GOLIAD, Texas-Officials at the South Texas Speedway were forced to cancel next week’s United States Modified Touring Series season opener Monday due to heavy rainfall in the area which caused much of the concrete wall in turn 3 to collapse, making the track surface unsafe for racing.
“It is with great sadness that we have to announce that South Texas Speedway is cancelling the USMTS show,” said the track’s promoter, Ken Hobbs. “The Corpus Christi area has been hit with a considerable amount of rain over the last couple of months. This rain has caused a structural failure of the back wall. South Texas Speedway is working to fix this problem as fast as possible but with rain forecasted again this week we will be unable to fix before February 12th. We appreciate the fans and USMTS drivers and crews for their support.”
Tuesday, however, another track in the Lone Star State stepped in and the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental lid-lifter will go on as planned at an alternate venue: Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas.
“The promoters at Shady Oaks Speedway are all-in,” said USMTS President Todd Staley. “It is a risk to announce a new event just ten days before the gates open, but with modern-day technology such as email, text messaging and social media, we’re hopeful that the great fans in the great State of Texas come through again like they did last year.”
Last June, heavy rainfall in North Texas forced officials at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway near Waco to cancel their USMTS event on June 26. It was shortly after noon on June 25 when Staley got a call from Grayson County Speedway promoter James Craig.
Less than an hour later, a deal was in place. Racers had a place to race and fans had a place to watch them. The result was an overflow crowd on hand to watch more than 40 of the nation’s best open-wheel dirt modified drivers.
Entering its 17th season of showcasing the Best of the Best in dirt modified racing, the USMTS will be making its first-ever trip to the 1/3-mile high-banked dirt oval for three thrilling nights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-14.
The first of four straight three-night affairs will open the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports with $2,000 to win Thursday, $3,000 to win Friday and $4,000 to win Saturday.
The track will also host an open practice on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Limited Mods and Street Stocks will serve as support classes for the Shady Oaks Speedway event.
The popular South Texas dirt track owned and operated by Bobby & Rosemary Stacy and Keith Stacy is located 4.0 miles north of Goliad on US 183, then 3.0 miles east on FM 622. To learn more about the track, check out their website at www.shadyoakspeedway.com, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShadyOaksSpeedway and follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ShadyOaksGoliad.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.
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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey’s General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, S&S Fishing and Rental, Snickers, VP Racing Fuels.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Integra Shocks and Springs, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Oreo, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, Sour Patch Kids, UMotors Motorsports & Marine.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe Racing Cells, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance Products, Hooker Custom Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, QA1, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Race Products, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends, Tilton Engineering, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.