The pre-entry deadline for the Feb 6th South Texas Speedway Thursday night 'first race of the season' is JAN 30TH! All PRE entries must be received or post-marked one week prior to each USMTS points race. It's wise to enter early! It also is wise to purchase the regional USMTS license for $150 for a variety of reasons. There are 11 races in this inaugural Gulf Coast Border Region schedule. The first six take place in south and southeast Texas between Feb 6th and Feb 15th (10 days). Three are at South Texas Speedway in Corpus Christi -- the "Sparkling City by the Sea" which if you haven't been there, really is a pretty town down on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico -- and three are in Baytown, Texas about 30 minutes east of Houston at Royal Purple Raceway whic is an absolutely beautiful facility featuring all paved pits and a state-of-the-art NHRA drag strip next door to the dirt track on the same property. Just for grins, let me throw in that the 10 day weather forecast for Corpus now goes out as far as Feb 3rd and the last 5 days of that forecast call for highs from 67 to 73 and lows from 50 to 61. (source: Weather.com) Think about that while you're trying to thaw out where ever you are tonight!
After we finish the first 3 races in Corpus, we'll have a 4-hour drive (250 miles) to make back towards the north to get to Baytown. With 4 days off to get there though, I don't see what the big hurry is. If the weather stays pretty, might even be worth going another hour or so south to the beaches, restaurants, clubs and such on South Padre Island. Maybe some gulf coast fishing or golfing will be in order. Lots of good places to eat and lots of good live music around too I guarantee.
When we get done at Baytown on the 15th, it's time for the big haul west across Texas. 11 hours (765 miles) to El Paso. Got 5 days off between Baytown and El Paso though. San Antonio is right on the way -- about 3 and 1/2 hours west of Baytown. Might be a good place to hole up for a couple days there. From El Paso Speedway Park to Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces is only an hour. Royal Jones owns both facilities and Jones is known for treating his racers right. Spending 9 days out there and racing 5 of them is going to be a fun time and a good experience for anyone who hasn't been before. The SNMS show is actually an extension of the annual Winter Meltdown Modified shows that Royal's been having for years out there. It's a long drive for many but ask anyone who's been and they'll tell you it's worth the miles. If you're a racer with the last name of Scott or Gallardo, your home when we finish up at Las Cruces on the 1st. Everyone else probably has a longer ride home than what they had to get to Corpus back at the start of this deal but on March 1st, you will have already completed a points season. Ever finished up a points season that early before?
USMTS.com explains all the benefits of having a USMTS license. Here's just one way it helps: If you buy a license and pre-enter all of the first six shows, it's worth a minimum of $180 in savings or payout over racing these same 6 shows without a license and then worth another $140 over showing up at the gate without a license and entering then. This with no racing luck at all. Like missing ALL the A-mains. Doing it this way equates to a minimum of $320 in savings in just in the first six races.
If you're running all 11, then of course you want the license. Not only does it pay $5000 to win the GCB Region points but it pays down 15 spots in the standings too. With a MINIMUM $30 savings per race, not buying that $150 license is actually throwing away money if you are going to race most of this region even if you miss a race or two. These shows together with winning the points pay a combined $37,000 to win for just 11 Modified races but naturally we all know that this is not without other multiple costs -- one of which is going to be these entry fee and license purchases which will cost you $1325 for these 11 shows even with holding the license and PRE-entering...
***But if you mail in or pay with a card all $1325 today and race at all 11 shows, even if you don't make a single A-main, you still get almost $1000 of it back -- $980 to be precise -- in tow money. Extra tow money (sometimes called 'non-qualifier pay' or 'B-main money') is awarded to those that have the license.
Another way to look at it is it's the equivalent of running for that $37,000 to win on an entry fee risk of just $345 only without non-qualifier or B-main pay being offered. Make all the A mains and the minimum combined start money for a licensed driver is $3250. That's a good pay out anyway you look at it. If you race these 11 without a license, it's still going to cost almost the same to enter -- $1285 -- because you don't get an entry fee discount without a license. Then if you don't make any A-mains, you'll get back $220 less ($760) in tow money plus you miss out on the better start money and a better paydown when you do make the A-main unless of course, you win the races. It pays the same to win the race whether you have the license or not but no $5000 for winning the points without a license. BUY the license.
To be clear though, NO license is required to race in any USMTS event. It's not forced on you. And you still get the advertised win amount either way. The big non-points special USMTS events (sometimes co-sanctioned with USRA) like the $10,000 to win King of American Modified Nationals (Humboldt, KS - Mar 27-29), $15,000 to win World Modified Dirt Track Champonship (Spring Valley, MN - Jul 24-26), combined $13,000 to win USMTS Featherlite Fall Jamboree (Spring Valley, MN - Sep 18-20), USRA Nationals (Kansas City, KS - Oct 2-4 purse TBA), Sooner Showdown (Pryor, OK - Oct 23-25 purse TBA) and USMTS Winter Nationals (Vivian, LA - Nov 6-8 purse TBA) have the same outstanding paydown amounts for all entrants whether licensed or unlicensed all the way through the field and the same entry fee amounts for both but no entry fee discounts for having a license -- pre-entry discounts only at these 6 shows only.
If you've stuck with me this long, take a minute and study the entry form below. The lowest payout race (Day 1 Payoff) to a NON-licensed racer is still good pay! $2000 to win, $200 to start on a $110 entry fee with $60 tow-money back if you don't transfer out of a B-main. Paydown for this ONE-night show: 2000-1200-800-600-500-400-350-300-250-230-210-200 to start with 24 cars starting the A. (26 start if 41 cars or more enter) There are a lot of Modified series races and 'special' event modified races around the midsouth and other parts of the country that don't pay that well. And that's the lowest payout at any of these USMTS shows. It all goes up from there except some of those entry fees go down IF you buy a license and PRE-enter. Bigger payoffs on Day 2 and 3 at each and bigger payoffs still if you buy the license. In fact, just finish anywhere from 2nd to 9th in anyone of the four Day 1 race events and you just paid for your region license because all those spots pay at least $150 more than what I just typed above IF you have the Gulf Coast Border region license.
The staff at USMTS is always trying to find ways (incentives, discounts, point funds, contigencies, various awards, more sponsor commitments, etc,) to EARN your participtaion in their series and events. When this Gulf Coast Border Region concludes on March 1st, there are still 3 more regions to race for titles in that haven't even begun yet. The Southern Region (TX, OK, LA) starts on March 20th and with just two road trips in the spring and one extended summer speedweek in the summer, this 14-race region will end on June 28th. There's also the Central Region (MO, KS, OK, IA, NB) that starts on March 15th and ends on July 19th and visits great tracks like Lakeside Speedway in KC and I-80 Speedway in Nebraska and the Northern Region (MN, IA, SD, WI) starts on May 8th and ends on June 15th and visits other great tracks like the famous Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota or the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Wisconsin. Most of these races in these three regions pay $2000 to win with a couple paying $3000 to win.
THEN, there's THE HUNT! It can be argued effectively that the most competitive, exciting, drama filled races for both wins and points in all of dirt track racing happened during the 2013 USMTS Hunt for Casey's Cup won by Texan Rodney Sanders. It wasn't over until the very last race when Sanders came out on top of a tight three-way point battle with Johnny Scott and Jason Hughes in the closest points race in the 15-year history of the USMTS. The 2014 Hunt starts off again at Batesville Motor Speedway in Arkansas and ends again at the first race of the Fall Jamboree at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota. In between, they also race in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Wisconsin and all 19 of those scheduled races pay $3000 to win. Any driver that can sweep all the regions and The Hunt wins that $100,000 but first, he must conquer the Gulf Coast Border Region starting with South Texas Speedway in less than two weeks from now.
But if that turns out not to be you, no worries. Sweep the remaining 3 regions and the Hunt and get $75,000. Winning two of the regions and The Hunt is worth $50,000. Winning The Hunt all by itself is still worth $20,000 and each region pays $5000 to win it's points. Best point fund in Modified racing, hands down! A license in each region and the one for The Hunt all cost $150 each. You'll have to race for points in at least one region to be eligible to race for points for the bigger payout in the Hunt anyhow. Buying them seperately will cost $750 but, like I said, USMTS is always looking for a way to get you to come so... you can buy all 5 licenses right now for $500. Saves $250.
Ok, we all can't pull to races from Mexico to Canada. I get that. There's going to be around 70 of these points races run before September 18th gets here. If you are a Modified racer that likes to travel and likes to race against the best, this series is for you, even if you can't go full time. If you have a young driver or a new team that you intend to take Late Model racing one day, this series has been proven as a great stepping stone. It's for you too. If you like fast, well run, consistantly officiated racing programs with solid teching and the best pay back in the Modified world, this is your series. With a return/savings from a minimum of $30 to as much as $400 more per event for having a license (depends on finishing position), I'll let you do the math as to how many of those 70 races you need to get to in order to make up that $500 and whether or not getting all the licenses now is worth it. It won't be more than 17 races though. It's a bargain! If you know you're only going to be attending races in a couple of regions, just buy those licenses. 2 cost $300. You'll save/make that much in 10 races or less just for having the licenses.
The first step though... enter these first 3 races by THIS FRIDAY 1/30 and get to Corpus Christi on Feb 6th. Ah, just go ahead and enter all 11 and get ready to ride!
