{"id":49049,"date":"2024-10-23T16:24:31","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T20:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/?p=49049"},"modified":"2024-10-23T17:44:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T21:44:00","slug":"because-its-charlotte-world-short-track-championship-series-directors-talk-support-prestige-of-mega-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/news\/because-its-charlotte-world-short-track-championship-series-directors-talk-support-prestige-of-mega-event\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018BECAUSE IT\u2019S CHARLOTTE\u2019: World Short Track Championship Series Directors Talk Support, Prestige of Mega Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

The World Short Track Championship<\/em> has grown to become the East Coast\u2019s largest and most prestigious dirt track racing event on the fall calendar with over 500 cars racing in 10 different divisions last year.<\/p>\n

But what is it about this supersized event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte<\/a> \u2014 now only nine years old \u2014 that creates such a turnout?<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s Charlotte,\u201d said Jason Walls, Series Director of the Mid-East Racing Association<\/a>, which sanctions four divisions at the event. \u201cOn the local short track dirt racer, The Dirt Track at Charlotte is Daytona, it\u2019s Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just means so much for everybody because a lot of the racing that goes on in this region is because of what goes on at Charlotte Motor Speedway \u2014 all the connections it has to the outside racing world. It\u2019s so big of a stage for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ninth edition of the event hits the 4\/10-mile, red dirt oval of Charlotte next Thursday\u2013Saturday, Oct. 31\u2013Nov. 2. Walls is one of many series directors bringing their regular competitors to the event, including Adam Stewart of Crate Racin\u2019 USA (CRUSA)<\/a>, Scott Morgan of the Monster Mini Stock<\/a> \/ Thunder Bomber Association<\/a> (MMSA), and multiple other Southeast-based organizations.<\/p>\n

\"Rod<\/a>

Rod Tucker won the inaugural Thunder Bomber event at Charlotte in 2022. (ZSK Photography)<\/p><\/div>\n

While their car types are all different, the drivers that race them all share a common motive in making their trip out to Concord, NC, every October.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course everybody wants to race there \u2014 it\u2019s Charlotte,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cYou\u2019re in the shadows of the Speedway there. It\u2019s got the name \u2018America\u2019s Home for Racing,\u2019 so I think it gives these guys that are on a stage a bigger stage to get themselves some visibility and be able to run at a facility like that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys that run here \u2014 they run with local dirt track racers; they don\u2019t get a chance to shine on a big stage like a lot of these Late Model drivers do week-in and week-out,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThis is their big stage, a good chance to go and just have fun. A lot of people make a vacation out of the weekend. It\u2019s just an overall good weekend to have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart has served as the Crate Racin\u2019 USA Dirt Late Model Series director since 2013 and has seen the Chevrolet Performance 604 Crate engine-powered Late Model division\u2019s car count increase every year at the World Short Track Championship<\/em>, reaching 60 cars last year for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n

But this year, Stewart and the CRUSA officials have added in a new element for their trip to Charlotte. Saturday\u2019s main event will be a points race for all drivers, which could have major implications in the championship standings as their season nears its conclusion. Unlike years past, all points championship chasers will be required to compete, including some of the Southeast\u2019s top Crate racers like Jimmy Thomas, Matt Dooley and Matt Henderson.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody wants to beat the best, and you\u2019ve got a bunch of cars,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cIf you\u2019re gonna be a champion, you\u2019ve got to fight the heavyweights. So, I think it\u2019s being able to outrun that number of cars \u2014 those guys that are good.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my core group \u2014 coming from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee \u2014 to come to the Carolinas, it sort of gives them a measuring stick to see how they measure up to the guys from over that way that come from DIRTcar world as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Late Models getting the green flag at Charlotte in 2023. (ZSK Photography)<\/p><\/div>\n

Like the regional touring stars, the local heroes of the Southeast\u2019s weekly dirt tracks flock to Charlotte every October as well. Morgan purchased South Carolina-based MMSA for the four-cylinder-powered Mini Stocks in 2017, and in 2023 brought in the Monster Thunder Bombers brand for the V8-powered Street Stock-type cars, which debuted at Charlotte in 2022.<\/p>\n

Both divisions compete regularly around the weekly Carolina dirt tracks and attend Morgan\u2019s series races throughout the year. But to the drivers, Charlotte is special \u2014\u00a0enough to force some to make extra preparations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll actually sit out the whole month of October if they have to just to go get their motors freshened, make sure they got new tires, and go over the car \u2014 front bumper to back bumper \u2014\u00a0just to make sure that everything\u2019s gonna be top-notch and ready to go before they get to Charlotte because it is such a big stage for them,\u201d Morgan said.<\/p>\n

Like the weekly racers of the Carolinas, the World Short Track Championship<\/em> also brings together drivers from the Northern regions of the United States as well \u2014 including the DIRTcar Pro Stocks and Sportsman Modifieds from the Northeast, and four of Mid-East\u2019s divisions, which operate around both Carolinas and Virginia.<\/p>\n

As the Series Director, Walls originally got involved with the event because of the big stage it presents to his racers, but also because of the high level of weekly competition that converges on The Dirt Track at Charlotte and brings out the best his organization has to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMid-East breaks our racing into regions \u2014 we have a north, a south, a coastal region \u2014\u00a0which keeps everybody in their own little area,\u201d Walls said. \u201cThrough the year, we all race at different places and [World Short Track Championship] just brings everybody together at one time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win this event, it means so much because you\u2019ve beat the best of the best in this region.\u201d<\/p>\n

See all 10 divisions of racing in action at the ninth annual World Short Track Championship<\/em> at The Dirt Track at Charlotte \u2014\u00a0Thursday\u2013Saturday, Oct. 31\u2013Nov. 2. Tickets are on sale and registration is now open at DIRTcar.com\/WorldShortTrack<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The World Short Track Championship has grown to become the East Coast\u2019s largest and most prestigious dirt track racing event on the fall calendar with over 500 cars racing in 10 different divisions last year. But what is it about this supersized event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte \u2014 now only nine years old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":49050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[576],"tags":[560,446],"division":[],"series":[],"regions":[1724],"class_list":["post-49049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-the-dirt-track-at-charlotte","tag-world-short-track-championship","regions-ump"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Short Track Championship Directors Talk Support of Event<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The World Short Track Championship has grown to become one of the most prestigious dirt track racing events on the fall calendar.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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