FOURTH OF JULY AT TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY

Haubstadt, IN - July 1, 2009.  The Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series will make its third appearance of the season at the Tri-State Speedway this Saturday night.  Racing will get underway at 7:30 P.M. with warm up sessions and hot laps beginning around six.

The July 4th race card has at its core not one but two classes of race cars that have been thrilling race fans almost as long as fireworks.  The POWRi Midgets will be in competition along with the MSCS Sprints.  The flying dirt will testify to the power and speed that these racing machines produce.  The  bright colors and defining noise will signal that one of the greatest spectacles on dirt is about to envelop the speedway.

The Midwest Sprint Car Series feature this week will be for a distance of 30 laps and pay $3,000 to the winner.  A glance ahead at the MSCS schedule for the next 5 races in 2009 reveals that at four of those five events $3,000 will be paid to the winner.  The other race pays $5,000 to win.  That race is the upcoming August 1st Hoosier Sprint Nationals which is also to be held at Tri-State Speedway.

During the six MSCS races held so far this season there have been 5 winners.  Jon Stanbrough’s drive to victory last Saturday at the Vermilion County Speedway placed him at the very top of the MSCS All Time Winners List with 9 career victories.  It was the second series win of the season for the Brownsburg, IN, veteran.  He was the first MSCS driver this year to become a repeat winner. The fact that it was also his second win in a row with MSCS may have implications that a winning streak could be forming!

The race this weekend also marks the halfway point for the season.  The season long points battle is building into a dual between the two time champion Kyle Cummins and the 2008 MSCS Rookie of the Year Ricky Williams.  The two finished fourth and fifth last week in a feature long battle.   They are separated in the standings by just 28 points heading to the Haubstadt event on the Fourth of July.

The battle for this year’s Gross Enterprises MSCS Rookie of the Year is shaping up just behind the two point leaders.  Rookie Brandon Mattox is third in the points.  Rookies Adam Nigg, Nic Faas, and Chase Briscoe are all poised in the top twelve in MSCS points and looking to move up in the overall standings with good finishes. 

Some of the top MSCS drivers moving up in the points standings after last Saturday’s race include Blake Fitzpatrick, Hud Cone, Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr., Jon Stanbrough, Craig Budde, Brady Short, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brian Clauson, Kurt Gross, and Hunter Schuerenberg.  Stanbrough’s win lifted him 9 positions in the points!  The points race underlies the actual race during the heats, B main, and A main throughout the season.

Fans can keep up with everything MSCS at the official website located at www.mscssprints.com.   The point standings, records, and updates can always be found there along with photos of the MSCS drivers in action.  A trip to the races is even better!

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MTS 2009 Points standings review

Leading the MTS Sprint Series points for the 2009 season is the 2007 Champion Steve Irwin. Steve’s two wins this year has set the bar high for the rest of the competitors this year. Second and third place is occupied by two youngsters from Ohio, Landon Simon sits second in points with Mike Berkin a close third. Keith Love, recently out of retirement is having a great year and is fourth in points. The MTS 2008 and defending champion Mike Galadja is fifth. Another Ohio kid, Brent Smith is running strong and sits sixth. Veteran driver Mark Irwin has a slim margin of our Canadian friend Jon Watson from Ontario. The Rookie points battle is real close with Nick Rogers holding a 15 point lead over Roger Hunyady. Jim Payne is tied with hunyady for 10th place in points.

The MTS sprints next points race will be at the Merritt Speedway July 25th. Also on July 18th the sprints will run a non point exhibition at the Owosso speedway.
www.mtsprints.com
 
MTS 2009 top 10 points
(R) = rookie
1. Steve Irwin     555
2. Landon Simon 505
3. Mike Berkin    500
4. Keith Love     496
5. Mike Galajda        493
6. Brent Smith    401
7. Mark Irwin      375
8. John Watson         330
9. Nick Rogers (R)     328
10. Jim Payne     313
11. Roger Hunyady (R)    313

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Stanbrough wins Legends of Danville

BY MARVIN HOLMAN

OAKWOOD, IL — Jon Stanbrough is not from Danville, but the Brownsburg, Ind. racer did something that the local sprint legends that were honored Saturday night at Vermilion County Speedway would have enjoyed.

Sticking with the pack at the bottom of the track in the middle of the race, Stanbrough was able to go up on the track just enough to pass then-leader Ricky Williams and was able to win the $2,000-to-win Midwest Sprint Car Series feature.

“I had no choice really,” Stanbrough said. “I just couldn’t sit around any longer and stay back. I tried to make a move a few times, but I knew I had to try something. I didn’t care if I ended up last in the race, I knew I had to try to move.”

With the move up, Stanbrough took the lead midway through the race and did not look back. Brady Short was second, A.J. Anderson took third and Williams ended up fourth.

With VCS honoring legends like the late Larry Cannon, Steve Cannon and Bubby Jones, Stanbrough was happy to win the race and hope other racers can realize what they have done to pave the way.

“I do remember them racing and it is great to win,” Stanbrough said. “Earlier in the day, I was talking about how these young racers did not even know much about the older racers and that is a shame. I hope that they can learn more about them in the future.”

Next weekend will be full of action at VCS. On Saturday, the first Spiker 100 will be raced with 50-lap features for sprints and modifieds. There will also be action from the Crate late models, street stocks and pure stocks.

Also, there will be a car show and a Rock Band video game contest on Saturday. The car show begins at noon and will have eight categories including Best in Show, Best Import, Best Domestic and Best Bike. The Rock Band contest will start at 1 p.m. with awards for both events being handed out by 5 p.m.

On Sunday, the UMP Summer Nationals series for late models will make its annual stop at VCS and will include the modifieds and street stock classes. There will also be fireworks during the show.

Additional information is available at vermilioncountyspeedway.com

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