(LEBANON, MO.) – Already slated to be one of the must-see pro late model showcases of the 2013 season, the JEGS/CRA All-Stars’ Mercy ‘Masters of the Pros’ 144 has just gotten a little bit more ‘Awesome.’ Lebanon I-44 Speedway track officials were excited to announce Wednesday that 1988 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott has been named grand marshal for the inaugural event scheduled for Saturday, May 18. “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” will be in charge of the proceedings when the touring series visits Missouri’s only asphalt oval for an incredible minimum $8,000 to win, $600 to start event highlighted by the winner receiving a signature green jacket similar to the one donned by the champion of golf’s The Masters event held in the home state of the Elliott clan.Lebanon I-44 Speedway is located four miles east of the Lebanon city limits on Historic Route 66 and Missouri’s only NASCAR sanctioned facility. Patrons using Interstate 44 may take Exit 135 and then drive approximately one mile east on Route 66 to the track’s main entrance. Additional information about this event, including a full schedule of events, the rules being enforced, and a purse distribution, will be released on the facility’s official website, www.i44speedway.net in the coming weeks. Keep up with news about Lebanon I-44 Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Lebanon-I-44-Speedway, and on Twitter (@i44Speedway).
“This is kind of the proverbial cherry on top, honestly,” Lebanon I-44 Speedway promoter Kevin Greven said. “There’s so much star power that will be here driving in the event, and now, a racing legend has agreed to join the ranks and oversee this historic showcase at I-44. We are very thankful and lucky to have Bill Elliott in attendance, not only for ourselves, but for the numerous fans that will be there on May 18th as well.”
Bill Elliott made the decision to be Grand Marshal shortly after his son, rising star and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hotshoe Chase Elliott, entered the event.
In addition to his championship and two victories in NASCAR’s most prestigious event, Bill Elliott was voted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2007. He accrued 44 wins and recorded the fastest speed ever (212.809 mph) in a NASCAR event at Talladega Superspeedway in 1987. Voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver a record 16 times, Elliott has since moved on to oversee his son’s meteoric rise through the ranks of short-track racing.
Seventeen-year-old Hendrick Motorsports development driver Chase Elliott has followed in his father’s footsteps, winning the 2011 Snowball Derby and placing in the top-ten in both of his initial NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. The teenager recorded a sixth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway last month before scoring a top-five after coming home fifth at Rockingham Speedway.
Chase Elliott will head into the event at I-44 with momentum, collecting wins on back-to-back nights in late March, first at Tri-County Speedway in a Dirt Late Model and then at Gresham Motorsports Park in a Pro Late Model. He is slated to run in seven more NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races for Hendrick Motorsports this season in addition to five ARCA Racing Series events.
The teenager has come a long way in a short period of time on the track.
Elliott successfully transitioned from go-karts to late models in 2009, starting 31 races around the nation and notching four wins. The second-generation driver had become a full-fledged star within short track racing by the next year, recording 13 wins in 42 starts and becoming the youngest driver in history to win the Blizzard Series at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., the Miller Lite Series at Mobile (Ala) International Speedway, and the overall Sunoco Gulf Coast championships. The then 14-year-old also scored victories in the prestigious Winchester 400 and at the re-opened North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
As a reward for his rapid growth, Elliott earned a multi-year development contract with Hendrick Motorsports at the start of 2011, and followed that up by becoming the youngest driver in history to prevail in the renowned Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. Elliott found his way into the winner’s circle eight times en route to a CRA National Super Late Model championship in November of that year.
Elliott continued his short track dominance last season with 10 wins, including his first NASCAR triumph in the K&N Pro Series East/West Showdown at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. He also won the prestigious Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., before reaching victory lane with a win in the World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park.
Off the track, Elliott has been honored for his rise through the racing ranks, garnering honors from Sports Illustrated as their High School Player of the Week in 2011 before being voted by fans as ESPN Magazine’s “NEXT” racer, which highlights up-and-coming athletes that are considered on the cusp of stardom.
“There aren’t many bigger father-son tandems in racing than this one,” Greven said. “Having Chase racing and Bill in attendance, along with Ross Kenseth’s commitment and a host of strong entrants, should make the entry list for the inaugural Mercy ‘Masters of the Pros’ 144 one of the strongest super late model fields in the region this season.”
Greven is excited about the rules package that the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour employs, saying that local late model drivers will be able to enter the event and attempt to make the show. According to him, around 35-40 cars, including 20 or so series regulars, are expected for the super late model showcase.
The special event will also include the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Budweiser Modifieds and the Compliance Fire & Safety Baby Grands.
Mercy is the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and includes 32 hospitals, 300 outpatient facilities, 38,000 co-workers and 1,900 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Health care in Lebanon, Missouri and surrounding communities has always been built upon a cornerstone of serving the needs of the area residents. The Mercy Health Foundation Lebanon continues this same commitment of providing for the medical needs of the community members. Mercy Health Foundation Lebanon is led by a volunteer board of community leaders and served by an active group of committee volunteers. Since 2004, the Foundation has continued to grow because of a need for more medical services and the generous spirit of the people of this community.
Champion Racing Association (CRA) sanctions four different nationally and regionally recognized short track racing tours. Founded in 1997, CRA tours include the ARCA/CRA Super Series for Super Late Models, the JEGS/CRA All Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance for Pro Late Models, the Top Speed Fabrication/CRA Late Model Sportsman, and Stealth Trailers/CRA Street Stocks. For more information on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour or CRA Racing, visit their site at www.cra-racing.com. Fans and teams can find even more news and discussion on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CRARacing or on Twitter at @CRARACING.