SPRING VALLEY, Minn. -- Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley MN is currently gearing up for the Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge race coming up Memorial weekend. The event will be the first stop of the season by the United States Modified Touring Series. With the racing action at the "Creek" as hotly contested as it has been this season especially in the USRA modified ranks this show is going to be a race to see. The racing action at Deer Creek started in early April and has had great racing action during the first 4 events completed on the race calendar. The USMTS will be on a swing through Southern Minnesota over the Memorial Day weekend and the Saturday May 29th event will be the third race of a five day swing that will start in South Dakota and work through Minnesota.

Last year 54 modifieds checked into the back gate to entertain the fans and battle for the $2,000 to win feature event. Darrin Walker took the feature money home with him to Missouri as he bested the field after early leader Mike Sorensen had some mechanical problems. Kelly Shryock came home second followed by Al Hejna in the third place. With the five day USMTS swing a good field of cars should be on hand to compete against our local competitors. Some of the expected travelers to be on hand during the swing will be Kelly Shryock, Tommy Myer, John Tesch, Mark Noble, Al and Mike Hejna, Zack Vanderbeek, Dean Mahlstedt, John Klynsma, Mike Wedelstedt, Julie McDermid, Bruce Hanford, Corey Dripps, Mike Mashl, Brian Mullen, Willy Kraft, Craig Scott, Jason Hughes, Johnny Bone Jr. Chris Spieker, John VanDenBerg, Dan Chapman, Joe McBernie, Joey Jensen, Ron Schreiner and John Logue. Many of these drivers will be on hand along with additional visitors during the weekend events. After the racing action is completed, stop down into the pit area as most of the drivers will spend the night singing Karaoke before continuing on their swing through Southern Minnesota. It is always non-stop entertainment on the track and in the pits for the fans and the drivers whenever the USMTS is in town. Don't forget to stop down and watch the taped replay of all of the racing action after the races and talk to your favorite driver as they watch the night's events under the VIP tower. KWWK Radio will be on hand prior to the racing action with a Live Broadcast. A car show will be held during the day at Domaille Buick, Mazda, and Mitsubishi in Rochester. The racing action will be brought to you by Schmidt Trucking & Brokerage - New Richland, MN

Also on the card for the event will be the Super Stocks racing for $500 to win, the Midwest Modifieds racing for $300 and the Street Stocks racing for $300. The Late Models and the Classic Dwarf Cars will take the night off. Ticket prices for this exciting night of racing action will be $14.00 for adults, children 6-12 $5.00 and 5 and under for free.

June 5th should be an exciting night of racing action as all 6 classes of cars are back in action at the speedway. Some additional WISSOTA Late Models are expected to be on hand to compete with the local competitors as they prepare for the Polydome WORLD Dirt Racing League event Presented by Midwest Wireless coming up in August. With other WISSOTA Late Model tracks taking the night off a good field of cars is expected as some drivers' test the track and others look for a track to call home for the night.

The USMTS is starting to get to the heart of their schedule now with races scheduled every weekend through the end of September when they bring a close to the Northern Tour with the 6th Annual Featherlite/USMTS Fall Jamboree to be held right here at the Deer Creek Speedway. In June the USMTS will start their big grind and will be back at the track on Tuesday the 15th of June with the 3rd Annual Ack-Attack event. They will be racing 18 out of 21 days during the summer tour and the Deer Creek event will be the 6th race in the tour and a great field of cars should be on hand for that event also. The drivers will have the night off before this event as they travel from a weekend stop in North Dakota. This weekday event always brings a great crowd and a large car count for the event. The WISSOTA Super Stocks will be racing for $500 to win while the hotly contested WISSOTA Street Stocks battle for the $300 winner's check. The special event will be sponsored by Tolly's Time Out in Austin, Dave Syverson Ford and Minnesota Corrugated Box Inc. of Albert Lea.

The WISSOTA Sprint Cars will be on hand at the track on Saturday the 19th of June to test out the new track configuration. The winged warriors really fly around the track and the lap times should drop dramatically on the track this season. The $1200 to win Sprint Car show should have the biggest field of sprint cars in the history of the speedway with no racing action at other Sprint Car tracks that weekend. The show will be the middle show for the traveling series as they make stops in Wisconsin and two in Southern Minnesota over the weekend. The track historically brings in one of its largest crowds of the season each year for the Winged 360 cars and the first two years have seen some great racing action. The inaugural race saw Jimmy Kouba of Byron Mn take home the title while last year young Dustin Lindquist took home the victory after a race long battle with John Nelson, Roger Rager and Kouba. The event sponsored by Freedom Exteriors of Rochester will also feature the WISSOTA Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds and the Classic Dwarf Cars in action

These great special events are coming up during the next month of racing action with some exciting programs on the schedule for July and August. Don't forget the great racing action continues every Saturday night through the second week of September starting at 6:00. Call up a friend and invite them out to Deer Creek Speedway for a night of great racing action.