August 2, 2020: In what has been a difficult year for many series trying to schedule sprint car racing, there is a new light on the horizon in August! The Midwest Power Series has been working to replace some of the dates lost to COVID-19, and now in conjunction with the MSTS 360s and Nebraska 360s, there are two new dates on the calendar. Three of the best regional series in the country will come together for two big dates at two different tracks in the region in August.
On August 21, the spotlight will shine on Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, IA. Midwest Power Series has never raced at the Northwest Iowa track, but MSTS has been there 19 total times in series history including two times already in 2020. Those shows were won by current Midwest Power Series point leader Jack Dover and most recently Terry McCarl. Lee Grosz currently holds the record for most MSTS wins in Rocky with 4. The Nebraska 360s have been invited to join with the MPS/MSTS tandem at Rock Rapids. The Omaha-area based group has not raced at the Lyon County Fairgrounds, although many of their drivers have experience there.
Moving on to Saturday, the two-day swing will come to another first-time track for the Midwest Power Series. Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, SD will host the winged sprint cars. For Park Jefferson, this will serve as a make up date for a previously rained-out event in May, but management at Park Jefferson extended an offer to add the Midwest Power Series to the card along with the MSTS and Nebraska 360s. While MPS has never ventured into the Siouxland to race, the MSTS has a long history of partnering with Nebraska 360s in the Siouxland. MSTS has partnered with Nebraska 360s 13 times since the Siouxland race track re-opened in 2014, with Jack Dover winning nearly half of those features at six.
At both events will feature a $2,000-to-win purse at minimum. That has the potential to grow with additional sponsorship contributions. On top of that if one driver can “sweep” the weekend and win both features, that driver will take home an extra $2,000 bonus courtesy of GRP Motorsports. As far as 360 sprint car racing goes in 2020, this is the type of purse that has to potential to draw cars to the area and make for very competitive racing!
Jack Dover has been the driver to watch in the upper Midwest so far this season. He currently leads the MPS points standings, winning the most recent event at I-90 Speedway in Hartford, SD. which was a successful joint venture with the MSTS . Justin Henderson sits second in points followed by Brooke Tatnell, Eric Lutz, and Derrik Lusk. In MSTS action, Sioux Falls native Eric Lutz currently leads the standings. His lead is slim, with Jack Dover sitting in second, Justin Jacobsma third, and Ryan Bickett fourth. The top four are separated by less than 50 points, and Jody Rosenboom sits fifth only 56 points out of the top spot. In the NE 360s, it’s largely the same story. The series has only been able to race 4 times, but Jack Dover leads the points standings over Lee Grosz and Seth Brahmer. It is conceivable that Jack Dover could win all three series points standings should scheduling allow, an unprecedented feat.