Evansville, IN — THE BIG ONE: Just one month remains before the UMP DIRTcar Racing world will converge on Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.
The inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com is scheduled for Oct. 15-18 at the NASCAR veteran’s high-banked, one-third-mile oval a half-hour south of downtown St. Louis. All eight divisions sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing – Super Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks – will compete in the four-day extravaganza that’s been dubbed the “Party in Pevely.”
Details of the UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com were recently released by I-55 Raceway and DIRTcar Racing officials, who are banding together to bring the Midwest’s competitors and fans an action-packed, fun-filled multi-day program.
The track’s main gate and camping area will open on Wed., Oct. 15, at 12 noon, with registration to begin at 1 p.m. “Early Bird” inspection will run from 5-9 p.m. and practice for all divisions on a rotating basis will stretch from 7-9 p.m.
The circuit’s headlining Super Late Model and open-wheel Modified divisions will share the limelight during the Roundup. Both classes will run complete programs consisting of heats, last-chance races and an A-Main each night, with the 20-lap ‘preliminary’ features for each class on Thurs., Oct. 16, and Fri., Oct. 17, transferring eight drivers per race directly to Saturday night’s (Oct. 18) grand finale A-Mains (30 laps/$5,000 to win for Super Late Models, 25 laps/$2,500 to win for Modifieds).
Thursday’s program is scheduled to include qualifying races for all eight UMP DIRTcar divisions, but only the Super Late Models and Modifieds will run features. The 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks are scheduled for A-Main action on Friday night, while the Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds and Street Stocks will join the Super Late Models and Modifieds in feature competition on Saturday night.
Racing is scheduled to begin each evening at 5:15 p.m.
While there will be non-stop racing on the I-55 Raceway surface, there will also be plenty going on off the track throughout the UMP DIRTcar Roundup. The ‘Roundup Tent’ will be the focal point of activity each day of the meet.
A variety of activities will be held inside the ‘Roundup Tent,’ including ‘Movie Night’ following Wednesday’s practice sessions; breakfast from 10 a.m. to 12 noon each day; and parties featuring live music following each night’s racing action, topped by the ‘Champions’ Party’ to conclude the UMP DIRTcar Roundup on Saturday night. There will also be a charity wienie roast on Friday, and Saturday’s schedule includes a driver autograph session and a charity chili feed.
A UMP DIRTcar Roundup Competition & Competitor Guide has been produced to provide all the necessary details of the event, including time schedules, rules, entry forms and purse structures. Call the I-55 Raceway office at 636-479-3219 for more information, or visit www.i55raceway.com, www.umpdirtcarroundup.com or www.dirtcar.com.
THE HOMESTRETCH: Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. (Super Late Models) and Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Ill. (Modifieds) sit in the driver’s seat with the UMP DIRTcar Racing national points races drawing to a close.
Erb leads the Super Late Model points standings by a commanding 266-point margin (3,229-2,963) over Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., while Leka is atop the Modified standings by 123 points (2,940-2,817) over Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky. Erb is gunning for his second consecutive national Super Late Model title, but Leka is chasing his first-ever Modified national crown after coming close several times in the past, including last year.
Just three weekends of weekly UMP DIRTcar points racing remains (the last three weekends of September). The points chase then ends for the Super Late Models and Modifieds on Oct. 3-4 with the Moser UMP DIRTcar Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, a two-day program topped by a 40-lap Super Late Model A-Main paying $5,000 to win and a 25-lap Modified feature offering a $3,000 first prize.
UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.
ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at kkovac@dirtcar.com.
UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of Sept. 8):
Super Late Models (driver/points/races):
1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3229 40
2. Wes Steidinger 2963 40
3. Jason Feger 2755 40
4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2693 40
5. Kevin Weaver 2640 40
6. Brian Shirley 2574 40
7. Ryan Unzicker 2391 40
8. Michael Kloos 2357 40
9. Mike Hammerle 2264 40
10. Eric Smith 2208 35
11. Rusty Schlenk 2160 40
12. Daren Friedman 2147 40
13. Scott Bull 2087 40
14. Mike Schulte 2075 40
15. Jayme Zidar 2032 40
16. Brian Ruhlman 2028 35
17. Randy Korte 1956 31
18. Jeep VanWormer 1949 32
19. Billy Moyer 1947 25
20. Kerry Mathew 1944 40
Modifieds (driver/points/races):
1. Jeff Leka 2940 35
2. Randle Sweeney 2817 35
3. Ken Robinson 2743 35
4. Gary Cook Jr. 2702 35
5. Tim Hancock 2650 35
6. McKay Wenger 2530 35
7. Mike Spatola 2516 35
8. John DeMoss 2500 35
9. Anthony Madrid 2493 35
10. Denny Schwartz 2479 35
11. Bobby Martintoni 2466 35
12. Todd Sherman 2423 35
13. Doug Adkins 2422 35
14. Matt Bex 2409 35
15. Bub Patrick 2357 35
16. Nick Allen 2351 35
17. John McCaul 2346 35
18. Chad Evans 2334 35
19. Jon Henry 2312 35
20. Clayton Miller 2310 35
Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):
1. Tait Davenport 2216 30
2. Matt Liner 1967 30
3. Josh Harris 1898 30
4. Caleb Ashby 1866 30
5. Aaron Heck 1776 30
6. Brad Denney 1771 25
7. Daniel Heck 1696 30
8. Carnell Parker 1657 24
9. Bobby Dauderman 1640 25
10. Levi Ashby 1598 30
Sportsman (driver/points/races):
1. Jeremy Hines 2008 25
2. Joel Funk 1863 25
3. Jeff Herzog 1852 25
4. Brad Cummings 1762 25
5. Troy Medley 1742 25
6. Chad Weinrick 1654 25
6. Jason Unzicker 1654 25
8. Troy Clark 1652 25
9. Rick Hufford 1643 25
10. Jimmy Cummins 1617 25
Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):
1. Jonathan Clayton 1443 22
2. Alex Ashley 1291 20
3. Eric Adkins 1289 20
4. Zach Dennis 1213 20
5. Rob Madrid 1200 19
6. Dan Bimson 1080 17
7. John Paul Talkington 1065 18
8. Paddy Rush 1052 17
9. Randy Dickman 970 17
10. Dustin Shoemaker 969 18
Street Stocks (driver/points/races):
1. Jarred Krick 1900 25
2. David Hurst 1848 25
3. Steve Maisel 1820 25
4. Travis Myers 1815 25
5. Dave Mannise 1780 25
6. Terry Miller 1770 25
7. Josh Griffith 1751 25
8. Steve Ewing 1734 25
9. Mike Welch 1672 25
10. Lee Hall 1659 25
4-Cylinders (driver/points):
1. Joe Reed 1903
2. Bob Zbinden 1810
3. Jeffrey Bailey 1801
4. Keaton Downing 1798
5. David Reed 1676
6. Michael Rittenberry 1642
7. Mark Farber 1554
8. Jason Broughton 1504
9. Tyler Griffin 1474
10. Mike Martin 1467
Factory Stocks (driver/points):
1. Bill DeLong 1825
2. William Burton 1715
3. Mickey Hines 1484
4. Jim Scout 1386
5. Chris Henry 1375
6. Clay Ellison 1332
7. Brett Miller 1285
8. Skid Moudy 1216
9. Danny Hogrefe 1179
