Three months after the announcement that the new Sportsman Modified division would be launched in 2014 under the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Series banner, directors Vicki Emig and Mike Leone have released a tentative schedule of events.

At least nine different speedways will host a sanctioned event in 2014. The series debut will take place on Saturday, April 26 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

The RUSH Sportsman Modified features GM 602 crate engines ($3149 through Sweeney’s Pace Performance), spec Hoosier Tires on steel wheels, and affordable and long-lasting Bilstein “sealed” shocks ($135). RUSH has formed a strong alliance with DIRTcar to build and develop the Sportsman Modified class throughout RUSH’s region.

Currently there are only two weekends from April 26 through the end of October where no events are scheduled, and that could change. Additionally, Tour events will be incorporated into the schedule once plans are finalized with the speedways. Also, a “Manufacturers Night” with a minimum of $5000 of product being awarded to the racers to be held at a date and location to be announced.

A minimum $10,000 point fund has been established for member racers. Member drivers competing for the championship should know that it is not necessary to compete in this entire schedule of events. Drivers best finishes will be used to determine the point standings. The specific number of best finishes that will be utilized to determine the points will be announced when everything is finalized.

There will also be several doubleheader style events, with the series sanctioning events at multiple tracks on the same day.

“Though it’s still tentative and a few items have to be finalized, we wanted to release this schedule to the public,” stated Emig. “We’ve had a lot of people asking plus it’s important for people to see these speedways are 100 percent behind the program. Considering it’s only been a few months, we’ve had tremendous response and know the class will only grow as time goes on. We have to thank everyone for their overwhelming support to launch this much-needed class.”

2014 RUSH Sportsman Modified Series Schedule:

April 26 – Sharon Speedway – Hartford, Ohio

May 3 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

May 9 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, Pa.

May 17 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

May 24 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

May 31 – Sharon Speedway – Hartford, Ohio

May 31 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

June 6 – Raceway 7 – Conneaut, Ohio

June 14 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

June 14 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

June 22 – Eriez Speedway – Erie, Pa.

June 28 – Sharon Speedway – Hartford, Ohio

June 28 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

July 4 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, Pa.

July 9 – TBA – TBA

July 12 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

July 12 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

July 18 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, Pa.

July 26 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

July 26 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

Aug. 2 – Sharon Speedway – Hartford, Ohio

Aug. 9 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

Aug. 9 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

Aug. 22 – Raceway 7 – Conneaut, Ohio

Aug. 23 – America’s Motorsports Park – Clearfield, Pa.

Aug. 30 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, Pa.

Sept. 6 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, Pa.

Sept. 12-13 – TBA – TBA

Sept. 19-20 – TBA – TBA

Sept. 27 – Bradford Speedway – Bradford, Pa.

Oct. 3-4 – Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex – Markleysburg, Pa.

Oct. 18 – Bradford Speedway – Bradford, Pa.

Oct. 24-25 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, Pa.

Professional members of the Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA), along with Associate members and corporate sponsors, reminded each other of the passion each has for motorsports during the annual EMPA convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Whether it was track or sanctioning body representatives providing information on their upcoming seasons, or track champions re-living their 2013 seasons, everyone spoke with the passion that has kept motorsports alive and well.

Ironically, no one spoke with more passion than former EMPA member and keynote speaker, Steve Post, who moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in the 1990’s in pursuit of a full-time job in motorsports.

Now living the dream, as he said, he is a pit reporter on MRN’s Sprint Cup broadcasts and co-hosts the “NASCAR Performance Live,” “Winged Nation” and “Fast Food” shows. He is also a reporter for “NASCAR USA,” contributes to “Raceline,” hosts “Diecast Review” on YouTube.com and serves as track announcer for Charlotte Motor Speedway’s “Summer Shootout” series.

His presentation was all about passion—how the sport was built on it, and how race fans will sit out rain delays and drive hours to watch events because of their passion for racing. He urged those in attendance to continue to work with the passion that he knows each has, and to use social media and other means of appealing to a broad and more tech-savvy fan base.

Ricky Yetter and Lewis Gruppo returned to the event for a special panel discussion on various legal issues press members and photographers may face in conducting their work. They also spoke about identity theft and the value of protecting one’s personal property, such as websites, an issue at least one EMPA member faced this past year.

Fred Rahmer, who retired in 2013 after an illustrious sprint car racing career, was on hand to accept two awards: the Richie Evans Memorial Northeast Driver of the Year, and the Jerry Reigle Outstanding Contribution to Sprint Car Racing, presented by New England Racing Fuel. Rahmer spoke about mutual respect.

“All I ever wanted to do was to be respected,” he told the crowd during the Saturday night banquet. “This award is special because it is named after one of the best, Richie Evans.”

Rahmer recalled the late Jerry Reigle as one of his favorite reporters because he wasn’t afraid to come over and get the real answer.

“I respected him for that.”

Mike Colsten, who beat medical odds this past year and won the Modified championship at Five Mile Point Speedway, accepted the EMPA President’s Award. He referred to the honor as a humbling experience that means so much to him.

“The racing community was there for me—some I knew, some I didn’t know, and some I thought didn’t even like me,” he told the crowd. He said the many prayers from the racing community are the reason he survived and added that “this is on top of the list of my awards I’ve received.”

Don and Marilyn Toal were named the Junie Donlavey Spirit of the Sport Award winners for raising more than $1 million in lap money over many years for drivers in the prestigious Race of Champions. ROC owner/promoter, Andrew Harpell, presented the award.

“This is our passion,” Marilyn Toal stated. “We started in 1965 and we’ve kept doing it out of love for the sport.”

Marilyn added that they are pleased that their daughter and granddaughter help them and will continue the Toal tradition.

Both Tony Stewart, the T. Wayne Robertson Newsmaker of the Year, and Daryn Pittman, the Al Holbert Memorial National Driver of the Year, sent videos thanking the membership for their awards. Mike Mahaney, winner of the John Blewett III Young Guns Award, was in attendance and called it a huge honor.

“This goes to an up and coming superstar, like last year’s winner Kyle Larson, and I hope I can do the same,” he said.

Five legends of the sport were added to the EMPA Hall of Fame. Bad weather kept three of the winners, or their family members, from attending (Jim Reed, Dave Lape and Ron Bouchard) but family members of Len Boelher and Fred DeSarro were on hand. Mike Boehler said his father would have been 76 that night and he spoke of his duct-taped shoes and shirts with the names of others his late father often wore. Gary DeSarro said his father was “addicted to the sport.”

During the Sunday business meeting EMPA members elected Earl Krause, Dino Oberto and Brett Deyo to the five-person Board of Directors. Ron Hedger will continue on as President, with Oberto as Vice President. Jeff Gromis and Carol Houssock were appointed as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Next year’s convention will take place from Jan. 2-4 at the same location, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in King of Prussia.

With the 2014 SCCA Club Racing season set to start in January, contingency programs for competitors participating in the SCCA US Majors Tour and Regional racing programs have been announced.

Seven auto manufacturers will be offering cash prizes based on finishing position for the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour—Mazda North American Operations, Ford Racing, Honda Performance Development, Toyota/TRD, Scion Racing, Nissan Motorsports and MINI USA. Many of these auto makers will have payouts for racers at the Regional racing level, as well.

Mazda, the Official Vehicle of SCCA, will offer awards to the top three finishers in the eligible classes. Race winners in Spec Miata will earn $600, while second-place receives $350, followed by $175 for third. The remaining classes will have a similar pay schedule, with a change in the dollar amount to $800, $500 and $250, respectively. Additionally, a $1750 bonus will be added for a Conference Championship. The Regional award program will award the Divisional point leaders, with $500, $300 and $150 being awarded to the top three positions in that order at the end of the season.

Honda will, once again, support racers competing under its banner, as well as that of Acura, in selected classes in Majors and Regional competition. Selected models can earn up to $500 for a Majors win, while winners in all other vehicles supported by the brand can earn up to $200 for a Majors win. At the Regional level, select IT-class podium finishers can cash-in on manufacturer awards at the American Road Race of Champions event.

Nissan Motorsports will also be offering payouts for podium finishers in the Majors Tour. In addition, MINI USA, Scion Racing and Toyota/TRD will also be supporting their customers with per race contingency support in both the Majors and Regional racing programs for 2014. Toyota’s program is limited to Regional Runoffs-qualifying races, while MINI and Scion will apply to all Regional events. Ford Racing will support Club Racing, with details on its program to be announced at a later date.

BFGoodrich Tires, the Official Street Tire of SCCA and sponsor of the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour, is joined by Hoosier Racing Tire, Hankook Tire and Kumho Tires in the category for contingency.

BFGoodrich Tires will award two tires to Majors race winners sporting the brand and one tire to the runner up in eligible classes. A one-tire bonus will be given out at each of the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour events.

At Majors events, Hoosier will provide a complete set of four tires to a Spec Miata race winner, with second earning two tires and one free tire going to drivers in places third through eighth. In all other eligible classes, a Majors winner can earn two tires, with second place earning one tire. Additionally, Hoosier will be the spec tire for the Regional-level Spec Miata class. As such, eligible winners in any Regional event will earn two free tires with the second-place driver earning one tire. The SM Divisional Champions will also win a complete set of new tires.

Kumho will offer awards to Regional racers in 2014 in the form of product credits, at $150, $100 and $75 for the top three, respectively. Hankook will also post a program with details to be announced in the near future.

Hawk Performance and Carbotech Brakes have also stepped up to support the Majors Tour by awarding top finishers in eligible classes.

Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA, is in the process of finalizing its program. Details will be announced as soon as they are available.

Carbotech will provide certificates to podium finishers fulfilling the eligibility requirements in the amount of $100, $75 and $50.

SafeRacer, the Official Safety Provider of SCCA, has returned to support SCCA Majors racing by offering a $500 certificate to the nation-wide points champion in all classes. Summit Racing Equipment will be offering certificates of $100 and $50 to the top two finishers at all Majors races.

GoPro, the Official Camera of SCCA, will be giving a HERO3 camera to one driver at each SCCA BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour event for having the “GoPro Hero Moment” of the weekend.

Details on all contingency programs and how to register for these programs can be found at http://www.scca.com/clubracing/content.cfm?cid=44474. Drivers should read the program requirements carefully and be sure to have the necessary paperwork submitted before their first event.

As new Club Racing contingency programs become available, they will be posted to www.scca.com.

After almost two years sitting idle, Atomic Speedway, Chillicothe, Ohio, will conduct its first full season of racing since its return, starting March 22.

The speedway off Blain Highway officially released its 2014 schedule, starting with a Test and Tune on March 15 and the first regular racing night seven days later.

“We hit the ground running when we bought this place, and we haven’t stopped running,” owner Brad McCown said. “There’s a lot of work to be done yet, but we are looking forward to a great 2014 racing season and beyond.”

The track reopened in the fall on a limited racing schedule, and that experience helped McCown set high expectations for this year.

“We’ve listened to the fans and tried to give them a variety of options in 2014,” he said. “We’ve tried to bring in the sanctions fans like most and give them a good mix of open wheel and stock car racing, while trying to maintain consistency in the classes that we run on a weekly basis.”

Among the big money events this season are the three-day NDRL Late Model Weekend from May 8-10, the return of the All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Speedweek on June 25, “The Night the STARS Come Out” on July 3, the Hell Tour for Late Models and Hell Tour for Modifieds on July 16 and the three-day Open Wheel Championships from October 23-25.

The NDRL Late Model Weekend is a premier national event that features a $5000 Friday payday and a $15,000 Saturday paycheck. The Open Wheel Championships also features a $15,000 payday for the winged racers and a $5000 winner’s payout for the non-winged sprints.

Most regular weekend shows feature 410 Winged Sprints, AMRA Late Models and AMRA Modifieds. Sport Mods and Street Stocks share top billing as alternating support classes.

General admission for regular events is $12 for adults and free for those 12 and younger. Pit passes are $30 for adults and $15 for those 12 and younger. Special event pricing is in effect for all special shows and will be announced as the event date nears.

The 2014 LoanMart Madera Speedway schedule has been released, and it's full of exciting events for fans and race teams to enjoy.

The 2014 season kicks off on March 15 with a visit from the Spears Southwest Tour, Legends of the Pacific, and the new Twisted Tea Modified Series; then the speedway gets its first visit from open wheel cars on March 29, but this is a special night as round #1 of the LoanMart Open Late model series is running as well with the sprints, supers and midgets.

There is something for everyone at the Loanmart Madera Speedway in 2014—two visits by the Spears Southwest tour, an eight-race LoanMart Open Late Model Series featuring a $10,000-to-win final event on October 18. There is a Winged Sprint car vs. Super Modified Series, a Spec Sprint car championship called the PBR Spec Sprints, a Hobby Stock Open Series Championship supported by LoanMart, the new USAC HPD Midget track championship series, the new Twisted Tea Modified Series, and for the fun and wild drivers, there is the Madera Enduro Series featuring six races in 2014.

The local stars will fight for the championship titles in the LunkerDaddy late models, MST's, Toyota Sedans, 4-Bangers and the 18 second bracket series.

There are five tribute events planned for 2014. These events give a big tip of the hat to people who have had a positive effect on the sport. They are the Smokey Hanoian Classic on March 29, the Vukovich Classic on May 3, the Pombo/Sargent Classic on June 7, the Jeff Doran Classic on July 5, and the Fred Gerhardt Classic on July 12.

The season will end with a series of high energy events beginning with the October 18 California Gold Classic featuring the $10,000-to-win LoanMart late model race, the Hobby Stock Open Series race, the USAC HPD Midget Shootout, and the final point race for the exciting Toyota Sedans and MST's.

October 25 is the 8th annual PUMPKIN SMASH! This year's event will be the best ever as the event has its own night, and we are going all out for the kids in 2014. We will have a haunted house, a trick or treat thru the pits, the on-track pumpkin smash, and boat drags, a stunt show, and the 250 lap wet and wild enduro through the pumpkins.

The curtain will close on the season on November 21 with the "King of the Wing" National Sprint Car tour invading the fastest 1/3 mile in the west, and this promises to be one of the best shows ever seen at the speedway!

Officials of the Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA) have announced a partnership with Casey’s General Stores that will make Casey’s the presenting sponsor for the 2014 MOWA Sprint Car Series Presented by Casey’s General Stores.

The series will soon release a 2014 schedule of more than 25 events in Illinois, Southeast Iowa, Eastern Missouri and Western Indiana. Entering its fourth season, the MOWA Sprint Car Series Presented by Casey’s General Stores features some of the best 410 winged sprint car action in the Midwest and averaged nearly 30 cars per event in 2013.

The partnership with Casey’s General Stores will bring added awards and incentives for teams that regularly participate in series events.

“Casey’s General Stores has a long and rich history of supporting grass roots motorsports and sprint car racing in particular and we are honored for MOWA to become a part of the Casey’s family,” said MOWA Series Director Ken Dobson. “We look forward to carrying the Casey’s brand and message to our events in 2014 and know that our MOWA members and fans will work hard to make this a rewarding partnership for everyone involved. There are more than 600 Casey’s stores within 30 miles of our MOWA venues which creates endless possibilities for marketing our series with the support of a brand our fans already know and trust.”

The 2014 MOWA Sprint Car Series Presented by Casey’s General Stores will open its season on Friday, April 4 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway in a double-header with the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series.

MAVTV Lands Despain: Standing before a room full of journalists during the 2nd annual “Lunch with Lucas,” iconic motorsports journalist Dave Despain remarked, “The only way they could get rid of me was by getting rid of the whole damn network!” You’ll recall that Despain and his popular “Wind Tunnel” show were dropped last year when SPEED TV gave way to Fox Sports 1. Well, Despain’s loyal following received an early Christmas gift at the 2013 PRI Show when it was announced that he’d recently inked a two-year contract with Lucas Oil-owed MAVTV. In addition to emceeing live broadcasts of the Chili Bowl Nationals, Show Me 100, Lucas Oil Challenge Cup and other races throughout 2014-15, Diamond Dave will host his own 30-minute series called “The Dave Despain Show,” featuring long-form interviews with both up-and-coming drivers and idols of the sport. “I was going through racer interview withdrawal,” he explained, “and it’s really exciting for me to get back to the grassroots of racing.”

Swan Song For The King: There may not be a more decorated race car driver alive today than Steve Kinser. The numbers are staggering: 20 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championships; 576 WoO A-Feature wins; 12-time champion at the Knoxville Nationals. Over a career that began in 1978, Kinser has defined short-track dominance…and endurance, starting more than 2000 career races with the punishing WoO tour. While legends live forever, they all must retire someday. Still, it was somewhat surreal to hear Kinser, “King of the Outlaws,” discuss the upcoming WoO season—his last one as a full-time driver—at the PRI Show. Clearly emotional, Kinser promised to hold nothing back in 2014. “This year won’t be tough at all,” he said. “It’s the year after that’s going to be tough. Sprint car racing has been a part of my life since I was born. This is a pretty hard situation for me. It’s been my life and my family’s life.” To honor their grand champion, WoO officials have labeled the 2014 season “Salute to the King.” It kicks off February 14 with the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida.

Simpson Gets Social: It’s always a challenge to see everyone—and everything—you hope to see at the annual PRI Show. But this year I was fortunate enough to catch up with one of my favorite people, Simpson Performance Products’ Vice President of Marketing, Debbie Bishop. Earlier in the year we had discussed some of the new initiatives Bishop and her team were working on, including Simpson’s social media endeavors. I was interested to hear how those efforts had progressed since we last spoke. She explained that in addition to maintaining a presence on the leading social networks, Simpson now includes a provision in its sponsorship contracts that requires racers to post about the company through their personal Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. “We have certain things we expect, and when we didn’t button that up, it was hard to make it happen,” Bishop explained. “So now they’re all doing it—guys like Justin Allgaier and Timothy Peters, for example. Or we’ll get together with John Force Racing and ask them to have Brittany (Force) Tweet about a new driving glove we’re introducing.” Here’s a company that has figured out how to translate “Likes” and “Followers” into meaningful impressions. Well done.

Engine Masters: Congratulations to a group of students and their coach who took top honors at the 2013 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow National Championship. Team Moroso from Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center in Chocktaw, Oklahoma, and instructor Jim LaFevers out-worked 22 other squads from around the country over an intense four-day engine build competition that unfolded during the 2013 PRI Show. Look for a full report in the February 2014 issue of Perfomance Racing Industry magazine.

The Must See Racing 2014 schedule with 18 events at 11 tracks in six states was released by MSR officials.

New tracks for MSR events that are featured on the 2014 schedule include Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan and a return after several years to the high banks of Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Illinois.

The MSR Xtreme Sprint Series kicks off the year with the third annual Southern Shoot Out double-header weekend on April 11–12 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, and Mobile International Speedway in Mobile, Alabama.

Traditional visits that continue on the MSRXSS schedule include Salem Speedway, Anderson Speedway, Kil-Kare Raceway, Lucas Oil Raceway, Auto City Speedway and Berlin Raceway.

Must See Racing continues as the sanctioning body for the 66th Annual Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson Speedway on May 24, and the 55th Annual Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial at Salem Speedway on August 9.

The June 21 Owosso Speedway event is a part of the three-day Expo 2014 Locomotives, Wings and Wheels festival with planes, trains, automobiles and Must See Racing entertainment for the whole family.

Anderson Speedway and MSR have added a new and different Labor Day 200 on Friday, August 29 and on Saturday August 30, featuring the "World's Fastest Short Track Cars" for 200 laps of high-speed, wheel-to-wheel winged sprint car action.

For more information and future updates, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

Schedule:

April 11, Five Flags Speedway (Southern Shootout)
April 12, Mobile International (Southern Shootout)
May 9, Lucas Oil Raceway
May 17, Baer Field Speedway
May 21, Anderson Speedway
May 24, Anderson Speedway (Pay Less Little 500)
June 7, Auto City Speedway
June 14, TBA
June 21, Owosso Speedway (Expo 2014 Festival)
July 3, Auto City Speedway
July 5, Rockford Speedway
July 12, Berlin Raceway
July 18, Kil-Kare Raceway
August 9, Salem Speedway
August 16, Anderson Speedway
August 23, Berlin Raceway (MSR Championship)
August 29, Anderson Speedway (Labor Day 200)
August 30, Anderson Speedway (Labor Day 200)

The Trans-Am Race Company has announced an expanded 11-event schedule for the 2014 Trans-Am Championship—beginning Sunday, March 2 at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce the 2014 Trans-Am schedule,” said John Clagett, President, Trans-Am Race Company. “We firmly believe that we have assembled for our drivers and fans one of the best schedules in road racing, with venues that will allow for the continued growth and success of the Trans-Am Series.

“In these 11 tracks we have some traditional homes of Trans-Am and other new exciting venues. In working with these tracks and partners we feel that Trans-Am is now, more than ever, capable of delivering a level of racing worthy of the Trans-Am legacy that everyone can appreciate and enjoy.”

The 2013 series featured multiple entries in the high thirties, including a decade-high 41-car entry at the 2013 finale at Daytona International Speedway—numbers that the Trans-Am Series only expects to see rise.

“We are very excited to see what 2014 has in store for Trans-Am,” said Clagett. “We saw outstanding growth across all classes in 2013; and with multiple commitments from additional drivers, teams and partners coming in every day, we expect the 2014 Trans-Am Championship to be one of the best years Trans Am has seen in quite some time. The future of Trans-Am looks incredibly bright.”

2013 stood as a year of landmark change for the Trans-Am Series, and saw the legendary American series return to levels of competition unseen for over a decade. In 2013, the Trans-Am Championship averaged more entries per race than all but two seasons since 1991, those being 1998 and 2000—encouraging signs for Trans Am and fans of the Series going forward.

2014 Trans-Am Series Schedule

March 2 – Sebring Int’l Raceway – Sebring, Fla.
March 9 – Homestead-Miami Speedway – Homestead, Fla.
May 10 – Road Atlanta – Braselton, Ga.
May 18 – Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – Bowmanville, Ontario
June 1 – New Jersey Motorsports Park – Millville, N.J.
June 21 – Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Aug. 16 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, Ohio
Aug. 31 – Brainerd Int’l Raceway – Brainerd, Minn.
Sept. 20 – Lime Rock Park – Lime Rock, Conn.
Sept. 28 – Virginia Int’l Raceway – Alton, Va.
Nov. 15 – Daytona Int’l Speedway – Daytona Beach, Fla.

The fight for the championship of the Lucas Oil Modified Series presented by LoanMart is scheduled for 10 rounds, beginning March 1 in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and ending November 22 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
           
The series will return to Tucson (Arizona) Speedway, a popular track with the racers but absent from the schedule the past three years, and revisit all the venues that were part of the incredibly competitive 2013 season.
          
There were an average of 30-plus qualifiers for each of 2013’s nine races, topped by a record 50 entries and 46 qualifiers at the Las Vegas finale, and those numbers should increase with several new drivers and teams arriving and some old familiar faces returning.
           
There will be more television time for all the racers, too, with the MAVTV Productions crew on hand for six races that will be shown throughout the year on the MAVTV American Real Network, CBS and the CBS Sports Network.
           
“This is a great schedule that allows us to grow without losing our grass-roots identity and do it without costing our racers a ton of money for travel expenses,” Lucas Oil Modified series promoter Greg Scheidecker said. “It’s a good mix of tracks, too. I know our drivers are going to enjoy themselves and give us another unbelievable season.”
           
Tucson will host the second race of the season, on March 22. Reigning champion Chris Gerchman was the winner the last time the series visited the 3/8–mile oval, on June 12, 2010.
           
Events at Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway in Blythe, California, and The Bullring follow Tucson, then trips to LoanMart Madera (California) Speedway June 28 and Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, Utah, July 26 and another visit to the fast ½-mile at the Irwindale Events Center August 16 fill the summer portion of the schedule.
           
After that it’s back to Blythe September 27 and Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City October 18 for races that will set the stage for a Las Vegas finale that gets bigger and better each year.

The series once again will be supported by the dynamic sponsors who are part of the innovative Team Lucas marketing concept and discussions with additional sponsors are ongoing. Title sponsors for the 10 races will be announced soon. The length of the races, the purse structures and rules changes, if any, will be announced following a meeting of the series competitors before the awards banquet January 11, 2014, at the BlueWater Resort and Casino in Parker, Arizona.
           

The schedule:

(All race and television dates are tentative and subject to change)

March 1 – Havasu 95 Speedway, Lake Havasu City, Arizona (TV)

March 22 – Tucson Raceway Park, Tucson, Arizona

April 19 – Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway, Blythe, California (TV)

May 17 – The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada

June 28 – LoanMart Madera Speedway, Madera, California (TV)

July 26 – Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City, Utah (TV)

August 16 – Irwindale Events Center, Irwindale, California (TV)

September 27 – Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway, Blythe, California

October 18 – Havasu 95 Speedway, Lake Havasu City, Arizona

November 22 – The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (TV)