{"id":4196,"date":"2009-04-02T07:13:22","date_gmt":"2009-04-02T12:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/100.24.212.105\/?p=4196"},"modified":"2023-08-08T16:39:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T20:39:07","slug":"dirtcar-racing-southwest-region-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/divisions\/late-models\/dirtcar-racing-southwest-region-news\/","title":{"rendered":"DIRTcar Racing Southwest Region News:"},"content":{"rendered":"
Concord,NC<\/strong> \u2014 CONCORD, NC \u2013 April 2, 2009 \u2013 Beginning this Saturday night (April 4) at USA Race Park in Tucson, Ariz., the battle for the 2009 DIRTcar Racing Southwest Region Super Late Model Region championship will really heat up.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s action at the three-eighths-mile oval features the resumption of the DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned Southwest Dirt Racing Association (SWDRA) Super Late Model Series by DQ, which has already contested two competitive events in 2009 and recently released an updated schedule boasting more dates than originally announced.<\/p>\n With the recent news that Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz., was sold by its owners and will cease operation after an April 9-11 weekend of racing, SWDRA officials huddled with other track promoters to replace the tour\u2019s planned dates at Manzanita and add additional stops to the 2009 series. The SWDRA schedule now shows 16 points races at five different tracks in Arizona and New Mexico, including a last-hurrah on the Manzanita half-mile on Fri., April 10, as part of the speedway\u2019s farewell weekend.<\/p>\n The updated SWDRA schedule provides more points-earning opportunities for DIRTcar Racing Southwest Region Super Late Model drivers, who are poised to race for a share of a UMP DIRTcar Racing points fund that topped $200,000 in 2008. All of this year\u2019s SWDRA tour events will be sanctioned by DIRTcar Racing \u2013 the brand name for the sanctioning body run by the World Racing Group of Concord, N.C. \u2013 and offer UMP DIRTcar Racing points toward the Southwest Region and national standings.<\/p>\n Fourteen points race remain on the 2009 SWDRA slate, which kicked off last month with events on March 7 at USA Race Park (won by Lonnie Parker Jr. of El Mirage, Ariz.) and March 14 on Manzanita\u2019s inner one-third-mile oval (won by DIRTcar Modified standout Anthony Madrid of Phoenix).<\/p>\n In addition to the April 10 event at Manzanita, new dates that didn\u2019t appear on the original SWDRA schedule include May 9 and Oct. 31 at USA Race Park; holiday weekend doubleheaders on May 23-24 and Sept. 5-6 at Canyon Speedway Park on the north side of Phoenix; July 18 at Prescott Valley (Ariz.) Raceway; and a two-day special on July 31-Aug. 1 at Hollywood Hills Raceway in San Felipe, N.M., that will see teams compete for an increased purse. Originally-announced events that remain on the SWDRA sked include April 4, June 6 and Oct. 3 at USA Race Park and Sept. 19 at Prescott Valley.<\/p>\n A two-day event on July 10-11 at Great Basin Speedway in Ely, Nev., is also listed on the SWDRA schedule, but the doubleheader will not offer tour points. The program is part of the DIRTcar Western Allstars Late Model Series, so Southwest drivers with DIRTcar Racing memberships can receive pit-admission discounts and insurance coverage if they attend.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re certainly disappointed to lose a historic track like Manzanita Speedway,\u201d said SWDRA representative Kyle Porter. \u201cBut after the news of the track\u2019s sale broke, we opened lines of communication with other track promoters and with their cooperation we\u2019ve been able to provide the Southwest\u2019s dirt Late Model teams an even stronger schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been strong car counts and a very positive vibe on both sides of the fence at the first two SWDRA events of the season, and we\u2019re expecting to ride that optimism throughout an exciting year of racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Brad Williams of Tucson, Ariz., leads the SWDRA points standings entering this Saturday night\u2019s action, but he\u2019s still searching for his first win of 2009.<\/p>\n Parker, who has won the last five SWDRA points championships, won the season opener but followed that with a rough night at Manzanita. He was involved in two accidents on Manzy\u2019s one-third-mile oval and didn\u2019t finish the feature, leaving him in a tie for second in the points standings.<\/p>\n The Tucson event is also expected to include DIRTcar Modified standouts R.C. Whitwell of Tucson (driving the T-Mac Pipe Construction No. 96T) and Jeremy Thornton of Tucson (in Lonnie Parker Sr.\u2019s machine); Terry Belcher Jr. of Phoenix, who has contended for victory in both races run this season before experiencing mechanical trouble; and Tommy Hussak III of Picacho, Ariz., who will bring out a new car to replace the Late Model he flipped in the season opener at USA Race Park.<\/p>\n