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64 Speedway Central Mississippi Speedway Clayhill Motorsports Park Columbus Speedway I-30 Speedway Jackson Motor Speedway Malden Speedway Milan Speedway Moulton Speedway North Alabama Speedway North Mississippi Speedway Riverside Speedway St. Francois County Speedway Volunteer Speedway Whynot Motorsports Park

The MARS DIRTcar Series returns to action this weekend for the 13th annual Tony Roper Memorial at the Monett Speedway on Sunday May 26, 2013.

Tony Jackson Jr of Lebanon, MO won last year’s event and will lead a strong contingent of racers into action. Other driver’s expected include defending MARS champion and current point leader Jesse Stovall of Billings, MO; 6-time MARS champion Terry Phillips of Springfield, MO; Jason Bodenhammer of Centerview, MO; Brandon McCormick of Lebanon, MO; Leroy Johnson of Springfield, MO; Justin Wells of Aurora, MO; Ken Essary of Cape Fair, MO; Dustin Mooneyham of Aurora, MO; Shane Essary of Aurora, MO: Justin Asplin of Birch Tree, MO; Brandon Morton of Broken Arrow, OK; Dustin Walker of Peculiar, MO; Shawn Knuckles of Poplar Bluff, MO; Jack Sullivan of Greenbriar, AR and many more.

The event will also feature USRA sanctioned A-Mods and B-Mods and the Pure Stock class. Pit passes for this event will be $35.00. Grandstand admission will be $20.00 for adults, kids 12-15 $5.00 and 11 and under are free. Grandstands will open at 5:30pm and Pit Gates for this event will open at 3:00pm. Hot laps at 7:00pm and racing scheduled to start at 7:30pm.

Tony Roper was a NASCAR driver. He was born in Springfield, Missouri, to Dean Roper and Shirley Medley. Growing up his family was heavily involved in auto racing. Roper started racing in 1986. For the next six years Tony raced in IMCA Modifieds and Late Models on Midwest dirt and asphalt tracks. In 1992 he finished in second place for the American Speed Association Rookie of the Year award. He started racing in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, and the Busch Series in 1999. On October 13, 2000, Roper was racing in the Craftsman Truck Series O'Reilly 400 at Texas Motor Speedway when he attempted to pass Steve Grissom. However, another truck veered up the racetrack in the tri-oval, forcing Roper to evade, turning him into Grissom's front bumper. The contact caused Roper's #26 Ford to take a sudden hard-right turn, which then caused the truck to slam head-on into the concrete wall of the tri-oval. Roper died the next day as the result of the injuries he sustained from the crash.

For more information on the Monett Speedway please visit www.monettspeedway.net. For more information on the MARS DIRTcar Series please visit www.marsracingseries.com.

The MARS DIRTcar Series would like to thank their sponsors for the 2013 season. Hoosier Racing Tire, Libscomb Auto Group, Powertrain Industries, GRT Race Cars, Andy’s Frozen Custard, Sunoco Racing Fuel, R2C Performance, Keizer Wheels, Hatfield Racing Engines, Race Brothers Farm & Home Supply, Supermoon Graphics, Off Axis Custom Paint, Don Babb Motorsports, Rod End Suppy and Vicci.