Forum: Minnesota Dirt Track Racing Forum (go)
Moderators: StanM

Can anybody provide information on the new sprint series that was announced at Cedar Lake Saturday night? I believe they referred to it as the Upper Midwest Sprint Series.

Is it 360's or 305's or what? Is the plan to race at CLS or different tracks like Kopellah and Rice Lake? Any info would be appreciated.

Whatever it is, I hope it works. I will support it as a fan whenever I can.

I caught the tail end of the announcement Saturday night as well. 360, 305, or whatever it is I hope it takes off. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Wing Slider

there will be a meeting in october at a place we will announce soon 360 sprints

So why is it that every 2 to 5 years we have to try and reinvent the wheel in the sprint car division???? I mean first we had Wissota, then MSS, then ASCS, plus IMCA, and the MSA out of Wisconsin, throw in a few open shows and we have a whole lot of fingers pulling the 30-40 360 sprint car teams we have around here in all different directions,,,, Why can't we all just get behind one option and try to make things better like Jon is doing with his Jackson Travelling Series??? or Bob Allen is doing with the IMCA Jackpot Junction Series???? Both have good SENSIBLE rules that allow good competition without having to buy this part to run this series or buy these tires to be able to run with these guys,,,, I have heard Joe Kouba preach this over and over and over again and nobody seems to be listening.... Maybe we need to pay a little closer attention to what someone that has been around with a lot of racing experience has to say....

Every time that we start another series when there are perfectly viable ones around we just set ourselves back another 2 to 5 years from the late models and modifieds that run one year after year......

Anyway,,, just one cranky old guys thoughts on the state of sprint cars here in Minnesota...

Brian

Brian, you are right on one thing, Jon at Jackson and his traveling series is a good thing for car owner that are in the SW Minn area, I for one have not been to Jackson as much as I would like to. I have decided that $75.00 for gas to go to a regular show is too much. The people that are forming this UMSS is thinking of the owners that don't live 200 miles away from this area. Not everyone has alot of money for fuel or traveling time off work. You are speaking out before you even know that facts behind this series. I think before you bulch out what you are, you need to listen to the facts. A meeting on this subject will be held in October and then you can come and speak out all you want in front of the car owners, drivers and the promoters. Stay tuned for more info. And you have every right to call Ron Bernhagen and give him all your proffessional knowledge.

Looking forward to hearing more about this! Sounds like this will give us sprint car fans in the Twin Cities a chance to catch some races close to our homes. Owners, drivers and fans will save travel costs and from what I have heard most motors that are out there will be able to participate with minimal work for the crews. Good luck Ron!

Which car do you own? You certainly seem to want to spend other people's money freely.

Not being a car owner I am hesitant to reply to this but from what I understand the ASCS motor cost more to purchase than it will cost for an entire car including the motor for this new series. If I understand the few rules I have heard correctly, an ASCS motor will be legal once the proper gasket is applied to the intake. Please attend the meeting in October if you can! I am sure the new series promoters are looking for all the input they can get in order to try and make the majority happy.

Back in the old day's we were able to take 1 sprint car and race at Rocky, Madison SD, Jackson, Fairmont, Huesets, Hartford, and so on!!! We do need a common set of rules for all these tracks in the area to keep the sport going !!! No matter what you do to change it somebody is going to have to spend money to change. We currently race go karts with IKF rules, we can go any where in the U.S.A. with Blaney's kart and race with out changing anything but tires. And we she moves up a class we change a restrictor plate and a jet and you are done and spent less than $10.00. Now I know karts are cheaper than big cars (well some times) But my point is we have A lot of GREAT TRACKS in the area but you need 3 cars because of the different rules at each track. Back in 89 when we ran Rocky on FRI. changed motors SAT. to run Arlington then changed back to run Sunday at Huesets, made for along summer and it was our choice to do so but if everybody had common rules it wouldn't of been a big deal. I'll get off my soapbox and hope for some common ground before Blaney gets old enough to have a sprint car. Phil Markman

Let's say everyone goes ASCS rules. Who the heck is going to police them? pitnotes, did you know that the only people that have access to the tools to inspect the cylinder heads are ASCS officials. So what good does it do to have that rule other than to sell more heads for Brodix? From my point of view, I would vote for hard-ass tires, and a 1 3/4" - 2" restrictor. Run any head with a stock valve angle and as long as you have the restrictors, you are good to go. There are a lot of ASCS heads around who should be running 2.100" restrictors right now because of illegal porting.

Excellent information, good read. ASCS does have a huge following but that formula just doesn't appear to work in our region for whatever reason. And I agree, short fields are no good for anybody. Winning an 8 car feature isn't really much to brag about. Chuck P, Ron and Joe K will all be out at Cedar Lake Saturday night for the Billy Anderson race and while they will be busy they might have a few minutes to talk about what they have planned for the meeting in October.

I think what they have in mind is to provide something affordable in the eastern Metro/western Wisconsin area. Some of the Midwest Modified drivers have expressed their interest in an affordable Sprint Car class up here and would like to try them out. I'll probably hear more over the weekend at the 100.

Their weekly classes consist of Late Model, Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds. There are quite a few racers in those divisions that run mostly at Cedar Lake and nowhere else. The way I see it they're thinking of this as something that could take off over on this side of the Metro like tie IMCA deal did at Arlington. They had to come up with a way to include the few ASCS cars but also make it affordable for people wanting to move up to Sprints. If some Jackson or Sioux Falls drivers wanted to come up here and race it would be possible with a few tweaks but I heard the payoff was going to be comparable to a weekly Modified purse.

Anybody reading this down in Sioux Falls or Iowa or around Jackson needs to understand that we don't have weekly Sprint Car racing in the east Metro and western Wisconsin. Even Arlington is over 100 miles and we're more familiar with the NASCAR/WISSOTA racing up here than the IMCA stuff the other Sprint tracks have. Not that it's bad racing but you've got to watch Brent Larson in his Late Model or Dave Cain in the Modified and you'll maybe get it a little better. We've already got some great weekly racing up here and it's about to get even better.

Jackson is a 4am haul for most of us, sometimes I'm home by 11pm from Cedar Lake. Same as you folks and those tracks located in your area. Why would you come up here for your weekly racing and what does it matter what the weekly lineup is at a few tracks 3-4 hours away?

If the announcement was that Cedar Lake was going to add weekly Crate Late Models nobody would have said a word about any of those other programs. I don't think Cedar Lake's weekly lineup is going to have much impact on southwest Minnesota or Arlington and Redwood for that matter. Maybe a couple of Twin Cities based teams might not make as many trips down that way but that's already happening on account of the fuel prices. I can't see them scheduling against the WoO or IRA when they're in the area so it's not going to water down those shows.

I'm looking forward to next season.

Stan Meissner

Well, Pitnotes, as you wrote above, ( ya truly wanna control expense, stop reinventing the wheel! Somebody needs to put their foot down. The last thing we need is another "situation", that is trying to accommodate the other "situations". Well why don't you do that, put your foot down and stop this. You seem to have alot of answers, but once again, here is a guy that thinks he knows it all, but he's too chicken shit to put his real name down.

I get a kick out of all you grandstanders that know it all, but yet, no real name comes with the post here.

If you people know so much, why don't you come out of the woodwork and help to get sprint car racing going better here in Minnesota. How many sprint car shows were up here near the Twin Cities this past summer, how many ASCS shows where around here, not many. Not everyone can afford a ASCS motor, if you want to win in ASCS, you have to spend money.

I like ASCS, but it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere here in the midwest. I like Jackson, but as Stan said above, it's a distance thing with todays gas prices. Plus, I will have to go along with Stan this time on another thing, the time getting home too, I'm trying to keep up with Stan on the age thing !!!!!

We have been contacted by a number of mod, midwest mod, super stock and go kart racers that would like to see something put together that they can afford and go race a sprint car. So that is what we are going to do, whether you people or anybody want to help. If anyone of you guy's would like to take the time to talk to me, Ron or Joe, we will all be a Cedar Lake on Saturday. Write down your thoughts and give them to us. Maybe one of you guy's can reinvent the wheel and improve what is here now. Until then, see you at the Billy Anderson Memorial Race

About 2 or 3 of the 305 teams at Jackson could afford to build a competitive 360. There's no way they can afford to build a $15,000 to $25,000 engine.

Gee Chuck,,,, I'm not afraid to put my name down, and I've also done a hell of a lot to try and PROMOTE sprint car racing in our area,,, both financially and time wise....and you know that.. In reading what has been written about this subject it appears to me that the only one that is attacking is yourself,,, Pitnotes is just suggesting what we have talked about for years,, way back when we first started to meet with Wissota about the MSS sprint deal,,,, STANDARDISATION of rules...... I've got NOTHING against this new deal,,, I just really hope that for the sake of sprint car racing that it's not a "have to buy these restrictors, or have to buy these "can only run at this track tires",,,, since we already have three different groups going now (ASCS, IMCA and Jackson) for the 360's... I'll be at your meeting listening and if you have anything you need to discuss,, give me a call or drop me an e-mail,, you've got them both....

Brian

I for one, would never be able to afford to run with the ASCS. However, I would have a double barrel for Jackson in a heartbeat if it were in my area. 360 at Jackson? Nope. But, would have an IMCA if I were closer to Arlington. I understand the need to unify the 360 style specs just like the 410 specs. That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't room for a class for the rest of us. A 360 class with aluminum heads, injection and slider wings, I probably wouldn't be able to consider building. A 305 double barrel, I could maybe do. A 355 midwest mod motor in a sprint? I could do. Just saying there is room for a class of sprint car where a $15,000 motor is out of touch for some of us.

Just another c s grandstander here that personally decided to quit supporting some of the sprint car events this year. The attitude and arrogance of some have made me revisit what it was about racing that made me sacrifice a bunch of time and money hoping the right people would at least be cordial, respectful and appreciative of ANY degree of support given. That arrogance is also showing in this thread ALREADY. WOW dont regret not putting up with that at the track after paying pit gate putting sponsorship dollars into a backmarker team just to make it SAFE for all and then get looked down on for not spending more money or doing more shows. If this is about getting a bunch of cost effective cars together at a weekly show great. If the initiators already got there mindsets of what it is going to be post it now. If it is truly a clean sheet of paper meeting dont limit the input by name calling chuck. I was lucky won our first feature with a rookie drive rookie crew chief first nite we took our line up spot. Ten races later had 2 wins 4 hard chargers and sat on pole for IMCA Supernationals. We only raced if we both wanted to and or could afford too. It was affordable fun and competitive and always welcomed when we made it, didnt get treated worse cause we didnt make all shows. What local sprint car racing needs is True leadership and cooperation with existing sanctioning groups. Sprinters have always been roaming outlaws by nature. I couldnt expect to by a IRL car and race locally. Going to a 360 was the worst thing that could have happened back then. A spec iron block head 410 with comp at about 12 would have been better. Hindsight and opinion How to cut costs? Gear rule keep motors at 7600 RPM or whatever Restrict injection some easy to tech restrictor plate approach. Open tires yup take some power and rev band away make them stick to the track and stop em from spinning out on dry slick with lots of yellows. But most important a weekly, well run, organized and friendly team like IRA with own safety crews and all. Maybe the IRA should add a feeder division based on a affordable 410 spec deal that you can build up over time and then bump up to the top division. Fans like "410" shows and think 360 is a lesser show. Local tracks and points against each other then invite top from all tracks for an invitational series at each participating track. Either way I WILL TAKE A SIT BACK AND WATCH ATTITUDE Racing as a whole is going to change a lot in the next 5 yrs. Or will it?

PS look for ward to any name calling etc and no you wont find me at any of the shows until I see something worthwhile to sacrifice for. Dan

i couldnt agree more with doc. looks at this post for example....something is mearly suggested and you end up with a pissing match. you've got 1 guy that runs sprint events talking down to another guy who's promoted sprint events before...no wonder sprint car racing is dying up there!!!! you guys cant sit at a computer and play nice let alone try to come up with some common ground on rules.

jackson has the best thing going in mn as far as regular sprints. imca seems to work well for ecomony racing. hopefully what ever you guys hash out with last longer than the last sprint series you came up with.

This post is more exciting than the races at Spencer last night!! Keep it going!!!

It is alway easy for people on these forums to try to spend someone else's money. I race a 305 at Jackson and could by no means be able to afford a 360. The Jackson rules make more sense $ wise than the Midwest rules and where actually written before the Midwest rules but they would not sign on to the carb rule. The sealed engine rule makes the most sense It does away with all the cheating with heads, lightweight cranks and all that crap. It is an added cost to have the motor sealed but it is not that expensive they charge $ 50 to seal the engine In my opinion it is money well spent. I can't see why this won't work in the other classes.