September 9, 2020: The Dekalb/Asgrow Midwest Power Series presented by GRP Motorsports returns to racing and returns to the state of Wisconsin this coming Saturday, September 12!
The Jerry Richert Sr. Memorial has been called one of the “hidden gems” of the sprint car racing scene in the upper Midwest, and this season the event will be run for the 20th time. The IRA Bumper to Bumper sprints will headline the evening, and the Midwest Power Series will run in support of the IRA as they have each season since 2015. 360 sprint cars have run as a support division in the Richert Memorial since 2009, with racers like Justin Henderson, Brooke Tatnell, Ryan Bowers, and Carson McCarl scoring victories. A marquee event comes with a marquee purse, and this year proves that true once again. The 360 sprint cars will run for a whopping $3,000 to win, and through sponsorship donations collected by the Richert family $50 will be added to the final 12 spots making it $350 to start. There are contingency prizes to go along with that purse, as heat race winners will score $100 for their efforts courtesy of Broty Racing Engines, and GRP Motorsports will award the driver who passes the most cars in the main event an extra $150. A random draw will also take place for a right rear Hoosier tire to be awarded to one of the competitors.
The Midwest Power Series has a great history at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Saturday will be the 11th feature contested at the Western Wisconsin track by the Midwest Power Series, second most only to the Jackson Motorplex. The first MPS race held at Cedar Lake was on September 12, 2015 (exactly five years to the day of this event) with Justin Henderson picking up the win. Only two drivers have won multiple features at the facility with the series; those being Ryan Bowers who won the Richert memorial in 2017 and another race in July of 2018, and Wade Nygaard who won in May and July last year. Other drivers to have won are Carson McCarl, Derrik Lusk, Jamey Ogston, Bill Balog, and Brooke Tatnell. While many have tried, no driver has been able to win both the 360 & 410 features in the same season.
As far as the points standings go, Justin Henderson has a decent lead in the points coming into the final three events. Henderson has picked up four wins on the season, both double-header weekend sweeps earlier in 2020. His lead over Jack Dover is currently 113 points, but that figures to change as Dover is set to race in his home state of Nebraska this weekend. Eric Lutz sits in third in the standings, just four points behind Dover, with Gregg Bakker and Derrik Lusk rounding out the top five. If Henderson has a strong performance Saturday, it could go a long ways in deciding the 2020 Midwest Power Series Championship.
Track Facts:
Cedar Lake Speedway is a short 3/8ths mile clay oval just outside New Richmond, Wisconsin. The facility hosts two of the most prestigious late model events annually along with high profile sprint car and modified events as well. You can find them online at www.cedarlakespeedway.com.
To keep up with news, schedules, points, and anything else Midwest Power Series related you can visit midwestpowerseries.myracepass.com. You can also find us on social media at www.facebook.com/MidwestPowerSeries or twitter.com/MidwestPowerSer.
Series wins at Cedar Lake:
Ryan Bowers 2: Sept. 9, 2017; July 7, 2018
Wade Nygaard 2: May 4, 2019; July 6, 2019
Justin Henderson 1: Sept 12, 2015
Carson McCarl 1: Sept. 10, 2016
Derrik Lusk 1: July 8, 2017
Jamey Ogston 1: July 14, 2018
Bill Balog 1: Sept. 8, 2018
Brooke Tatnell 1: Sept. 7, 2019
The pits will open at 3pm, with grandstands at 5pm. Hot laps are slated to begin at 5:30.
- Austin Lloyd on Sep 09, 2020
- Article Date: 9/9/2020 by Austin Lloyd