BY: MIKE ELLINGTON
*Schedule Updated 2/20*

It’s hard to picture the upcoming race season on the horizon with temperatures dipping below zero last week and being sent home early from work today with eleven inches of snow on the ground. However, in just a few short months racing in the Midwest will be kicking off.  In the off season the local organizations have been working hard and working together to produce a schedule with some exciting events for this part of the country.

Whether it is heads-up or bracket style racing, you can find it here in the Midwest. There are quite a few noteworthy individual events in the upcoming season. The first is the Second Annual Open 4x4 Nationals held at the Big River Sand Drags in Bonne Terre, MO.  Last years Inaugural event had mostly local participants, but was still one of the largest races in the history of Big River Sand Drags.  The spot style heads-up format for four-wheel drive vehicles is definitely unique, but provides for some extremely close racing.  This race will be held June 9th.  Later in the month, a two day bracket race worth $10,000 will be held at the Union County Speedway in Liberty, IN. Track owner Billy Daniels started promoting this race late in the season last year, and the event is sparking a lot of interest.  The track will be going through some improvements early this spring, including some additional lighting and a new set of bleachers.  This dirt track is extremely fast so look for some good runs coming from this event.  Towards mid-season, county fair races will be kicking in and these have always been exciting with a lot of spectators. Of course, you can’t forget Gravelrama in Cleves, OH at the end of August.  This is the grand daddy of Midwestern style heads-up racing and each year cars are getting increasingly faster.  The IOK Four Wheelers that host this event have been adding new activities each year to make this event a lot more than just a weekend race.

If you want to chase points, the Central Indiana Dirt Racing Association (CIDRA) and the Franklin County Four Wheelers will once again have a bracket racing point series, while the East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association will be handling the points for those running heads-up.  CIDRA has the most races with nine scheduled at the Union County Speedway.  My wife and I just started racing there last season, and found out that it’s a great track with very tough competition.  President Bruce Bentley and the CIDRA board of directors work hard to provide a great track.  That hard work has paid off as each race grew throughout the 2006 season with more participants showing up at each race. If you happen to have an open weekend on your racing calendar check out the overall schedule I’m including with this months article.  You may find an event that’s worth a road trip.  If you have any questions you can always contact me and I can get you in touch with the appropriate people.  I hope to see some of you at the races.

Mike Ellington ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

2007 Midwest Sand Race Schedule
Date	Club	Location	Type	Vehicle Type
April
14	MSRA - Bracket Nationals	Bonne Terre, MO	Bracket	Cars / ATV
May
5	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
18-19	IOK	Cleves, OH	Bracket	Cars / ATV
19	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
26	Franklin County	Brookville, IN	Bracket	Cars
June
2	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
9	MSRA - 4x4 Nationals	Bonne Terre, MO	Bracket / Class	Cars / ATV
23-24	Firelands	Norwalk, OH	Bracket / Class	Cars
29-30	Union County - $10,000	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
July
14	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
20-21	Franklin County Fair Race	Brookville, IN	Bracket / Class	Cars
28-29	Tri-County	Lisbon, OH	EC Class	Cars
28	Union County 4H	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
August
4-5	Just Racing / 4 Fun	Norwalk, OH	Bracket / Class	Cars
11	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
18	Franklin County	Brookville, IN	Bracket	Cars
23-27	Gravelrama	Cleves, OH	EC Class	Cars
September
1	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
8	Franklin County	Brookville, IN	Bracket	Cars
15	CIDRA	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
15-16	Tri-County	Lisbon, OH	EC Class	Cars
22-23	Fireland's 4-Wheelers	Norwalk, OH	EC Class & Bracket	Cars
October
6	Franklin County (Rain Date)	Brookville, IN	Bracket	Cars
13	CIDRA (Rain Date)	Liberty, IN	Bracket	Cars
27-28	Last Blast	Cleves, OH	Bracket	Cars / ATV