Pro-Cuts Texas World Dirt Track Championship Opens 2006 TMS Season

Pro-Cuts Texas World Dirt Track Championship
Opens 2006 TMS Season

Fort Worth, Texas (February 28, 2006) - Following back-to-back rain-outs to open the 2006 schedule, the O’Reilly SUPR Late Model season will seek to finally kick off its new season at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track on Friday and Saturday with the Pro-Cuts World Dirt Track Championships.

The two-night event will feature late model and modified racing on the 4/10-mile mile clay oval with more than 200 combined entries expected.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series veteran Kenny Schrader takes advantage of the off-week on the Cup schedule to compete in the championship event. Schrader, the 23-year Cup veteran who pilots the No. 21 Little Debbie/Motorcraft/U.S. Air Force Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, will be in the No. 99 Pro-Cuts late model entry this weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.

The Pro-Cuts World Dirt Track Championship will be the third short track stop of the year for Schrader. He did not qualify for the show at Talladega on Jan. 7-8. At Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Ariz., he had finishes of seventh (Jan. 14), 11th (Jan. 15), and second (Jan. 18). Schrader has been a longtime competitor in dirt track races and has at least nine more events scheduled through the summer.

“I really like this weekend, the off weekend for us,” Schrader said. “We ran decent but had trouble the first night there (last year at Texas). We ran good the second night. I am definitely looking forward to coming back and see if we can get the car to run a little better.”

In last year’s first night feature at Texas, Schrader started fifth in the 22 car-field but his machine was pushed to the inside dirt berm in Turn 2 in the early going and he finished 22nd. Schrader rallied back the following night, finishing sixth in the final race.

In addition to the 50-plus late-model competitors, more than 150 entries are expected for the Modified competition. Henry Witt Jr., from Waco, Texas, highlights the Modified entry list. He is a record eight-time IMCA South Central Regional champion and the 2001 IMCA national champion. Howard Willis, from Houston, returns after his third-place finish in the Modified A-main race last year despite battling sickness during the event. And, Dallas’ Troy Taylor is back after working his way through the hot laps, heat races, and qualifiers a year ago in the Pro-Cuts World Dirt Track Championship to make the big show.

The SUPR Late Model 10-lap heat races begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday with the 25-lap “A-Feature” set for 9:45 p.m. Heat races will continue on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. and the 40-lap SUPR “A-Feature” championship event is scheduled for 9:15 p.m.

The Modified 15-lap heats begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the 20-lap “A-Qualifier” set for 9:15 p.m. On Saturday, Modified heats continue beginning at 5 p.m., with the 30-lap championship set for 9:45 p.m.

Tickets are available through participating Pro-Cuts outlets. For any purchase of $15 or more, customers will receive two free tickets to either night of action.

Designed and Developed by Internet Advantage

Maintained by Weakside Productions