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Kevin Kovac
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (April 11) - Another season of regional touring-series Super Late Model action under the UMP DIRTcar Racing banner is getting the green flag.
Two popular UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned tours - the Sunoco American Late Model Series and Northern Allstars Late Model Series - are once again offering attractive schedules, purses and points-fund payouts in 2008 for Midwest racers who yearn to test their skills at a variety of different tracks.
"Both the Sunoco American Late Model Series and the Northern Allstars give weekend racers a chance to participate in a touring environment," said Sam Driggers, the director of UMP DIRTcar Racing. "Generally all the races are within a four-hour radius of where the competitors live, so they can follow a series without a huge amount of traveling."
Each tour focuses on a specific area of the Midwest. The Sunoco ALMS revolves predominantly around Ohio, southern Michigan and eastern Indiana, while the NALMS has Illinois as its epicenter and stretches out to tracks in Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky that are close to the 'Land of Lincoln' border.
A regional staple since 1995, the 2008 Sunoco ALMS boasts an 18-event schedule that will visit 11 different tracks. The featured facility is again Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, near Toledo, which will host a series-high four races (May 24, June 21, Aug. 2, Aug. 30). Other tracks set to hold multiple dates are Attica (Ohio) Raceway (three, including the scheduled opener on April 11) and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio (two).
Notable stops on the '08 ALMS include Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, a track that has been enlarged from a quarter- to a three-eighths-mile during the off-season and will see the tour visit for the first time ever on July 19; Moler (Ohio) Raceway Park, another newcomer to the series with a date set for July 18; Hartford (Mich.) Motor Speedway, which is back on the sked (Aug. 23) for the first time since 2005; and Fremont (Ohio) Raceway, which hosts the season-ender on Sept. 13 after being absent from the '07 series.
Returnees from the 2007 ALMS include I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich.; Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio; Gas City (Ill.) I-69 Speedway; and Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind. (the farthest west the tour will travel).
Defending ALMS champion Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich., is expected to be a familiar face to fans on this year's tour, which will pay its champion a cool $5,000 from a points fund that rewards the top-20 finishers in the points standings.
The NALMS, meanwhile, recently released a 2008 schedule of 15 events at nine different tracks. Five tracks - La Salle (Ill.) Speedway, Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill., Kamp Motor Speedway, Macon (Ill.) Speedway and Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway - appear on the slate multiple times, but La Salle's first scheduled program, the season-opening 'Frostbuster' this Saturday night (April 12), was canceled due to poor weather.
Macon, the high-banked, one-fifth-mile bullring known for its close-quarters racing, has a series-high three dates scheduled - on May 26, June 1 and Aug. 16. The June 1 event will serve as the anchor leg of the annual 'Tri-Track Challenge' swing of the NALMS, which also includes stops on May 30 at Paducah and May 31 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.
Tracks returning from the '07 NALMS include Macon, Kamp, Paducah, I-55, Highland (Ill.) Speedway and Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. I-57/I-64 Raceway in Mt. Vernon, Ill., which was formerly named Mt. Vernon Raceway, is back on the tour after a year's absence, while La Salle and Quad City are set to host the series for the first time.
Quad City will bring the curtain down on the 2008 NALMS in a big way with a two-day spectacular, on Oct. 10-11, that will be co-sanctioned by the MARS DIRTcar Series. The event will offer a five-figure first-place prize.
Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., is the defending champion of the NALMS.
For more information, visit www.americanlatemodelseries.com and www.northern-allstars.com.
2008 Sunoco American Late Model Series Schedule: April 11, Attica (OH) Raceway Park; April 12, Attica Rain Date; April 19, Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH; May 3, I-96 Speedway/Lake Odessa, MI; May 9, Limaland Motorsports Park/Lima, OH; May 24, Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH; May 25, Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH; May 30, Gas City I-69 Speedway/Gas City, IN; May 31, Kamp Motor Speedway/Boswell, IN; June 20, Attica (OH) Raceway Park; June 21, Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH ($3,000 to win); July 18, Moler Raceway Park/Williamsburg, OH; July 19, Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway; August 1, Attica (OH) Raceway Park; August 2, Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH; August 23, Hartford (MI) Motor Speedway; August 30, Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH; August 31, Eldora Speedway/Rossburg, OH; September 13, Fremont (OH) Raceway
2008 Northern Allstars Late Model Series Schedule: April 12, LaSalle (IL) Speedway (canceled); April 13, Quad City Speedway/East Moline, IL; April 26, Kamp Motor Speedway/Boswell IN; May 10, Highland (IL) Speedway; May 26, Macon (IL) Speedway; May 30, Paducah (KY) International Raceway (Tri-Track Challenge); May 31, I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO (Tri-Track Challenge); June 1, Macon (IL) Speedway (Tri-Track Challenge); August 16, Macon (IL) Speedway; August 29, Tri-City Speedway/Pontoon Beach IL; August 30, I-57/I-64 Raceway/Mt. Vernon, IL; September 12, Paducah (KY) International Raceway; September 14, LaSalle (IL) Speedway; September 27, Kamp Motor Speedway/Boswell IN; October 10, Quad City Speedway/East Moline, IL; October 11, Quad City Speedway/East Moline, IL
FIRST RELEASE: The UMP DIRTcar Racing national points battle is now off and running.
The initial release of the national standings for all eight UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned divisions came this week. Drivers will continue to earn points in UMP DIRTcar events through the weekend of Sept. 28, with the points finale for the Super Late Models and Modifieds set for the first weekend in October in the UMP DIRTcar Nationals at Eldora Speedway.
Beginning on Jan. 1 and running to March 30, drivers were able to count their one best finish per week toward the UMP DIRTcar points race. All events count from the weekend of April 4 through the weekend of Sept. 28.
Six-time UMP DIRTcar Summernationals champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., currently sits atop the Super Late Model national points standings. He built his early lead thanks to five UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned wins already this season - three during the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Florida's Volusia Speedway in February, plus victories at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Illini 100' on April 5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway that was co-sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar.
The 2008 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model champion will be determined using a driver's best 40 finishes.
Tim Hancock of Mt. Olive, Ill., leads the UMP DIRTcar Modified points standings. He got his year off on the right foot with a victory during February's Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
The UMP DIRTcar Modified national champ will be determined using a driver's top 35 finishes.
UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing.
ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the 'UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update' release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at kkovac@dirtcar.com.
UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of April 6):
Super Late Models:
1. Billy Moyer 375
2. Steve Francis 355
3. Dennis Erb Jr. 352
4. Jason McBride 278
5. Mike Hammerle 256
6. Earl Pearson Jr. 244
7. Justin Rattliff 237
8. Chub Frank 229
9. Tim McCreadie 225
10. Josh Richards 225
11. Michael Kloos 219
12. Rick Eckert 217
13. Shane Clanton 210
14. Darrell Lanigan 206
15. Rob Underwood 206
16. Clint Smith 205
17. Tim Fuller 204
18. Michael England 195
19. Rusty Griffaw 189
20. Ed Dixon 187
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