“Collaboration” is a popular strategy in corporate America these days and it is no different in the sport of sprint car racing.

For the past seven years, the dirt tracks in Knoxville and Oskaloosa in south central Iowa have partnered to present 10 consecutive nights of sprint car racing each summer.

In 2009, those two tracks, with title sponsor Cox Design & Metal Fabrication and trophy sponsor National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, will join forces with the paved Iowa Speedway in nearby Newton to present the eighth annual Iowa SpeedWeeks of sprint car racing, July 31 through Aug. 15. The “Mr. Sprint Car” title will be determined by points earned over 12 races in 11 nights of non-winged and winged, 360- and 410-cubic-inch sprint car racing at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville.

The 12-race series will kick-off on Friday, July 31, with the running of the Casey’s General Stores-sponsored United States Auto Club (USAC) non-winged sprint car race on the Iowa Speedway paved track in Newton. This race is being held in conjunction with the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the 7/8-mile speedway on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Interestingly, former NASCAR racers Tyler Walker and Erin Crocker, and current NASCAR superstar Kasey Kahne, have all finished in the top five of the Iowa SpeedWeek points in the past. Ironically, Crocker came the closest of that trio to capturing the “Mr. Sprint Car” title in 2003 with her runner-up finish in the points.

The Cox Design-sponsored Iowa SpeedWeeks will resume less than one week later on Thursday, Aug. 6, with the first $3,000-to-win preliminary night of the 19th annual Arnold Motor Supply-sponsored 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Vermeer Manufacturing. The second $3,000-to-win preliminary night of the winged 360 c.i. Knoxville Nationals will take place on Friday, Aug. 7, at the half-mile Knoxville Raceway on the Marion County Fairgrounds. Saturday, Aug. 8, will feature two Iowa SpeedWeeks points-paying races, the finale of the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) $10,000-to-win 360 Knoxville Nationals and the $3,000-to-win winged 410 c.i. sprint car feature. The Knoxville Raceway will host the inaugural $5,000-to-win Casey’s General Stores Non-Winged Knoxville Nationals on Sunday, Aug. 9, featuring many of the same stars that competed on July 31 at Newton.

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, Aug. 10, 14th annual Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge for the winged 410 c.i. sprint cars of the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC). The wildly successful event is promoted by Terry McCarl and Bill McCroskey of McTwo Promotions and will pay $10,000 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, Aug. 11, the same Osky track hosts the USAC-sanctioned non-winged 410’s for the $15,000-to-win eighth annual Searsboro Telephone Ultimate Challenge. Combined with the USAC rounds at Newton and Knoxville, this event will give the traditional sprint car racers a real chance at the “Mr. Sprint Car” title and money.

The 12-night series of sprint car racing is concluded back on the Marion County Fairgrounds with the 49th annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, on Aug. 12-15. The prestigious event will pay $150,000 to the winner of the finale on Saturday, which will again be seen live on the Speed Channel. The Wednesday and Thursday preliminary night features pay $12,000 to win each, while the Friday night Knoxville World Challenge invitational for the best drivers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, pays $10,000 to win.

Cox Design & Metal Fabrication, Inc. is an Iowa corporation formed in January of 1988 specializing in the design and fabrication of a variety of metals, and whose web-site address is www.cox-design.com . For information on the July 31 event in Newton, fans are urged to visit www.iowaspeedway.com call (641) 791-8000. For ticket information about the Aug. 10-11 events in Oskaloosa, fans are urged to call (51) 957-0020 or visit the new web site www.oskychallenges.com. For information regarding the Aug. 6-9

and Aug. 12-15 events at Knoxville, fans can call (641) 842-5431 or visit the track’s web site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com.

The schedule for the twelve-round 2009 Cox Design & Metal Fabrication Iowa SpeedWeeks is as follows:

Round One, Friday, July 31, Newton, USAC Non-Winged 410 Sprint Cars

Round Two, Thursday, August 6, Knoxville, ASCS Winged 360 Sprint Cars