I am excited to get this season up and running, I am sure you have been working long hours in your shop anticipating the first green flag, and better yet, your first checkered flag of 2012.

Milwaukee Mile June 12: Many of you showed interest in competing here, and let’s face it, as a youngster I, like most of you, dreamt of one day taking ‘my guys’ to The Mile. After talking to multiple promoters that have taken their similar Late Model class to the bigger stage in other regions, I think we have a program in place that will make this transition smooth. There will be a tech bulletin available in late April after we have further discussions at our Rockford Spring Classic event, outlining the safety and car guidelines we would like to see for this event. Also stay tuned for further details regarding guaranteed spots for weekly racers doing well at their home track and/or in Big 8 competition. The ASA Midwest Tour is also putting together a ticket bounce back program which will credit all of you for tickets sold to your family and fans.

Weekly Racing: Remember that in order to be eligible for the end of year awards including point fund checks and the Rookie of the Year, you must support weekly racing. This series is for weekly racers to be able to travel to a variety of tracks, racing under common rules and have FUN going head to head with top drivers from across the region.

Schedule in General: Putting together a schedule is a complicated process, with much work going into it each season. There were a lot of factors to work through including tire selection, track ownership changes and available dates. I tend to wait until all the details are in place to release a schedule, because there are few things that I dislike more than changing a date once it has been released. My hope is to continue building traditional dates which will simplify this process.

Big 8 Summer Nationals: Final details are being worked through, but the Summer Nationals will include the June 29 Madison International Speedway, July 3 La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and July 12 State Park Speedway events. Look for an announcement in the near future.

Big 8 All-Stars: This will be a non-points event contested at Elko Speedway in Minnesota. Madison has been a strong supporter of the Big 8 concept since day one and I did not want to schedule an event against their Fall Classic. Elko has also been supportive of the Big 8 concept, therefore we will take between 8-12 (non-MIS) top Big 8 and weekly feature winners to Elko. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in being a part of this Sept 21-22 event in Elko, MN, part of the 4th annual Thunderstruck 93 which will feature our Invitational alongside the ASA Midwest Tour and Mid-American Stock Cars. I think you will like the format and payout.

Return to Goodyear: The Goodyear Short Track Special 2862/2863 tire will provide the best combination for the tracks we compete at, it has proven to be a reliable tire (Big 8 utilized this tire 2004-2009) and they appear to have solved the supply issues that hampered our relationship with them. We will use this tire at Milwaukee, it is constructed from the same casing used at Loudon, NH by the ACT Tour.

IL Stock Car HOF: The inaugural induction ceremony which includes former Rockford Speedway and ARTGO Challenge Series Champion Joe Shear, will take place on Saturday April 14 (after Spring Classic Practice) at Forest Hills Lodge, adjacent to Rockford Speedway. The Social Hour begins at 5pm with Dinner at 6pm, the ceremony will follow dinner. For ticket information visit: http://illinoisvintageracing.com/pdfs/HOFbanquet_01.pdf

See you at the Races!
Gregg McKarns 815-633-0035