Weedsport, NY — January 20, 2010 - By Tom Skibinski, Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
*Lee Smith Photo

Face-to-face confrontations are sure to be had in Florida by fans arriving at Volusia Speedway Park as they meet up pitside with Northeastern Big-Block Modified stars during the 39th DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH, February 9-13.

Once out on the track, open-wheel enthusiasts will be able to witness the mud-slinging, painting-trading, bumper-banging battles that have made the Super DIRTcar Series one of the most popular brands of racing east of the Mississippi.

“Allowing people in the pits before the races has worked out well for years with our tour races up in Canada, its certainly a great idea to give the fans in Florida the same opportunity,” remarked reigning overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar points king Brett Hearn, who also enters the Sunshine State shootout as a seven-time DCN winter tour champion. “I know its been popular for some of the big teams at NHRA (drag racing) events, giving fans the chance to sit 20 feet from guys working on the cars. When they go back into the stands it gives them a whole different perspective to what they’re seeing out on the track.”

Fans will get their first glimpse of Hearn when the Florida tour for Big-Blocks kicks off Feb. 10 at Volusia with a 30-lap feature headlining the program. Activity continues with 30-lap main events on Thursday and Friday before a big 50-lapper brings the curtain down on Sat., Feb. 13. An optional practice day has been set for Tue., Feb. 9, with many of the 40-plus Modified entries already planning to take advantage of this early season shake-down.

There may even be time for some Big-Block banter with the ‘Corporate Jet’ as a FREE Fan Pit Pass has been made available to every ticket buyer who comes through the main gates each night of the DIRTcar Nationals at VSP during race weeks. All fans have to do once they arrive at the track is take their grandstand ticket and head toward the pits, where a table will be set up to sign in for an up-close look at the cars and stars who will be racing that night.

Among the notables joining Hearn on the current entry list are 2009 track point champions from up and down the Northeast coast, both in Canada and the U.S. Securing Big-Block titles last year were Matt Sheppard (Brewerton & Canandaigua), Alan Johnson (Cayuga County), Billy Decker (Fulton), Jeff Brownell Jr. (Glen Ridge), Andy Bachetti (Lebanon Valley), Bobby Varin (Fonda), Rick Laubach (New Egypt) and H.J. Bunting III (Delaware), while Frenchman Mario Clair (Drummond), Pat Ward (Utica-Rome) and Bachetti at the Valley also collected 358-Modified crowns.

Tickets are on sale now for the 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals, February 2-13, available for any individual night and also in blocks for each headline division at Volusia. Along with the Big-Block Modifieds, competition also features Sprint Car racing (Feb. 3-7), Late Model action (Feb. 8-13) and UMP/DIRTcar Modified activity (Feb. 2-9).

39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH – Volusia Speedway Park
Big-Block Modified Schedule/Information
Race Dates & Format
Tue-Feb 9
*Practice, times TBA
Wed-Feb 10
*26 Car Feature Field Maximum / $2,000 to win
*4 heats (8-laps) with 5 cars from each qualifying for ‘A’ Feature (30 laps)
*2 ‘B-Mains’ (10-laps) with 3 cars transferring
*‘Heads Up’ Start for feature from Qualifying events (No draw)
Thr-Feb 11
*26 Car Feature Field Maximum / $2,000 to win
*4 heats (8-laps) with 5 cars from each qualifying for ‘A’ Feature (30 laps)
*2 ‘B-Mains’ (10-laps) with 2 cars transferring
*2 Provisional Pos. to highest finishing point earners not to qualify through the ‘B-Mains
(Top 8 –1st and 2nd– from each heat Redraw – ‘At Trailer’)
Fri-Feb 12
*26 Car Feature Field Maximum / $2,000 to win
*4 heats (8-laps) with 5 cars from each qualifying for ‘A’ Feature (30 laps)
*2 ‘B-Mains’ (10-laps) with 2 cars transferring
*2 Provisional Pos. to highest finishing point earners not to qualify through the ‘B-Mains
(Top 8 –1st and 2nd– from each heat Redraw – ‘At Trailer’)
Sat-Feb 13
*28 Car Field Maximum / $5,000 to win
*4 heats (8-laps) with 5 cars from each qualifying for ‘A’ Feature (50 laps)
*2 ‘B-Mains’ (10-laps) with 3 cars transferring
*2 Provisional Pos. to highest finishing point earners not to qualify through the ‘B-Mains
(Top 8 –1st and 2nd– from each heat Redraw – ‘At Trailer’)

Daily Agenda:
Pit Gates open, team entry & transporter parking -10 a.m.
Pit Pass Sales open - 1 p.m.
Main Gates open - 5 p.m.
Drivers Meeting - 5 p.m.
Hot Laps - 6 p.m.
Racing - 7:30 p.m.

Rules:
- DIRTcar Northeast Rulebook applies;
- DIRTcar Hoosier Tires mandatory, only D300, D400 or D500 may be used (D200 not permitted);
- VP Racing Fuel only, will be available on-site throughout the week;
- Weight Minimum:
*DIRTcar legal big-block up to 467 c.i. (min. 2500 lbs.);
- AMB Transponders & RACEceivers required, NO Radios allowed;
- All heat race line-ups determined by draw, all features will start heads-up;
*Notice: Mufflers NOT required for Florida DIRTcar Nationals events.

DIRTcar Racing NE Contacts:
Joe Skotnicki - DIRTcar NE Director of Competition & Track Sanctioning (704/796-4566);
Tom Skibinski – Super DIRTcar Series PR Director (585/350-8997).
Track Contact:
Volusia Speedway Park (386/985-4402);
- located 15 miles west of Daytona Beach (I-95) on Route 40 in Barberville.

DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event ---Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.

The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.