- Nearly 30 Local Dirt Racers Entered In Three-Day Event At Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track
FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 15, 2011) – The Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track will host some of the best dirt racing in the country during the Port-A-Cool® U.S. National Dirt Track Championship this weekend – the second of two events hosted annually by the speedway.
More than 200 dirt racers will gather at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track for the renowned event beginning Thursday, which features Modified, Limited Modified and O’Reilly Auto Parts SUPR (Southern United Professional Racing) Late Model racing. The field is highlighted by nearly 30 Dallas/Fort Worth residents, including North Richland Hills’ Jake Upchurch, who is looking for his first Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track win.
Upchurch, 25, has been on the short-track circuit for nearly 10 years racing Limited Modifieds and Street Stocks. His first win came just one year into his dirt track career at Grand Prairie Speedway. Since then, Upchurch has earned dozens more and has even picked up a few track championships in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Upchurch, whose race car carries the same number (24) as his favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon, will be racing Limited Modifieds in the Port-A-Cool® U.S. National Dirt Track Championship.
“I grew up around racing with my dad, so he is the one who influenced me to get into it,” Upchurch said. “I really enjoy racing at Texas Motor Speedway and I’ve raced my way to the main feature the past few races, but I’ve never been able to pick up a win. My best finish has been 13th. Hopefully I can change that this weekend.”
Also among the drivers entered are former Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track champions Tim Clonch, Troy Taylor and Steve Whiteaker Jr. Clonch, a Quinlan native, won the 2010 Texas World Dirt Track Modified Championship and will compete in both Modified and Limited Modified divisions this weekend. Taylor, also competing in Modified and Limited Modified classes, is a Fort Worth native and on the hunt for a third Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track championship. Whiteaker Jr., the 2010 U.S. National Modified Dirt Track champion, hails from Corpus Christi and will compete in Limited Modified and O’Reilly Auto Parts SUPR Late Model divisions.
On-track action for the Port-A-Cool® U.S. National Dirt Track Championship will begin Thursday with practice for all three divisions beginning at 6 p.m. CT. The practice session will be closed to the public.
Heats for all three classes will run Friday and the championships will be decided Saturday. The O’Reilly Auto Parts SUPR Late Model champ will receive a payout of $3,500, while the Modified champ receives $3,000 and Limited Modified, $2000. In addition to the large purses, each division champion will receive a Cyclone 3000 – a 5.6-amp evaporative cooling unit that can lower temperatures up to 30 degrees F – courtesy of Port-A-Cool®.
Racing will begin at 6 p.m. CT both nights. Grandstand tickets are $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday. Parking on both nights is free. Fans and competitors can visit click here for additional information on the event.
DALLAS/FORT WORTH DRIVERS ENTERED
| NAME | HOMETOWN | DIVISION(S)
|
| Dean Abbey | Haslet | Limited Modified |
| Shane Aldridge | Burleson | Limited Modified |
| Chris Cleveland | Dallas | Limited Modified |
| Gary Fritchen | Fort Worth | Limited Modified |
| Sean Glennon | Grapevine | Limited Modified |
| Sean Jones | Mansfield | Limited Modified |
| Pepper Kuykendall | Midlothian | Limited Modified |
| Tom Lorenz | Mesquite | Limited Modified, Modified, SUPR |
| James McCreery | Cedar Hill | Limited Modified |
| Troy Taylor | Fort Worth | Limited Modified, Modified |
| Jarrod Thomas | Fort Worth | Limited Modified |
| Jake Upchurch | North Richland Hills | Limited Modified |
| Andy Wojtaszczyk | Weatherford | Limited Modified |
| Nelson Allridge | Keller | Modified |
| Sam Cox | Flower Mound | Modified |
| Brad Doherty | Ennis | Modified |
| Triston Dycus | Alvarado | Modified |
| Charles Hart | Irving | Modified |
| Joshua Hemby | Arlington | Modified |
| Shane Killingsworth | Dallas | Modified |
| Randall Martin | Springtown | Modified |
| Steven Orebaugh | Fort Worth | Modified |
| Dillon Pike | Waxahatchie | Modified |
| Bobby Ruffin | Crandall | Modified |
| Nate Jantz | McKinney | SUPR |
| Gary Lowe | Plano | SUPR |
SCHEDULE
| Today (Closed to the general public) |
| 12:00 p.m. | Camping Opens |
| 12:00 p.m. | Credentials Opens |
| 12:00 p.m. | Registration & Pits Opens |
| 12:00 p.m. | Haulers Load In |
| 6:00pm – 10:00 p.m. | Practice |
| 11:00 p.m. | Pit Area Closed |
| Friday |
| 12:00 p.m. | Credentials / Pit Gates Open |
| 12:00 p.m. | Tech Line Opens |
| 4:00 p.m. | Gates Open |
| 5:00 p.m. | Limited Modified Practice (4 laps) |
| 5:45 p.m. | Modified Practice (4 laps) |
| 6:40 p.m. | SUPR Late Model Practice |
| 7:00 p.m. | Opening Ceremonies |
| 7:05 p.m. | Limited Modified Heats (12 laps) |
| | Modified Heats (12 laps) |
| | SUPR Late Model Practice |
| | Limited Modified C Qualifier #1 (15 laps) |
| | Limited Modified C Qualifier #2 (15 laps) |
| | Modified C Qualifier #1 (15 laps) |
| | Modified C Qualifier #2 (15 laps) |
| | SUPR Late Model Practice |
| | Limited Modified B Qualifier #1 (15 Laps) |
| | Limited Modified B Qualifier #2 (15 Laps) |
| | Modified B Qualifier #1 (15 laps) |
| | Modified B Qualifier #2 (15 laps) |
| | SUPR Late Model Practice |
| | Limited Modified A Qualifier (15 laps) |
| | Modified A Qualifier (15 laps) |
| Saturday |
| 12:00 p.m. | Credentials / Pit Gates Open |
| 3:00 p.m. | Tech Line Opens |
| 4:00 p.m. | Gates and Suites Open |
| 6:00 p.m. | Limited Modified Qualifiers |
| 7:00 p.m. | Opening Ceremonies |
| | SUPR Late Model Heats |
| | Limited Modified Pole Dash (8 laps) |
| | Modified Qualifiers |
| | Modified Pole Dash (8 laps) |
| | SUPR Late Model Last Chance |
| | Limited Modified Championship (30 laps) |
| | Modified Championship (40 laps) |
| | SUPR Late Model Championship (40 laps) |
| | Victory Lane Celebrations |