USMTS throws down Thursday in Texas

The 2019 USMTS campaign begins with a three-night excursion through Texas starting this Thursday, March 14, at the 82 Speedway in Petty. The Kennedale Speedway Park hosts the USMTS touring titans on Friday, March 15, and the Superbowl Speedway in Greenville wraps things up for opening weekend on Saturday, March 16.

The 82 Speedway is a wide, sweeping 1/3-mile high-banked dirt oval and the facility holds 3,400 spectators in its elevated grandstands which offer superb viewing from any seat. The USMTS visited the former East Texas Speedway on June 25, 2015, with Philip Houston picking up the win.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m. and grandstands open at 5. Draw cutoff for competitors is 6:15, the drivers meeting happens at 6:45, hot laps begin at 7 and racing starts at 7:30.

Spectator admission is $20 or $18 for seniors and members of the military. Youth ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $35 for all ages. Factory Stocks ($700 to win), Econo Mods ($400 to win) and Limited Mods ($700 to win) join the USMTS Modifieds on the racing card.

The 82 Speedway is located about 15 minutes west of Paris and 25 minutes east of Bonham (1.5 hours northeast of DFW, depending on what part of the Metroplex you’re coming from). The track’s physical location is 16369 US Hwy 82, Petty, TX 75470. For more information, call (214) 682-8460 or visit 82speedway.com.

The series heads to the Kennedale Speedway Park on Friday, returning to the venue where veteran Terry Phillips held off 2018 USMTS National Champion Johnny Scott for the win this past November in a rain-shortened Summit USMTS Southern Nationals.

Scott is a two-time winner here with both victories coming in 2013. The series returned in 2017 with Zack VanderBeek walking away with the winner’s check and one year ago Ethan Dotson snagged his first-ever USMTS victory here after a legendary fight to the finish with Rodney Sanders.

The pit gate opens at 2 p.m. and grandstands open at 5. The drivers meeting happens at 5:45, draw cutoff for competitors is at 6, hot laps begin at 6:15 and racing starts at 6:45.

Spectator admission is $20 for adults while seniors (65+) and juniors (12-16) are just $15. Youth ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $35 for all ages. Factory Stocks and Limited Mods will also be racing with Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points up for grabs in both classes.

The Kennedale Speedway Park is a semi-banked 1/4-mile dirt oval located off I-20 at exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Hwy., then 1.6 miles southwest on New Hope Rd., then 0.3 mile east on Hudson Village Creek Rd. For more information, check out kennedalespeedwaypark.com.

This Saturday’s show at the Superbowl Speedway is the eighth attempt, but only three times has Mother Nature cooperated with our efforts here. The USMTS debuted at the semi-banked clay oval in 2014 with Johnny Scott taking the first win that year and his twin brother, Stormy Scott, grabbing the win here three months later. Cade Dillard was the winner in the last event here on May 5, 2016.

The pit gate opens at 2 p.m. and grandstand gates swing open at 5. The drivers meeting takes place at 6, draw cutoff is 6:15 sharp, hot laps begin at 6:30 and racing starts at 7 p.m.

Spectator admission is $20 for adults while seniors (65+) and juniors (12-16) are just $15. Youth ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $35 for all ages. Factory Stocks and Limited Mods will also be racing with Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points up for grabs in both classes.

The Superbowl Speedway is a located 5.0 miles south of Greenville on SR 34, then west on FM 1903. For more information call (903) 883-2504 or check out superbowlspeedway.com online.

For those unable to attend any of this weekend’s blockbuster events in person, RacinDirt.com will bring you all three nights of racing action with live coverage of every lap in every division. Visit racindirt.com/live today to get the dirt on racin’.

Here’s the full schedule for the Summit USMTS Southern Series powered by MSD:

March 14 ... 82 Speedway, Petty, Texas
March 15 ... Kennedale Speedway Park, Kennedale, Texas
March 16 ... Superbowl Speedway, Greenville, Texas
April 5 ... Jackson Motor Speedway, Byram, Miss.
April 6 ... Whynot Motorsports Park, Meridian, Miss.
April 7 ... Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, Miss.
April 11-13 ... Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, La.
May 3-5 ... Vado Speedway Park, Vado, N.M.
May 9 ... Monarch Motor Speedway, Wichita Falls, Texas
May 10 ... West Texas Raceway, Lubbock, Texas
May 11 ... Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, Texas
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 ... Kennedale Speedway Park, Kennedale, Texas

Overall, there are 49 events featuring 63 nights of racing at 40 race tracks in 13 states along the road to the crowning of the next USMTS National Champion during the first weekend of November back at the Kennedale Speedway Park. Any driver who competes in every USMTS event in 2019 is guaranteed no less than $10,000 at the season-ending awards banquet.

One week from now, the King of America IX powered by Summit takes place at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kan., March 21-23, along with the 5th Annual B-Mod Battle at the Bullring. A top prize of $12,000 awaits the winner of the year’s first USMTS crown jewel event while the B-Mod champ will take home $8,500.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit USMTS.com or call (515) 832-7944. You can also like the USMTS on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed with everything USMTS and subscribe to the USMTS e-Newsletter

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