HOLLY, Mich. – The final countdown to the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series season kickoff has begun, with the asphalt 410ci winged sprint car tour set to invade the Carolinas next weekend.
The seventh-annual Southern Shootout will take place April 20-21, opening the ninth full-time season for Must See Racing as a touring series since its beginnings in 2010.
South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedway and North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway will again play host to the winged warriors of Must See Racing as the top asphalt sprint car drivers in the country do battle for 100 laps over the course of the two-day weekend.
Anderson’s three-eighths-mile returns to the series schedule for the third year running, while Hickory prepares for its fourth-straight spring Must See Racing feature dating back to 2015 and its fifth overall.
Three-time defending series champion Jimmy McCune swept the Southern Shootout features for the second year in a row last season, kicking off his third-straight title run on the strength of eight wins and taking sole possession of the record for the most victories (24) in series history.
The Southern Shootout will also serve as a battleground for Must See Racing, as both the series’ North and South divisions will open their seasons during the weekend in a combined championship kickoff that pits the winged warriors of the Midwest against the sprint car stars of the Southeast.
With rules in place that allow both 410ci and 360ci motors to be competitive and contend for feature wins, the stage will be set for a battle of the titans in both Anderson and Hickory’s 50-lap main events.
Among the big names that have pre-entered for the Southern Shootout are Jimmy McCune, his nephew and former series rookie of the year Anthony McCune, National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Jeff Bloom, two-time Little 500 champion Jacob Wilson, past MSA supermodified titlist Charlie Schultz and southern regular Johnny Bridges.
Aaron Pierce will return to the series on a regular basis this year after time away in other series over the past two years, while Florida sprint car stars Shane Butler and John Inman will travel north to try their hands with the series in the Carolinas for the first time.
Father-son combination Bronzie Lawson III and Bronzie Lawson IV will also be in action both nights, with the younger Lawson set to tackle the full Must See Racing schedule this year after winning rookie of the year honors last season.
The Southern Shootout will feature a fast time bonus of $100 to the night’s quick qualifier in both programs, with an additional $100 on the line if that driver breaks the track record.
In addition, Must See Racing will continue as the only asphalt sprint car series in the country to offer heat race payouts, with bonuses going to the top-three finishers in each heat race as part of its season-long contingency sponsor awards.
