HOLLY, Mich. (April 2,2017) – The final countdown to the 2017 season kickoff for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series has begun, with the ‘World’s Fastest Short Track Cars’ set to invade the Carolinas for the sixth-annual Southern Shootout, April 21-22.
South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedway and North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway will again play host to the winged warriors of Must See Racing as the top asphalt sprint car drivers in the country do battle for 100 laps over the course of the two-day weekend.
Anderson’s three-eighths-mile returns to the series schedule for the second year running, while Hickory prepares for its third-straight Must See Racing feature dating back to 2015.
Two-time defending series champion Jimmy McCune swept the Southern Shootout features last year, kicking off a title run that included five wins and allowed him to tie Brian Gerster for the most feature victories (16) and championships (two) in series history.
But Gerster will be back and looking for redemption. He finished second to McCune at Anderson last year and set the all-time Hickory track record in time trials (12.072) before fading to fifth in the main.
“I really like Anderson Motor Speedway and (track owner) Sylvia Porter provides all of us with hospitality that’s second to none,” said Gerster, who like McCune is a two-time series champion. “It’s just a fun track to drive. I’m hopeful we can improve on last year while we dial in the new car.”
“As far as Hickory is concerned … last year we set fast time with a new track record and came close to that 11-second bracket, but getting down into it this year is a target on our radar screen. We want to improve on our feature finish, too, because it wasn’t what we’re accustomed to. The history of the track is great and it’s a lot of fun to meet new fans and introduce them to the racing that we do.”
The Fishers, Indiana native will also be returning to the track for the first time since a massive crash at Owosso (Mich.) Speedway last August destroyed his Dick Myers-prepared mount and ended his season prematurely.
“We’re really looking forward to competing again with Must See Racing and returning to our high performance standards as a team,” Gerster added. “Dick Myers, Rick Ferguson and myself enjoy racing the MSR schedule because of the two-night weekends, solid purses and keeps us busy while still affording us some off weekends to catch our breath.”
“I’m just ready to put last year behind me. That crash put a damper on the end of our year last year, but we’re back and I think we’re coming into this year better than we’ve ever been, so watch out for us in the Carolinas!”
The Southern Shootout will also serve as a battleground for Must See Racing, as both the series’ North and South divisions will open their seasons during the weekend in a combined championship kickoff that pits the winged warriors of the Midwest against the sprint car stars of the Southeast.
With rules in place that allow both 410ci and 360ci motors to be competitive and contend for feature victories, the stage will be set for a battle of the titans in both Anderson and Hickory’s 50-lap main events.
One of those Southern stars that will be in action is Harrisburg, North Carolina’s Tony Grams, who is coming off a promotional appearance and test session at Hickory in advance of the season openers.
Grams is a former Carolina RaceSaver Sprint Car Series champion on the dirt, but the April 21-22 weekend will mark his first time competing with Must See Racing as he comes back from ‘semi-retirement’ to try and make his mark on the South division of the series in its inaugural year.
“The way I look at it is why shouldn’t I give it a shot, you know?” Grams joked during Saturday’s autograph session at Hickory. “I’m just excited, man. We got ourselves a great car during the offseason with a fast 410 motor … and I’ve put a ton of time and effort into it to make it competitive and be ready for these Southern races.”
“As long as some circumstances fall our way, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have a shot to contend with the northern guys for the victory. They’re coming into our neck of the woods and we’re going to be ready.”
Johnny Bridges will also be a southern driver looking to make a splash in the season-openers, after coming within a thousandth of a second of breaking the Anderson track record in qualifying last season.
Bridges, a Cherryville, N.C. native, has finished second in both prior Must See Racing events at Hickory and is looking to shake the ‘bridesmaid’ moniker this time around.
“I just want a win at Hickory against these guys,” he said. “They’re the best in the business and we’ve come so close the last couple years. Hopefully we’ll run good at both tracks and we can find a way to get one of those trophies to take home.”
Among the other big names that have pre-entered for the Southern Shootout are former NASCAR Modified champion Bobby Santos, Canadian superstar Ryan Litt and past MSA supermodified titlist Charlie Schultz, as well as southern regulars Joe Larkin and Mike Leraas, who won a Virginia Sprint Series race at Shenandoah Speedway on April 1 and will be looking to continue his strong start to the year.
The Southern Shootout will feature a fast time bonus of $100 to the night’s quick qualifier in both programs, with an additional $100 on the line if that driver breaks the track record.
Must See Racing will become the first asphalt sprint car series in the country to offer heat race payouts starting this year, with bonuses going to the top-three finishers in each heat, and additional bonuses will be on offer for the top-finishing 360, 305 and Carolina No Bull Sprint Series drivers in the field as well.
For more information on Must See Racing, including race day schedules, team and driver news, schedule updates and race results, visit the series on the web at www.mustseeracing.com.