LA MONTE, Mo. — The USMTS Casey’s Cup Series heads for a pair of fan-favorite venues in Missouri this weekend as Modified March Madness continues the month-long mud-slinging campaign.
On Friday, March 23, the series invades the LA Raceway in La Monte, Mo., for the 6th Annual Schwab’s Tinker Shop Show-Me Shootout, then heads north to the I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo., for the 4th Annual Yancy’s Automotive Missouri Meltdown on Saturday, April 1.
Each event will pay $2,000 to the winner with a minimum of $250 to start.
Jason Hughes won last April at the LA Raceway for his second win in a row at the 3/8-mile clay oval and evened him up with Jeremy Payne as the only drivers to score two wins at Mike and Carol White’s facility.
Other former winners at the LA Raceway include Kelly Shryock, Rodney Sanders and Grant Junghans. Sanders, who won his sixth career USMTS feature Saturday night in Humboldt, Kan., comes into the event where he won his first USMTS race as the points leader in the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series.
Payne crossed the finish line first in 2009, but was later disqualified during technical inspection and the win was awarded to Junghans – his first and only USMTS victory. Junghans went on to capture the USMTS Rookie of the Year title that same year.
A smooth, fast and wide racing surface has been the norm with each visit to the LA Raceway. In fact, three of the seven main events here have gone green to checkered without a caution.
Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps start at 7 and the first heat race is slated for 7:30 this Friday. Also on the card will be USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods battling in the Iron Man Challenge.
The LA Raceway is a located 3.5 miles west of SR 127 on Hwy Y. For more information, call 660-620-1152 or 660-563-9878 or check out www.laraceway.com online.
After a nearly eight-year hiatus, the USMTS Modifieds returned to the I-35 Speedway twice in 2011 with Ryan Gustin taking the April tilt and Johnny Scott taking the checkers during ‘The Hunt’ in August.
John Allen won the first event on March 29, 2002, and then cranked out three straight during that weekend and into October with John Van Den Berg winning the final race that year. Another doubleheader in 2003 was topped by Scott Drake and Mark Noble.
Also on the racing card this Saturday will be the Iron Man Challenge featuring USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods with gates opening at 2 p.m., hot laps at 5 and racing at 5:30.
The I-35 Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt oval located 10 miles north of Cameron on SR 6 (exit 64). For more information, call the track at 660-749-5317 or visit www.i-35speedway.net online.
Among the drivers expected this weekend are Rodney Sanders, Jason Hughes, Terry Phillips, Johnny Scott, Stormy Scott, Ryan Gustin, Terry Schultz, John Schwab, Mark Dotson, Zack VanderBeek, Rick Beebe, Dereck Ramirez, Kelly Shryock, Bryan Rowland, Mike Sorensen, Jeremy Payne, Mickey Burrell, Jason Krohn, Casey Penn, Chris Brown, Brandon Davis, Ron Keith, Jacob Dahle, Austin Siebert, Thomas Tillison Jr., Scott Daniels, Ryan Ruter, Shad Badder, Steven Bowers Jr., Nick Nevins, John Allen, Johnny Bone Jr., Dan Daniels, Nick Herrick, Bumper Jones, Joe Duvall, Corey Dripps, Stephen Muilenburg, Tim Donlinger, Brian Ruhlman, Lucas Conley, Brad Dierks, Luke Driskell, Ryan Engels, Johnny Fennewald, Dan Fetters, William Gould, Al Hejna, Doug Herrick, Daniel Hilsabeck, Jim Johnson, Tanner Mullens, Jamie Ragland, Justin Rexwinkle, Lucas Schott, Mike Wedelstadt and others.
The USMTS Modifieds return to the Humboldt Speedway March 28-31 for the $15,000-to-win King of America II Modified Nationals. In all, Modified March Madness will see nearly $200,000 in cash being doled out during the month.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.comonline or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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