O’REILLY USMTS ADDS ECHO VALLEY, BEATRICE SPEEDWAYS TO 2007 SCHEDULE
by: Jeff Nun

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (Feb. 24) -- Officials from the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series announced today the addition of two more events to the most thrilling schedule ever for the nine-year-old series, bringing the total number of O’Reilly USMTS National Events this season to 60.

America’s Premier Modified Series will invade the Gage County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Aug. 8, as the Beatrice (Neb.) Speedway welcomes the rugged O’Reilly USMTS road warriors to the semi-banked 3/8-mile oval for the first time in seven years. The facility boasts some of the country’s toughest weekly Modified racers, including Johnny Saathoff, Dave Trauernicht and more. Officials expect a huge field of cars with a pedigree-rich line-up of drivers when the “best of the best” take on the area’s top dogs.

The Beatrice Speedway event will be a pivotal piece of the O’Reilly USMTS championship puzzle as well. It will be the final race in the highly-competitive Western Region -- the ninth of 13 straight days of $2,000-to-win events -- and two days before the start of the ‘The Hunt’ for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship on Friday, Aug. 10, at the Bolivar (Mo.) Speedway USA.

Support classes, ticket prices and start times will be announced in the near future. The Beatrice Speedway is located 1.7 miles west of US 77 on US 136, then 0.3 miles south on Logan St. for more information, call (402) 223-3158 or surf on over to www.beatricespeedway.com  online.

Also added to the 2007 O’Reilly USMTS schedule is a date at the Echo Valley Speedway in West Union, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, for another $2,000-to-win tilt. Lee and Sue Hansmeier’s 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval is a popular stomping ground for competitors and fans alike, providing a lot of speed with a lot of side-by-side racing. The Echo Valley Speedway battle will be the fifth of 16 events in ‘The Hunt’ as the Midwest's Modified masters slug it out for the O’Reilly USMTS crown.

The Echo Valley Speedway is a USRA Casey’s General Stores Weekly Racing Series member track and is located 1.4 miles east of SR 150 on US 18. For more information, call (563) 568-4881 or visit www.echovalleyspeedway.com  on the World Wide Web. Support classes, ticket prices and start times will be announced in the near future.

As many as five more dates may yet to be added to the 2007 O’Reilly USMTS slate. Kelly Shryock will look to capture his unprecedented ninth O’Reilly USMTS crown in 2007 while a host of newcomers and veterans alike will try to become the first to dethrone the Fertile, Iowa, veteran. Last year's O’Reilly USMTS National Championship runner-up Zack VanderBeek will be back on the trail in 2007, as well as 2006 ‘Hunters’ such as Jason Friesen, Tommy Myer, Jon Tesch, Al Hejna, Brad McEwan, Mike Hejna, 2006 Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Jay Poidinger, Dean Mahlstedt and Mark Noble. Other drivers planning a full National Events schedule and anticipating the opportunity to become the first driver to dethrone Shryock include Steve Arpin, Jay Noteboom, Mike Wedelstadt, Corey Dripps, Mike Spaulding, Willy Kraft, Kevin Larkins, Jim Horejsi and many more.

The 2007 season is scheduled to begin with the 4th Annual Nebraska Spring Thaw at the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb., on Friday and Saturday, March 9-10. To learn more about the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters office at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.USMTS.com online

O’REILLY AUTO PARTS UNITED STATES MODIFIED TOURING SERIES
2007 NATIONAL EVENTS SCHEDULE
(revised 2/24/07)

Fri Mar 9 ... Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, NE ($2,000 to win) W
Sat Mar 10 ... Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, NE ($3,000 to win) W
Fri Mar 16 ... West Siloam Speedway, Siloam, OK ($2,000 to win) S
Sat Mar 17 ... West Siloam Speedway, Siloam, OK ($3,000 to win) S
Fri Mar 23 ... Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, KS ($2,000 to win) S
Sat Mar 24 ... I-70 Speedway Dirt Track, Odessa, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Sun Mar 25 ... Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, KS ($2,000 to win) W
Fri Apr 6 ... Mountain Dew Bloomfield Speedway, Bloomfield, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Sat Apr 7 ... Pepsi Scotland County Speedway, Memphis, MO ($2,000 to win) C
Fri Apr 13 ... Blackbird Bend Speedway, Onawa, IA ($2,000 to win) W
Sat Apr 14 ... Blackbird Bend Speedway, Onawa, IA ($3,000 to win) W
Sun Apr 15 ... Quad City Raceway, East Moline, IL ($2,000 to win) C
Thu May 24 ... Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Fri May 25 ... Murray County Speedway, Slayton, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Sat May 26 ... Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Sun May 27 ... Kasson Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Mon May 28 ... Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Tue Jun 5 ... Iowa State Fair Speedway, Des Moines, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Wed Jun 6 ... Adams County Speedway, Corning, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Thu Jun 7 ... Dubuque Speedway, Dubuque, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Fri Jun 8 ... Tri-Oval Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($2,000 to win) N
Tue Jun 12 ... Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Wed Jun 13 ... Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, KS ($2,000 to win) W
Thu Jun 14 ... L A Raceway, LaMonte, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Fri Jun 15 ... Bolivar Speedway USA, Bolivar, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Sat Jun 16 ... Lebanon I-44 Speedway, Lebanon, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Sun Jun 17 ... Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Tue Jun 19 ... Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, SD ($2,000 to win) W
Wed Jun 20 ... Huset’s Speedway, Brandon, SD ($2,000 to win) W
Thu Jun 21 ... Casino Speedway, Watertown, SD ($2,000 to win) W
Fri Jun 22 ... Rapid Speedway, Rock Rapids, IA ($2,000 to win) W
Sat Jun 23 ... Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Mon Jul 16 ... Butler County Motorplex, Rising City, NE ($2,000 to win) W
Tue Jul 17 ... Eagle Raceway, Eagle, NE ($2,000 to win) W
Wed Jul 18 ... Kasson Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2,000 to win) N
Thu Jul 19 ... Upper Iowa Speedway, Decorah, IA ($2,000 to win) N
Fri Jul 20 ... Tri-Oval Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($2,000 to win) N
Sat Jul 21 ... TBA
Tue Jul 31 ... West Liberty Raceway, West Liberty, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Wed Aug 1 ... Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($2,000 to win) C
Thu Aug 2 ... Knox County Fairgrounds, Knoxville, IL ($2,000 to win) C
Fri Aug 3 ... Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, IL ($2,000 to win) S
Sat Aug 4 ... Lake Ozark Speedway, Eldon, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Sun Aug 5 ... I-70 Speedway Dirt Track, Odessa, MO ($2,000 to win) S
Tue Aug 7 ... TBA
Wed Aug 8 ... Beatrice Speedway, Beatrice, NE ($2,000 to win) W
Thu Aug 9 ... TBA
Fri Aug 10 ... Bolivar Speedway USA, Bolivar, MO ($2,000 to win) H
Sat Aug 11 ... Lebanon I-44 Speedway, Lebanon, MO ($2,000 to win) H
Sun Aug 12 ... Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($2,000 to win) H
Tue Aug 14 ... Farley Speedway, Farley, IA ($2,000 to win) H
Wed Aug 15 ... Echo Valley Speedway, West Union, IA ($2,000 to win) H
Thu Aug 16 ... Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Fri Aug 17 ... Cresco Speedway, Cresco, IA ($2,000 to win) H
Sat Aug 18 ... Fox Ridge Speedway, Arcadia, WI ($2,000 to win) H
Thu Aug 30 ... Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($2,000 to win) H
Fri Aug 31 ... Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Sat Sep 1 ... Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Sun Sep 2 ... Kasson Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Mon Sep 3 ... Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Thu Sep 6 ... Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win) H
Fri Sep 7 ... Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($4,000 to win) H
Sat Sep 8 ... Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($6,000 to win) H


W = Western Region
C = Central Region
S = Southern Region
N = Northeast Region
H = ‘The Hunt’ for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racing Tires, AMSOIL, Dirt Works Race Cars, Holley Performance Products, Home Pride Companies, Intercomp, Marsh Racing Wheels, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Olympic Fire Protection, R.A. Benson Motorsports, Real Racing Wheels, Reich Concrete, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, UNIJIG, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing, Belleville Motorsports, Bert Transmission, Boyer’s Engine Development, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Edelbrock, Fast Shafts, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Hyperco, Impact Racing, Intensitee Custom Clothing, Isky Racing Cams, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, KSE Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, RaceQuest, US Brake.