Barberville,FL — Jan. 31, 2009 — Advance Auto Parts Big Block Modifieds shake off winter in Florida with the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park for the 12th consecutive year.
The 1998 running of the event showcased a rising star in racing who would go on to become a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion: Tony Stewart.
The second round of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH that year was a Budweiser two-for-one night as Big-Block star Brett Hearn and current NASCAR star and World of Outlaws team owner Tony Stewart teamed up for the ‘Rush Hour’ on DIRT television debut at Volusia. Stewart was coming off of his win in the ’98 Indy Racing League opener at Walt Disney World Speedway.
“I had a chance to let Jeff Gordon drive one of my cars at Syracuse but I turned him down, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity with Tony this time around,” said Hearn, who then went out and led all but one lap in front of a live national viewing audience to cop the SportsChannel speed week special.
Stewart’s night wasn’t quite so memorable. He missed qualifying through the consolation round in Hearn’s back-up Bud No. 3 due to a massive traffic jam on Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach that forced a late arrival to the sweeping Barberville half-mile oval.
To see Stewart’s teams compete with the hundreds of other racers during the Feb. 3-14 running of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH, make sure to reserve your favorite seats in advance. With infield trailer heights limited to 9 feet, 6 inches, there are no bad seats in the grandstands at Volusia Speedway Park, which is only 15 miles inland on State Road 40 from Ormond Beach, Fla.
Take advantage of special ‘Super Ticket’ deals that offer seats for all the events contested by each headline division, including six Sprint Car events (All-Star Circuit of Champions on Feb. 3-5, World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Feb. 6-8); eight nights of UMP DIRTcar Modified action (Feb. 3-10); six-nights of Dirt Late Model racing (Feb. 9-14); the and four Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar big-block Modified dates (Feb. 11-14).
To reserve your seats, follow the ticket links at http://www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com, http://www.dirtcarnationals.com or call the Volusia Speedway Park office at 386-985-4402.
