2013 ILLINI RACING SERIES SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED AMID NEW PURSE STRUCTURE
By Zach Tasker
Officials from the Illini Racing Series announced on Sunday an aggressive schedule for the 2013 campaign. The stars and cars of affordable midget racing will feature 18 races spread across pavement and dirt in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. It is very rare for any midget group this day to have such a diverse schedule on both types of tracks. Perhaps the most exciting addition to the schedule is the return to one of the most revered dirt tracks in the county. Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prarie, Wisconsin returns to the IRS after a short hiatus. The Illini cars will get to do battle on the same nights as the Powri national midget shows at the 1/3 mile dirt oval. Series stalwarts Grundy County Speedway and Rockford Speedway both return for a slate of races as well as Sycamore Speedway, returning with more races this year after a pair of exciting shows in 2012.
Series board member Joe Knippel is looking forward to the return to Sun Prairie "You first walk in that place and you see what the facility looks like and how it is groomed and they have a part of the grandstands where it is natural grass and you get there an hour before hot laps and you already have 2-3,000 people there waiting for the midget races. Plus its so cool that its right in the middle of town, the track always stays tacky during the night." One exciting aspect of this years schedule is the double header weekends. The first of three will be on Memorial day weekend "All the guys basically stay at the same motel they all work on the cars in the parking lot in between the races, its a big bonding experience for us. This year we are fortunate we have two of them (out of town). The first one is probably going to be the funnest one. You don't have to get up early in the morning and you can stay out late after the races because you are going to be at the same track for two days in a row. Its going to be pretty interesting seeing Sycamore on a Saturday night and then going up to Sun Prairie on a Sunday night.
The schedule wasn't the only thing announced at the annual winter rules meeting, a new purse structure for the IRS was unveiled. For the first time in the clubs history, there will be a progressive payout. $300 will go to the winner of each race with every race still being $100 to start "
I don't think there are many midget organizations in the world that can really say that they got a 25% pay increase. We received a 25% pay increase from all the promoters that we are going to this year. Another way it is going to help is that we truly believe that if it is successful this year it is going to grow our car count. That $200 or $175 for 2nd extra than what we payed will bring some extra cars out of storage that haven't been on the track for a while and that is going to increase it. "
Series race director Loran Critchett Jr. was also pleased with the schedule "We have 10 pavement shows, 8 dirt shows. I think that is a nice, diverse mix. It makes our racers better racers. Its a lot more fun, it forces you to adapt to different tracks. Not only is it a mix of dirt and pavement but its a couple of different types of dirt tracks and a couple of different types of pavement. We are running the flat, fast 1/3 mile at Grundy County Speedway and then we go to the tight 1/4 mile high banks of Rockford Speedway which our cars really run well at. Everybody is really looking forward to the return of Angell Park Speedway. As everyone knows that is one of the most premier midget tracks in the country. A fantastic place to come and race, great atmosphere, great crowd. We are really looking forward to that. That is a really fast place, and then we are also looking forward to going back to Sycamore Speedway on the dirt. That is more of a tight bullring type race track, which is a lot of fun, we ran there for the first time last year and Tiffany, the promoter out there was really happy and she asked us to come back and gave us some more shows and we are looking forward to it. "
A series preseason test is still TBA. The season starts on May 18 at Sycamore Speedway.

2013 ILLINI RACING SERIES SCHEDULE

Saturday May 18 Sycamore Speedway Sycamore, IL 1/2 Dirt
Saturday May 25 Angell Park Speedway Sun Prarie, WI 1/3 Dirt
Sunday May 26 Angell Park Speedway Sun Prarie, WI 1/3 Dirt
Saturday June 1 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday June 8 Sycamore Speedway Sycamore, IL 1/2 Dirt
Saturday June 22 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday July 6 Rockford Speedway Rockford, IL 1/4 Pavement
Saturday July 13 Sycamore Speedway Sycamore, IL 1/4 Dirt
Sunday July 14 Angell Park Speedway Sun Prarie, WI 1/3 Dirt
Saturday July 20 Rockford Speedway Rockford, IL 1/4 Pavement
Saturday July 27 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday August 10 Sycamore Speedway Sycamore, IL 1/4 Dirt
Sunday August 18 Angell Park Speedway Sun Prairie, WI 1/3 Dirt
Saturday August 24 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday August 31 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Sunday September 1 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday September 21 Grundy County Speedway Morris, IL 1/3 Pavement
Saturday September 28 Rockford Speedway Rockford, Il 1/4 Pavement