Rick Schmidt Memorial Takes Place at the “Horsepower Half-Mile” This Friday Night!
July 9, 2013; McHenry, IL – Fans looking for some Winged 410 Sprint Car action this weekend need look no further than the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints series. One of the most competitive regional sprint tours in the country the IRA Sprints will be heading to two very different tracks this weekend as part of an action packed double-header weekend.
It all begins with the 14th Annual Rick Schmidt Memorial race to be held Friday evening July 12th at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, WI.
Rick was formerly a competitor and a vice-president with the IRA and was instrumental in helping the IRA become a traveling series back in the early 1990’s. He would later turn the wheel over to his son Al, who would become a top ten competitor on the tour.
Last year the Rick Schmidt Memorial race ran 23 laps on the slightly banked half-mile clay oval in honor of Schmidt’s number 23. Justin Henderson won the contest after making a last lap pass on Scott Neitzel who had led the previous 22 circuits. Mike Reinke would reach the final podium spot earning a third place finish. Both Neitzel and Reinke are expected to participate in this season’s memorial event.
Mike Kertscher captured the A-main in the last appearance for the IRA Sprints last September and he is expected to make an attempt to keep that win streak alive. Nearly 30 participants are expected to be on hand for the contest.
In addition to the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints the popular Badger Modified tour will be presenting a full race program featuring the finest Modified racers in the Midwest.
The pit area will open at 3:00pm, with the grandstands opening at 5:00pm. The grandstands usually fill quickly and fans are encouraged to arrive as early for the best possible seating. Warm-up are set to begin at 6:00pm with qualifying and racing to follow.
The Dodge County Fairgrounds is located on highway 33, just 2 miles east of Beaver Dam and just west of highway 26. Adult admission for the event is just $20 for adults. A youth ticket for younger fans ages 6 through 12 is available for $5 and children five and under are admitted free.
The series then packs up and heads north, to the high-banked third-mile clay oval for the lone appearance of the IRA Sprints this season at Rice Lake Speedway on Saturday Night July 13th. Last year the stars of the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints would run the 30 lap main event from green to checker in just under seven minutes, with 20 of the 21 starters still on the racing surface at the conclusion of the contest.
Five-time and defending champion Bill Balog took home the victory that evening outrunning Brooke Tatnell and Phillip Mock. Tatnell who often competes on the World of Outlaws tour usually joins the IRA sprints when the series travels to northern Wisconsin as does two-time IRA champion Travis Whitney.
Along with the Sprints, a full program in the five other classes that race at Rice Lake, including the WISSOTA-sanctioned Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds, Super Stocks and Street Stocks along with the Rice Lake Pure Stocks will be in action.
The pits will open at 4:00 p.m. with the spectator gates being opened at 5:00 p.m. Sprint Car qualifying is slated for 6:30 p.m. with racing to follow.
The Rice Lake Speedway is located one mile north of Rice Lake Wisconsin midway between state highway 48 and Barron County SS. The track phone number is 715-236-2002 and more information can be obtained from co-owner Dave Adams at 715-205-2861. The speedway website provides more information at www.ricelakespeedway.net
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com or logging onto the series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/irasprints
The IRA Outlaw Sprint Series is proudly supported by Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts & Service Centers, Hoosier Tire, Osborn & Son Trucking, TW Metals, Onan, Carriage Auto Body, Polaris DEFENSE, and Mother's Polishes and Waxes. The office of the IRA Sprints can be reached at 815-759-9269 or by e-mail at steve@irasprints.com
- Jeffrey Sachse on Jul 09, 2013
- Article Date: 7/9/2013 by Jeffrey Sachse