Wheatland, MO (May 8, 2014) – Lucas Oil Speedway and MLRA Officials are pleased to announce details for the Inaugural Lucas Oil MLRA “Cowboy Classic” on May 22nd, 2014 to kick off the 22nd Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com on Memorial Day Weekend. Beginning in 2014, the Thursday night MLRA race will honor former MLRA Owner/Promoter Allen “Cowboy” Chancellor who recently succumbed to a short illness.
“Cowboy, as he was affectionately called throughout the racing industry was a great friend to all of us.” stated Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager and Lucas Oil MLRA Series Director Dan Robinson. “This will be an annual tribute to kick off one of the biggest dirt late model weekends of racing in the country in memory of Cowboy.”
During Cowboy’s long racing career driving primarily dirt late models prior to purchasing the MLRA with wife Harriett, he drove the #45 car and that is what most people remember him by. In honor of Cowboy and the #45, the Thursday MLRA event will pay $5,045 to win and $545 to start. The race will now be a 45-lap main event. The Thursday night MLRA race will also see an increase of more than $3,000 in total purse money to over $25,000 for the main event. The complete purse is as follows: 1st) $5,045, 2nd) $3,045, 3rd) $2,045, 4th) $1,545, 5th) $1,245, 6th) $1,045, 7th) $945, 8th) $845, 9th) $745, 10th) $645, 11th-26th) $545.
The race winner will also receive a one of a kind unique cowboy themed trophy and a $200 gift certificate to PFI Western Store. To see the vast product lines offered by PFI visit them online at PFIWestern.com.
With the large turnout of cars expected for the event some qualifying format changes have been implemented for the Thursday night showdown. Drivers will draw for their heat race pairings and race against only those competitors in their assigned heat. Three cars at a time will take to the speedway for a two lap time trial session. The heats will then be set based off a heads up lineup following time trials. There will be six heat races with the top three finishers in each heat transferring on to the evening’s main event. Following the heats, there will be three last chance B Mains contested, with the top two finishers transferring.
Prior to the B Mains, the heat race winners, 2nd place finishers and 3rd place finishers will redraw amongst their finishing peers across all six heats. This means all winners will redraw for spots 1-6, 2nd place finishers redraw for spots 7-12 and 3rd place runners for positions 13-18.
There will also be two Lucas OilMLRA provisionals up for grabs as well as two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series provisionals. There will be no emergency provisionals awarded, as no points are on the line for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, and for the Lucas Oil MLRA, there will only be 25 appearance points awarded to every car in attendance. The same will be true for MLRA competitors of the Friday and Saturday portion of the weekend as well.
There will also be a complete Pitts Homes USRA Modified Show featuring NASCAR Star and TV personality Kenny Wallace. Both the Lucas Oil MLRA and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will receive two provisionals in addition to the standard starting field.
Action on Friday, May 23rd kicks off with Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Qualifying followed by six huge 20-lap heat races as the top-3 in each heat race automatically transfer to the $30,000 to win Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 on Saturday night.
Friday night racing action also includes the $1,000 to win Crawford Supply Race of Champions Presented by Traeger Grills which in 2014 will not only showcase all previous Show-Me 100 Champions but will now also include all previous Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Lucas Oil MLRA Champions that are entered in this year’s Show-Me 100.
The Hot Rod Tracker Manufacturers Dash featuring the fastest qualifiers in each chassis brand will also be running for a $1,000 to win top prize. The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds will be running preliminary events as they attempt to qualify for their main event on Saturday night.
On Saturday night May 24th, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competitors not already locked into the 100-lap main event will attempt to work their way in through B-Mains and the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge.
The $30,000 to win, 100-lap finale is set to follow as Jimmy Owens looks to continue his stranglehold on the Lucas Oil Speedway. The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds round out the weekend action with a special $1,000 to win Main Event Presented by RacinDirt.com.
A limited number of 2-day Reserved Seat Tickets remain and can only be purchased by calling the track office at (417) 282-5984.
Advanced General Admission tickets for all 3-days of action are available at LucasOilSpeedway.com as well as the complete weekend schedule, pricing, and ticket information. Weekend highlights include the first appearance at Lucas Oil Speedway of the mobile Ole Smoky Shine Shack, the AAA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Show Car driven by Joey Logano, the GEICO Sprint Cup Show Car and a spectacular laser light show on Saturday night plus a full weekend of vendors on the vendor midway.
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, MO. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With it’s entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks. Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.