Cottage Grove, OR — DIRTcar Racing continued its expansion in the Northwest this week, signing the well-known, blazing-fast Cottage Grove Speedway as a member track.
And the quarter-mile Oregon oval will roar into the DIRTcar Racing fold this Saturday night (June 13) by hosting the DIRTcar Modified Nationals, a 40-lap, $2,000-to-win special event for the division that will carry the organization’s weekly sanction.
“We’re excited about continuing the growth of DIRTcar Racing in the Northwest,” said DIRTcar Racing Western Region director Chris Morgan. “Coming on the heels of the successful debut of the Northwest I-5 DIRTcar Late Model Tour at Cottage Grove and Willamette Speedway (in Lebanon, Ore.) over the Memorial Day Weekend, the addition of Cottage Grove to our weekly program gives DIRTcar Racing plenty of momentum heading into the summer months.”
Cottage Grove joins Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Ore., and Northern California’s Siskiyou Motor Speedway as DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned tracks in the Northwest. DIRTcar Modified racers at the three ovals compete for regional and national points under the UMP DIRTcar Racing program, which last year boasted a DIRTcar Modified points fund that exceeded $175,000.
“Bringing Cottage Grove Speedway under the DIRTcar Racing banner gives us a solid base of DIRTcar Modified racing in the Northwest,” said Morgan. “We’ll now have the opportunity to put together bigger DIRTcar Modified programs in the region and the drivers will have more chances to earn points and national recognition.
“We’ve also received considerable interest from other tracks in the Northwest concerning our DIRTcar programs, so we’re very excited about the future of DIRTcar Racing in the region.”
Brian Crockett, a 52-year-old former Sprint Car driver in his first season promoting Cottage Grove Speedway, sees his track’s affiliation with DIRTcar Racing as a huge positive step for his DIRTcar Modified competitors.
“The biggest reason we decided to sign with DIRTcar Racing is to benefit the racers themselves,” said Crockett. “Our feeling is that if the racers benefit, down the road the track will benefit as well.
“I’m hoping (DIRTcar Racing’s presence) continues to build out here. I’d like to see all the tracks on the West Coast join up so everyone is racing under the same rules and points structures. That would be great for the sport.”
Cottage Grove Speedway, which operates regularly on Saturday nights, actually ran its first events under the DIRTcar Racing banner on May 22 when it presented the opener of the 2009 Northwest I-5 DIRTcar Late Model Tour schedule. The full-fender series is scheduled to return to Cottage Grove for another show on July 5.
For more information on Cottage Grove Speedway and this Saturday night’s DIRTcar Modified Nationals, visit www.cottagegrovespeedway.com.
Additional info on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing is available at www.DIRTcar.com.
