(YORK, PENNSYLVANIA) Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Rick Eckert, of York, Pennsylvania, has unveiled plans today to enter the four Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series contests – scheduled from July 11-14 – in the Midwestern States of Illinois and Missouri. Instead of making the long trek west with his own equipment, Rick will pilot Allen Murray’s #2 Rocket XR1 machine throughout the lucrative weekend. Allen, who hails from San Antonio, Texas, is a sponsor and supporter of Rick Eckert Racing through his family-owned business M&M Painting & Construction. With a light racing schedule in the Mid-Atlantic for Rick and a busy work schedule for Allen, the pair made plans recently to team up for an assault on Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri this weekend.
“My own racing schedule is pretty relaxed this month and Allen (Murray) is busy with work right now, so it is a win/win situation for both of us,” exclaimed Eckert via telephone this afternoon. “Allen has top-notch equipment and he has been a great friend and supporter of myself and my race team. Hopefully, I can jump in his stuff Thursday, be quick right out of the box, and keeping working on the car throughout the weekend to get it faster and overall make his program better.”
The busy weekend will kick off at Granite City on Thursday and Friday with the St. Louis-area facility playing host to a pair of $12,000 to win LOLMDS events. Dubbed the ‘Hoker Trucking Best in Business 50’ on Thursday night and the ‘NAPA Know How 50’ on Friday evening, a strong field of competitors will be on hand at Tri-City Speedway for these two races, which each pay $1,000 just to start the 50-lap headliner.
A trip to the Show-Me State will then greet Allen Murray Racing on Saturday and Sunday, as the state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Speedway will take center stage by hosting the 12th Annual ‘CMH Diamond Nationals.’ The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Lucas Oil MLRA Series will co-sanction the doubleheader at Wheatland where a pair of $15,000 top prizes will be on the line. In all, over $200,000 in prize money is up for grabs over the hectic four-day stretch in the Midwest. You can learn more online at www.LucasDirt.com or you can watch each event live throughout the weekend on www.LucasOilRacing.TV.
“It is a great opportunity to put a talented driver like Rick in my equipment,” commented Murray today. “We are covered up right now with work, so I can’t get away to race as much as I’d like, but I have too good of equipment and crew to just be sitting there. I tried to race a little here and there during the Summer Nationals, but the rain-outs made things pretty frustrating. I think a guy of Rick’s caliber jumping behind the wheel of our car will do nothing but help our program as a whole. Hopefully, he can have a good weekend and we have a new Rocket car getting built right now – maybe there is a chance for additional races together in the future!”
Driving for himself in 2019, Rick has entered eighteen Super Late Model events so far this season and his reached victory lane on four different occasions, while racking up ten Top Five performances. The former World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Xtreme DirtCar Series (Hav-A-Tampa) Champion’s biggest win so far in 2019 came back on May 18 when he collected an $11,000 paycheck at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania!
More information concerning Rick Eckert Racing can be located online at www.RickEckertRacing.com or you can follow Rick on Twitter at @eckert24.
Media Contact: Ryan Delph – Delph Communications