TM Master Cup Series

The TM Master Cup Series (TMMC) is a Midwest-based North American professional stock car championship, founded by Gerard Madigan in 1952. It serves as the top-tier series under the TM canon and is the world's premier stock-car racing series. The TMMC is an immensely popular worldwide sport, hosting 19 races in 12 different countries with races broadcast in North America, South America, Australia, Europe and most of Asia. The series also serves as a major battleground between the world's premier automobile manufacturers; there is massive factory involvement within the sport and there are over 18 car models that are permitted for use in the TMMC. For information on the current season, please see: 2012 TM Master Cup season.

The early years
After the Second World War, auto racing began to spring up across the Midwest. With the Indianapolis 500 running strong every Memorial Day weekend, other drivers began to arrange weekends at short tracks across the Midwest.

Gerard Madigan, the owner of the now famous Grand Detour of Southern Illinois track went to his home of Decatur and went to an unused series of corn fields, intending to put a short track there. However, he decided to do something a bit grander -- build a track worthy of European Grand Prix racing.

The original Decatur Raceway was most of the frontstretch and most of the other side of the track, making an exciting road course in the middle of Illinois. With this intrigue, the raceway began to organize a few spontaneous events using stock cars rather than its original intent. Madigan then announced that he had partnered with James Tyson, who had already built a 1.5 Oval in Peoria, IL, and arranged for America's first major stock car competition that would span 15 races in the Midwest -- including the challenging Decatur Raceway. It was called the T.M. Stock Car Challenge, and ran its first full season in 1952.

During 1968, the series was renamed the TM Master Cup Series, as it had drawn the attention of more Americans. By 1969, the series had races on both the West and East coasts, and in every corner of the United States -- except in the south.

The TM Master Cup series owners successfully bought out the Southern-based American Stock Car Championship (ASCC), effectively merging the two series and making the TM Master Cup series spread all over America. However, the former ASCC teams and promoters were successful in buying out most of the race dates, and the series shifted to the south. It wasn't until the 1980s that the series shifted back towards the Midwest, to the displeasure of some fans and teams, but to the delight of the establishment.

Karjala and continued expansion
Gerard Madigan was contacted in 1971 about designing a Grand Prix track in the middle of Finland, after his successes with Decatur, which had recently added an expansion, making it the 3-mile-plus high-speed course it's known to be today.

Madigan went to Finland with the intent of topping what he did in Decatur, but as per the contract, he would retain partial ownership of the circuit. So was born the Karjala Raceway, a twisting, treacherous track that required the driver's attention at all times.

Its transition from high speed to low speed, plus a high-speed S curve was deemed too hazardous for Grand Prix racing, so for a source of revenue, Madigan had another idea.

So in 1977, the first Karjala race was held. Ten TM Master Cup series regulars showed up, a bit nervous at being so close to the Soviet Union, along with 28 European drivers. Master Cup driver and legend Arthur Thomas and his Camelot Racing No. 23 car won what he called "the most difficult race of my life."

With the drivers having nothing but positive things to say about the circuit, its prestige grew, however, it wasn't until 1987 when Master Cup drivers outnumbered one-off teams from Northern Europe.

Perhaps the most memorable Karjala Grand Prix race was when Leonid Roderick won the race as a rookie in 1998, something that was unheard of. He won it again in 2005.

Back home, the TM Master Cup series was allowed to visit the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway to open their season in 1979, lasting until 1987 when the Master Cup series began its season at Daytona, a move that angered some of the veteran drivers.

The modern era: Broadening diversity
2006 was a watershed of diversity, which made both fans and drivers happy. After a fairly successful first two years, Tyrone Stanley won the Karjala Grand Prix after a rigorous duel with Steve Marshall that saw both cars rammed off the course (apparently on purpose) making him the first black man to win the event, and the first black winner since Langston Davis in 1990. However, Stanley's win was much more definitive then Davis's lone victory, since that was a rainout.

In the year before, a female driver ran the entire season, something that had not been done before. Rachel Rainsford (who carried the name "Rainsford" because it was her mother's maiden name, which was being used by her younger sister as well) drove for her father, Donald McKinney, but did not do very well. It was her younger half-sister by four years, Alexis, that set the world on fire in 2006 by beating odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year contender Paul Lyons.

The younger Rainsford nonetheless won Rookie of the Year through a string of top 5 finishes, even though her rival, Lyons, won a race.

A few years before, in 2003, Welshman Alan Hodges became the first non-American driver to win a race, a record most people expected Englishman Lance Andrews to set. In fact, in order to get that honor, Hodges had to beat Andrews and Canadian Dan Timothy.