Why race the Stock Car Crown Summer Series? Two regional divisions. A total of 25 races at 19 different tracks across the Midwest. All features pay at least $2,000 to win. It’s formula that has resulted in the series averaging nearly 50 cars per event this season.
“We’ve watched the IMCA stock cars put on great shows for 20 years, all while racing for $200 or $300 to win,” said Scott Angell, who runs the series along with partner Rob Marsh. “We felt these drivers should be rewarded more for their efforts. Modifieds and sport mods had all the big tours and shows. It was time to recognize the stock cars.”
To get the series some attention, the series sought to stream its series live.
“We started to get our races on TV last season, and the success of the series grew,” Angell said. “TV is helping both the tracks and the drivers. We divided the series this year, with the East series being on IMCA.tv, and the West series being on DirtCrown TV.”
The series’ points fund pays $4,000 to the champion down to $400 for the 20th– to 25th-place finishers. To be eligible for the money, drivers must pay a $100 annual membership fee.
“When you pay to be a member, you are eligible for a number of valuable contingencies,” said Angell. “In addition, we pay the hard charger every night — $100 on the East and $140 on the West. There is a point fund for the hard chargers, paying $1,000 for first and $500 for second at the end of the season.”
However, many covet the neon Dirt Crown trophy presented to every feature winner.
“We’ve seen fuel pump trophies, $2 bill trophies, plaques made from doors and fenders, and we wanted to offer something memorable,” Angell, who owns a sign business, said. “That is how the neon sign trophy was born.”
Last year, the Stock Car Crown Summer Series had eight races. This season that number exploded due to demand from racetracks wanting an event.
“Racetracks are calling us wanting to be involved with our series,” said Angell. “Our plan is to expand into different areas, and to continue to grow.”
Part of the series’ appeal stems from its relationships with weekly tracks.
“Our biggest challenge was getting racetracks to want to work with each other,” Angell said. “We did this by staying away from the weekly racing programs. We do not want our series to hurt weekly racing, which we love — we will not race against the weekly tracks.”
The Stock Car Crown Summer Series races next on Thursday, June 15, with an East event at Kossuth County Speedway in Algona, Iowa. The West series resumes on Sunday, June 25, at Dawson County Raceway in Lexington, Nebraska.
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
