David Smith, Jr.
NCRA Press and Contingencies
(405) 740-4769
ncrapress@aol.com

NCRA/MARS Showdown II – The Drivers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Midwest City, Oklahoma – May 2, 2010 - As we head to less than one week for the second annual “Showdown in the Heartland II” featuring the O’Reilly Auto Parts National Championship Racing Association and the MARS Dirtcar late model series, let’s take a look at some of the competitors for both series. Remember it all kicks off on Thursday night, May 6, at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. From there it is off to Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Oklahoma for late models first ever appearance at the quarter mile clay oval for a Friday night showdown. On Saturday night it is on to Brill Motor Speedway in Meeker before heading back northeast to Monett Speedway in Monett, Missouri on Sunday night.

For the O’Reilly/NCRA late model series, the four race weekend will kick off the 2010 race season for the tour with several of the names returning while a couple of drivers announcing their intentions on cutting back their travels.

Kyle Berck, Marquette, Nebraska – On the strength of his victory at Brill Motor Speedway last year during “Showdown in the Heartland II,” Berck went on to claim his second career series championship. Berck has cut back his travels for 2010 and will not be chasing for a repeat championship, nor will he make the four race swing.

Kelly Boen, Henderson, Colorado – Former four-time series champion will be a “free agent” of sorts as he is looking for a ride through at least the month of July. For this four race swing Kelly will be aboard the Broken Bow, Oklahoma, Terry Pannell owned #33x which is a backup car to MARS Dirtcar rookie Gary Christian. Kelly drove this car at the Dirt Track World Championships at Texas Motor Speedway back in March where he was leading the nights “B” feature handedly before breaking a drive shaft. Boen finished second at 81 Speedway and third at Brill Motor Speedway in last year’s event while missing the Monett show.

Jason O’Brien, Atlantic, Iowa – Finished third in series points in 2009 and picked up the rookie of the year honors, O’Brien will once again be back on the tour and one of the leading contenders for the 2010 championship. Last year Jason finished fifth at 81 Speedway followed by a pair of 22nd place finishes at Brill Motor Speedway and Monett Speedway.

Jason Friesen, Sutton, Nebraska – Finishing fifth in the final point standings in 2009, Jason made all three “Showdown in the Heartland” events last year finishing 17th, 9th and 8th at 81 Speedway, Brill Motor Speedway and Monett Speedway respectively.

Al Purkey, Coffeyville, Kansas – While finishing seventh in the final points despite missing four races on the O’Reilly/NCRA schedule last year, the 2003, 2004 series champion finished third at 81 Speedway, seventh at Brill Motor Speedway and third at Monett Speedway in 2009.

Cory Zeitner, Bellevue, Nebraska – An eighth place finisher on the NCRA tour last year, Cory is back for 2010 and another one of those drivers looking for his first NCRA championship. Sixth at 81 Speedway, 12th at Brill Motor Speedway and an impressive fifth at Monett Speedway were his showdown results for 2009.

Not meant to be slighted in any stretch of the imagination, the following drivers will either be back on the NCRA tour again in 2010 or will represent the series in at least one, but not all races on the four race swing: Scott Koskovich (Omaha, Nebraska) Mike Wiarda (Aurora, Nebraska), John Anderson (Omaha, Nebraska), Dean Moore (Grand Junction, Colorado), Gary Gorby (Caney, Kansas), Ronnie Warman (Wichita, Kansas), Bill Koons (Omaha, Nebraska), Wylan Petrie (Soloman, Kansas), Shawn Harker (Plattsmouth, Nebraska), Greg Larson (Plattsmouth, Nebraska), Mark Brill (Nicoma Park, Oklahoma) and Cliff Morrow (Enid, Oklahoma).

Beginning its eleventh consecutive season, the MARS DIRTCar series has teamed up with NCRA for the second consecutive season for “Showdown in the Heartland II” and features some of the divisions “who’s who” in racing. Below are just some of the key players involved with the MARS DIRTCar series.

Terry Phillips, Springfield, Missouri – For those who don’t know, Terry is the son of former two-time NCRA late model champion Larry Phillips and has done quite well to say the least. Terry is a five-time MARS champion and leads the series in career feature wins with 67. Terry was shut out of victory lane in last year’s inaugural “Showdown in the Heartland” with his best finish being fourth at 81 Speedway. He challenged for the lead at Brill Motor Speedway before being dropped to a 17th place finish. Terry rounded out the weekend at Monett with a seventh place finishing spot.

Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Missouri- Still a modified standout, the Terry Phillips racing teammate has adjusted to late model racing just fine and has six career feature wins with the MARS series in the few short years competing with them. It was a miserable showdown for Jeremy as he experienced a DNF at 81 Speedway, fifth at Meeker and 19th at Monett.

Eric Turner, Hermitage, Missouri- After one race has been completed on the MARS DIRTCar series 2010 schedule, Turner used a feature win at the season opener in Clarksville, Tennessee to take the early season lead in the point standings. He opened up Showdown festivities last year with a victory at 81 Speedway, followed by a sixth place and third place in Meeker and Monett respectively.

Tony Jackson, Jr., Lebanon, Missouri- Didn’t appear that Tony would be back for year number two of “Showdown” with his commitment to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series but late word has him attending this year’s rendition. Tony struggled last year with a fifteenth, thirteenth and ninth place finish in Wichita, Meeker and Monett respectively but will be a serious threat for a victory at any of the four venues this year.

Other MARS DIRTCar Series regulars expected to be on hand in at least one or more of the four shows include rookie contender Gary Christian (Broken Bow, Oklahoma), Dustin Mooneyham (Verona, Missouri), Steve Johnson (Joplin, Missouri), Brad Looney (Republic, Missouri), Justin Wells (Aurora, Missouri) and Justin Asplin (Birch Tree, Missouri).

For a potential $10,500 weekend if you sweep all four events, of course several non-regulars have informed staff for both series their intentions on competing. Among them are Wendall Wallace (Batesville, Arkansas), Billy Moyer, Jr. (Batesville, Arkansas) and Dewaine Hottinger (Russellville, Arkansas) and Kenny Schrader (Mooresville, North Carolina) who is said to be making an appearance at the Creek County show on Friday night.

Of course, more names will more than likely be competing in at least one event while unforeseen circumstances could nix plans of others. But one thing is certain, this year’s rendition of “Showdown in the Heartland II” will be one of those “don’t miss” events on not only late model fans race list but race fans in general.

For more information concerning the O’Reilly/NCRA late model division, contact NCRA steward Chris Smith (918) 625-6200 or call the series office (316) 755-1781. For more on the National Championship Racing Association check them out on the web at www.ncraracing.org.

The National Championship Racing Association would like to thank the following contributors for their involvement with the late model division for the 2010 race season:
Official Sponsors: O’Reilly Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Race Fuels