HOLLY, Mich. – The final countdown to the 2017 season kickoff for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series has begun, with the ‘World’s Fastest Short Track Cars’ set to invade the Carolinas for the sixth-annual Southern Shootout, April 21-22.
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 second year running, while Hickory prepares for its third-straight Must See Racing feature dating back to 2015.
Two-time defending series champion Jimmy McCune swept the Southern Shootout features last year, kicking off a title run that included five wins and allowed him to tie Brian Gerster for the most victories (16) and championships (two) in series history.
But Gerster will be back and looking for redemption. He finished second to McCune at Anderson last year and set the all-time Hickory track record in time trials (12.072) before fading to fifth in the main.
“I really like Anderson Motor Speedway and (track owner) Sylvia Porter provides all of us with hospitality that’s second to none,” said Gerster, who like McCune is a two-time series champion. “It’s just a fun track to drive. I’m hopeful we can improve on last year while we dial in the new car.”
“As far as Hickory is concerned … last year we set fast time with a new track record and came close to that 11-second bracket, but getting down into it this year is a target on our radar screen. We want to improve on our feature finish, too, because it wasn’t what we’re accustomed to. The history of the track is great and it’s a lot of fun to meet new fans and introduce them to the racing that we do.”
The Fishers, Indiana native will also be returning to the track for the first time since a massive crash at Owosso (Mich.) Speedway last August destroyed his Dick Myers-prepared mount and ended his season prematurely.
“We’re really looking forward to competing again with Must See Racing and returning to our high performance standards as a team,” Gerster added. “Dick Myers, Rick Ferguson and myself enjoy racing the MSR schedule because of the two-night weekends, solid purses and keeps us busy while still affording us some off weekends to catch our breath.”
“I’m just ready to put last year behind me. That crash put a damper on the end of our year last year, but we’re back and I think we’re coming into this year better than we’ve ever been, so watch out for us in the Carolinas!”
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