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Contact: Ben Shelton (901-335-3037)
August 11th, 2010

COMP Cams Topless 100 Only One Week Away

The 18th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Arkansas is one of Dirt Late Model Racing’s mega-events, and its start is rapidly approaching.

With the month of August now here, along with temperatures soaring over the century mark throughout the mid-south, all indications point toward the rapid approach of the 18th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 on August 19th-21st, 2010. The much anticipated event is one of just a handful of races that is nationally regarded as a true crown jewel of Dirt Late Model Racing. The crown jewel status is used to describe national events, where the best-of-the-best competitors gather each year to battle in high profile events that boast high profile purses. The 2010 edition of the event will see the nation’s top Dirt Late Model pilots waging war around the 3/8 mile, Batesville Motor Speedway for a purse that includes $40,000 to win and $2,000 just to start the illustrious event.

Batesville Motor Speedway owner and operator, Mooney Starr, created the event in 1993. Starr wanted to bring big-time, Dirt Late Model Racing to north-central Arkansas as he knew that fans and racers alike would flock to the area to support it. However, not only did Starr want to create a major event, but he also wanted to take it a step further by creating a trademark to go with the event. From this desire for individuality, the promoter devised the concept to run the Dirt Late Models without their roof, and coin the event the “Topless 100”. His theory was that without the roof that it would give fans a chance to see down inside the cockpit as the drivers rocketed around the lightning-fast oval. Not only did the topless concept prove to be the perfect marketing scheme for his race, but it was also a concept that other promoters across the nation would begin to utilize in their own special events.

With a large purse in place along with a marketing scheme, Starr’s brainchild came to life in August 1993 as race teams and fans from across the country converged on the picturesque oval, which is nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Despite a strong influx of national stars it was Arkansas’ own, Tony Cardin from Greenbrier, who pulled the upset and claimed the big win. The event was in instant success and over the next few years it would begin to grow by leaps and bounds.

As the event worked through its formative years it quickly became a who’s who of champions. Drivers such as Billy Moyer, Freddy Smith, Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Mars, Wendell Wallace, Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie, Bill Frye Shannon Babb, and Jimmy Owens etched their names into the history books with COMP Cams Topless 100 triumphs. In total, eleven different drivers have claimed COMP Cams Topless 100 crowns with Batesville, Arkansas’ driver, Billy Moyer owning the most with four triumphs. Throughout the first seventeen editions of the storied event, the payout has been adjusted in various ways, whether it be through the first place money or the payback through the field. Two-time event winner, Jimmy Mars from Menomonie, Wisconsin, claimed the biggest payday in the event’s history by walking away with $46,000 for his winning efforts in 2007.

In 2008 the event underwent another formative transformation as it welcomed the sanction of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS). With the incorporation of the sanction came some great additions to the event including national television coverage on SPEED TV as well as some LOLMDS drivers, who made their first ever venture to the facility. The end result was a definite success, and the groundwork for the partnership between Batesville Motor Speedway and LOLMDS was set in stone and grew even stronger for the 2009 event, which saw a massive crowd witness Jimmy Owens from Newport, Tennessee top a field of 68 competitors to capture his first COMP Cams Topless 100 crown.

For the 2010 COMP Cams Topless 100 anticipation is at an all-time high as the top drivers from across the county once again prepare to converge on Batesville Motor Speedway. The event will be held on August 19th-21st, 2010 and will get underway on Thursday, August 19th with an Open Practice Session. Friday, August 20th will see time trials and heat races for the LOLMDS Super Late Models. On Saturday, August 21st consolation races and the 100 lap, 18th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 main event will be held. For more information on the event, please visit www.BatesvilleMotorSpeedway.com and www.LucasDirt.com .

COMP Cams has been a supporter of the COMP Cams Topless 100 since the event’s inception in 2003, and throughout the years has considered to grow its support in various ways. COMP Cams recognizes the extreme importance and impact of events, such as the COMP Cams Topless 100, to the motorsports’ world. In addition, not only does COMP Cams provide sponsorship support to the track for this event as well as sponsorship support for the LOLMDS, but will also have a full product support team onsite for the duration of the weekend to ensure that all of their customers are receiving top performance from their valve train components.

For more information about any COMP Cams valve train products, call us at 1-800-999-0853, or visit us online at www.compcams.com.