BAYTOWN, Texas (Jan. 30) – In less than three weeks, the nation’s elite dirt Modified drivers will begin their quest for a 2012 USMTS National Championship with the season openers for both the USMTS Casey’s Cup and new USMTS National Championship Series at the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, Feb. 16-18.
One driver could walk away with $10,000 or more from the tripleheader at the 3/8-mile clay oval.
The engines fire up and drivers get an opportunity to fine-tune their machines during an open practice on Wednesday, Feb. 15, before the green flag unfurls for the first time on Thursday for the year’s first USMTS Casey’s Cup Qualifier with at least $2,000 going to the winner.
With 27 USMTS Casey’s Cup Qualifiers on the schedule, drivers will be battling for a spot in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup, which will begin Aug. 9 at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., and culminate Sept. 20-22 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., during the 14th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree.
At the conclusion of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup, the champion will earn a $15,000 paycheck.
On Friday and Saturday, the inaugural events for the USMTS National Championship Series are on tap with each night carrying a $4,000 top prize.
The USMTS National Championship Series currently has 29 events and each will pay at least $4,000 to win and $400 to start with up to 30 cars taking the green flag in every main event. The driver with the best 20 showings during the campaign will be named the 2012 USMTS National Champion and will take home a record $30,000 while the runner-up in the final ranking will get a cool $20,000 in the richest season-ending payoff in USMTS history.
Paul White won the first-ever USMTS event at the Royal Purple Raceway in 2007. Since then, trips to victory lane have also been made by Alan Mondus, Kelly Shryock, Jason Hughes, Tommy Weder Jr., Johnny Bone Jr., Zack VanderBeek, Jeremy Payne, Rodney Sanders, Ryan Gustin, John O Whittington, Chris Brown and Dereck Ramirez.
Hughes leads all drivers with five wins at the former Houston Raceway Park, but Ramirez comes into the event with the momentum after capturing back-to-back wins on the final two nights of the 5th Annual USMTS Winter Nationals in November.
Other drivers expected to compete for the checkered flag include Jon Tesch, Johnny Scott, Rick Beebe, Bryan Rowland, Corey Dripps, Jason Krohn, Stormy Scott, Jeremy Payne, Shane Hebert, Randy Timms, Chase Junghans, Grant Junghans, Austin Siebert, Bobby Malchus, Clyde Dunn Jr., Chase Allen, Steven Whiteaker Jr. and many more.
Limited Mods will also be running for $500 to win Thursday, $700 on Friday and $1,000 on Saturday. A $100 bonus will be paid to any driver racing all three nights and not qualifying for the “A” Main on Saturday. The event will be sanctioned by the USRA, with licensed USRA Western Flyer HotMod drivers earning national points toward the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.
Practice on Wednesday will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. On Thursday and Friday, the pit gate opens at 3:00 p.m., grandstands open at 5:00 and racing begins at 7:00. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3:00 p.m., grandstands open at 4:00 and the first heat race hits the track at 5:30.
The Royal Purple Raceway is located just east of Houston on I-10 to exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565. For more information, call the track office at 281-383-7223 or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.com online.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like the USMTS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Day Motor Sports, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: Aero Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Erson Cams, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, Isky Racing Cams, The Joie of Seating, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Racing Head Service, Tiger Rear Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, WIX Filters.