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LA MONTE, Mo. (Aug. 23) – The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers reaches the halfway point this weekend when dirt Modified racing’s best of the best continue their quest for the crown this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 27-28, for a an encore doubleheader two Show-Me State speedplants.

Each event will pay $3,000 to the winner with a minimum of $250 to start.

The mud starts flying on Friday night as the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour invades the LA Raceway in La Monte, Mo., for the second time this season and the sixth time in four years.

Jeremy Payne has been hard to beat at the LA Raceway. In fact, in his three starts at the 3/8-mile oval, the only driver able to beat him is himself. He captured the inaugural event in 2007 and appeared to have his second win in as many tries last August, but was disqualified during post-race technical inspections and the win was awarded to Grant Junghans, who went on to capture the DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Award.

This past April, the 24-year-old from Springfield was dominant again as he led all 40 laps of the main event to score his fifth career United States Modified Touring Series victory in front of a big audience and up against 65 other drivers.

Other former winners at the LA Raceway include Kelly Shryock (2008) and Rodney Sanders, who captured his career-first win here in 2009.

A smooth, fast and wide racing surface has been the norm with each visit to the facility. After 190 laps and five feature races at the track since 2007, the yellow flag has waved just once in two of them with the other three going green to checkered without a caution.

Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps start at 7 and the first heat race is slated for 7:30. Local B-Mods will also be racing. The LA Raceway is a located 3.5 miles west of SR 127 on Hwy Y. For more information, call 660-620-1152 (office) or 660-563-9878 (track) or check out www.laraceway.com online.

Race fans can pick up $2-off-admission coupons on Friday at Casey’s General Stores locations in La Monte, Sedalia and Warrensburg. 2008 USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger and his Cheetos-sponsored Ramirez Modified will be meeting and greeting fans from 12-2 p.m. at the 3500 W. 16th St. store in Sedalia.

On Saturday, the 24 Raceway in Moberly hosts the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour for the fifth time in three years.

The 2008 event at the 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval drew national attention with the first-ever tie to end a USMTS main event as Jon Tesch and Zack VanderBeek crossed the stripe in a dead heat. Tesch rolled to a convincing win when the series visited again in 2009.

The series returned later that season in August with Michael Long capturing his career-first victory under the USMTS banner. Jason Hughes scored the win this past April in a memorable battle that came down to the wire.

Gates will open at 5 p.m., with hot laps slated for 6:30 and the first green flag scheduled to wave at 7. Also on the racing card will be the Dart Iron Man Challenge for USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars, plus local Sportsman and Hornet divisions.

The 24 Raceway is located 3.5 miles east of US 63 on US 24. For more information, call 573-881-8861 or visit www.24racewayinmoberly.com on the World Wide Web.

Race fans can pick up $2-off-admission coupons on Saturday at Casey’s General Stores locations in Macon, Madison and Moberly. Colt Mather and his Snicker-sponsored Skyrocket Modified will be meeting and greeting fans from 12-2 p.m. at the 1222 Hurley St. store in Moberly.

For more information, or to find the Casey’s location nearest you, check out www.caseys.com online.

Film crews for the Dirt Knights television show will be on hand capturing the action this week and at every race during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers.

Dirt Knights will be an on-going dramatic series of one-hour programs that will air during the highly coveted Sunday evening time slot for 13 weeks. The much-anticipated show is set to debut in January of 2011 on VERSUS cable sports network, reaching more than 75 million households.

USMTS drivers Corey Dripps, Ryan Gustin, Al Hejna, Mike Spaulding and Jon Tesch are the featured drivers of the Dirt Knights program. While life has taken them in unique directions, all of them have one thing in common: a hunger for the checkered flag. Night after night from town to town, the Dirt Knights seek out a life of danger and on-the-edge-thrills.

The life of an American dirt track racer is not one that many could endure, but for the Dirt Knights it’s the only life worth living, and through the Dirt Knights TV series on VERSUS, we all get to go along for the wild ride.

Visit www.dirtknights.com on the World Wide Web for more information or to view the trailer. Also look for Dirt Knights on Facebook and Twitter.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Castle Rock Recruiting.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AwesomeRacesuits.com, GoPro, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allstar Performance, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Cagle Motorsports, Centex Motorsports, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Gressel Oil Field Service, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Just Say Yes, Karl Performance Parts, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, WIX Filters, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Ai-Racing, Belleville Motorsports, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, COMP Cams, Dart Machinery, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Inc, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Schoenfeld Headers, US Brake, Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop, WIX Filters.