Eckert Seeks To Regain Winning Form At Volusia Speedway Park In UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment Feb. 20-25

Defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champ Hasn’t Reached Victory Lane At Florida Track Since 2006

BARBERVILLE, FL – Jan. 27, 2012 – Rick Eckert seemed to get his groove back at the end of last year’s UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment and rode the momentum to his first-ever World of Outlaws Late Model Series title.

This year the veteran star from York, Pa., hopes to step up his performance even more and return to his old winning ways at Volusia Speedway Park, which hosts six consecutive nights of DIRTcar Late Model racing from Feb. 20-25 as part of the 41st UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit. Four DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned events (Feb. 20, 21, 22 and 24) and two WoO LMS programs (Feb. 23 and 25) comprise the full-fender portion of the annual short-track spectacular in the Sunshine State.

“I gotta get back on a roll there,” Eckert said of the sprawling half-mile oval located less than a half-hour outside Daytona Beach, Fla. “We closed out last year’s (DIRTcar Nationals) strong, but it’s been a long time since we’ve won a race there. This year we’re gonna try to change that.”

For the eight-year period from 1999-2006, Eckert, 46, was a pretty solid bet to reach Victory Lane at least once during each edition of the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit. He captured seven Late Model features in that span, going winless only in his 2000 and 2003 trips to Florida.

Eckert’s run of success at Volusia was so impressive that he remains atop the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit win list since 1999 despite being shut out for the last five years. Only Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., who won his seventh career DIRTcar Nationals A-Main last year, matches Eckert’s checkered flag total.

“Volusia was really good to us for awhile,” said Eckert, whose triumphs came in DIRTcar UMP (five), UDTRA/Hav-A-Tampa (one) and unsanctioned (one) races. “I still like the place, but it feels like we haven’t won there in forever.”

Eckert certainly hasn’t been a non-factor since his last win at Volusia, on Feb. 17, 2006. Over the past five years he’s recorded seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit, including runner-up outings in ’08 (WoO LMS) and ’09 and ’11 (DIRTcar UMP).

But the Volusia victory lull has proven frustrating for Eckert, never more so than during the first four nights of last year’s competition. He struggled to get his self-owned Team Zero by Bloomquist car up to speed, registering consecutive DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned feature finishes of 13 th, 24th and 17th and placing a quiet 13th in the WoO LMS season opener.

Eckert’s disappointing runs sent him into the final two evenings of last year’s action needing a turnaround not just for his morale but also, he quipped at the time, so he’d have “enough money to buy diesel fuel to get back home.” An engine change prior to Friday night’s competition got him back on track, propelling him to an uplifting second-place finish in the 40-lap DIRTcar UMP finale and a fifth-place finish in Saturday night’s 50-lap WoO LMS A-Main that put a badly-needed $7,050 in his pocket and set him off on a championship season.

“We started the week with a fresh motor, but we fought some issues with it and really struggled,” said Eckert. “I was too hard-headed to change it, but we finally changed to our other motor on Friday afternoon and we instantly ran better. It had laps on it, but it actually ran better and made our car better. It turned our week around.”

Not surprisingly, Eckert plans to go back to what worked for him during last year’s UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit.

“Right from the start of the week this year we’re gonna run a motor that’s similar to what we used the last two nights last year,” said Eckert. “It might not be the same exact motor, but it’ll be the same size and the same combo. We’ll probably run another motor at the first two tracks we go to (the season-opening WoO LMS events on Feb. 10-11 at Georgia’s Screven Motor Speedway and Feb. 16-18 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.) and then change to the one we think will be best for Volusia.”

Just over three months removed from clinching the $100,000 WoO LMS crown during the Lowes Foods World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., Eckert is ready to begin another championship chase. He knows he can’t afford a slow jump out of the starting gate with the national tour running a record six events at three tracks during the month of February.

“Having more races in Georgia and Florida is good for the series, but it’s definitely harder on the regulars,” said Eckert, who has entered all 313 WoO LMS events contested since 2004. “There will be probably 60 or more cars at all six races, so we have to be on our game. You better get off to a good start this year or you’ll be in trouble.”

Eckert is confident that he’ll be in the mix for checkered flags at Volusia, a D-shaped track he always enjoys visiting.

“It’s a fun place,” said Eckert, who displayed his newly-skinned No. 24 in the DIRTcar Racing booth during last weekend’s VP Racing Fuels Motorsports 2012 show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa. “It’s big, but yet it’s still racy. I think because it’s round it just races good – usually side-by-side racing, which is cool.

“It’s been really good the last several years,” he continued. “It didn’t use to be as racy as it is now. I remember being there when guys would draw bad (time trial) numbers and then just didn’t race that night. But now the racetrack’s good enough where you can draw a bad number and still rebound. They (the track-prep crew) just do a lot more work (to the surface) than they used and that’s great for us and the fans.”

Of course, Eckert isn’t merely a proponent of the racing at Volusia. He’s likes the whole atmosphere that envelopes the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit.

“It’s always fun to race in front of a big crowd,” said Eckert, “and it’s fun to get to see all the (DIRTcar Big-Block) Modified guys (who race from Feb. 22-25) that I probably only see one time a year. We’ll hang out with them after the races, cook out a little bit, have a few beers and talk about racing. That’s what makes the week even more fun.”

The UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit is a 12-night short-track blockbuster that features nightly doubleheaders. Joining the DIRTcar UMP Late Models (30-lap A-Mains paying $7,000 to win on Feb. 20, 21 and 22 and a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win finale on Feb. 24) and WoO LMS (50-lap A-Mains for $10,000 to win on Feb. 23 and 25) on the schedule are the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (Feb. 17-19); the UNOH All-Star Sprint Car Series (Feb. 15-16); the Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds (Feb. 22-25); and the UMP Modifieds (Feb. 14-21).

For more information on the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit – including special pricing on advance-sale tickets and details of the ‘Free Pit Pass With Every Ticket’ offer that allows fans to get up-close-and-personal with the race teams every night of the DCN – visit www.DIRTcarNationals.com or call 704-795-7223, 386-985-4402 or 877-395-8606 (ticket hotline).

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .

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Down & Dirty: Michigan’s Berlin Raceway Covering Pavement With Clay For World of Outlaws Late Model Series Weekend On Sept. 21-22

 Huge 100-lap, $20,000-To-Win Event Will Return Showplace Oval To Its Dirt-Track Roots

MARNE, MI – Jan. 20, 2012 – Berlin Raceway is going to get down and dirty in 2012.

Harkening back to the famed facility’s beginnings as a dirt track six decades ago, the new management team of the Michigan speedway has announced plans to cover the 7/16th-mile oval’s asphalt surface with a layer of clay for a spectacular season-ending program featuring the renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Keyser Manufacturing Co. of Coopersville, Mich., has signed on to sponsor the huge weekend scheduled for Sept. 21-22, providing fans from the Midwest and beyond the unique opportunity to witness dirt Late Model superstars sliding around one of the country’s most storied and popular paved tracks.

A 100-lap WoO LMS A-Main paying $20,000 to win will serve as the highlight of the historic, as-yet-unnamed weekend. Berlin Raceway’s management is setting up a fan contest to solicit ideas for the race’s title, adding interactive flair to arguably the biggest dirt Late Model event ever contested in the state of Michigan.

“When we started making our plans for the 2012 season we threw around ideas that might create some excitement,” said Berlin Raceway general manager Mike Bursley. “We thought putting dirt down for a big end-of-the-year show would be something that’s not only different, but also great for the racetrack and great for the fans.

“We’re going to bring Berlin Raceway back to where it started when Chet Mysliwiec and his family built it – and doing it with the World of Outlaws will be huge.”

A staple of the Wolverine State’s motorsports scene since 1950, Berlin Raceway will celebrate its 62nd year of competition in 2012 with the energetic duo of Bursley, 28, and Kurt Dietrich, 33, serving as co-promoters for DBD Ventures, the Don Dewitt-led investment group that purchased the track’s lease during the off-season. The first dirt race since Berlin was paved in 1966 will conclude an ambitious ’12 schedule that includes the track’s traditional weekly action and major events.

The much-anticipated dirt-track weekend at Berlin will kick off on Thurs., Sept. 20, with an open practice session. The WoO LMS will take center stage for the remainder of the historic meet, running time trials and heat races on Fri., Sept. 21, and last-chance races and the 100-lap A-Main on Sat., Sept. 22.

The century grind figures to play a critical role in the battle for the $100,000 WoO LMS points championship. Just four more points races are scheduled to be contested after the national tour’s visit to Berlin.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to headline one of the most exciting racing weekends the state of Michigan has ever seen,” said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. “It’s truly an honor to know the management of a well-known short track like Berlin Raceway holds the World of Outlaws Late Model Series in such high esteem that they are entrusting our officials and teams to help make the dirt-track weekend a memorable one.”

The process of applying a dirt surface on Berlin Raceway will begin immediately after the track presents its final scheduled pavement event of the season on Sept. 8. Bursley said the speedway has already made arrangements to truck in over 10,000 yards of clay excavated from the site of an athletic-field construction project at a nearby college.

“It’s quite a commitment to pull off something like this, but we’ve done our homework,” said Bursley, who plans to work with local dirt-track promoters and seek their assistance in surface preparation to ensure the success of Berlin’s big program. “We’re serious about doing this right. We want to make this a yearly event.”

Dirt-trackers who are unfamiliar with Berlin will discover a jewel of a track located less than 20 minutes from Grand Rapids, Mich. The facility was virtually rebuilt after its 2001 purchase by the West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball team that invested in infrastructure upgrades that included a new sound system, restrooms, private party areas, catch fencing and other amenities. More improvements came under Michael Blackmer, who leased the track in 2008 before transitioning to ownership the following season.

Berlin Raceway boasts a seating capacity of 8,800 and a uniquely-shaped track that will certainly prove to be a challenge for dirt Late Model racers.

“It’s really almost a circle, so the cars will rarely be going straight when they’re running on dirt,” said Dietrich, Berlin’s operations and marketing manager. “It will definitely lend itself to some real fast and interesting racing.”

More details of Berlin’s Keyser Manufacturing Co. dirt-track weekend will be announced in the near future, including information on ticket prices and advanced sales; support divisions that will compete; and a complete schedule of events.

Fans can get involved immediately by e-mailing their suggestions for an event name to dirtracename@berlinraceway.com by Feb. 29. Track officials will pick five event names and then post them for fan voting at www.berlinraceway.com. The fan who submits the winning event name will receive four free tickets to the weekend and other perks to be announced.

The latest information on the event is available by logging on to www.berlinraceway.com or calling the track office at 616-662-2051.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .

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Award-Winning Promoter Redd Griffin Focused On Huge ‘Winter Freeze’ Weekend Feb. 10-11 At Screven Motor Speedway

Georgia Track Set To Open 2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule With $20,000-To-Win Blockbuster

SYLVANIA, GA – Jan. 16, 2012 – James ‘Redd’ Griffin has received plenty of congratulatory handshakes and phone calls since being named the 2011 Racing Promotion Monthly Southeastern Region Auto Racing Promoter of the Year, but the modest Georgian certainly hasn’t paused to celebrate his honor.

For Griffin, there just isn’t any time right now for introspection. He’s less than one month away from the richest event he’s ever presented at his Screven Motor Speedway: the ‘Winter Freeze’ on Feb. 10-11, a blockbuster weekend that he hopes will prove he’s a worthy recipient of the coveted promotional award.

A 60-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main paying $20,000 to win headlines the Winter Freeze, which also features a pair of $5,000-to-win events for the UNOH All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series. It’s a monster pairing of headline divisions that will kick off the season-opening Georgia/Florida speedweeks with a flourish.

“I’m really looking forward to this show,” said Griffin, whose three-eighths-mile oval played host to annual $10,000-to-win WoO LMS programs from 2008-10 (last year’s World of Outlaws race was rained out on its original date and then later canceled by the track). “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done at Screven and the interest I’m seeing has been fantastic. If we can get some of that good weather I’m praying for, I think we’re gonna have a great turnout and an awesome show.”

The Winter Freeze promises to put a punctuation mark on Screven’s rise to relevance in the motorsports industry under Griffin, who 16 years ago began carving the complex out of a cotton field one hour northwest of Savannah. Griffin has constructed one of the most diverse racing facilities in the country, boasting not only a competitive red-clay oval but also the quarter-mile Savannah River Dragway, a mud bog, a nearly quarter-mile dirt go-kart track and a paved rental kart track.

Griffin, 43, has made additions to Screven’s infrastructure and beefed up the track schedules virtually every year since he came on the scene. It’s this dedication to providing fans and racers an ever-improving experience – not to mention Griffin’s down-home, regular-guy personality – that earned him recognition as one of six regional Promoter of the Year honorees by RPM, an idea newsletter and professional resource for racetrack operators.

“I’m really shocked to win it,” said Griffin, one of the nominees for the 36th National Auto Racing Promoter of the Year Award that will be announced on Feb. 20 during the 39th annual RPM Workshops in Daytona Beach, Fla. “It sure is an honor to be recognized like that by the other promoters. I guess you can say it puts the pressure on to live up to an award that’s that important.”

In that vein, Griffin is laser-focused on the Winter Freeze. A mild winter has given him and his staff plenty of opportunity to prep the property for the expected influx of spectators and teams. Most notably, he’s erected more bleachers on the front and back straightaways and has completely turned over Screven’s racing surface in hopes of continuing the side-by-side action that many observers rate as some of the best fans will see in the Southeast.

Griffin has planned a full weekend of activities for Winter Freeze attendees, starting with an open practice session running from 6-10 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 9. The schedule of events on Fri., Feb. 10, includes WoO LMS time trials and heat races plus full programs for the All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series and the Screven Late Model division ($1,500 to win), while the card on Sat., Feb. 11, features B-Mains and the lucrative Winter Freeze finale for the WoO LMS as well as another All-Star Sprint Car show and a $2,500-to-win crate Late Model headliner.

In addition, Griffin will keep things busy on Saturday afternoon with Gee Chee Creek Mudd Drags competition, racing at his Gamecock Speedway go-kart oval and challenge races between World of Outlaws drivers and fans on the rental kart track. The mud-bog and go-kart action is included in the $35 adult ticket price, which also provides an all-access pass to the pit area of each racing venue.

“We’re gonna give everybody plenty to see and do during the day,” said Griffin. “It’s a great deal for the fans. For $35 you get to see all kinds of different racing in one place, and you can go in the pits and rub elbows with (WoO LMS stars) like Rick Eckert and Josh Richards and all the 410 Sprint Car guys.”

Griffin will also have his famed concession stand cranking out a wide variety of foods all weekend. The large building, situated between the speedway and dragstrip, is well known for producing much more than the normal racetrack fare.

“When the folks come down here from all over, we’re gonna make sure we treat ‘em right,” said Griffin, who plans to situate heaters under the grandstands to provide fans extra warmth if the temperatures dip at night. “We’re going to show them good southern hospitality and give ‘em some good southern cooking.”

The Winter Freeze will begin the chase for the $100,000 WoO LMS points title, assuring a banner turnout of World of Outlaws hopefuls. Topping the field will be former series champions Rick Eckert of York, Pa., Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. – all of whom plan to pursue another crown in 2012 – as well as two-time titlist Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who has not yet announced his schedule for ’12 as he looks to land a fulltime NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride.

Eckert, Lanigan and McCreadie are just three of the last year’s WoO LMS fulltimers who are expected to return in ’12, joining Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., Ron Davies of Warren, Pa., and John Lobb of Frewsburg, N.Y.

Several additional drivers have revealed their intention to enter the Winter Freeze in hopes of jump-starting a season-long assault on the WoO LMS. The list includes Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., and Jill George of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The Winter Freeze roster will be accented by an array of other national, regional and local standouts.

Griffin said that he will add a Non-Qualifiers’ Race to the WoO LMS itinerary if more than 48 dirt Late Models are signed in for the event.

Screven’s gates are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. each day of the Winter Freeze. Hot laps are set to start at 5 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 10, and Sat., Feb. 11, with qualifying to immediately follow.

Admission to the practice night (including entry to the pits) on Thurs., Feb. 9, is $20 and free for children 12-and-under. On both Fri., Feb. 10, and Sat., Feb. 11, admission (including pits) is $35 for adults, $15 for children 7-12 and free for kids 6-and-under.

Screven Motor Speedway will provide free camping (no hookups) on the paved dragstrip on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information on the Winter Freeze is available by logging on to www.screvenmotorspeedway.com or calling 912-228-5886.

Screven Motor Speedway is located between Mile Markers 6 and 7 on GA Route 21 in Screven County, Ga.

A busy month of February for the WoO LMS will continue after the Winter Freeze. The tour will head farther south for the inaugural ‘Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals’ on Feb. 16-18 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., and two dates (Feb. 23 and 25) during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at Twitter.com/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws .

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World of Outlaws Late Model Series Adds June Dates At Canada’s Autodrome Granby & Cornwall, New York’s Canandaigua

Trio Of Northeast Events Will Lead Tour To Sixth Annual Firecracker 100 Weekend At Lernerville Speedway

CONCORD, NC – Jan. 4, 2012 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will blast into summer with consecutive June dates at Canada’s Autodrome Granby and Cornwall Motor Speedway and New York’s Canandaigua Motorsports Park, tour officials announced on Wednesday.

Adding more excitement to the renowned national tour’s previously-released 2012 schedule, the full-fender World of Outlaws stars will end a one-year absence from the Canadian dirt-track scene with a weekend doubleheader at Autodrome Granby in Granby, Que., on Fri., June 22, and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on Sun., June 24. The swing will then conclude on Tues., June 26, at Canandaigua, a longtime DIRTcar-sanctioned facility.

The trio of events will lead into one of the season’s richest and most prestigious races – the sixth annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com on June 28-30 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. A pair of 30-lap, $6,000-to-win preliminary programs precede the weekend’s 100-lap headliner that offers a $30,000 top prize.

“We’re very happy to add visits to Autodrome Granby, Cornwall and Canandaigua to the 2012 World of Outlaws Late Model Series schedule,” said tour director Tim Christman. “The fans in Canada and central New York always welcome the World of Outlaws teams with open arms so we’re really looking forward to bringing them more of the intense action that’s the hallmark of the World of Outlaws.”

The new dates will set up a two-week-long stretch of competition in the Northeast for the WoO LMS, which enters the region with back-to-back weekend programs on June 16 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and June 17 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. Christman said another mid-week event could be added to the schedule between the Eriez and Granby stops.

The 50-lap, $10,000-to-win show at Granby on June 22 will bring the WoO LMS to the half-mile oval for the first time. A top-notch facility that headlines the DIRTcar 358-Modified division on Friday nights, Granby is located one hour east of Montreal and two hours from the American border at Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Granby becomes the second French-Canadian track to host the WoO LMS, joining Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville. The four-tenths-mile Drummond oval has presented tour events won by former series champions Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. (2007), Rick Eckert of York, Pa. (2008) and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. (2010).

Cornwall, meanwhile, returns to the WoO LMS slate for the fourth time in five years on June 24 with a 50-lap A-Main paying $10,000 to win. Previous winners at the quarter-mile bullring promoted by Ron Morin include two-time series champion Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va. (2008 and ’09) and Francis (’10).

The WoO LMS will close the swing on June 26 (distance and purse to be determined) with its third alltime appearance at Canandaigua, a sprawling half-mile fairgrounds track in its second season under the direction of Jeremie Corcoran. Richards was victorious there in ’08 and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. – the ’06 WoO LMS champion and a former Canandaigua DIRTcar Big-Block Modified regular at Canandaigua – scored an emotional triumph in ’09.

The 2012 WoO LMS campaign now stands at 45 confirmed race dates comprising 41 A-Mains – with more events still to be added. Christman said fans should look for several exciting announcements in the near future.

The coming season is shaping up as one of the most competitive in the tour’s nine-year history under the World Racing Group banner. Eleven of the 13 fulltime drivers from ’11 have indicated plans to follow the tour again, including defending champion Eckert, Lanigan, McCreadie, Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa., Shane Clanton of Fayetteville, Ga., Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga., Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., Pat Doar of New Richmond, Wis., Ron Davies of Warren, Pa., and John Lobb of Frewsburg, N.Y.

Several additional drivers have revealed their intention to attempt a season-long assault on the WoO LMS, including Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., Bub McCool of Vicksburg, Miss., Dan Stone of Thompson, Pa., Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., Rick ‘Boom’ Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa., Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., and Jill George of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The 2012 WoO LMS season will begin with the $20,000-to-win ‘Winter Freeze’ on Feb. 10-11 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. A busy month of February for the tour also includes the inaugural ‘Bubba Army Late Model Winter Nationals’ on Feb. 16-18 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., and the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 23 and 25 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

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