From Merritt Speedway
LAKE CITY, Mich. (December 2, 2016) — One of the oldest traveling sprint car organizations will be making its first trip north to Merritt Speedway in 2017. The Artic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, which will be in its third year of ownership under Tony Stewart, travels to historic racing venues across the Midwest and will add the Lake City, Michigan speedway to its agenda for the new year.
The biggest names in open wheel racing compete regularly with the All Star touring group, including Chad Kemenah, Dale Blaney, Kraig Kinser, Andrew Palker, Tim Shaffer and many more. 299 different competitors raced under the sanction in 2016, with continual steady growth seen year over year.
“We are very excited to add the All Star Circuit of Champions to our lineup of special big time racing events in 2017,” stated Michael Blackmer, Merritt Speedway owner. “Since the winter of 2014 when I purchased the speedway, all the way until now, we have had the desire to host this elite touring series and are thrilled to have landed a date with them for next season.”
Winged sprint cars are no stranger to the Merritt three-eights-mile oval, as the Engine Pro Sprints on Dirt have frequented the track for many years. In 2016, the Great Lakes Sprint Series also competed at Merritt, as well as the mini winged high-horsepower Lightning Sprint division. The All Star Circuit of Champions will travel north from the Hartford Motor Speedway, where they will compete on Friday, June 30, to race at Merritt the following night, Saturday, July 1.
Additional announcements regarding the 2017 Merritt Speedway schedule will be soon, with several returning big events and specials in the works again. The Inaugural Merritt Modified Madness event, which will pay $10,000-to-win on Monday, July 3, was previously announced and already garnered national attention. The event will cap off what will be a huge weekend of racing at Michigan’s Premier Dirt Track, Merritt Speedway.