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IT'S GOING TO BE AN AMAZING AND LUCRATIVE 2011 SEASON
When the green flag falls on the Lucas Oil Modified Series, presented by Loan Mart, 2013 season there is going to be a lot of excitement in the air for a lot of very positive reasons. The highly competitive open wheel series will officially kick off their nine race season on the evening of March 2nd at the Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City-Arizona.
By the time the series winds down for the season, mid November, they will have visited six different speedways in four different states. That includes visits to a pair of new racing venues this year: the Irwindale Event Center, the fastest half mile oval in the southwest, as well as the Madera Speedway, the fastest one third mile oval in the west.
But the really big news from this series is the creation of a trio of events featuring lucrative purses in excess of $10,000. The first two races, of the series' lucrative trifecta, involves the recent creation of the first annual Dart Machinery LTD North-South Shootout. This spectacular points series, within a series, will pit the talents of the Lucas Oil-Loan Mart Series teams, currently racing in southern California, Arizona and Nevada, against their equally talented modified racing contemporaries from northern California and Washington. Hence the name North-South Shootout.
This is a project that Greg Scheidecker and Bill Rozhon, Lucas Oil-Loan Mart Series Promoter and Race Director, has wanted to see become reality for quite a long time. "This has the making of becoming one of the biggest racing events on the west coast," Scheidecker pointed out."I'm very proud of our working relationship with Dart Machinery and I'm thrilled that they were willing to step up their program with us to sponsor the North-South Shootout. I'm also very pleased to announce that Dart Machinery will be returning as the sponsor of our trophy dash bonus award which presents $200 to win our trophy dash race," he added.
The Dart Machinery LTD North-South Shootout events are expected to generate a huge car count of modified racing teams largely because of the very lucrative purses associated with the events. The overall purse is in excess of $10,000 with the winner's check worth $1,400. Each driver that earns a starting berth in these special events is guaranteed $300 for just starting the A feature.
The driver who scores the highest amount of points at the conclusion of the North-South Shooout will receive a set of small block heads from Dart Machinery for either a Ford or Chevrolet engine.The winning driver will have his choice of either a PRO-1 or Iron Eagle Steel (steel or aluminum bare heads). The value of this special prize is approximately $1,000.
The first Dart Machinery LTD North-South Shootout will be held July 16th on the fastest one third mile oval in the west: the Madera Speedway. The second event, scheduled for August 13th, will be held at the fastest half mile oval in the southwest: the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
To make the Dart Machinery LTD North-South Shootout a reality Scheiecker and Rozhon knew they would have to make some modifications to their series rule book to accommodate the northern modified teams. Through a series of strategy sessions with Alan Brown, their Head Technical Inspector, they came up with two lists of rules. The first were changes in the Lucas Oil-Loan Mart Modified Series rule book that would make it feasible for the two series to compete with each other. The second rule list were stipulations from their rule book that can't be changed and will require a concession from the northern modified teams. Complete information regarding the Dart Machinery LTD North-South Shootout will be made available via www.lucasoilmodifieds.com or by contacting Greg Scheidecker, 1 800 342 2512, or Bill Rozhon, 1 928 716 6300.
While Scheidecker and company were very busy creating the North-South Shootout, they were equally busy working with Chris Blair and company from the famed Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring. The result of that effort has led to the series' third, very lucrative, event on the Lucas Oil-Rockstar schedule. September 17th, the total purse will be over $10,000, $1,400 to win, and $300 to start the A-Main.
The series will be making a return visit to the Bullring's three eighth of a mile oval during their annual 2011 Open Comp Weekend on November 5th. Scheidecker is very excited about this particular race and noted that E3 Spark Plugs, a long time and valued series supporter, has stepped up to support this special event. The E3 Spark Plugs 75 is a special post season, non points event, that will not have any impact on the series' final championship standings.
However, it will have a huge impact on the prestige of winning this event. First off there's the major bragging rights of being able to claim a trip to the Bullring's victory lane during their highly competitive Open Comp weekend. The recently posted $15,000 purse comes with a whopping $3,000 winner's check that is bound to attract the attention of modified racing teams from all over the western states.
Also new to the 2011 Lucas Oil-Rockstar series season is the creation of a winner's circle program. Realizing that the overall state of the economy, combined with increased travel costs, was going to continue to impact their racing teams, Scheidecker and Rozhon came up with a plan to help ease the burden a little. The series' winner's circle program awards a $200 bonus to any team who maintains a position in the top ten of the points standings.
Yet another exciting aspect is the opportunity for the series' drivers to showcase their talent on national television. The high quality camera work by the talented staff of Lucas Oil Productions will be video taping the June 4th race at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale as well as the November 5th race during the Open Comp weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Bullring. The finished product will be aired by MAV-TV. Headquartered in Englewood-Colorado, MAV-TV is a national cable television network whose motto reads: "TV created by men for men."
Series promoter Greg Scheidecker is extremely excited about the prospects of his 2011 racing season. You can hear that excitement in his voice when he talks about the Lucas Oil Modified Series, presented by Loan Mart. He has been dutifully keeping his touch with his racing teams and is confident that the series will once again have full fields for all of their events. The series traditionally starts 22 cars in their 75 lap features on the smaller venues, such as quarter mile ovals, and 24 cars at the larger tracks such as the ones located in Irwindale and las Vegas.
On the topic of series participants, Scheidecker said he was heart broken to learn that series regular David Gerchman is currently being treated for what has been described as a serious illness. "I'm asking all of our series' teams, staff and fans to join me in sending David and his family good thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time in their lives. Here's hoping that David Gerchman will achieve a complete recovery and soon return to where he belongs: in the driver's seat of that bright yellow #23G Gerchman Racing modified," Scheidecker said.
The Lucas Oil Modified Racing Series, presented by Loan Mart, is strongly supported by a highly potent marketing group known as "Team Lucas." Team members include Lucas Oil Products, Magnaflow Exhaust Products, E3 Spark Plugs, General Tire, K&N Performance Filters, GEICO Powersports, CANIDAE All Natural Pet Food, MAV-TV, Dart Machinery LTD and Loan Mart. Scheidecker was also very pleased to announce a new series' contingency sponsor and wanted to officially welcome Mastercraft Safety Equipment to Team Lucas.
The series is also strongly supported by a series on contingency sponsors which includes: Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tire West, Budweiser, Blue Water Resort and Casino, Sunoco Fuels, Frank's Radio and Racing Plus.