4/11/2023
Crate Racin' USA Dirt Late Model Series
Non-Qualifiers Event Added to E-Z-GO Race Programs
EASTABOGA, Ala. (April 11) — Due to the overall success of Crate Racin’ USA’s E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge events, and high car counts that have been consistently turning out for these races on the schedule, series officials have decided to add a non-qualifiers event at each race on the circuit during the rest of the ’23 racing season.
There are nine events remaining on the schedule for the collection of races that pay [at least] $10,000 to win, and the bonus “series within a series” also carries a separate points fund from the regular national touring series. The regular series pays $10,000 to its overall champion, and the E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge offers $5,000 to its overall points titlist.
Events that will include the added nonqualifiers race to the schedule include Rome (Ga.) Speedway [April 15], where the new program will make its debut. Other races slated to feature a nonqualifiers event will be All-Tech Raceway’s Harvey Jones Memorial [May 27], Talladega Short Track’s E-Z-GO Challenge [June 3], 411 Motor Speedway’s prestigious J.T. Kerr Memorial [June 24], Tazewell Speedway’s Fall Brawl [Oct. 7], Golden Isles Speedway’s Showdown on the Coast [Oct. 14], All-Tech Raceway’s $28,000-to-win Powell Family Memorial [Oct. 21], Magnolia Motor Speedway [Nov. 4] and Needmore Speedway’s Early Bird [Nov. 17-18].?
An E-Z-GO date slated Sept. 23 at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Ga., remains uncertain due to the recent sale of the facility to East Ridge, Tenn-based Brown Brothers Construction, which has not yet announced any official plans for the future of the track. The ’23 racing season has been suspended at the third-mile facility.
The field for all nonqualifier events will be limited to 16 cars for the $400-to-win races that will be held after the night’s A-main, and the entire purse for these extra races is listed as follows:
E-Z-GO Non-Qualifiers Feature: 1. $400, 2. $350, 3. $325; 4. $300, 5. $275, 6. $250, 7. $225, 8. $200, 9. $175, 10. $175, 11. $175, 12. $150, 13. $150, 14. $150, 15. $150, 16. $150.
According to series director Adam Stewart, the addition of the non-qualifiers event is designed to boost a program that has already experienced much success.
“We have been experiencing larger car counts on a consistent basis at these events, and this is a chance for us to give a little back to our competitors and teams,” Stewart said. “The E-Z-GO Challenge Series has drawn a lot of attention and been a successful adventure, and we feel this is a good way to generate even more interest in a program that is at the forefront of the industry for drivers competing with Chevrolet Performance 604 Late Model engines.”
According to Stewart, the non-qualifiers feature will give more competitors a chance to make extra laps and money during tougher weekends in which a driver might not make the starting grid for the A-main.
“As an added benefit, we feel this will help drivers get more laps, and that’s especially true with our younger competitors who are frequently coming to the Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series as they seek to build a future in the sport,” Stewart said. “Drivers need as many laps as possible to reach their goals, and sometimes that’s not possible when we’re drawing 40-50 cars at our E-Z-GO-designated events, and we have to send them back to their trailer without an opportunity to race should they not make the A-main on a particular night. This program will give them that opportunity, and also another chance to make a little money.”
The new program is scheduled to debut April 15 at the much-anticipated Thunder in the Mountain event at Rome (Ga.) International Speedway, which will reopen after a year-long closure due to family obligations related to the care and eventual passing of long-time co-owner Martha Swims, who was the wife of longtime track owner/promoter Mickey Swims. The couple were married in 1961.
A large field of cars is expected for the half-mile track’s re-emergence, and the event will pay $10,000 to the winner. The season-opening E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge event April 1 at Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway drew a strong 44-car field to the 3/8-mile oval, and the victory was claimed by Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla.
Article Credit: Brian McLeod
