EVANSVILLE , IN – Nov. 26, 2007 – The 2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing season is over, but the first green flag of the 2008 campaign is less than two months away.
And once the UMP DIRTcar Racing action heats up on, it will roar on for nearly an entire month in the southeast corner of the United States .
Beginning Jan. 23 and stretching to Feb. 16, UMP DIRTcar Racing’s Super Late Model division will compete in 11 events and the open-wheel Modified class will contest 18 nights of competition across Georgia and Florida .
“This will be the most races UMP DIRTcar Racing has ever sanctioned down south in January and February,” said UMP DIRTcar Racing director Sam Driggers. “There will be plenty of racing to keep the Late Model and Modified teams busy.”
The Super Late Model competition kicks off on Wed., Jan. 23, at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick , Ga. , which will host the huge ‘Super Bowl of Racing’ from Jan. 23-Feb. 2. Track owner Frankie Lloyd has scheduled an unprecedented 10 nights of Super Late Model racing all topped by 50-lap, $10,000-to-win A-Mains, including seven under the UMP DIRTcar Racing banner.
UMP DIRTcar Racing is set to sanction GIS’s ‘Super Bowl of Racing’ Super Late Model programs on Wed., Jan. 23; Thurs., Jan. 24; Fri., Jan. 25; Sat., Jan. 26; Mon., Jan. 28; Tues., Jan. 29; and Sat., Feb. 2.
Golden Isles has been a site for late-January/early-February UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model action in the past, but the ‘Super Bowl of Racing’ will mark the first time that every event offers a $10,000 top prize. The competition will also take place on a completely redesigned track after Lloyd spent much of the 2007 season turning the equipment-taxing five-eighths-mile GIS oval into a racier four-tenths-mile layout with 90-foot-wide turns.
Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville , Ill. , who made history in 2007 by sweeping the UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals and National points championships, is expected to begin his ’08 schedule by chasing the big bucks at Golden Isles.
An ever-expanding list of top-name drivers has already announced plans to enter the ‘Super Bowl of Racing’ at GIS, including former UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals and World of Outlaws Late Model Series champions Billy Moyer of Batesville , Ark. , and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn.; 2007 WoO LMS titlist Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and fellow tour regulars Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; 2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘World 100’ winner Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn.; 2007 Knoxville Nationals victor Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.; Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C.; Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va.; and NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo.
UMP DIRTcar Racing will also sanction four nights of Super Late Model racing as part of the 37th annual ‘DIRTcar Nationals’ at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville , Fla. The full-bodied warriors will battle under the UMP flag on Mon., Feb. 11; Tues., Feb. 12; Wed., Feb. 13; and Fri., Feb. 15.
A star-studded field in the neighborhood of 100 cars is anticipated for the ‘DIRTcar Nationals’ events at VSP, a half-mile oval that is located just 20 minutes from Daytona Beach.
The Golden Isles and Volusia meets will each crown UMP DIRTcar Racing points champions under the organization’s State points divisions.
The UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modifieds will be even busier than the Late Models, barnstorming through four tracks to run 18 times.
All the Modified competition begins at Golden Isles Speedway, where the open-wheel standouts can get a head start on their southern excursions with four programs during the ‘Super Bowl of Racing.’ The Modifieds are scheduled to contest $1,000-to-win shows as part of the GIS undercard on Mon., Jan. 28; Tues., Jan. 29; Wed., Jan. 30; and Thurs., Jan. 31.
The Modifieds then head to the Sunshine State for the second annual ‘North Florida Winternationals’ from Feb. 1-3 at North Florida Speedway in Lake City . The three-eighths-mile oval hosted UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modifieds for the first time in 2007.
The meat of the winter trip for UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modified teams comes at Volusia Speedway Park, where eight consecutive nights of ‘DIRTcar Nationals’ racing stretches from Tues., Feb. 5, to Tues., Feb. 12. Fields of 60-plus Modifieds are expected for the programs, which run in conjunction with All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars (Feb. 5-7), World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Feb. 8-10) and UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Models (Feb. 11-12).
The season-opening swing for the UMP DIRTcar Racing open-wheel Modifieds comes to a close on Florida ’s west coast at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton. Two nights of preliminary competition (Thurs., Feb. 14, and Fri., Feb. 15) will be topped by an $8,000-to-win 100-lapper on Sat., Feb. 16.
For more information on the UMP DIRTcar Racing events, visit www.umpracing.com or call the UMP DIRTcar Racing office at 812-426-1200.
Info on the tracks is available by logging on to www.goldenislesspeedway.com; www.northfloridaspeedway.com; www.volusiaspeedway.com; or www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
