The Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series rolls into 2004 with more horsepower than ever before. The pavement kings with wings of HOSS have again scheduled premiere speedways from Iowa to Ohio for the fans to see some of the fastest and most thrilling short track racing in the world. 2003 Champ Denny England of Warsaw, Indiana will be out to defend his first ever HOSS title against the other veterans and the ever increasing number of new faces stepping up to test their mettle by driving one of the most awesome displays of brute speed and tire trashing horsepower in the country.
The first round of racing will include a practice day to all of the HOSS teams at Baer Field Speedway on April 24 before the April 25 Sunday afternoon show. Tom Isch has again opened the season at the Ft. Wayne (IN) track with the fastest cars he could find anywhere to sweep off the dust for another action packed year at Baer Field Speedway. Denny England won this event ahead of Jerry Caryer and used it to show he was the man to beat all season long. www.baerfieldspeedway.com
The Salem Speedway hosts the HOSS series on May 8 as Stewart Automotive and Transmission will sponsor the racing action at the famous southern Indiana speedway. May is the month of speed in Indiana and Salem could be second fastest to only the Speedway itself as the HOSS delivers an early season test of fire to the teams to see who has the stuff for the 2004 points championship. It is the first appearance at Salem for the HOSS series drivers are eager to win the ’first one’ for the Indiana group. www.salemspeedway.com
When everything is said and done and the road heads back from where it has come, the Plymouth Speedway will be waiting three times this year. This gives a ‘mini-series’ feel to the Plymouth shows. With the strong contingent of HOSS teams in the surrounding area and the track’s support of the series every season, local drivers and fans look forward to HOSS coming ‘home’. The 3/8 mile medium banked track has returned to Sunday afternoon racing for 2004 and with the promise of being done by approx. 9pm should be a hit for everyone. The HOSS race dates in 2004 are the Spring Bash May 16, JULY 4th with FIREWORKS during the racing program and Labor Day Weekend Sept 5. www.plymouthspeedway.com
The series takes the Memorial Day weekend off before setting off to South Bend (IN) Motor Speedway June 11 for the Knoll Bros. Night of racing action. The quarter mile track makes these horses switch feet as the tight confines leaves little room for doubt and even less for hesitation. Last year saw local veteran John Witter bring home his first HOSS win in a dramatic finish ahead of Jeff Bloom and Ron Koehler. The series will again invade July 16 with Pepsi being the race night sponsor for the speedway. www.southbendmotorspeedway.com
Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Mansfield, OH hosts the HOSS sprints Saturday June 26 for a big night of racing sponsored by Advance Auto Parts. Mansfield has added more seating for even more people to see the fastest racecars in wheel to wheel warfare around the half mile speedway. The Mansfield faithful will see the HOSS in town two more times when the teams return for a Friday the 13th show before the ISMA Super Modified Nationals the next day. The supers will run a short program Friday night. This will be your chance to see who is fastest on the same track on the same night. The HOSS will also be in town Sept. 11 for its ‘Night of Champions’ final race of the season as part of the Mansfield Speedway track Championship racing. www.mansfield-speedway.com
Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, IA invites the HOSS series to town July 2 for a Friday warm up to the Fourth of July weekend. Storm Steel and Abrasive Jet will sponsor the racing action which last year went thirty green flag laps with no cautions! Ted Hines won the event over a charging Kevin Feeney and 2003 HOSS Rookie of the Year Doug Berryman. Feeney set the track record earlier that evening at 15.539 and received a $250 bonus from Storm Steel for his efforts. Look for more of the same and grab a friend for the July 2 HOSS super show at Hawkeye Downs! The series will head back to Indiana for the July 4 race at Plymouth. www.hawkeyedownsspeedway.com
July 10 sets the HOSS circus down at New Paris (IN) Speedway. This quarter mile merry-go-round has a unique shape and the teams struggled for traction early as the sun beat down. In qualifying, the fire breathing 1R of Doug Berryman lowered the track record to 11.88 seconds. The fire breathing thing was for real as his racecar began to smolder under the hood while sitting in the infield after hot laps! The racing itself was a thrill show all its own as again the cars went thirty green racing three and FOUR wide before Doug Berryman capped the event with thunderous victory. The HOSS teams will keep their quarter mile mojo another week, returning to South Bend for the Friday July 16th race. www.newparisspeedway.com
Rockford Speedway has invited the HOSS series to Illinois for a Friday July 23 event at the well known and widely supported quarter mile speed bowl. The Deery family has operated Rockford for many seasons and this is the first winged sprint car event scheduled in recent history. The track compares well with Anderson (IN) Speedway and many teams will begin their setups from Anderson notes. The fans at Rockford really get into the action and make lots of noise, perfect for the high powered sprint cars. Also in town this night will be the BIDCA dwarf cars. Rockford fans can look forward to seeing the HOSS sprints rock around Rockford! That’s a great ticket on July 23 in Rockford, IL. www.rockfordspeedway.com
Saturday night August 7th sends the HOSS sprints to Illiana Speedway. This year the date is on Saturday after being a Friday night race in seasons past. The big flat half is the perfect venue to see the best the winged sprint cars have to offer. Last year’s show was a stunning success from start to finish as the qualifying record was dropped by over a half second (Wheeler 16.408) and in the main event Aaron Pierce claimed the checkers in Mike Blake’s racecar ahead of Denny England and Dave Baumgartner. This year’s contest should be even better with everyone aiming to knock on the track record and bring home the checkered at Illiana. The following Friday the HOSS returns to Mansfield Speedway. www.illianaspeedway.com
Anderson Speedway, home of the “Little 500”, hosts the HOSS Outlaw Sprints on Saturday August 21. The race is always a fan favorite with the fast, furious racing and many sprints running in the high 10 second bracket. And it proved to be the focal point of the 2003 title chase as the second, third, fourth, and fifth in points were involved in a wreck. This year the chase for the checkers goes through Anderson again and whoever comes away from here in front will have come along way toward winning the 2004 Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series championship. www.andersonspeedway.com
New to the HOSS 2004 racing schedule is the Madison (WI) International Speedway. The track opens its doors to the HOSS sprint cars on August 28 to share the spotlight with the ASA Late Model Division. As another new venue for the HOSS teams, the ability to learn quickly will be tested at the big super fast half mile. Teams have already begun devising setup possibilities for the Wisconsin facility, with many believing a Mansfield setup could be the starting point. www.madisoninternationalspeedway.com
The last HOSS event in Indiana for 2004 will be Labor Day weekend, September 5th, and Plymouth will be packed with people for the Blueberry Festival. Everyone should catch the Blueberry Festival at least once time in their lifetime. The HOSS sprint cars in town to share in the celebration and run the final 40 Lap event in the Plymouth Speedway ‘mini-series’.
Mansfield Motorsports Speedway has become the traditional Championship race for the HOSS series. The atmosphere and fan excitement combined with the drama of the season championship night of racing makes for a great show. The HOSS cars and stars will have all winter to recover from the final chance to dance in victory lane.
The Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series is racing in five states for 2004, proving that it continues to reach into new speedways with some of the fastest racecars going wheel to wheel for the wins. The HOSS is exploring new places to race and is taking every challenge as an opportunity to showcase the sponsors, cars, crews, and drivers and to give speedways the best value for the fans’ money. The HOSS calendar gives teams the chance to race a very demanding schedule while balancing the other priorities in life. For more information stop by www.hossracing.com