4/1/2017
Midwest Power Equipment & GRP Motorsports Team Up For 9 Race Series
For the past two seasons, a certain number of races on the UMSS winged sprint car division schedule have been used to determine the Midwest Power Equipment Series champion while the majority of the races have been used to determine the GRP Motorsports High Five UMSS Series Champion. In 2017, Midwest Power Equipment and GRP Motorsports will team up at nine races on the 2017 UMSS schedule to determine the Midwest Power Equipment/GRP Motorsports Series Champion.
Chris Graf of Glencoe, Minnesota will return in 2017 in his bid to earn a third Midwest Power Series title. Graf, who is also sponsored by Midwest Power Equipment and GRP Motorsports, will be gunning for the $2,000 top prize for the champion in the planned nine race series. The nine races, which will feature standard UMSS rules, will include the inaugural appearance at Britt, Iowa on June 30, the July 8 show at the Cedar Lake Speedway during the World of Outlaws weekend, the 6th Annual Davey Tabor Memorial at the Ogilvie Raceway on July 22, the return to Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids on August 18, the 2nd Annual East vs. West showdown at the Madison Speedway on August 19, the first-ever appearance at the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa on August 26, the 17th Annual Richert Memorial at the Cedar Lake Speedway on September 9, the September 15 show at Spencer, Iowa, and the final event known as the UMSS Sponsor Challenge at the Deer Creek Speedway on Saturday night September 16.
Each of the nine series races will be pay at least $1,500 to win thanks to some sponsorship help from Midwest Power Equipment and GRP Motorsports. A few of the events will pay more than that. The final at Deer Creek Speedway will pay a minimum of $2,500 to win with the potential of $5,000 to win. Points for the nine races will be calculated using the standard UMSS feature race point system. No races will be thrown out. Should the weather cancel one or more events, the series title will be determined using the remaining races. Point fund money from GRP Motorsports will see the top five receive $2,000, $1,200, $700, $600 and $500 respectively. Greg Parent, of GRP Motorsports, has been providing point fund money for the UMSS series for several seasons. "This season I wanted to do something on the order of what I did back in 2010 with my Sweet Sixteen Bonus. Randy at Midwest Power agreed to expand his series of races and we teamed up for nine shows to help add some money and some extra exposure. I'm looking forward to the entire season but especially those nine shows," stated GRP.
Randy Grages from Midwest Power Equipment has indicated that he expects some Knoxville, Jackson, Sprint Invader and other area cars to participate in a few of the shows, as all 360 sprints are welcome and typically would have no problems meeting UMSS rules. Several cars in previous years that only occasionally run with the UMSS have popped in and picked up feature wins in the Midwest Power Series. The final three shows on the schedule also have the IRA 410 Outlaw Sprints on the program, and several teams have already inquired with Randy about bringing both their 410 and 360 sprints to those shows. Make plans to attend one or more of the races in this exciting series, as Midwest Power Equipment and GRP Motorsports team up in 2017.
2017 Midwest Power Equipment/GRP Motorsports Series Schedule:
June 30 - Hancock County Speedway (Britt, IA)
July 8 - Cedar Lake Speedway w/WoO Sprints
July 22 - Ogilvie Raceway (6th Annual Davey Tabor Memorial)
August 18 - Granite City Speedway (Sauk Rapids, MN)
August 19 - Madison Speedway (Madison, MN)
August 26 - Upper Iowa Speedway (Decorah, IA)
September 9 - Cedar Lake Speedway (17th Annual Richert Memorial) w/IRA Sprints
September 15 - Clay County Fair Speedway w/IRA Sprints
September 16 - Deer Creek Speedway w/IRA Sprints
Previous Midwest Power Equipment Series Champions:
2015 - Chris Graf
2016 - Chris Graf
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
