UMSS Media PR Photoby Greg Parent
It is with great pride that both the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) and the St. Croix Valley Raceway announce the running of the 1st Annual Davey Tabor Memorial for the UMSS winged sprint cars on Friday night May 25 at the St. Croix Valley Raceway near St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. As we honor and celebrate the life of sprint car fan, mechanic and car owner Davey Tabor, this evening will prove to be a very special night for the sprint car racing community.

As a tribute to Dave and Margaret Tabor's car number, the winner of the feature race will earn $1,034 courtesy of some sponsorship from GRP Motorsports. The Tabor family has generously added an extra $100 in positions two through five in the feature race plus an extra $50 to positions sixth on back. The UMSS will run their usual double round of qualifying races that evening with drivers earning passing and finishing points in both the Ultimate Sprint Heats and Challenge Races. The feature race is scheduled for 25 laps in distance around the 1/4 mile dirt oval, but it could be expanded to 34 laps should participants agree.

Please join the racing community on Friday night May 25 at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on what will prove to be a great evening filled with wonderful memories of our friend, Davey Tabor. The following tribute was prepared by Margaret Tabor for DAVID L. TABOR, 11-21-1951 TO 3-17-2012.

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Davey Tabor was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and was interested in all types of racing from a very early age. He was working at Suburban Tire and wrenching on his father's stock car before he was 16 years old. He loved being in the garage and began welding at an early age with help from his father and the "gear heads" he was always around. Being under 16, he was not allowed in the pits at the Minnesota State Fair, but in true Davey fashion, he proceeded to sneak in to be a part of the racing action.

After High School, Dave entered the US Army at the age of 18. He proudly served his country in Vietnam during 1971 and 1972. He believed in learning, improving and giving his all in everything he did from his military service to his civilian life to his passion for racing.

UMSS Media PR Photoby Greg Parent
Following a successful opening night at the Elko Speedway Spring Dirt Nationals on April 20, the recent adverse weather has wreaked havoc with the early season Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) winged sprint car division schedule. With the April 21 Elko Speedway show falling victim to rain and two straight Saturday night attempts at the Cedar Lake Speedway unable to run due to the wet weather, the UMSS was looking forward to kicking off the St. Croix Valley Raceway season on Friday May 11. That has changed, as once again the UMSS will be forced to adjust their schedule with yet another weather-related cancellation.

The next UMSS race will be for a third attempt this spring at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday May 19. The UMSS feature winner on May 19 will earn $1,000 with some sponsorship from GRP Motorsports. The UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series (TSCS) will also be in competition that night providing race fans with two styles of sprint car racing at the high-banked 3/8 mile western Wisconsin dirt oval.

With the poor weather during the past three weeks affecting most area race tracks, the planned opener for the St. Croix Valley Raceway on May 11 has also become a victim. Heavy rains during the past two weeks have set back the construction of the new safety catch fence while not allowing heavy equipment on the track. "We need to be fully race ready on our opening night instead of where we are at right now. In the past two weeks, we've received 8" of rain at the track. This has put us behind schedule, so unfortunately we must postpone our season opener one week to May 18," stated St. Croix Valley Raceway track co-owner and promoter Ron Bernhagen.

The UMSS winged sprints will not run at the May 18 St. Croix Valley Raceway opener, since they are scheduled to compete in the 1st Annual Davey Tabor Memorial the following Friday night May 25 at SCVR. The winner of the UMSS winged sprint car feature that night will receive $1,034 thanks to some sponsorship from GRP Motorsports along with an increased payout for all remaining feature race positions courtesy of the Tabor family. The Davey Tabor Memorial will kick off a two race Memorial Day Weekend tour for the UMSS, as the series races the following night May 26 at the Rice Lake Speedway less than a one hour drive from SCVR.

Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson At Track Rat Photos. (The Official UMSS Photographer)by Greg Parent
With a quality 24-car field on hand to compete in the first Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) event of the season, Brooke Tatnell drove the Craft #86 sprinter to victory on Friday night April 20 at the Elko Spring Dirt Nationals. Tatnell passed early race leader Cody Hahn on lap 7 and drove through lapped traffic to record his tenth career UMSS victory.

Tatnell's victory came with some drama though. On lap two, Tatnell and Andy Jones made contact in turn one with Jones' car spinning. Jennifer Eriksen was unable to avoid the stalled car of Jones and made contact, sending both cars to the pits and out of the race. Tatnell and Jones were battling for second at the time behind race leader Cody Hahn.

The feature race had some problems getting underway, as the first attempt to bring the 24-car starting grid to the green was called off. On the second attempt, contact between Tommy Barber and Sye Anderson entering turn one caused a multi-car crash. Barber and Anderson started in row three, so a good share of the field scattered in an attempt to avoid the melee. Chad Patterson made contact with Barber's car which knocked Barber on his side and brought out the red flag. Several other cars were involved.

The third time was the charm, as 2010 UMSS Champion Cody Hahn bolted into the lead from his pole starting position on the opening lap. The yellow light blinked on for the incident involving Tatnell and Jones with one lap scored. The race then went 15 laps green until the final yellow flew for a James Broty spin in turn one. During this green flag run, Tatnell drove under Hahn for the lead on lap seven and never looked back while working lapped traffic. Eastern Wisconsin driver Scotty Thiel worked past Hahn on lap 9 for second and challenged Tatnell briefly for the lead over the course of the next couple of laps. Thiel finished a strong performance with a runner-up finish in the feature.

A late-race pass with two laps to go saw 2011 and defending UMSS Champion Jerry Richert, Jr. move by Cody Hahn for third. Hahn finished fourth ahead of Scott Broty. Completing the top ten finishers were 23rd starter Cam Schafer with an incredible drive forward, 22nd starter Tony Norem with a hard charge towards the front, Casey Heser in his first UMSS race, Austin Johnson also running his first UMSS show, and Billy Johnson who was the inaugural UMSS winner at Elko in July 2010.

Photo Courtesy Naomi Winters of Winters Motorsports/Scott Winters Racingby Greg Parent
Scott Winters topped the 26 car starting grid in what turned out to be another incredible feature race at the Elko Fall Dirt Nationals to wind up the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) season. Although the 2011 campaign was extended a while longer due to a rain delay, the track was fantastic for the 20 lap sprint car feature. Winters led the first 15 laps before Friday night victor Kaley Gharst got by, but Gharst and Davey Heskin made contact in turn four on their way to the white flag and crashed to bring out the only red flag of the weekend. Winters raced ahead of Brooke Tatnell during the final two lap dash to the checkers for the victory to end his season on a winning note.

The largest turnout of the season for the UMSS sprints saw 28 cars sign into the pits on Saturday October 15 for the final night of the Fall Dirt Nationals at the Elko Speedway. As the skies turned overcast in the late afternoon hours and light rain was on the radar, the program moved along quickly. The UMSS ran three ten lap qualifying heat races with passing and finishing points. Scott Broty ended up being the top pointer earner and redrew the #4 pill for the feature race invert. The front row was stout with Winters and Heskin followed by Gharst and Broty in the row two. Several other heavy hitters were scattered throughout the next several rows.

Following the rain delay prior to the final four features of the evening, the Elko track crew worked their magic on the 3/8 mile temporary dirt surface to make sure the program could get in. With the legends cars up first after the rain, the track was in great shape for the UMSS main event which followed. Winters immediately blasted into the early lead on the fast racing surface with Heskin and Gharst close behind. It did not take long to encounter lapped traffic, as the leaders began the task of working through the tail end of the field just four laps into the race. An incredible race unfolded at this point under the green, as the top five cars were running fairly close together. At the halfway mark, 8th starter Brooke Tatnell in the Kouba #5 sprinter suddenly edged into the mix in third place. Gharst, Tatnell and Heskin waged an exciting battle just behind Winters.

Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photosby Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
Despite cool, windy weather conditions, the largest UMSS sprint car field of the season was on hand during the opening night of the Fall Dirt Nationals at the Elko Speedway on Friday October 14. A very strong group of 27 winged sprint cars signed into a packed pit area, and with track owner Tom Ryan deciding to start all cars in the feature, it set a record for the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series event for the largest starting grid. Making his first appearance with the UMSS, Kaley Gharst from Decatur, Illinois thrilled the crowd with a last lap pass of Scott Broty to capture the $1,000 top prize at the conclusion of the 25 lap feature race. Only two cautions slowed the pace and 23 of the starters were still running at the end on what turned out to be a well-prepared temporary dirt surface at the popular 3/8 mile oval facility located on the southern fringe of the Twin City metro area.

Driving the Scadden Construction/CNS Homes #6 J&J sprinter with Brad Sparks turning the wrenches, Gharst was impressive in his run forward from his 12th starting position. "I saw a small opening on the bottom lane in turn one on the last lap, and I squeezed underneath Broty. There was a lot of traffic out there tonight, but it was a fun deal to race here," commented Gharst following his victory in his first trip to Elko. Scott Broty shrugged his shoulders, smiled and said, "I sure wish it had been a 20 lap feature tonight. My car was real good. I had to make the openings to get through the lapped traffic and sometimes that holds you up a bit. Congrats to Kaley. I'll see if I can improve by one spot tomorrow night."

With the large field of cars and four divisions on the program, the UMSS did not utilize their typical double-round of qualifying races. Instead they ran three 10 lap heat races with passing and finishing points. When no B Feature was necessary after track owner Tom Ryan decided to allow all cars to start the feature, drivers and teams expressed some concern. As it turned out, the drivers did a great job and put on a very entertaining feature race for the fans. Heat race wins went to Davey Heskin, Scott Broty, and Cody Hahn. Sye Anderson was the high point driver following the heats and he drew a zero pill for a straight-up start. This put Brad Barickman to his outside on the front row.

Photo courtesy of Russ Cramblit at Full Tilt Photosby Greg Parent
The third and final appearance of the season for the Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Saturday September 17 turned out to be a much better evening and end result for Prior Lake, Minnesota sprint car driver Scott Broty. After getting upside down during the August "Thunder in the Valley" program, Broty returned with a different car and found himself in victory lane following his second UMSS win of the season. A dramatic turn of events fourteen laps into the feature race would see the top two cars unable to continue following a caution. Broty, who had been running a close third at the time, took command of the lead and went on to score the $1,000 win on his wedding anniversary night.

When asked to comment on his chances before racing action got underway for the evening, Broty replied, "If it's heavy out there tonight, my car is going to like it. I'll have a good chance to run up front." Commenting after his second win of the season, Broty recalled his pre-race conversation with a smile. "Ron Bernhagen does a great job at preparing the racing surface on this track. Both my car and myself as a driver like it when it's heavy and there is a cushion to lean on. It feels good to pick up my second win of the season. See you at Ogilvie." Broty currently sits fourth in the championship point standings.

After the usual double round of qualifying races utilized by the UMSS had concluded, a couple of young guns found themselves on the front row for the 20 lap feature race. Rookie Kevin Bradwell and 2010 UMSS Rookie of the Year Jared Goerges brought the field to the green. Goerges immediately raced to the early lead, flying high up on the cushion. Another young driver in his sophomore season in the sprints, Andy Jones, followed Goerges in second at the conclusion of the opening lap. As the laps quickly clicked off under green on the fast 1/4 mile dirt oval, Goerges and Jones approached traffic seven laps into the race. At the halfway mark, it was Goerges, Jones, Broty, birthday boy Brad Barickman and Cody Hahn in the top five.