Concord,NC — DIRTcar Download: Tight UMP DIRTcar Pro Late Model Points Race Developing; Big Sunday For DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds
CONCORD, NC – April 24, 2009 –
DIRTcar Download is your source for everything in DIRTcar Racing. Throughout the season, you’ll find weekly news, notes and track and driver spotlights from across DIRTcar Racing’s regions.
UMP DIRTcar Racing:
Nothing Limited Here: In case you haven’t noticed, there’s already a fierce points battle developing in the UMP DIRTcar Pro Late Model division.
Defending national points champion Tait Davenport and up-and-comer Caleb Ashby are already proving how exciting the 2009 DIRTcar Pro Late Model season will be.
Davenport resides Kentucky while Ashby hails from Tennessee, making their battle a significant border war. In the past two weeks the point scuffle between the two DIRTcar Southern Region competitors has heated up, with Ashby erasing Davenport’s three-point edge last weekend to claim the national points lead by eight markers entering this weekend’s competition.
Ashby, a young driver from Cunningham, Tenn., finished fifth in last year’s UMP DIRTcar Pro Late Model national points race while Davenport was consistently atop the points standings throughout the ’08 season to claim the division’s inaugural national points crown.
Monster Midwest Tripleheader: Promoter Don Hammer’s Monster Midwest Tour kicks off its inaugural full-season schedule tonight (Fri., April 24) at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway with a $5,000-to-win UMP DIRTcar Late Model show – a race that also serves as a grand re-opening for the track, which sat idle in 2008.
That’s not all for the Monster Midwest Tour this weekend. Action resumes at Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind., on Saturday (April 25) and caps off a full racing weekend with a visit to Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on Sunday (April 26).
Both Kamp and Lincoln will host $2,000-to-win events.
More information on the Monster Midwest Series can be found at http://www.monstermidwestseries.com.
DIRTcar NorthEast:
A Jewel of an Event: After Mother Nature claimed the first scheduled event of the 2009 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for big-block Modifieds last month at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway, the tour looks to break out for the 2009 season on Sunday evening (April 26) with a 75-lap event at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa.
The coal region track will open its gates to the best in the big-block Modified business for the Spring Fever 75, which offers a $6,000 top prize.
Big Diamond’s pit gates and grandstands will open at 2 p.m. Practice is set to begin at 5:15 p.m., followed by Big-Block Modified Integra Shocks Time Trials. Qualifying heats are scheduled to go green at 6:30 p.m. The event will carry a rain date of Mon., April 27, if needed.
General Admission grandstand tickets at Big Diamond are $20 (kids 10 yrs. and under are free) and pit passes cost $30 each.
For more information, contact the Big Diamond Raceway office at 570/385-0744 or 570/544-1410 on race day. All tickets and pit passes will be available at the gate the day of the race
DIRTcar kicks off Merrittville: The hometrack of 2008 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified champion Pete Bicknell gets its season – and the 2009 Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series — underway with a ‘Spring Sizzler’ event on Saturday night (April 25) featuring a 100-lap, $4,000-to-win headliner at Merrittville Speedway in St. Catharines, Ont.
Merrittville Speedway’s ates will open at 4 p.m., with the ground-pounding 358-Modified action throwing Merrittville clay at 6 p.m.
For more information log on to http://merrittvillespeedway.com.
DIRTcar Western Region:
Western AllStars Head For Santa Maria: Fresh off of a great event at Chowchilla (Calif.) Speedway last Saturday night in which Kellen Chadwick scored his biggest win since suffering near-fatal injuries in a February 2008 accident, the DIRTcar Western AllStars Late Model Series gets a break in preparation for the next scheduled event on Sat., May 9, at Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway.
DIRTcar Northwest I-5 Tour Kickoff A Month Away: Fans in the Northwestern United States are counting down the days until the newest series under the DIRTcar Racing banner takes the green on May 22 at the famed Cottage Grove (Ore.) Speedway in Oregon.
The inaugural DIRTcar Northwest I-5 Late Model Tour will feature 12 events at five different tracks throughout Oregon and Washington. The Northwest’s best dirt Late Model talent will chase the points title.
The tour’s opening weekend will also include a two-day Memorial Day Weekend show on May 23-24 at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore.
For all the latest DIRTcar Racing news and information, visit DIRTcar.com. If you’re a member or would like to become a member, visit DIRTcarMembers.com.
