MILLSTADT, Ill. (May 7, 2007) – Mike Hess is hoping for his third POWRi National Midget Car Series victory of the season Saturday at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. But this weekend, he’ll do it in a different car.
Having competed in the first three races of the young POWRi season in his own No. 51 machine, Hess will jump into Illinois driver Steve Knepper’s No. 55 machine. He’ll do it knowing he’ll race against the best POWRi has to offer, as well as some of the best the USAC National Midget Car Series regulars. It marks the first race the two sanctioning bodies will co-sanction in their history.
“This is a big weekend for us,” said Kenny Brown, co-founder of the POWRi series and an occasional driver. “It’s obviously early in the season, but we’ve got a pretty good point battle going on, and it should be no different when we run a combined race with USAC. This is our first co-sanctioned race with USAC, and to have co-sanctioned races will showcase the best drivers in the Midwest and the nation.”
Hess followed up April 22 at Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, Ill.) by taking the checkered flag first, and backed that up May 5 at Belle-Claire Speedway in Belleville, Ill. Hess currently owns 690 points heading into Saturday’s race, which also marks the first series race at the quarter-mile.
Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, Mo.) kicked the POWRi season off with a victory April 21 at Morgan County Speedway (Jacksonville, Ill.), and is currently tied for second in points with Brett Anderson (of Belleville). Each driver trails Hess by 140 points, as they have secured 550 points so far.
Tri-State Speedway promoter Tom Helfrich is also looking forward to the Midget race, the first his family has promoted since the 1980s.
“POWRi and USAC are two of the best Midget organizations in the United States,” said Helfrich, whose family is celebrating its 50th anniversary promoting races. “We’re expecting a great show between these two series.”
In addition to the National Midget race, POWRi’s 600cc Outlaw Micro Series will be in action, also for the first time at Tri-State Speedway. Tony Roney (Herculaneum, Mo.) has 960 points in the Micro Series, leading Dereck King (Vienna, Ill.) by 120 points. Third-place is Austin Laskey (Tulsa, Okla.), who owns 815 points. Brown expects more than 50 Micros to be present.
With two races in, Darren Hagen leads the USAC National Midget Car Series point standings. The race is the first of three Toyota Challenge races for USAC.
The POWRi Series, based out of the St. Louis, Mo. area, is in its third season of competition with two of levels of open-wheel racing. The National Midget Car Series currently travels around the Midwest with stops in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The series races exclusively on dirt and attracts some of the top Midget drivers in the nation week in and week out. The 600cc Outlaw Micro Sprints are a stepladder to the National Midgets, where younger drivers get experience before making the move to full Midgets.
For more information about POWRi, visit www.powri.com or contact Kenny Brown at 618-476-7526.
Having competed in the first three races of the young POWRi season in his own No. 51 machine, Hess will jump into Illinois driver Steve Knepper’s No. 55 machine. He’ll do it knowing he’ll race against the best POWRi has to offer, as well as some of the best the USAC National Midget Car Series regulars. It marks the first race the two sanctioning bodies will co-sanction in their history.
“This is a big weekend for us,” said Kenny Brown, co-founder of the POWRi series and an occasional driver. “It’s obviously early in the season, but we’ve got a pretty good point battle going on, and it should be no different when we run a combined race with USAC. This is our first co-sanctioned race with USAC, and to have co-sanctioned races will showcase the best drivers in the Midwest and the nation.”
Hess followed up April 22 at Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, Ill.) by taking the checkered flag first, and backed that up May 5 at Belle-Claire Speedway in Belleville, Ill. Hess currently owns 690 points heading into Saturday’s race, which also marks the first series race at the quarter-mile.
Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, Mo.) kicked the POWRi season off with a victory April 21 at Morgan County Speedway (Jacksonville, Ill.), and is currently tied for second in points with Brett Anderson (of Belleville). Each driver trails Hess by 140 points, as they have secured 550 points so far.
Tri-State Speedway promoter Tom Helfrich is also looking forward to the Midget race, the first his family has promoted since the 1980s.
“POWRi and USAC are two of the best Midget organizations in the United States,” said Helfrich, whose family is celebrating its 50th anniversary promoting races. “We’re expecting a great show between these two series.”
In addition to the National Midget race, POWRi’s 600cc Outlaw Micro Series will be in action, also for the first time at Tri-State Speedway. Tony Roney (Herculaneum, Mo.) has 960 points in the Micro Series, leading Dereck King (Vienna, Ill.) by 120 points. Third-place is Austin Laskey (Tulsa, Okla.), who owns 815 points. Brown expects more than 50 Micros to be present.
With two races in, Darren Hagen leads the USAC National Midget Car Series point standings. The race is the first of three Toyota Challenge races for USAC.
The POWRi Series, based out of the St. Louis, Mo. area, is in its third season of competition with two of levels of open-wheel racing. The National Midget Car Series currently travels around the Midwest with stops in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The series races exclusively on dirt and attracts some of the top Midget drivers in the nation week in and week out. The 600cc Outlaw Micro Sprints are a stepladder to the National Midgets, where younger drivers get experience before making the move to full Midgets.
For more information about POWRi, visit www.powri.com or contact Kenny Brown at 618-476-7526.
