WHEATLAND, Mo – Every fall, America’s best grassroots dirt track racers showcase their talents against one another at the Summit USRA Nationals powered by MyRacePass and when the final checkered flag waves at this year’s seventh annual event one chapter will close while another begins.
Slated for Oct. 1-3 at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, the mega-event for Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series competitors will have a new home for the eighth running as the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., will host the event beginning in 2021.
“We’ve been blessed to partner with the best dirt tracks in every state where the USRA has a presence and there is no facility in America that can match the amenities of the Lucas Oil Speedway,’ said USRA president Todd Staley. ‘We are just super pumped to partner with Lucas Oil Speedway and give our USRA racers the opportunity to have their national event at the best of the best.”
The three-year agreement will keep the event at the state-of-art “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” through the 2023 season at least. The dates are Oct. 7-9, 2021; Oct. 6-8, 2022 and Oct. 5-7, 2023.
As part of this week’s announcement, officials from Lucas Oil Speedway also announced that American Racer USRA Stock Cars will be a regular fixture during the track’s Saturday night Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series programs beginning in 2021 for at least three years, along with the Modifieds and B-Mods under USRA sanctioning. The B-Mods and Modifieds already have been under the USRA umbrella.
“We think this is the right move as the USRA Stock Cars are a growing and affordable class of grassroots racing,” Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton said. “Knowing we are sanctioning three classes with USRA, we have a solid three-year plan in place.”
Lucas Oil Speedway and USRA officials worked together to formulate a transition rules package that current Lucas Oil Speedway Street Stock competitors can use next season. Drivers must, however, be in full compliance with the USRA rules to be eligible to run the USRA Nationals in the fall of 2021.
Dan Robinson, Director of Racing Operations for Lucas Oil Speedway, said he appreciates all the drivers who have raced in the Street Stock division over the years at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“They’ve been a good class and they deserve a big thank you, but the costs have continued to escalate,” Robinson said. “We believe this will be a great long-term solution and will encourage more people to race under a common, affordable rules package while also giving those drivers a chance to run for a national points championship.”