News FeedJune 11, 2008
The SuperClean Modified Series will present round four, of their 2008 series, this Saturday, June 14th, where the teams will take on the always very challenging Tucson Raceway Park, TRP. Lucas Oil is the presenting sponsor for the 75 lap main event. These ground shaking, thunder making, open wheel modifieds, powered by 410 cubic inch power plants, have been presenting their fans with outstanding racing since the series made its 2008 debut last April. The car count has hit as high as 34 teams all vying for the series' purse and point fund that exceeds $105,000 in total payouts.
The SuperClean Modified drivers will also be looking to collect the $1,000 check that will be presented to the winner of the Lucas Oil 75. Normally the A main has a guaranteed pay out of $250 for any team that starts the race. However, earlier this week it was anounced that Lucas Oil will be paying tow money, in the ammount of $50 per team, which means the starting field for the race is now guaratneed $300 for taking the green flag. The Lucas Oil tow money will be available to any team that has raced in any one of the first three events held so far this season.
There's also additional bonus money that drivers can collect from Saturday night's race at TRP. It includes $100 bonuses for the Sencon Concrete Hard Charger award, the Budweiser Fast Time award, $100 from Poly Dome Plastic Products which goes to the winner of the trophy dash as well as the Clean Pass Award and a $100 bonus to the B Main winner.
The Lucas Oil 75 will treat the fans to a full 75 laps of green flag racing. Caution flag laps will not be counted in the scoring process. 24 cars were scheduled to start this race but earlier this week TRP promoter Dan Ruth announced that he start 26 cars by exercising his option to place two additional provisional starters in the race. The first 16 starters will be based on two lap qualifying runs. Positions 17 through 20 will be transfers from the B main with the final six spots based on provisionals.
Jimmy Dickerson is the series' leader going into Saturday night's TRP race with 148 points. The El Cajon-California driver got off to a terrific start in the series by winning the first two events and finishing second in the most recent race.Despite that extremely strong start Dickerson is not exactly running away with the points standings. In fact there are only 24 points separating the top four drivers. Simi Valley-California's Andrew Phipps, with one win and three top five finishes, is second in the standings and only six points behind the leader. Still very much in contention here, for the SuperClean points money, is Fallbrook-California's Mike Salm who has been very consistent in the series. His pair of top five finishes combined with a top ten has him third in the standings and only 16 points away from first. The same can be said about Billy Johanneck who also has compiled two top fives and a top ten finish. The Phoenix-Arizona driver is fourth in the ranking and 24 points behind the leader.
Still another outstanding aspect of the SuperClean Modified Racing Series is the level of competition. The on track speed, both during qualifying and the race, is very close from the front row to the last row. That generally translates into close quarter, wheel to wheel, racing all over the track. This level of competition often brings the fans to their feet and keeps them standing.
Yet another challenge for the teams during the Lucas Oil 75 will be Tucson Raceway Park itself. This three eighths of a mile paved oval is semi banked and offers drivers three different lines to race on. It also has long straightaways that can generate a high rate of speed. That means horsepower is going to be a key ingreditent for the teams. The progressive banking, combined with the 75 lap feature, means that tire management is going to be another big factor in Saturday night's race.
In addition to strong support from its title sponsor, SuperClean, this highly competitive modified racing series is also strongly supported by a highly potent marketing concept known as Team Lucas. The members of that marketing team include Jim Beam, Lucas Oil Products Inc., Hoosier Racing Tire, K&N Performance Filters, Blue Water Resort and Casino, General Tire, Dixie Chopper, Sencon Concrete LLC, Fatheadz Sunglasses, Poly Dome Plastic Products, R&L Carriers, E3 Sparks Plugs and Budweiser.
BY DAVE GRAYSON
