2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule Released

Concord, NC — By Kevin Kovac, WoO LMS P.R. Director

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will be bigger and better than ever in 2009.

A record number of events are listed on the national tour’s 2009 schedule, which was released on Thursday during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Fla.

The action-packed season will blaze new territory with first-time visits to at least a half-dozen tracks and feature several big-money, extra-distance races, highlighted by the $50,000-to-win Circle K Colossal 100 on March 27-28 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., and the third annual Firecracker 100 on June 26-27 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

The sixth consecutive WoO LMS campaign under the World Racing Group banner kicks off on Feb. 12 and 14 with two 50-lap A-Mains during the 38th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. It will end for the third straight year with the World Finals on Nov. 5-7 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

“We’re proud to put together a schedule that is attractive for our fulltime traveling teams and brings World of Outlaws Late Model Series racing to more race fans across the country,” said Tim Christman, the director of the WoO LMS. “We continue to build the series by visiting new markets and tracks and developing fresh, exciting events.

“We still plan to add at least seven more events, which will push the 2009 schedule to over 50 dates. That will be a record number of events for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and more proof that the demand for races from track promoters just continues to grow.”

Forty-five confirmed events at 37 tracks in 20 states and three Canadian provinces currently comprise the 2009 WoO LMS schedule.

The WoO LMS will notably end long absences from the racing scenes in Texas and West Virginia, contesting events in each state for the first time since 2004. Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas, is scheduled to host the tour on March 20 and Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., will bring full-fender Outlaws competition to the Mountaneer State – home to 20-year-old WoO LMS star Josh Richards – on May 31.

In addition, the series will return to Alabama (Deep South Speedway in Loxley on March 13-14), Iowa (34 Raceway in West Burlington on May 23) and Wisconsin (Charter Raceway Park in Beaver Dam on May 24) after a one-year hiatus. Deep South, which has scheduled a two-day show paying $7,000 to win on Friday and $12,000 on Saturday, will host the WoO LMS for the first time, while 34 Raceway is on the tour schedule for the first time since 1989 and Charter is back after holding its lone series event in 2007.

Three extended swings that filled the summer schedule in 2008 will be reprised in ’09, beginning with the ‘Great Northern Tour’ through the Northeast from June 18-27. The stretch includes Canadian events at Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway on June 18, Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que., on June 20 and Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway on June 21, followed by stops at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway on June 23, Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa., on June 24 and the blockbuster Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway on June 26-27. A June 16 date, meanwhile, is listed as ‘To Be Announced.’

After a 10-day break the WoO LMS will commence its longest, most far-flung swing of the season. The ‘Wild West Tour’ begins on July 8 with the annual ‘Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., which will be part of the WoO LMS for the fifth consecutive season. Also scheduled are events on July 9 at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn. (last year’s race there was rained out and not rescheduled); July 10 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., which hosts the series for the fourth year in a row; July 11 at Estevan (Sask.) Motor Speedway (second straight year the tour will cross the Canadian border to race at the three-eighths-mile oval); and July 15 at Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway (the ‘Cowboy 50’).

Three additional ‘Wild West Tour’ dates remain under negotiation.

The WoO LMS will close out a busy month of July by heading east for another series-within-a-series: the four-night Alltel Ohio Late Model Speedweek that appears on the schedule for the third straight season. A visit to Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, on July 23 starts the stretch of racing, followed by engagements on July 24 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park, which hosted its first-ever WoO LMS event in May 2008; July 25 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio; and July 26 at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.

Two $20,000-to-win 100-lappers will join the Firecracker 100 and Circle K Colossal 100 as high-dollar specials on the ’09 schedule: the ‘Illini 100’ on April 3-4 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, which drew rave reviews following the inaugural two-day spectacular in 2008, and a new extra-distance shootout on May 1-2 at K-C Raceway in Alma, Ohio, which hosted a late-summer WoO LMS event in 2008.

Other tracks that will hold WoO LMS events for the first time in 2009 include U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo. (May 22) and Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. (Aug. 13).

Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway will return to the WoO LMS sked on May 16 after a one-year absence, albeit in a different form. The track has been enlarged from a quarter-mile bullring to a high-speed three-eighths-mile oval – a reconstruction project that was not completed in time for a scheduled May 2008 WoO LMS date to take place.

Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., is back on the WoO LMS docket after hosting the tour for the first time in 2008. The three-eighths-mile track has an event scheduled for Aug. 29.

The WoO LMS will also visit several stalwart tracks, including Virginia Motor Speedway (April 18); Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway (May 17); Delaware International Speedway in Delmar (May 28); Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (May 30 and Aug. 15); Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 14); Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pa. (Sept. 5-6); I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. (Sept. 19); and La Salle (Ill.) Speedway (Sept. 20).

Hagerstown, of course, has hosted a WoO LMS event every season of the tour’s existence except 2008, when rain washed out a scheduled event and it could not be reset. What’s more, VMS and Tri-City have been on the tour each year since 2005; Delaware International will conduct a race for the fifth time in six years; I-55 will hold its fourth tour show in six years; Lincoln is part of the series for the third consecutive season; and La Salle is set to present Outlaws action for the second time in three years (a planned 2008 date was rained out).

Seven tracks are scheduled to host multiple WoO LMS events in 2009. The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway leads the list with four dates (including the mid-week Showdown on Oct. 14, which could pay its winner as much as $30,000 with a passing bonus), while two races will be held at Volusia, Deep South, Hagerstown, Tri-City (the Oil Region Labor Day Classic), Lernerville (May 5 and June 26-27) and Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (April 17 and Aug. 28).

Lernerville’s traditional springtime mid-week date has not only been pushed back from April to May 5, but will also boast some extra intrigue. The event will serve as a qualifier for the track’s Firecracker 100.

WoO LMS officials expect to announce additional dates in the near future.

2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Schedule (as of Dec. 11, 2008)

Date – Day – Track/Location – Event - To Win - Laps

Feb. 12 – Thurs. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – Alltel DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Feb. 14 – Sat. – Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL – Alltel DIRTcar Nationals - $10,000 – 50L

March 13 – Fri. – Deep South Speedway/Loxley, AL - $7,000 – 40L
March 14 – Sat. – Deep South Speedway/Loxley, AL - $12,000 – 60L
March 20 – Fri. – Battleground Speedway/Highlands, TX - $10,000 – 50L
March 21 – Sat. – TBA
March 27-28 – Fri./Sat. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – COLOSSAL 100 - $50,000 – 100L

April 3-4 – Fri./Sat. – Farmer City (IL) Raceway – ILLINI 100 - $20,000 – 100L
April 17 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
April 18 – Sat. – Virginia Motor Speedway/Jamaica, VA - $10,000 - 50L

May 1-2 – Fri./Sat. – K-C Raceway/Alma, OH - $20,000 – 100L
May 5 – Tues. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA - $10,000 – 50L
May 15 – Fri. – TBA
May 16 – Sat. – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
May 17 – Sun. – Lincoln (IL) Speedway - $7,000 – 40L
May 22 – Fri. – U.S. 36 Raceway/Osborn, MO - $10,000 – 50L
May 23 – Sat. – 34 Raceway/West Burlington, IA - $10,000 – 50L
May 24 – Sun. – Charter Raceway Park/Beaver Dam, WI - $10,000 – 50L
May 28 – Thurs. – Delaware International Speedway/Delmar, DE - $10,000 – 50L
May 30 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
May 31 – Sun. – Tyler County Speedway/Middlebourne, WV - $7,000 – 40L

June 16 – Tues. – TBA
June 18 – Thurs. – Ohsweken (ONT) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 20 – Sat. – Autodrome Drummond/Drummondville, QUE – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 21 – Sun. – Cornwall Motor Speedway/Cornwall, ONT – Great Northern Tour - $10,000 – 50L
June 23 – Tues. – Canandaigua (NY) Speedway – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 24 – Wed. – Big Diamond Raceway/Minersville, PA – Great Northern Tour - $7,000 – 40L
June 26-27 – Fri./Sat. – Lernerville Speedway/Sarver, PA – FIRECRACKER 100 - TBA – 100L

July 8 – Wed. – Deer Creek Speedway/Spring Valley, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 9 – Thurs. – North Central Speedway/Brainerd, MN – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 10 – Fri. – River Cities Speedway/Grand Forks, ND – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 11 – Sat. – Estevan Motor Speedway/Estevan, SAS – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 15 – Wed. – Gillette Thunder Speedway/Gillette, WY – Wild West Tour - $10,000 – 50L
July 17 – Fri. – TBA
July 18 – Sat. – TBA
July 19 – Sun. – TBA
July 23 – Thurs. – Muskingum County Speedway/Zanesville, OH – Alltel Ohio LM Speedweek - $7,000 – 40L
July 24 – Fri. – Attica (OH) Raceway Park – Alltel Ohio LM Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 25 – Sat. – Sharon Speedway/Hartford, OH – Alltel Ohio LM Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L
July 26 – Sun. – Eriez Speedway/Hammett, PA – Alltel Ohio LM Speedweek - $10,000 – 50L

Aug. 13 – Thurs. – Grandview Speedway/Bechtelsville, PA - $7,000 – 40L
Aug. 14 – Fri. – Bedford (PA) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 15 – Sat. – Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 28 – Fri. – Fayetteville (NC) Motor Speedway - $10,000 – 50L
Aug. 29 – Sat. – Screven Motor Speedway/Sylvania, GA - $10,000 – 50L

Sept. 5 – Sat. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – Oil Region Labor Day Classic - $10,000 – 50L
Sept. 6 – Sun. – Tri-City Speedway/Franklin, PA – Oil Region Labor Day Classic - $10,000 – 50L
Sept. 18 – Fri. - TBA
Sept. 19 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO – Pepsi Nationals - $10,000 – 50L
Sept. 20 – Sun. – La Salle (IL) Speedway/Illinois Fall Nationals - $7,000 – 50L

Oct. 14 – Wed. – The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC - $10,000 ($30,000 possible) – 50L

Nov. 5 – Thurs. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS (Time Trials)
Nov. 6 – Fri. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L
Nov. 7 – Sat. - The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway/Concord, NC – WORLD FINALS - $10,000 – 50L

* Schedule subject to change (check www.worldofoutlaws.com for the latest information)