourth race in the series. The final weekend of the season will see a couple of memorial races cap off the Midwest Power Series including the 5th Annual Davey Tabor Memorial at the Princeton Speedway on Friday September 9 and the 16th Annual Jerry Richert, Sr. Memorial at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday September 10.
With added purse money from Midwest Power Equipment, the six race series will feature at least $2,000 to win at all events with the final two memorial races paying more than $2,000 for the top spot. The point champion of this six race series will be awarded $1,000 after the final feature race at the Cedar Lake Speedway on September 10. Separate points, using the standard UMSS point system, will be kept for the six race Midwest Power Series. The Friday August 19 show at the Princeton Speedway will be the makeup of the 15th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial that was rained out back on June 3. GRP Motorsports will be adding money to this event with $1,000 for second, $700 for third, $500 for fourth and $400 for fifth. The Mike Botzek $500 bonus for most cars passed by a driver during the entire night will also be in play. GRP Motorsports will also add money to the Ogilvie race the following night in order for second place to pay $1,000. The Tabor and Richert Memorial races will also see additional money added to their purses through contributions by the Tabor and Richert families along with sponsors. Details for the final two races of the season will be disclosed in a separate press release in the upcoming weeks.
The “Gamble” portion of the six race Midwest Power Series will be for drivers who compete in five of the six races and are present on the final night at the Cedar Lake Speedway. For those drivers who are eligible, starting from the top driver in the Midwest Power Series point standings and continuing on down through the remaining eligible drivers, a roll of the dice will be used for a chance to win $100,000. If a driver rolls five dice all with the same number (1-6), that driver will win $100,000. Although the odds are difficult, it is certainly possible. A driver need not win any of the races but simply has to attend five out of the six races in the series in order to be eligible.
Midwest Power Equipment is a commercial equipment wholesaler located in Bloomington. The company specializes in the sale of a variety of power equipment products. The UMSS, sprint car drivers, and sprint car racing fans owe a huge thanks to Randy Grages from Midwest Power Equipment for making this special six race series a reality. 2013 UMSS Champion Chris Graf from Glencoe, who is sponsored by Midwest Power Equipment and won the 2015 four race series, along with a host of other top drivers will be gunning to take home their fair share of the purse and point fund money.