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Midwest Super Truck Series Merges With USST
By: Kevin Ramsell
Sunday, January 07, 2007 (Milton, WI) – In the business world, when two
companies merge, there is a positive goal behind it. The merger of the
Wisconsin based Midwest Super Truck Series (MSTS) and the United States Super
Truck Series (USST) for the 2007 season looks like a win-win for everyone
involved.
Chris Stocks, Promoter of the MSTS, and Eric Caudell, Promoter of the USST,
are the two promoters involved with this merger. “With the merger of
the Midwest Super Truck Series (MSTS) into the United States Super Trucks
Series (USST), the USST has now tripled in size,” Stocks recently
stated. “We think we may have just created the largest Super Truck
series in the nation, outside of NASCAR's Craftsman Trucks.”
Both Stocks and Caudell see the same goals with the merger. “We have
engaged in competitive agreements for years,” Caudell stated. “Both
Series share the major goal of running 1/2 mile to 1 mile race tracks
periodically each season with a core foundation of races being based at
America's short tracks. We have been working toward matching the Super
Truck rules for years so consolidating the management efforts was
logical. We share the goal of racing high horsepower vehicles as cost
effectively as is reasonable.”
“With the merger, marketing is a major reason,” Stocks added. “We
now will offer a longer racing season and have opportunities to race from
Wisconsin and Minnesota, all the way to Oklahoma and Texas. We now offer
potential sponsors a much larger geographical area to attract consumers, with
many new salesmen (drivers) under one organization.”
Caudell also agrees with the marketing aspects for the race team. “The
unified group will help the drivers and race tracks the most. It greatly
increases the exposure level and adds notoriety,” Caudell
explained. “Drivers can now offer a wider geographic area to
sponsors and racetracks can capitalize on having drivers from across the
nation racing at their track. The Series management gains an economy of
scale with the business functions being spread across multiple persons.
It will also allow our decision making processes to benefit from review by
more persons with a variety of experiences. The series and drivers will
also gain from have a drivers roster of 50 drivers. This will enhance
competition, increase driving skills, and position USST to boost contingency
programs.”
The new United States Super Trucks Northern Division will be comprised of the
Wisconsin based MSTS which was formed last year by Stocks of Milton, WI. The
MSTS filled the void of organized super truck racing in the upper Midwest,
which was left when Mid-American Super Truck founder and Promoter Gary
Vercauteren of Baileys Harbor, WI, passed away in October of 2005.
The United States Super Trucks is entering its fifth year of operation under
the leadership of Caudell from Piedmont, OK. This will now be the Southern
Division of the United States Super Trucks.
Caudell best sums up the reason for this merger, “We share the love for
racing trucks because trucks are hands down, from a driver’s standpoint,
more fun to race than cars,” Caudell explained. “The race trucks are
harder to drive than a late model race car and that makes for intense
racing. Intense for the drivers means intense for the fans. That
means good racing for the tracks. This is why the NASCAR Craftsman
trucks have become so popular the last couple years. You can tell those
guys are up on the wheel and working those trucks hard. The crowds love
that kind of racing.”
The USST is an asphalt oval track and road course racing series one step below
the NASCAR’s Craftsman Trucks. In fact, there are 3 past Craftsman Trucks,
which are slightly modified and racing with the USST series. The USST trucks
produce about 450 horsepower from their V-8 racing engines. Top Speeds have
reached over 140 mph at tracks like the Milwaukee Mile and Road
America.
Some of the competitors who have competed in the USST trucks include the 1999
champion, Charlie Cottam of Janesville, WI, is recognized as the most winning
Midwest Truck Series driver of all time with 35 career feature victories. With
NASCAR Legend Dick Trickle, NASCAR Busch Series competitor Todd Kluever of Sun
Prairie, WI., and NASCAR Elite Series competitor Ryan Hanson.
The 2007 racing schedule is developing with a total of 25-30 races spread
across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The series
information will be available at www.USSTracing.com.
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