CONCORD, N.C. – Thirty-five years of Hell Tour tradition has given the dirt late model and modified worlds some of the best short-track racing available anywhere in the United States.
This year marks the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ next evolution of that same great competition in an all-new championship format and an upgrade in prize money.
Traditionally, late model championship chasers competed in every race on the schedule for the $25,000 title. This year, each late model driver’s best 31 finishes over 36 scheduled races will be counted toward the overall points championship. For their efforts, a new points fund system has been implemented that could award the champion a potential $36,000.
For each race completed above 25, an additional $1,000 will be added to the champion’s check, making the potential for $36,000 to be awarded to the victor. Each of the other spots inside the top-10 will follow suit, with different amounts being added to each position’s check as more races past 25 are completed. At its maximum, the runner-up in final points could take home over $14,000 with over $10,000 going to third.
A grand total of 36 late model and 35 Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals shows will make up the schedule spanning seven competitive weeks (eight with the possible make-up week, Aug. 11-15) at 36 different tracks in nine states from June 15 to Aug. 21. One final track has joined the schedule on both sides to complete a list of four brand-new tracks to the tours this year.
Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, KY, will kick off week five and host both tours for the first time in track history on Tuesday, July 13. The three-eighths-mile red clay oval precedes another track debut at the newly constructed Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind.
Seven weekly points fund checks will also be awarded this year – $2,000 going to the points champion of each week, tallied from the first race of the week to the final.
The Summit Modifieds will stick to their traditional championship format, counting each driver’s best 10 races of the 35 scheduled. A $5,000 check will again be awarded to the points champion at season’s end, crowned for the first time ever in the state of Michigan at Merritt Speedway on Aug. 21.
The championship chase begins with the first race at Brownstown Speedway in Indiana on June 15.