From Greg Parent
STILLWATER, Minn. (February 12, 2017) — The Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) will kick off their ninth season of winged sprint car racing at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, April 22 and conclude the planned 19-race schedule on Saturday, September 16 at the Deer Creek Speedway. The 2017 schedule has a distinctly “southern flavor” as the series seeks to increase car counts by running several shows south of their typical area in years past. New to the schedule this season are several shows in a southerly direction including co-sanctioned races with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series (MSTS) at Fairmont Raceway on May 6 and three nights with the MSTS at the Jackson Nationals June 1-3 which also features the World of Outlaws at the Jackson Motorplex.
A three-race Memorial Weekend Tour in western Wisconsin will take the UMSS winged warriors to Red Cedar Speedway, Rice Lake Speedway and Eagle Valley Speedway from Friday night May 26 through Sunday evening May 28. Following the Jackson Nationals in early June, the UMSS makes a northern trek for a return to the Rumble on the Range at the Hibbing Raceway on June 17 and the Twin Ports Sprint Special at the Proctor Speedway on Sunday night June 18. Another venture to the south begins on Friday, June 30 for the first-ever appearance at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt, Iowa followed by an inaugural visit to the “Sprint Car Capitol of the World” Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa on Saturday night July 1.
Back at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, July 8 will see the UMSS winged sprints on the card with the World of Outlaws. The 6th Annual Davey Tabor Memorial will move to the Ogilvie Raceway this season for a Saturday night July 22 show. After about a month off, the UMSS swings back into action on Friday night August 18 at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, MN. Then it’s back to the south once again for a first-ever visit to the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa on Saturday, August 26.
The 17th Annual Jerry Richert, Sr. Memorial will once again be one of the highlights of the 2017 UMSS season at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, September 9 along with the IRA Outlaw Sprints. Running the following weekend, the UMSS season concludes in a southerly direction with yet another inaugural appearance, this time at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Iowa on Friday night September 15 with the IRA Outlaw Sprints. The season concludes with a big event at the Deer Creek Speedway the following night, September 16, once again with the IRA Outlaw Sprints on the program.
Twelve of the nineteen races on the schedule will also feature the UMSS Traditional sprints. Those races will be detailed in their 2017 season press release. The UMSS will visit five new tracks in 2017, four of those in the state of Iowa, as the series certainly expands its “borders” in hopes of attracting some additional cars. Look for further details on several of the events as the season gets underway and those events take shape. Several of the events will also be Midwest Power Series shows. Although this early-edition schedule is pretty solid, the addition of an event or two may take place given the fact that Mother Nature seems to win several shows each season. Keep tabs on the UMSS winged sprints on their website at www.umsprints.com by clicking on the red logo or by following them on their Facebook page.
2017 UMSS WINGED SPRINT SCHEDULE (2-12-17 edition):
April 22 – Cedar Lake Speedway Season Opener
May 6 – Fairmont Raceway with MSTS
May 26 – Red Cedar Speedway (3-race Memorial Weekend Series)
May 27 – Rice Lake Speedway (3-race Memorial Weekend Series)
May 28 – Eagle Valley Speedway (3-race Memorial Weekend Series)
June 1 – Jackson Nationals with MSTS and WoO Sprints
June 2 – Jackson Nationals with MSTS and WoO Sprints
June 3 – Jackson Nationals with MSTS and WoO Sprints
June 17 – Hibbing Raceway
June 18 – Proctor Speedway
June 30 – Hancock County Speedway (Britt, IA)
July 1 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
July 8 – Cedar Lake Speedway w/WoO Sprints
July 22 – Ogilvie Raceway (6th Annual Davey Tabor Memorial)
August 18 – Granite City Speedway (Sauk Rapids, MN)
August 26 – Upper Iowa Speedway (Decorah, IA)
September 9 – Cedar Lake Speedway (17th Annual Richert Memorial) w/IRA Sprints
September 15 – Clay County Fair Speedway w/IRA Sprints
September 16 – Deer Creek Speedway w/IRA Sprints