BELLS, Texas-Yesterday morning, the United States Modified Touring Series had never competed at the Grayson County Speedway, and there were no plans to do so in 2014.
But a war with Mother Nature can produce strange coalitions.
Heavy rainfall has peppered North Texas for most of this week, causing flooding in many areas. Steady showers dropped a little more than a half-inch of rain at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday, while areas to the south and southwest were drenched with up to eight inches of rain, forcing evacuations and stranding motorists.
In what has been one of the driest years on record for the region, the moisture was a welcome addition to many local residents, but not for race fans who had circled this week's string of USMTS events in the Dallas and Waco regions on their calendars many weeks ago.
The wet weather on Sunday and Monday forced track officials at the Heart O' Texas Speedway in Elm Mott to cancel Tuesday night's scheduled event, and then more rain into Tuesday and Wednesday caused the plug to be pulled on Wednesday's event at the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite and the USMTS debut at the Mountain Creek Speedway in Grand Prairie on Thursday.
It was shortly after noon on Wednesday when USMTS promoter Todd Staley heard his phone rang. On the other end of the call was Grayson County Speedway promoter James Craig. Less than an hour later, the racers had a place to race and the fans had a place to watch them.
"We've been dry as a bone here," Craig said. "Our weekly car count is really good and our fan support is fantastic, so we felt like this is something we could pull off and offer them a great show to be a part of."
Twenty years ago, getting the word out this fast would have been impossible. But through the miracle of email, text messaging and social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, thousands-if not millions-of people can get the message in no time.
The fact that you are reading this now is proof of that.
Celebrating its 40th season of racing this year, the Grayson County Speedway is a quarter-mile dirt oval located north of Dallas in Bells, Texas, and will host a $2,000-to-win, $300-to-start USMTS show on Thursday, June 26.
Gates open at 3 p.m. and the first green flag will wave at 8 p.m. General admission is $15 and pit passes are $35. Limited Modifieds will also be on the card racing for $500 to win and $75 to start.
To get there, take exit 58 and then go east on Hwy. 56 for 7.1 miles, then turn right on Pink Hill Rd. and drive 1.1 miles to Speedway Rd., and then turn right and go another mile and turn left into the track entrance.
For more information call 903-892-3157 or check out www.gcsracing.com.
Two more nights of racing remain this week to wrap up the 'Dozens Days of Dirt' with stops at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., on Saturday; and Outlaw Motorsports Park in Oktaha, Okla., on Sunday.
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.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers, SpiderWeb Modular Storage Solutions, Swan Energy, VP Racing Fuels.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Major League Bowhunter, Mesilla Valley Transportation, New Vision Graphics, Olympic Fire Protection, Penn Transport, Road Runner Crane, Road Runner Trucking, S&S Fishing & Rental, United Cellular Services.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, Brass Monkey Racing Products, C&R Racing, CPD Racing Tools, Edelbrock, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends.
But a war with Mother Nature can produce strange coalitions.
Heavy rainfall has peppered North Texas for most of this week, causing flooding in many areas. Steady showers dropped a little more than a half-inch of rain at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Sunday, while areas to the south and southwest were drenched with up to eight inches of rain, forcing evacuations and stranding motorists.
In what has been one of the driest years on record for the region, the moisture was a welcome addition to many local residents, but not for race fans who had circled this week's string of USMTS events in the Dallas and Waco regions on their calendars many weeks ago.
The wet weather on Sunday and Monday forced track officials at the Heart O' Texas Speedway in Elm Mott to cancel Tuesday night's scheduled event, and then more rain into Tuesday and Wednesday caused the plug to be pulled on Wednesday's event at the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite and the USMTS debut at the Mountain Creek Speedway in Grand Prairie on Thursday.
It was shortly after noon on Wednesday when USMTS promoter Todd Staley heard his phone rang. On the other end of the call was Grayson County Speedway promoter James Craig. Less than an hour later, the racers had a place to race and the fans had a place to watch them.
"We've been dry as a bone here," Craig said. "Our weekly car count is really good and our fan support is fantastic, so we felt like this is something we could pull off and offer them a great show to be a part of."
Twenty years ago, getting the word out this fast would have been impossible. But through the miracle of email, text messaging and social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, thousands-if not millions-of people can get the message in no time.
The fact that you are reading this now is proof of that.
Celebrating its 40th season of racing this year, the Grayson County Speedway is a quarter-mile dirt oval located north of Dallas in Bells, Texas, and will host a $2,000-to-win, $300-to-start USMTS show on Thursday, June 26.
Gates open at 3 p.m. and the first green flag will wave at 8 p.m. General admission is $15 and pit passes are $35. Limited Modifieds will also be on the card racing for $500 to win and $75 to start.
To get there, take exit 58 and then go east on Hwy. 56 for 7.1 miles, then turn right on Pink Hill Rd. and drive 1.1 miles to Speedway Rd., and then turn right and go another mile and turn left into the track entrance.
For more information call 903-892-3157 or check out www.gcsracing.com.
Two more nights of racing remain this week to wrap up the 'Dozens Days of Dirt' with stops at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., on Saturday; and Outlaw Motorsports Park in Oktaha, Okla., on Sunday.
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.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers, SpiderWeb Modular Storage Solutions, Swan Energy, VP Racing Fuels.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Major League Bowhunter, Mesilla Valley Transportation, New Vision Graphics, Olympic Fire Protection, Penn Transport, Road Runner Crane, Road Runner Trucking, S&S Fishing & Rental, United Cellular Services.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, Brass Monkey Racing Products, C&R Racing, CPD Racing Tools, Edelbrock, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends.
