WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (Jan. 1)
Officials from the United States Modified Touring Series released a tentative 2010 USMTS National Tour schedule of events today.
The line-up of events showcasing the premier dirt modified drivers in America features an exciting mix of familiar venues, as well as several new locales that are certain to jump start every race fan's hunger for the series' 12th year of competition.
We've got one heck of a schedule brewing for 2010, said USMTS president and race director Todd Staley. Despite an economy that was pretty sour in 2009, our average car count was up and both our average and overall fan attendance was higher than ever before.
We have been truly blessed these past 11 years with the greatest drivers, sponsors and fans in the sport.
The assembled slate of blockbuster events for 2010 includes return events at some the most popular USMTS venues, as well as a bolstered menu of new racetracks representing the finest in the country.
The rugged road warriors of the USMTS National Tour will thrill race fans in America's heartland with an aggressive campaign which currently features 54 events at 39 different venues in 10 different States. The schedule is highlighted with return engagements to 29 facilities that hosted a USMTS National Tour event last season, and four exciting dirt ovals that will play host to the USMTS National Tour for the first time.
One facility returns to the line-up after a one-year hiatus, another is back on the schedule after a seven-year absence and yet another track's name is on the slate for the first time in nine years.
For the seventh straight year, they USMTS National Tour campaign will kick off with a doubleheader at the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb. The 7th Annual Nebraska Spring Thaw is slated for Friday and Saturday, March 5-6. Fridays event will pay $2,000 to win while the victor in Saturdays main event will pocket $3,000. More than 70 entries are once again expected for the annual lidlifter at the 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval.
The following weekend will find the touring titans at the Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan., on Friday, March 12, followed by a date at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kan., on Saturday, March 13. The series returns to Humboldt on Friday, Aug. 13, and Caney on Saturday, Aug. 14, to kick off the Hunt for the USMTS National Championship.
The month on March wraps up with trips to the Outlaw Motor Speedway near Muskogee, Okla., on Friday, March 19, and the West Siloam Speedway in West Siloam Springs, Okla., on Saturday, March 20. This will be the first visit to the Outlaw Motor Speedway since a two-race weekend on May 8-9, 2003, that saw Jason Hughes and Tommy Myer walk away victorious. Both events are expected to attract a powerful field of entries as both USMTS National Tour and USMTS Southern Series points will be awarded.
Two shows in the Show-Me State dot the month of April, with a couple of $2,000-to-win contests at the LA Raceway in La Monte on Friday, April 9, and Moberly's 24 Raceway Park on Saturday, April 10.
A busy month of May is only partially finalized, but the Memorial Day Weekend will find the series on familiar ground with a $2,000-to-win stop at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Wednesday, May 26, for the first of five straight nights of racing action. On Thursday, May 27, it's on to the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa, followed by annual Memorial Day Weekend events at the Chateau Raceway, Lansing, Minn., on
Friday, May 28; Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Saturday, May 29; and the Dodge County Speedway in Kasson, Minn., on Sunday, May 30.
In the 11-year history of the USMTS, Kelly Shryock has garnered ten titles, including nine USMTS National Championships and one USMTS Southern Series crown. It all started nearly two decades ago for the second-generation racer in the Hobby Stock division at the Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minn., and the USMTS National Tour returns to the popular half-mile oval on Tuesday, June 15, for the first time since June 20, 2001 a race that Shryock won with a last-lap pass of Mike Chasteen.
The Fairmont event kicks off a whirlwind final half of June that will see 10 shows in a span of 12 days. On Wednesday, June 16, the series invades the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa, followed by the Husets Speedway in Brandon, S.D., on Thursday, June 17, and the Murray County Speedway in Slayton, Minn., on Friday, June 18. Tuesday, June 22, is set for the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Wednesday, June 23, will find the USMTS National Tour back at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, for an encore of last year's blockbuster event at Joe Ringsdorf's speedplant at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. On Friday, June 25, the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., hosts its first of two shows during the 2010 campaign.
Drivers, fans and officials alike will get their usual two- to three-week summer vacation during the first half of July, with the engines firing back up on Wednesday, July 14, for the annual Dodge County Fair in Kasson, Minn.
On Friday and Saturday, July 16-17, the USMTS National Tour invades the famed Elko Speedway in Elko, Minn., as the legendary asphalt track is transformed into a dirt gridiron for the 2nd Annual Dirt Nationals.
The State of North Dakota welcomes back the USMTS National Tour for the first time in three years with the first-ever visit to the Red River Valley Speedway in Fargo, N.D., on Wednesday, July 28. From there, it's on to the Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D., on Thursday, July 29, for what has become an annual sell-out and one of the most popular events on the schedule. The curtain closes on the tripleheader through the Dakotas with another inaugural event on Friday, July 30, at the Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D.
The Hunt for the USMTS National Championship begins on Friday, Aug. 13, at the Humboldt Speedway and the first of 18 events that will culminate with the crowning of the 2010 USMTS National Champion.
The USMTS National Tour will return to the Deer Creek Speedway for the 12th Annual Fall Jamboree on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23-25. The standing-room-only show has become one of the most popular races on the calendars of Modified fans, as well as one of the most lucrative for the drivers.
USMTS officials plan to announce more dates and regional alignments in the next few days.
USMTS NATIONAL TOUR 2010 SCHEDULE
Fri Mar 5
Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, NE ($2000 to win)
Sat Mar 6
Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, NE ($3000 to win)
Fri Mar 12
Caney Valley Speedway, Caney, KS ($2000 to win)
Sat Mar 13
Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, KS ($2000 to win)
Fri Mar 19
Outlaw Motor Speedway, Muskogee, OK ($2000 to win)
Sat Mar 20
West Siloam Speedway, West Siloam Springs, OK ($2000 to win)
Fri Mar 26
TBA
Sat Mar 27
TBA
Fri Apr 9
LA Raceway, La Monte, MO ($2000 to win)
Sat Apr 10
24 Raceway Park, Moberly, MO ($2000 to win)
Fri May 14
TBA
Sat May 15
TBA
Sun May 16
TBA
Wed May 26
Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($2000 to win)
Thu May 27
Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($2000 to win)
Fri May 28
Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($2000 to win)
Sat May 29
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2000 to win)
Sun May 30
Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2000 to win)
Tue Jun 15
Fairmont Raceway, Fairmont, MN ($2000 to win)
Wed Jun 16
Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, IA ($2000 to win)
Thu Jun 17
Husets Speedway, Brandon, SD ($2000 to win)
Fri Jun 18
Murray County Speedway, Slayton, MN ($2000 to win)
Sat Jun 19
TBA
Tue Jun 22
Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, IA ($2000 to win)
Wed Jun 23
I-35 Speedway, Mason City, IA ($2000 to win)
Thu Jun 24
TBA
Fri Jun 25
Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($2000 to win)
Sat Jun 26
TBA
Tue Jul 13
TBA
Wed Jul 14
Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2000 to win)
Thu Jul 15
TBA
Fri Jul 16
Elko Speedway, Elko, MN ($2000 to win)
Sat Jul 17
Elko Speedway, Elko, MN ($3000 to win)
Wed Jul 28
Red River Valley Speedway, Fargo, ND ($2000 to win)
Thu Jul 29
Casino Speedway, Watertown, SD ($2000 to win)
Fri Jul 30
Brown County Speedway, Aberdeen, SD ($2000 to win)
Fri Aug 13
Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, KS ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 14
Caney Valley Speedway, Caney, KS ($3000 to win)
Sun Aug 15
Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($3000 to win)
Fri Aug 20
Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 21
Adams County Speedway, Corning, IA ($3000 to win)
Sun Aug 22
Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, MN ($3000 to win)
Thu Aug 26
Nevada Speedway, Nevada, MO ($3000 to win)
Fri Aug 27
LA Raceway, La Monte, MO ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 28
24 Raceway Park, Moberly, MO ($3000 to win)
Tue Aug 31
Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, IA ($3000 to win)
Wed Sep 1
Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($3000 to win)
Thu Sep 2
Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($3000 to win)
Fri Sep 3
Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($3000 to win)
Sat Sep 4
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($3000 to win)
Sun Sep 5
Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, MN ($3000 to win)
Thu Sep 23
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2000 to win)
Fri Sep 24
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($4000 to win)
Sat Sep 25
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($6000 to win)
Schedule is tentative and subject to change without notice.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit
www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS.
Exciting new venues, timeless classics highlight 2010 usmts national tour schedule 
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