Must See Racing Announces Partial 2018 Calendar
HOLLY, Mich. — The Must See Racing Sprint Car Series presented by Engine Pro has revealed the majority of its 2018 racing schedule, featuring many of the tour’s traditional race dates and a brand-new venue that is joining the series for the first time.
Next year, Must See Racing will kick off its schedule with the seventh-annual Southern Shootout, which returns to Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway and Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway for the third-consecutive season on April 20-21.
The two-day weekend will serve as the season-opener for both the Must See Racing North and South divisions.
The Must See Racing Northern division will then contest its first standalone event at Birch Run Speedway in Birch Run, Mich. on May 11, with the four-tenths-mile oval hosting a points event for the first time after a successful non-points race in 2017.
The Birch Run race will be followed up by a second race at a to-be-announced venue on May 12, making for an early doubleheader weekend for Must See Racing’s Midwest-based core race teams.
Then, pavement sprint cars from across the country will convene at the quarter-mile Anderson (Ind.) Speedway during Memorial Week for the MSR-sanctioned, non-points Pay Less Little 500, set for May 26.
A second to-be-announced venue will host the series on June 9, followed by a big-money race at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway on June 23. Featuring the series for the first time ever, Jennerstown’s half-mile will play host to a $4,000-to-win event for Must See Racing, creating a cornerstone stop on the series’ mid-summer stretch.
Must See Racing North teams will make their first of two stops at Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Mich. just prior to Independence Day week, with the June 30 show traditionally serving up can’t-miss action on the three-eighths-mile, semi-banked oval.
That event will be followed up by the series’ second appearance at Midvale Speedway in New Philadelphia, Ohio, with the ‘Thunder in the Valley’ featuring the MSR sprint cars at the three-tenths-mile bullring on July 14.
Another traditional doubleheader weekend will close the summer stretch, with Madison Int’l Speedway returning to the MSR calendar for the third-straight season on July 27 and a stop at Rockford (Ill.) Speedway on July 28 completing the twinbill and helping to reduce travel costs for teams over the two-day haul.
The month of August will see MSR teams return to Owosso on Aug. 4, the first race of three straight weekends of competition, with the series also making a repeat stop in Anderson, Ind., on Aug. 11 before a to-be-announced event closes the stretch of five races in four weeks on Aug. 19.
The MSR Championships will return to historic Hickory Motor Speedway for the second-straight year, closing the series season on Nov. 16-17 and marking a joint, season-ending weekend for both the North and South division teams.
The Hickory event will wrap up the points-paying portion of the year and crown both division champions in an action-packed two-day weekend event.
Additional dates for the Must See Racing South division will be revealed at a later date.
Both the North and South divisions will be again be independent of each other, with both divisions offering separate points funds, multiple contingency awards and cash bonuses for competing drivers.
In addition, Must See Racing will offer heat race payouts to the top three positions in every heat race for the second year in a row, as well as a fast time bonus of $100, awarded to the top qualifier at every event during the season.
“We are very pleased and excited to be able to announce the majority of our 2018 season this early, allowing race teams, drivers and fans maximum opportunity to make travel plans and prepare for what we hope is going to be another great year of racing,” said Must See Racing Founder and President Jim Hanks. “The enthusiasm of our passionate race fans and race teams ahead of the 2018 season has been defined by the addition of yet another new track in Jennerstown Speedway and the entertaining shows our drivers have put on in the past year. All of us at Must See Racing are proud of the schedule we’ve assembled and we’re eagerly anticipating another year of wheel-to-wheel, record-breaking competition.”
Must See Racing Sprint Car Series Schedule
April 20 — Anderson Motor Speedway — Williamston, S.C.
April 21 — Hickory Motor Speedway — Hickory, N.C.
May 11 — Birch Run Speedway — Birch Run, Mich
May 12 — TBA — TBA
May 26 — Anderson Speedway (Pay Less Little 500, non points) — Anderson, Ind.
June 9 — TBA — TBA
June 23 — Jennerstown Speedway — Jennerstown, Pa.
June 30 — Owosso Speedway — Ovid, Mich.
July 14 — Midvale Speedway — New Philadelphia, Ohio
July 27 — Madison Int’l Speedway — Oregon, Wis.
July 28 — Rockford Speedway — Rockford, Ill.
Aug. 4 — Owosso Speedway — Ovid, Mich.
Aug. 11 — Anderson Speedway — Anderson, Ind.
Aug. 18 — TBA — TBA
Nov. 16-17 — Hickory Motor Speedway — Newton, N.C.
Sources: Jacob Seelman/Must See Racing Sprint Car Series PR
CSP/Chris Seelman photo