5/24/2018
RacinBoys
Show-Me 100 weekend begins tonight
By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- One of dirt-track racing's biggest weekends of the year is almost here with Lucas Oil Speedway to become the center of the short-track universe.
The 26th annual Show-Me 100 Presented by ProtecttheHarvest.com is set for Thursday through Saturday with full programs each night, culminated by the 100-lap, $30,000-to-win feature on Saturday. The event is co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series and Lucas Oil MLRA.
"Dirt-racing fans circle the Show-Me 100 on their calendars months in advance. There's nothing quite like Show-Me 100 week and we're fired up and ready," Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Dan Robinson said, noting that campers began to take up residence on the grounds last week.
Spectator gates will open at 4 p.m. each day with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7. The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds will join the Late Models each night.
The Show-Me 100, which began at West Plains Motor Speedway in 1993 and moved to Lucas Oil Speedway in 2010, attracts the best of the Late Model world along with home-state drivers looking for a crown-jewel breakthrough win. Terry Phillips of Springfield won the race in 1999 and remains the only Missouri driver to win the Show-Me 100.
Logan Martin, a 22-year-old Late Model driver from West Plains, does not downplay what the race means to him.
"There's nothing like the Show-Me 100 to me," said Martin, who grew up attending the Show-Me 100 in his hometown. "As a kid, the whole town would fill up with racing people - similar to how it is in Wheatland now.
"Lucas Oil Speedway has taken it to a different level," Martin added. "It went from a race into an event. You have fireworks, after-parties, stuff that happens all weekend long. That's just a different vibe and an energy when you roll up for Show-Me weekend. I can't wait."
This is the third year the Show-Me will have three full programs with features on consecutive nights.
Night one will be highlighted by the "Cowboy Classic" for the Late Models, a $6,000-to-win feature honoring the late Allen "Cowboy" Chancellor who was former owner of the MLRA. Night two action will find the Late Model drivers chasing another $6,000-to-win feature, the "Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson" in honor of the former owners of West Plains Motor Speedway who founded the Show-Me 100 in 1993.
Drivers will earn points in each of the two preliminary nights to help determine the lineup for Saturday night's 100-lap feature.
The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds will utilize the same points program with full events on Thursday and Friday to help set the field for Saturday's feature, which will pay $1,200 to win and $160 to start.
For the first time, the entire final night of Show-Me 100 weekend - which will include B-Mains and the Midwest Sheet Metal Show-Me Challenge plus the USRA Modified program's B-Mains and A-Main - will air live on MAVTV Motorsports Network. All three nights will be live on LucasOilRacing.TV.
One year ago, Bobby Pierce led the final 14 laps, overtaking Earl Pearson Jr. and pulling away down the stretch to capture the 25th Show-Me 100. Pierce finished 3.299 seconds ahead of Pearson with Tim McCreadie third, five-time Show-Me 100 winner Scott Bloomquist fourth and 2015 Show-Me 100 winner Jonathan Davenport, who drove from a 30th starting position, in fifth.
Davenport, of Blairsville, Georgia, leads the Lucas Oil Late Model Series standings in 2018 and already has six wins, including Saturday's NAPA North Star Nationals at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Pearson and Josh Richards are tied for second, 310 points behind Davenport, with Bloomquist in fourth and Pierce fifth.
Any remaining reserved seats for the weekend will go on sale from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day with costs of $35 (Thursday and Friday) and $45 (Saturday). Contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 for ticket information. Online purchases can be made on the Lucas Oil Speedway online ticketing link.
The daily ticket breakdown for Show-Me 100 weekend:
Thursday: $25 general admission adults, $22 seniors (62 and up) and military; $10 youth (ages 6-15); FREE kids (ages 5-and-under); $50 family pass; $100 three-day reserved; $35 pit pass, $100 3-day pit pass.
Friday: $25 general admission adults, $22 seniors (62 and up) and Military; $10 youth (ages 6-15); FREE kids (ages 5-and-under); $50 family pass; $100 three-day reserved; $35 pit pass, $100 3-day pit pass.
Saturday: $35 general admission adults, $32 seniors (62 and up) and Military; $10 youth (ages 6-15); FREE kids (ages 5-and-under); $70 family pass; $100 three-day reserved; $40 pit pass, $100 3-day pit pass.
Previous Show-Me 100 winners: 1993 (Billy Moyer), 1994 (Billy Moyer), 1995 (Scott Bloomquist), 1996 (Billy Moyer), 1997 (Rick Aukland), 1998 (Freddy Smith), 1999 (Terry Phillips), 2000 (Ray Cook), 2001 (Freddy Smith), 2002 (Wendell Wallace), 2003 (Scott Bloomquist), 2004 (Scott Bloomquist), 2005 (Scott Bloomquist), 2006 (Wendell Wallace), 2007 (Wendell Wallace), 2008 (Scott Bloomquist), 2009 (Brian Birkhofer), 2010 (Ray Cook), 2011 (Jimmy Owens), 2012 (Jimmy Owens), 2013 (Jimmy Owens), 2014 (Don O'Neal), 2015 (Jonathan Davenport), 2016 (Jimmy Owens), 2017 (Bobby Pierce).
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket information and 2018 schedule can be found by visiting http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.
Click http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on http://www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
