Nats
Progressive points fund, weekly bonuses and tow money for championship chasers included for 38th season. (Jacy Norgaard Photo)

Summer Nationals Returns to Five-Week Format

CONCORD, N.C. — For its 38th consecutive campaign, the DIRTcar Summer Nationals returns to its familiar five-week format, spread out over a one-month period in June-July 2023.

The Late Models will contest 29 races over 33 days, while the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals are slated for 25 races over the same timeframe – concluding the season with the final two races in the 33rd annual Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway, July 28-29.

It’s a schedule arrangement not seen since 2019 – one series Director Sam Driggers has tailored himself with both drivers and fans’ interest in mind as DIRTcar Racing prepares to celebrate its 40th year in operation.

“The DIRTcar Summer Nationals has grown into one of the most iconic spectacles in motorsports over the past four decades, and what better way to ring in 40 years of the best weekly dirt track racing in the country than with five-straight weeks of non-stop Late Model and Modified action,” Driggers said. “It’s a layout that recalls the traditional Hell Tour format our fans are used to seeing, and one that our teams will be pleased to race again.”

MARQUEE EVENTS

• Kickoff at Peoria – For the second time in tour history, both tours kick off the 2023 season at the quarter-mile bullring of Peoria Speedway on Wednesday, June 14. Standing as one of DIRTcar’s longest-running weekly venues, the Late Models will tackle Peoria’s high-banked corners for the 23rd time after its debut on the Hell Tour in 2000.

• Herald & Review 100 – Standing as one of the most prestigious events in Midwest motorsports history, Macon Speedway hosts the Late Models and Summit Modifieds in the 43rd running of the Herald & Review 100 on July 6. Twenty-two Dirt Late Models will rip around the high-banked, one-fifth-mile oval 100 times, battling for one of the most historic titles in Dirt Late Model racing.

• Birthday Race – Both tours will light the candles at Oakshade Raceway on July 15, celebrating the silver anniversary of the prestigious Birthday Race. The event, having been run nearly every year since the first in 1999, is another of the most prestigious events on the Summer Nationals schedule. Ohio driver Devin Moran scored his first win in the event last year after his father Donnie did it in the inaugural running, becoming just the second father-son duo in event history to win.

• Modified Prairie Dirt Classic – The Summit Modifieds will take to the Fairbury Speedway on Friday-Saturday, July 28-29, for their annual marquee event in the 33rd running of the Prairie Dirt Classic. Racing adjacent to the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models, a $5,000 check awaits the winner of this special, invite-only event, one which former track champion Mike McKinney captured for the first time in his career this past July.

Modifieds2022 Byjacynorgaard
The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals. (Jacy Norgaard Photo)

NEW RACE PLACES

• Randolph County Raceway (Moberly, Mo.) – With its high banks, long straightaways and sweeping corners, this fast, half-mile oval hosted both tours in 2020. Racing veteran Reid Millard has since taken over ownership of the venue and will host both the Late Models and Summit Modifieds in their second-ever trip on Tuesday, June 20.

• Benton Speedway (Benton, Mo.) – The quarter-mile oval took on new management in 2022 and will host the Late Models for the fourth time in tour history on June 29. The Modifieds will make their debut while the Late Models make their first appearance since 1997.

• Lake Cumberland Speedway (Burnside, Ky.) – The second and final date in Kentucky comes on July 2, when the tours debut at Lake Cumberland. The three-eighths-mile, red clay oval is poised to be a great cap to the third week of racing on tour.

• Hartford Motor Speedway (Hartford, Mich.) – For the fifth time in tour history, the Late Models will take on this three-eighths-mile oval on July 14, in a $10,000-to-win event, alongside the Modifieds. Billy Moyer Jr. and Nick Hoffman took home the checkered flags there in 2017 – the last time both tours appeared at Hartford on the same date.

• Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, Ohio) – In the final Late Model event on the schedule, Wayne County will make its schedule debut on July 16. The race helps to set the stage for the Summit Modified championship before the tour heads back to Illinois to cap-off the season.

PURSES, PAYOUTS, BONUSES

The progressive points fund scale, seen in the past two seasons, again outlines the payout for Late Model championship chasers at season’s end. Starting with a $25,000-to-win minimum, every race completed after 25th race will tack an additional $2,000 onto the champion’s check, creating a possible $33,000 payout to accompany the 2023 tour crown. A $5,000 champion’s check is on the line for the Summit Modified champion, taking each driver’s best 12 finishes into account for the points standings.

Friday and Saturday Late Model events will feature the traditional $10,000-to-win purses with $5,000-to-win races during the week, while the Summit Modifieds will battle for a $1,500 check most nights. One exception to this pattern comes on July 12, when both tours return to the quarter-mile oval of Shadyhill Speedway in Indiana to take part in a $10,000-to-win Late Model and $3,000-to-win Modified midweek special.

Cash bonuses for the top-10 in Late Model points will also be distributed at the end of each week, as well as a tow money bonus for drivers with perfect attendance through every 500 miles traveled from track-to-track.

COMBINED 2023 TOUR SCHEDULES

 

Date           Day                    Track                                  City, State                   To-Win (LM/Mod)

June 14      Wednesday        Peoria Speedway                Peoria, IL                     $5,000/$1,500

June 15      Thursday            Kankakee Co. Speedway      Kankakee, IL                $5,000/$1,500

June 16      Friday                Tri-City Speedway               Pontoon Beach, IL        $10,000/$1,500

June 17      Saturday            Fairbury Speedway              Fairbury, IL                  $10,000/$2,000

June 18      Sunday               Sycamore Speedway           Maple Park, IL              $5,000 (LM only)

June 19      Monday             OFF

June 20      Tuesday             Randolph County Raceway  Moberly, MO               $5,000 (LM only)

June 21      Wednesday        Davenport Speedway          Davenport, IA              $5,000 (LM only)

June 22      Thursday            Spoon River Speedway        Canton, IL                    $5,000/$1,500

June 23      Friday                Fayette Co. Speedway         Brownstown, IL            $10,000/$1,500

June 24      Saturday            I-55 Raceway                      Pevely, MO                  $10,000/$1,500

June 25      Sunday               Lincoln Speedway               Lincoln, IL                    $5,000/$1,500

June 26      Monday             OFF

June 27      Tuesday             Adams Co. (IL) Speedway     Quincy, IL                    $5,000/$1,500

June 28      Wednesday        TBA

June 29      Thursday            Benton Speedway               Benton, MO                $5,000/$1,500

June 30      Friday                Paducah Int’l Raceway         Paducah, KY                $10,000/$1,500

July 1         Saturday            Clarksville Speedway           Clarksville, TN              $10,000/$1,500

July 2         Sunday               Lake Cumberland Spdwy     Burnside, KY                $5,000/$1,500  

July 3         Monday             OFF

July 4         Tuesday             TBA

July 5         Wednesday        Red Hill Raceway                 Sumner, IL                   $5,000/$1,500

July 6         Thursday            Macon Speedway                Macon, IL                    $5,000/$1,500

July 7         Friday                Farmer City Raceway           Farmer City, IL             $10,000/$1,500

July 8         Saturday            Highland Speedway             Highland, IL                 $10,000/$1,500

July 9         Sunday               Tri-State Speedway             Haubstadt, IN              $5,000/$1,500

July 10        Monday             OFF

July 11        Tuesday             TBA

July 12        Wednesday        Shadyhill Speedway            Medaryville, IN            $10,000/$3,000

July 13        Thursday            Butler Motor Speedway      Quincy, MI                  $5,000/$1,500  

July 14        Friday                Hartford Motor Speedway   Hartford, MI                $10,000/$1,500

July 15        Saturday            Oakshade Raceway             Wauseon, OH              $10,000/$1,500

July 16        Sunday               Wayne Co. Speedway          Orrville, OH                 $5,000/$1,500

July 28        Friday                Fairbury Speedway              Fairbury, IL                  $500 (Mods only)

July 29        Saturday            Fairbury Speedway              Fairbury, IL                  $5,000 (Mods only)