Previewing the regional Dirt Late Model series
With the national tours getting their wheels on the ground during Florida Speedweeks, the regional Dirt Late Model series are starting to crank up. Some have already kicked off while others have debuts coming up in the second half of March. DirtonDirt.com checks in with virtually every series throughout the country to see who's traveling to new tracks, who's instituting new rules and who's making changes with purses. Check out complete capsules for each series for the North, South, Midwest and West with these links, and get a preview below of regional highlights:
Midwest
The Allstar Performance Michigan Dirt Cup will sanction Merritt Speedway’s Wood Tic weekend along with the season finale at the dirt-covered asphalt of Berlin Raceway. ... The Corn Belt Clash continues to give Super Late Model racing a shot in the arm in Iowa. ... The IMCA-sanctioned Deery Brothers Summer Series boosts minimum purses to $3,000-to-win (up from $2,000) and adds a potential bonus for the driver winner the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals event at Boone. ... Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association adds a $5,000-to-win event Thursday before Memorial Day weekend’s Show-Me 100 to sweeten the schedule under first-year series director Dan Robinson. ... The MARS DIRTcar Series plans 29 events, the busiest schedule since 2003. ... The National Championship Racing Association title is wide open with reigning champ Tommy Weder Jr. moving to run with MLRA. ... The Northern LateModel Racing Association’s first-ever trip to Emo (Ontario) Speedway will mark the track’s first Late Model race in more than 15 years. ... The Sunoco American Late Model Series splits into East and West Regions while expanding into Illinois more than ever. ... Nebraska’s Super Late Model Racing Series boosts purses and plans races at a series-high 14 tracks in four states. ... The UMP DIRTcar Summernationals expand to a sixth week while adding more off-days. ... The WISSOTA Challenge Series gets right to it with its biggest races early in the season at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.D.
North
The American Dirt Racing Association will limit points by a driver’s 10 best finishes. ... The Harbaugh Amusement Appalachian Mountain Speedweek returns with a near-identical schedule but the likelihood of having a champion for the first time who’s not a World of Outlaws regular. ... Now under NDRL’s umbrella, the United Late Model Series plans its busiest schedule with big money races at Pittsburgh, McKean County and beyond. ... The Steel Block Bandits plan a greater focus on Pennsylvania with more than half the race in the Quaker State. ... The Three State Flyers plan for its busiest season with 23 races at nine tracks, more than doubling last year’s events.
South
The Carolina Clash absorbs BEAST and broadens itself to more competitors with its mainstay American Racer Tires joined by Hoosiers. ... The first-year Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series takes a stab at providing a series focused on the all-aluminum CT 525 crate engine. ... The Comp Cams Super Dirt Series goes outside its Arkansas borders with races in Tennessee and Texas. ... The Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series rebounds from a series-low 11 events with 20 races on this year’s slate. ... Armed with a new title sponsor, the Louisiana-based P&W Sales Southern United Professional Racing tour is more Texas-focused than ever. ... The Schaeffer Oil Southern Nationals shuffle the race order to shorten travel on the 10-race series promoted by Ray Cook. ... The Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series plans its biggest schedule since 2008 under the first full season of owner Matt Wagner. ... The Southern Regional Racing Series includes a $10,000-to-win race at West Virginia’s I-77 Raceway Park as part of the Six Town Showdown miniseries. ... The Spring Nationals, Ray Cook’s latest promotional venture, combine 10 events over four weekends in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia. ... The Ultimate Super Late Model Series has $10,000-to-win events at Virginia Motor Speedway, Beckley Motorsports Park and County Line Raceway.
West
Colorado-based Championship Dirt Motorsports gets a new name, adds weekly racing and plans far-flung (if often co-sanctioned) events from Kansas to California. ... DIRTcar's Summernationals West is the beginnings of taking the Summernationals model to a new region, starting with a six-race stretch at four Oregon racetracks. ... The Southwest Dirt Racing Association tries to regain some stability with the help of several co-sanctioned races while running its first events at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande for the first time since 2008. ... The rejuvenated West Coast Late Model Shootout is already off and running but has big races coming up at Santa Maria Speedway as well as Arizona’s Canyon and Cocopah ovals.
