Prestigious Late Model Series Expands To Accommodate More Tracks, Give Teams Needed Breaks

CONCORD, NC – Dec. 6, 2012 – DIRTcar Late Model racing’s biggest test of man and machine will grow even larger in 2013.

A record number of points events appear on the 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals ‘Hell Tour’ schedule, which was released on Thursday during the International Motorsports Industry Show in Indianapolis. The slate includes an extra weekend of competition officials have added in order to accommodate more races while also providing traveling teams some needed breaks in the action.

Beginning with the opener on Wed., June 12, at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway and running through the traditional series finale on Sat., July 20, at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, the prestigious circuit will feature 31 A-Mains at 30 tracks in nine states over a 39-day period.

“The 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals is looking like it could be one of the best ever,” DIRTcar UMP director Sam Driggers of a series that has lit up Midwestern summers annually since 1986. “With so many promoters wanting a Summer Nationals date we have chosen to add another week to the schedule to give more tracks a chance to experience a taste of the ‘Hell Tour.’ The expansion will also allow for a few more scheduled days off so the teams have more time to prepare their equipment for what is well-known as the most grueling series in DIRTcar Late Model racing.”

The current record for DIRTcar Summer Nationals points races is 28 in 2010 and 2012 – both years that included five weekends of action. The sixth weekend in 2013 opens up space on the calendar for Driggers to add three tracks that weren’t on the ’12 schedule (34 Raceway in W. Burlington, Iowa, on July 13; Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, Ill., on July 14; Twin Cities Raceway Park in N. Vernon, Ind., on July 18) and slot in eight off days (at least one per week) that will offer teams a chance to regroup.

Racing in the state of Illinois once again dominates the DIRTcar Summer Nationals schedule with 14 tracks located in the Land of Lincoln set to host events. The series will also compete at four tracks in Indiana; three in Ohio; two in Kentucky, Tennessee and Wisconsin; and one in Michigan, Missouri and Iowa.

The only track scheduled to hold more than one DIRTcar Summer Nationals event is Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., which will make its ‘Masters’ weekend a part of the ‘Hell Tour’ for the fourth consecutive season. The three-eighths-mile oval will run a $5,000-to-win A-Main on Fri., June 14, and a $10,000-to-win affair on Sat., June 15.

A total of nine DIRTcar Summer Nationals events are set to offer $10,000 first-place prizes. Another 21 features will pay $5,000 to win and a single race has a posted winner’s check of $7,500 (July 5 at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill.).

During the DIRTcar Summer Nationals drivers will compete for $202,500 in first-place cash from purses totaling nearly $900,000. Another $65,000-plus in points-fund money will be on the line, including a $25,000 check for the 2013 champion.

Teams that follow the entire 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals will log over 5,700 miles and approximately 100 hours of driving time traveling from track-to-track on the Midwest’s highways.

Most of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals programs will be doubleheaders with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals, a points series showcasing the open-wheel UMP Modified division. The full 2013 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals schedule will be announced in a separate press release.

Additional info on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing is available at www.DIRTcar.com .

2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule (as of Dec. 6, 2012)