KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Feb. 13, 2003) - McTwo Promotions at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and the Marion County Fair Association at the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville will again partner to present the 2003 Southern Iowa SprintWeek, August 9-16. The point champion after the eight straight nights of non-winged, 360- and 410-cubic-inch sprint car racing will again be crowned “Mr. Sprint Car” and will be rewarded with a check of $1,500, although a SprintWeek title sponsor is actively being sought to increase the bonus to $2,500. Ricky Logan of Little Rock, Arkansas, is the defending Southern Iowa SprintWeek titlist.

The 2003 Southern Iowa SprintWeek point championship opens at Knoxville on Saturday, August 9, with Casey’s General Stores Night. The track’s regular 410 sprint car field, which is annually beefed up by many regional invaders, will compete in their traditional “Saturday Before the Nationals” program. The 360 show that night will be an invitational, named the “Night Before the Tournament”, and will feature many of the same stars and cars that will run the Sunday night Brodix Tournament of Champions (ToC). A record fifteen sanctions will participate in the Sunday, August 10, ToC: American Outlaw Action Sprints (AOAS), American Sprint Car Series (ASCS), ASCS-Gulf South, ASCS-Rocky Mountain, ASCS-Sooner, Eagle Sprint Touring Series (ESTS), Empire Super Sprints (ESS), Knoxville 360’s, Montana Sprint Tour (MST), Northern Sprint Tour (NST), Sprint Invaders (SI), United Racing Club (URC), Winged Outlaw Warriors (WOW), and WISSOTA Promoters Association (WISSOTA).

The focus of the “Mr. Sprint Car” title hunt will then head 26 miles east to the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds in Oskaloosa for the Monday, August 11, Front Row Challenge. The All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) sanctioned event is promoted by Terry McCarl and Bill McCroskey of McTwo Promotions, and it will pay $5,000 to the winner. However, it will pay $50,000-to-win if one of the front row drivers accepts the challenge to start at the back of the pack. On Tuesday, August 12, the same Osky track hosts the non-winged Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) for the $30,000-to-win Ultimate Challenge. Travis Rilat scored an exciting upset win in this Non-Winged World Championship (NWWC) tour event last year over some of the biggest names in traditional sprint car racing, including Damion Gardner, Kasey Kahne, J.J. Yeley, Richard Griffin and Cory Kruseman.

The eight straight nights of racing is concluded back on the Marion County Fairgrounds with the 43rd annual Knoxville Nationals, August 13-16. The winner of the O’Reilly World of Outlaws (WoO) Series sanctioned finale on Saturday will receive $125,000, with the 30-lapper being seen live on the Speed Channel. Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski and Craig Dollansky are among the early favorites to claim the prestigious event in Knoxville's 50th season of weekly racing. The Wednesday and Thursday preliminary night features pay $10,000 to win each, as does the Friday night Kele World Challenge invitational for sprint car drivers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

Those seeking information on the second annual Southern Iowa SprintWeek, including title sponsorship opportunities, should contact Tom Schmeh at tschmeh@sprintcarhof.com. Those wishing to purchase race tickets should contact McTwo Promotions (Oskaloosa) at 515-957-0020, and the Marion County Fair Association (Knoxville) at 641-842-5431, respectively.