8/4/2014
22nd Annual Kouba Memorial Features UMSS Winged and Traditional Sprints
The Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) once again is proud to be associated with the prestigious 22nd Annual Earl & Ethel Kouba Memorial races. The 2014 edition of this event will feature both the UMSS winged and Traditional non-winged sprint cars in action at the Princeton Speedway on Friday August 15 and at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Saturday August 16. This will be the first year that both UMSS sprint car divisions will be featured at the Kouba Memorial. The Friday night show at the Princeton Speedway will be the Ethel Kouba Memorial race while the Saturday night program at the St. Croix Valley Raceway will be the Earl Kouba Memorial race. Each division will run a full program each night.
The Friday night Ethel Kouba Memorial Feature at Princeton will pay $1,200 to win for the UMSS winged sprints and $500 to win for the UMSS Traditional non-winged sprints with a combined total purse in excess of $9,300. The UMSS winged sprints are scheduled to run their usual double-round of qualifying races unless time constraints, due to the track curfew, become a factor. The UMSS Traditional sprints will run their normal heat races and feature. Several members of the Kouba family are expected to compete in the Traditional sprint car portion of the program including Jimmy Kouba, Jake Kouba, Joseph Kouba and Anna Kouba. Anna will do double duty, racing in the winged sprint car division as well.
On Saturday at the St. Croix Valley Raceway, the UMSS will utilize their usual double-round of qualifying races while the Traditional sprints run their heats and feature. The Earl Kouba Memorial Feature on Saturday night will pay $2,400 to win for the UMSS winged spritns and $400 to win for the UMSS Traditional non-winged sprints with a combined total purse in excess of $14,400.
Joe Kouba and Jimmy Kouba along with their sister Judy Kouba-Dominick have been instrumental in putting together and continuing the outstanding tradition of honoring and celebrating their parents and their long-standing ties to the sport of sprint car and midget auto racing by presenting the Kouba Memorial each year. Joe Kouba expressed his thoughts by stating, "The Kouba Memorial is a spectacular race with a storied tradition here in our area. The Kouba family is looking forward to holding our annual event at both the Princeton Speedway and St. Croix Valley Raceway. It's going to be a memorable two nights of open wheel racing." The UMSS winged sprints also race at KRA Raceway in Willmar on Thursday, August 14, giving the winged warriors three straight nights of racing.
The list of previous winners of the Kouba Memorial reads like a who's who in Upper Midwest area sprint car racing. Dating back to the first event held in 1993, there have only been two repeat winners in the 21 year history of this long-standing event. Past champions include Dean Brown, Curt Lund, Kent Winters, Donny Schatz, Tony Norem, Spike Lempelius, Brian Schnee, Jimmy Kouba, Roger Rager, Jake Peters, Matt Folstad, Dustin Lindquist, Chuck Swenson, Billy Balog, Lee Grosz, Jerry Richert Jr, Brad Barickman, Brooke Tatnell and Lou Kennedy, Jr. The only repeat winners are Jimmy Kouba, as he won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001 at the Princeton Speedway and Brooke Tatnell, who has won back-to-back titles in 2012 & 2013. A total of five different tracks have hosted the event including Jackson Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Princeton Speedway, North Central Speedway and St. Croix Valley Raceway.
The Kouba family always does a great job at securing additional sponsorship money for their annual memorial. With a strong base purse courtesy of Princeton Speedway and St. Croix Valley Raceway, contributions from Bevlor Utilities, D & D Motorsports, Donnohue Designs, Frattalone Companies, Gillund Enterprises/ JB Distributing, GRP Motorsports, Jim & Jamie Kouba, JKD Communications, Joe & Kathy Kouba, Judy Kouba Dominick, Leigh Thomas Construction, Mastell Bros. Trailer Sales, Ogsten Auto Body and Paint, Protofab Engineering, Rice Creek Building and Remodeling Inc, Tom Hagen Construction, Trondson Engines, Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series, and Viking Paints Inc. will see a strong payout. The feature race purses are posted below. Please contact Joe Kouba at 612-751-4646 or email him at JRKracer@aol.com for further information regarding the 22nd Annual Kouba Memorial.
Friday Night Ethel Kouba Memorial Feature (UMSS Winged Sprints): 1. $1200, 2. $800, 3. $550, 4. $500, 5. $450, 6. $350, 7. $325, 8. $300, 9. $275, 10. $250, 11-20. $200.
Friday Night Ethel Kouba Memorial Feature (UMSS Traditional Sprints): 1. $500, 2. $400, 3. $300, 4. $250, 5. $200, 6. $175, 7. $150, 8. $150, 9. $125, 10. $115, 11. $110, 12. $110, 13-20. $100.
Saturday Night Earl Kouba Memorial Feature (UMSS Winged Sprints): 1. $2400, 2. $1200, 3. $1000, 4. $800, 5. $700, 6. $575, 7. $500, 8. $425, 9. $400, 10. $350, 11. $340, 12. $330, 13. $330, 14. $320, 15. $310, 16. $310, 17. $310, 18-22. $300.
Saturday Night Earl Kouba Memorial Feature (UMSS Traditional Sprints): 1. $400, 2. $250, 3. $200, 4. $150, 5. $125, 6. $125, 7-20. $100.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
