Weather woes continue to haunt Grain Valley; USMTS still a go for Lakeside Friday, Salina Saturday

by Jeff Nun

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (April 17) – The USMTS Casey’s Cup Series event slated for Thursday, April 18, at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., has been postponed due to rain and cold.

Officials are working on a “mulligan” for the show, likely to be May 9 or 16.

The events on Friday, April 19, at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., and Saturday, April 20, at the Salina Highbanks Speedway in Pryor Creek, Okla., are still on as scheduled.

Both events will award valuable points in the USMTS Arbor Masters Central Region presented by Day Motor Sports.

The “Big Dog Buy-In” will be in effect each night to create a possible $8,000 take-home pay for one driver. Each race pays $2,000 to win, but the Big Dog Buy-In allows any driver to gamble an extra $100 at the time of registration to compete for an extra $2,000 cash for taking the win. In eight events this season, a gambler has won the main event seven times.

Last July, the USMTS made its maiden voyage to the historic Lakeside Speedway and the fans filling jam-packing the grandstands got a classic battle that ended with Gustin claiming the victory en route to his season-long title.

The Iron Man Challenge featuring USRA B-Mods and local Factory Stocks will also be in action. Gates will open at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 19, with hot laps at 7 p.m. The night’s first heat race gets the green flag at 7:30.

The Lakeside Speedway is a 3/8-mile slightly-banked dirt oval located 1.0 mile west of I-435 (exit 18) on SR 5 (northwest of Kansas City, Kan.). The track hotline is 913-299-2040 or check them out the track’s official website at www.lakesidespeedway.net.

On Saturday, April 20, the popular Salina Highbanks Speedway near Pryor Creek, Okla., will host another sure-to-thrill blockbuster featuring the USMTS Modifieds. Not surprisingly, Gustin took down one of the two events in 2012 while Terry Phillips captured the other checkered flag. Hughes was the winner when the USMTS made its only prior appearance in 2004.

Support classes for Saturday’s show will be Grand Nationals, 360 Modifieds, Pure Stocks and Factory Stocks presented by MCH Kenworth. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the first green flag waving at 6:30.

The Salina Highbanks Speedway is located 7 miles east of Pryor on SR 20. For more information, visit the website at www.salinahighbanksspeedway.com or call 918-434-7223.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/USMTSTV.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey’s General Stores, Cheetos, COMP Cams®, Day Motor Sports, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers, Swan Energy.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allgayer Inc., Arbor Masters, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, 4s Motorsports, FVP, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Lecolift, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Roadrunner Trucking, Ruter Farms, Something Inked, United Cellular Services.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, MSD Ignition, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends, VP Racing Fuels.

Category: Missouri, USMTS, Valley Speedway