We are just over a month away from what should be a great season for 360 sprint car racing in the Upper-Midwest for the QualityFreightRate.com Midwest Power Series. 10 nights of racing are on the horizon, and we can't wait to get started. Headlining the 2023 season for the MPS will be three big nights at the Jackson Motorplex, a trip to the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, an action packed two nights at the Huset's Speedway, and the season closes with the Jerry Richert Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway.
The series has raced at one track more than any other, and that is the Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, MN. That will be no different in 2023, as the series is set to take on the 4/10ths of the mile Minnesota track three times this season. The season kick-off will come on Friday May 26th in Jackson and will feature the extremely popular “clean sweep bonus” between Jackson and Knoxville on May 27th, with the Motorplex hosting night 1. The next appearances in Jackson will come in July, with July 7th and July 28th on the schedule. The final night at Jackson will be during the Jackson County Fair with games, activities, and exhibits to be seen all around the fairgrounds. All events at Jackson will be joined by the MSTS 360s. Lee Grosz is the winningest driver in series competition at Jackson Motorplex with 3 to his credit. Aaron Reutzel, Chase Randall, and Christopher Thramm all picked up victories last season in Jackson.
As mentioned, Knoxville Raceway is again on the schedule for the series, finishing off the "Clean Sweep Bonus" weekend on May 27th. It will mark the 6th time the series has ventured to the Sprint Car Capitol of the World. Only Justin Henderson has won more than one feature there. he leads the way with 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr and Ian Madsen picked up the victories in Knoxville in 2022.
An MSTS doubleheader weekend takes center stage in June as Rapid Speedway and I-90 Speedway see the Midwest Power Series return on June 9th and 10th respectively. Friday, June 9 will see the series make it's way to the Lyon County Fairgrounds for the 5th time in series history. It was a season of first timers last year in Rocky, as Troy Schreurs and Kaleb Johnson both picked up their first career MPS wins last season. I-90 Speedway in Hartford, SD caps off the weekend on Saturday night. I-90 is always unpredictable, as 6 different winners have captured the 6 feature events in series history at the SD 3/8ths track.
Looking towards the Fall, the Bull Haulers Brawl is back on the schedule this season at Huset's Speedway Sept. 2nd & 3rd. Huset's is arguably the most action packed sprint car track in the country, and that proved true with two wild nights of action in 2022. In the end, the winningest driver all time in series history by an unbelievable margin, Justin Henderson, swept the two features.
The final event of 2023 is a familiar one, as the series again will race in support of the IRA at the Jerry Richert Memorial at the Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin. It is the 2nd most traveled to race track for the series, and in the 13 previous events we've seen 8 different winners. Predictably, Henderson leads the way with 4 wins inside the exciting yellow walls in New Richmond, WI.
There is one date on the calendar that is TBA, so keep an eye out for information on the July 8th event.
In addition to the MPS regular season, the series will support a great 3 day 410 sprint car weekend hitting the best race tracks in the area with bit money purses. Dubbed the "border battle weekend," 410 sprint cars will race for big money on June 16, 17, and 18. Jackson Motorplex will host the Friday night portion of the weekend for a cool $7,000 to win. The weekend will then turn south to Knoxville, IA and the Knoxville raceway for the 2nd leg and another $7,000 to win main event. Sunday night will see the sprint cars race at the famed Huset's Speedway for the final of three $7,000 to win features. Notice the weekend is positioned on the calendar right after a double header World of Outlaw weekend at Knoxville, and before the Huset's High Bank Nationals paying an eye-popping $250,000 to win. It's all set to be a dream 3 weeks of racing for 410 sprint car fans in the region. GRP motorsports and the Midwest Power series have signed on to pay an $800 bonus to all drivers competing at all three tracks on the border battle weekend.
Full 2023 schedule - tentative:
Friday, May 26th - Jackson Motorplex w/ MSTS
Saturday, May 27th - Knoxville Raceway
Friday, June 9th - Rapid Speedway w/ MSTS
Saturday, June 10th - I-90 Speedway w/ MSTS
Friday, July 7th - Jackson Motorplex w/ MSTS
Saturday, July 8th - TBA
Friday, July 28th - Jackson Motorplex w/ MSTS
Saturday, Sept. 2nd - Huset's Speedway w/ MSTS
Sunday, Sept 3rd - Huset's Speedway w/ MSTS
Saturday, Sept. 9 - Cedar Lake Speedway
- administrator on Apr 14, 2023
- Article Date: 4/14/2023 by Austin Lloyd