FRONT PAGE NEWS

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 Stanbroughs 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 years 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 Saturdays 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. Stanbroughs 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!

Provided as MSCS Publicity and Information

By Eldon Butcher

Danville, IL - June 27, 2009. Jon Stanbrough of Brownsburg, IN, turned in another notable performance Saturday night at the Vermilion County Speedway. He won the feature in Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series competition. The victory was worth $2,000 to Jon and the Fox Brothers Racing Team. It was also his second MSCS feature win in a row this season. The victory put the Hoosier veteran into a solo spot at the top of the MSCS All Time Winners List with a career total of nine feature wins.

Stanbrough was one of 35 entrants in the pits with the return of The MSCS sprinters to the speedway for an event promoted as the Sprint Legends of Danville. The feature was a quick 25 laps much like countless feature races at race tracks all across the country for decades of motor racing. But this one had an especially strong field of drivers with many destined to become legends in time and others already enshrined in the minds of sprint car fans. Stanbrough was in his usual ride but there were a half dozen car and driver changes in the ranks for this event. Sprint car race teams were posturing and looking for a victory.

Ricky Williams led the first sixteen laps of the feature. He was fresh off a win at the quarter mile track the previous Saturday in weekly competition. Stanbrough was busy working the field after starting sixth. He took the lead on lap seventeen. Brady Short moved up to second on lap 21 after starting eighth. AJ Anderson finished third after being a part of the six changes for the runner-up spot. Ricky Williams finished up fourth with Kyle Cummins rounding out the top five in a six car battle at the front.

Ten of the top twelve drivers in last years MSCS Points made an appearance with all 10 making the show. No MSCS provisional starting spots were needed. Nine of this years MSCS top ten drivers were also present to contend for points and a spot in the feature. Half of the drivers in the top ten in weekly points at the track were on hand to battle the travelers for a share of the honors. The heats were exciting with four drivers transferring to the feature from each. Cars ran in packs on a fast track.

MSCS Point leader Kyle Cummins won the first heat. Kenny Niflis crashed in turn four during that one but had the car repaired in time for the B. Current Points runner-up Ricky Williams took the second heat with Stanbrough just behind. A.J. Anderson and Mike Hess took the two final heats. Dave Darland won the B-main. He had missed the transfer by one spot in the first heat race. Jeff Bland Jr. was just behind him in the B-main in the other Truckers sprinter. The two transferred to the feature along with Casey Riggs and Bryan Clauson.

The official feature finish included Dave Darland in sixth followed by Matt Westfall, Hud Cone, Kevin Thomas Jr., and Casey Riggs. Darland was the MSCS Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race. He had started seventeenth and improved 11 spots. The Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award went to Bryan Clauson. Clauson brought out a yellow flag but moved forward again in the feature. He finished eleventh after starting and restarting at the back of the twenty car field.

The next event on the MSCS schedule is a July 4th Holiday Spectacular with the MSCS Sprint cars joining forces with the POWRi Midgets at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN. It will be a double card of open cockpit, open wheel racing!

[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Terre Haute, IN. - June 14, 2009. Jon Stanbrough of Brownsburg, IN, won the Don Smith Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track Sunday evening. Stanbroughs victory in the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series feature was earned behind the wheel of the familiar Fox Brothers sprinter. It marked his first MSCS win of this season and eighth victory overall to move him into a share of the top spot on the MSCS All Time Winners List.

Stanbrough had started on the pole for the feature but during the early course of the event he fell back to fourth until making a late race drive that gave him one last opportunity. Coming off the final corner of the final lap he steered to the outside of Damion Gardner, planted his foot, and took the lead as the two drivers passed in front of the grandstands. A long arduous race had ended with an unbelievably exciting finish.

Gardner first took the lead on the fifth lap. He sailed past the front running duo of Jon Stanbrough and Robert Ballou on a restart. Turn one got exciting. Gardner had the lead and would hold it until the final lap. MSCS Points leader Kyle Cummins moved up to third at the midway point in the race. A fuel issue developed late in the race with 11 laps to go. Ballou was among the first group of drivers with empty tanks. Yellow flags and restarts had used up the allotted number of laps and the entire field was stopped under the red for refueling purposes and then the race was resumed.

Cummins finished third behind Stanbrough and Gardner. Ricky Williams was fourth and Ballou finished fifth. The second five included Blake Fitzpatrick, Ty Deckard, Chase Stockon, Chase Briscoe, and Jonathan Vennard. Fitzpatrick was one of the drivers who was able to steer out of a troubling situation when he completed a 360 in turn four and continued. Fitzpatrick also earned the MSCS Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger Award. Chase Briscoe had the highest finish of the rookies present. Adam Nigg was the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award Winner. The MSCS Rookie finished 11th in the A-Main after improving upon a last place starting position for his qualifying heat.

Fourteen cars finished the feature on the lead lap. Twenty-eight drivers had started the 30 lap main. The three qualifying heat races were won by Stanbrough, Jon Sciscoe, and Robert Ballou. A B-Main was not held. Elements of the rain from the day before were still present and time was needed to prepare and maintain the track Sunday. Sunday became the fourth attempt to run the race. Saturday the show was rained out before hot laps. Twenty nine drivers were on hand each day.

The first lap of the feature brought out the first red flag. An accident sent cars tumbling down the backstretch reducing the field by 5 cars. Damaged cars included those driven by Jamie Frederickson, J.T. Stapp, Ron Gerhardt, Marc Arnold, and Craig Budde. Red flags were also needed twice later for separate flips in turn two. Brandon Mattox and Aric Gentry were the two drivers involved. Gentry was transported to Regional Hospital for an evaluation. In total there were at least three red flags thrown plus five caution periods for spins or debris.

The next event on the schedule for the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series will be on June 27th at the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, IL. It is a quarter mile facility with $2,000 going to the winner.

By Eldon Butcher
[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Haubstadt, IN - June 6, 2006. Brady Short emerged as the victor in a hotly contested main event Saturday night at the Tri-State Speedway. It was the annual KISS/MSCS 30 lap Match-up that was made to order for racing excitement. The race became a three way battle for supremacy over the last 13 laps. Blake Fitzpatrick used every inch of the quarter miles track circumference to keep both Short and Bryan Clauson at bay until the 27th circuit. Fitzpatrick was in a continual fight to keep control of his machine with the walls virtually closing in. It would be contact with the wall in turn two that would cost him a victory. Brady Short blasted by as Fitzpatrick recovered along the backstretch to finish third. Clauson kept the pressure on and was still looking for a clear shot to get past Short as the two crossed the finish line. Clauson would remain second.

Brady Short drove the Don Short owned Maxim sponsored by Indiana Stoneworks and powered by a Spec Engine. The victory lane ceremony marked an opportunity to pay tribute to the late Mike Cunningham whose family had contributed $2,200 in his name to increase the overall purse for the race. Shorts victory was worth $3,000. Winning was Just Awesome! The victory came in his first attempt at the track this year. He started fourth on the 20 car field. Short had missed the MSCS season opener at Tri-State in May due to a wedding in the family.

The top five for the feature included Hud Cone who placed fourth and Nic Faas who ran fifth. The second five included Robert Ballou, Ricky Williams, Jeff Bland Jr., Matt Goodnight, and Kyle Robbins. Robbins improved 8 spots to be the MSCS Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race. Jonathan Hendrick finished just outside the top ten to become the winner of the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award. Cone, Fitzpatrick, and Ryan Kaplan won the heat races for the 28 entries.

Ryan Kaplan ran strong. He led the first half of the feature before contact in lapped traffic sent him to the pits with a damaged car. A red flag on the first lap of the feature brought about a complete restart. Four cars were removed from the track after a multiple crash in turn three. Kyle Cummins, Ron Gerhardt, Kevin Thomas Jr., and Brandon Mattox would miss the restart.

MSCS rookie Chase Briscoe won the B-main. Jonathan Hendrick was second. Only five of the 11 starters would finish the 12 lap event. All five would transfer to the feature. Jon Stanbrough was actually leading the B-main when a rear tire shredded on his sprint. He kept the car on all fours but missed a last chance opportunity to make the starting field for the feature as a result. His only remaining chance would have been to start as an alternate if one would have been needed.

The MSCS Sprints move on to the Terre Haute Action Track for the Don Smith Classic which is scheduled for June 13th. That is a Saturday with hop laps to get underway at 4 P.M. Two weeks later MSCS will run at the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, IL. That show is on June 27th.

By Eldon Butcher
[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Jacksonville, IL - June 5, 2009. The Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series made its first stop of the season at the Morgan County Speedway Friday night. Casey Shuman of Indianapolis, IN. took the victory with his first MSCS appearance of the season. Shuman led wire to wire in the 30 lap feature. The victory could have not been more timely to the Barnhill Racing Team and its driver. An accident the week before had car owner Eric Barnhill and crew busy rebuilding during the work week. The win on Friday night at Jacksonville was worth $3,000. It was the first of three consecutive $3,000 to win MSCS shows scheduled to be held which includes the upcoming June 13th MSCS visit to the Terre Haute Action Track.

Kyle Cummins placed second in the feature. He was a presence during the entire distance after starting fourth on the field. Shuman and Cummins had also ran one-two in the first qualifying heat race. It would be Shumans night as he hit the mark on every restart and stayed in control. Hud Cone spent the entire race going forward. After starting 7 rows deep in the pack he was up to third and still moving at the checkers. Cone was the MSCS Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger of the Race. A last corner pass brought Bret Tripplett around in fourth ahead of Blake Fitzpatrick.

The other two preliminary heat races were won by Craig Budde and Hunter Schuerenberg. Budde spent the feature race battling for position in the largest pack of cars that formed behind the leaders and he finished tenth. Schuerenberg had already encountered mechanical concerns. Nic Faas, J.C. Bland, Adam Nigg, and J.C. Bland finished sixth through ninth. Gary Altig finished 11th - the first car a lap down - and was the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award Winner.

Two red flags were needed for the feature. On lap four Ricky Williams flipped end for end in turn one in an accident that also involved Korey Weyant. A single car flip on lap 16 took Terry Babb for a wild ride down the front stretch and then into the exit lane. Caution flags appeared twice. One was for a spin by Brandon Mattox and a second was needed as Mitch Wissmillers car came to a stop on the backstretch with a tire problem.

As a result of the nights racing Kyle Cummins took over the MSCS points lead and became the third different driver to lead the points this year. Cummins is now looking at the possibility of a third consecutive MSCS Sprint Car title.

The MSCS Sprint Cars will be back at Morgan County Speedway on September 25th for the Shaheens Back From the Past event.

By Eldon Butcher
[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Haubstadt, IN. (May 24, 2009) The special Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series program scheduled for Tri-State Speedway Sunday night was cancelled due to rain. Rain began at the track some 90 minutes before the pit gates were set to open. The decision to cancel the Memorial Day Weekend show was made at 3:30 in the afternoon. The weather forecast offered nothing in the way of relief as a slow moving storm system had already blanketed the area. Several early arrivals were already lined up to enter the pits but the trip to the track this time would end in disappointment. Mother Nature was in control! There would be no racing. . . . . .

The next event at Tri-State Speedway is on Saturday night June 6th. That night the King of Indiana Sprint Series will visit the Haubstadt oval. The MSCS Sprinters will also be racing. Fans will see the best drivers following both circuits battle it out for a $2,500 first place prize. Drivers racing that night will receive valuable KISS points. The race is the fifth of six to be held in Indiana. Drivers with MSCS licenses or permits will receive MSCS show-up & bonus points. A number of drivers are involved in both pursuits!

The next event for the MSCS Sprints is set for Friday night June 5th at the Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, IL. This is the night before the KISS-MSCS race at Tri-State and provides for the first weekend where two MSCS races are to be held this season. Morgan County and Tri-State are both quarter mile ovals. The feature in Illinois on Friday night will pay $3,000 to win.

MSCS does not have any races scheduled for the last weekend of May. The month of June in total offers four races. Two additional dates include the June 13th make-up date at the Terre Haute Action Track and a June 27th appearance at the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, IL.

MSCS News, Information and Publicity / ERB

Union, KY. (May 16, 2009) Chris Windom of Canton, IL, won the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car feature Saturday night at the Florence Speedway. Windom was behind the wheel of the Windom Motorsports Maxim owned by Preston Windom and wrenched by Jeff Walker. The Claxton powered sprinter is sponsored by Central Abrasives and Jeffs Jam it In Storage. It was MSCS career victory number two for the 18 year old driver.

The 25 lap feature was Windoms to win after the 15th lap. He had started on the pole but it was Nic Faas, to his outside on the first row, that would take the initial lead. Both had won qualifying heat races. The engine in Faas car flamed out after 5 laps and he parked it on the infield crossover road. Brady Short grabbed the lead on the restart. He led 9 fast laps before giving way to Chris Windom with Kyle Cummins challenging.

Only one factor remained as the finish neared. That was Robert Ballous late race charge. Ballou moved into second on the 21st lap. Windom and Ballou both went topside with lapped cars producing the next challenge. Although Ballou closed in no real opportunity presented itself. Windom and Ballou crossed the finish line one- two with one lapped car still in the mix.

Two time MSCS Champion Kyle Cummins would finish third after running with the frontrunners all night. Brady Short was fourth and Dickie Gaines was fifth. Short and Gaines were making their first MSCS appearances of the season. Jerry Coons Jr. paced the second five. Bub Cummings was seventh.

A couple of determined veterans were making time back in the pack. Dave Darland would earn the Keizer Aluminum Wheels MSCS Hard Charger of the Race by driving from a 20th starting spot to 9th. Damion Gardner, who finished eighth, started back in the ninth row. The two were involved in a multi car second heat, second turn crash that prevented either from obtaining a higher starting spot for the main. Instead of restarting, the cars were taken to the pits for repairs needed before the feature.

During the feature one red flag was displayed on lap 3 for an incident involving 3 cars in the third turn. The one driven by Kyle Wissmiller rolled over. The reinstituted MSCS work area rule was put to use with several cars requiring service. The feature also had two caution periods. The first yellow flag had been brought out as Faas slowed. The second came out when Hud Cone spun. Hud was able to restart and finished tenth. From lap seven on it was all green flag racing. Rookie Brandon Mattox of Terre Haute, IN, finished eleventh and earned the Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award. ____________________

The next event on the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car schedule this season will be the Memorial Day Weekend card at Tri-State Speedway. The feature to be held there on Sunday night May 24th pays $3,000 to win. The UMP Open Wheel Modifieds are also on the race card.

by Eldon Butcher

[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Haubstadt, IN. (May 9, 2009) Levi Jones of Olney, IL, took the season opening race for the Hoosier Tire Midwest Sprint Car Series Saturday night at the Tri-State Speedway. The 30 lap feature evolved into a terrific contest up front and on back through the top ten.

Jones took the lead on lap 28 in what had developed into a three way battle with Nic Faas and Chris Windom. Faas actually led the vast majority of the race. That is after Bryan Clauson, who led the first 4 laps, flipped and engaged the wall in turn one. As the remaining lap count became short, Jones closed in and found racing room at the bottom in the turns. Levis mastery of turns three and four paid off.

The win was worth $2,000 to Levi Jones and car owner Jeff Walker. Jones even pulled a wheel stand while fending off Chris Windom at the finish line. Windom was second with Faas then finishing third. Blake Fitzpatrick finished fourth in a solid run. Ricky Williams finished fifth after some wheel to wheel racing between five different competitors.

A jubilant crew greeted Jones as the driver emerged from the sprint car at the finish line. Driver and car owner shared the microphone. Both expressed a broad view that encompassed more than the victory just achieved. Levi first indicated the obvious in that the win definitely wasnt easy. Walker recollected first putting Levi in one of his cars at Haubstadt. Levi has run off and on for me since he was 18 years old. Levi recalled another time when he attended Tri-State Speedway as a fan. I remember coming here to watch Chuck Amati when I was 8 years old. A special and moving memorial tribute had been paid to Chuck Amati during opening ceremonies.

The remainder of the top ten in the feature included Kyle Wissmiller, Danny Holtsclaw, Kyle Cummins, Ty Deckard, and Brandon Mattox. Mattox is one of the candidates for this years Gross Enterprises Rookie of the Year Award. Deckards drive up from 19th at the start earned him the MSCS Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hardcharger of the Race Award. Eleventh on the field was Bub Cummings. Cummings was the race Wilwood Tuff Brakes Award Winner.

The feature was not trouble free. At the very start Hunter Schuerenberg was bumped from behind flattening a tire and ending his chances for the evening. There was a red flag on lap three when Jeff Bland Jr. flipped on the front stretch. The only other red flag was for Clausons accident. Damage to cars driven by Hud Cone and Chase Stockon resulted somewhere behind that wreck and both retired their cars from the race. A late race yellow when Ryan Kaplan spun tightened the field a last time.

In preliminary action Kurt Gross won the B-Main which included 17 hopeful drivers. Thirty-six cars were in competition during the evening. The four heat races were won by Levi Jones, Bryan Clauson, Nic Faas, and Chris Windom.

The next race for the Midwest Sprint Car Series is set for Saturday May 16th at Florence Speedway in Union, KY. The feature that night will also pay $2,000 to win. The MSCS Sprints will return to Tri-State Speedway on May 24th. That date is on Memorial Day Weekend and will be a Sunday night event.

By Eldon Butcher

[SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS RACE]

Applications can be found on line at www.mscssprints.com or obtained by contacting MSCS by phone at 812-749-9715 and providing a mailing address to which the application form can be sent.

Drivers will be able to purchase licenses at the track when the season gets underway on May 2nd and at subsequent races all season. Drivers competing in MSCS sanctioned races must hold a current license at the time of the race or purchase a license for the $50 fee at the track. The only alternative would be the purchase of a $25 temporary permit which is good only the night of the race.

An annual license purchased in advance of the season is the most economical and convenient method for a driver to use in making preparations to run the 16 race MSCS schedule during 2009. Licenses will be mailed to drivers within 7 to 10 days following the receipt of the application and payment.

[ CLICK HERE TO FIND A COPY OF A 2009 MSCS LICENSE APPLICATION ]

Provided by MSCS Information & Publicity

Updated July 2, 2009