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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

July 31, 2013

CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES LAUNCHES INTO ACTION THIS WEEKEND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CARTERSVILLE, GA – America’s first “Factory Backed and Factory Built” Super Late Model Series is ready to be launched into action this weekend with two 50-lap $3,000-to-win $300-to-start races. Penton Raceway in Penton, AL will host the first race this Friday night, and the second race will be held on Saturday night at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL.

The Chevrolet Super Late Model Series will be America’s most affordable super late model series, and will feature a variety of top drivers that include Hall of Famers, seasoned veterans, and young up-and-coming drivers looking to further their racing careers.

These two races are the first two of ten races that will pay the Top 10 drivers in the point standings out of a $30,000 point fund, with the 2013 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Champion earning $10,000.

The engines that power the dirt late model race cars will be the $7,000 Chevrolet Performance all-aluminum CT 525 Engine that is based on the production LS Engine that is available at Chevrolet dealers around the world in the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chevrolet Camaro, and the Chevrolet SS.

The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series is a unique opportunity for drivers to usher in a new form of dirt late model racing where all of the race cars are powered by a factory-built economical engine that comes right out of a passenger car.

The drivers that participate in the first Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series race this Friday night at Penton Raceway will face a blank canvas with the opportunity to paint new history in the sport. No laps have been led, no points have been awarded, no trophies have been presented, and no prize money or point fund money has been earned.

There are a group of drivers with a Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine that have competed against high-dollar open engines in super late model competition with winning results. Many of these drivers, call them the “CT 525 All-Stars,” are coming together for the first time this Friday night at Penton Raceway and this Saturday night at East Alabama Motor Speedway.

The driver’s name that has been on everyone’s mind and computer screens this week is William Thomas of Phenix City, AL, who took on the “big” motors with his new Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine at the ¼-mile Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL in the Mike Head Jr. Memorial Race on Saturday night, and on Sunday night in the Southern Nationals at the half-mile high-bank Rome Speedway in Rome, GA.

Thomas won both races and earned $9,300 for the two victories. In a seven-day period, Thomas purchased his Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine from NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA on Monday, had it delivered to his shop on Tuesday, had it race-ready by Saturday afternoon, won a race on Saturday with it, won a race on Sunday with it, and had it paid for.

“Never in my super late model racing career have I been able to buy an engine, have it delivered to my shop the next day, be ready to race with it, and then win enough money to pay for it all in a one week time period,” Thomas said. “The only regret I have is that I should have done this two years ago. This engine has unbelievable power and can compete with any open motor out there.”

Not only will Thomas compete for the 2013 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Championship, but the concept of the series has made a positive impression on his father, National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Billy Thomas of Phenix City, AL, who is coming out of retirement to compete alongside his son.

There is another father-son team that will compete in the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series that have made headlines leading up to the start of the series. The Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine has not only put Ross and Adam Martin of Talladega, AL in victory lane, but it has enabled both of them to stay in racing due to its cost-saving features.

Ross Martin won the Ice Bowl, the first big super late model national event of the 2013 season, in January at Talladega Short Track powered by a Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine. Both Ross Martin and his son Adam have won several super late model races with their CT 525s over the past two seasons at Talladega Short Track.

The Martins are the perfect example of what the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series has to offer to competitors. It gives an affordable option for veteran super late model competitors to stay in the sport, and an opportunity for the next generation of drivers to move into the sport.

Ross Martin is a veteran super late model driver that two years ago was at a crossroads in his career, as his son Adam Martin was looking to move into super late model racing after winning the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Regional Championship with his crate late model.

“There no way I could afford to run two super late models, so I was ready to retire and give Adam the opportunity to run super late models,” Ross Martin said. “The only problem was, I wasn’t ready to retire, but it looked like finances were going to make me do it. The CT 525 Engine made it possible for both me and Adam to both race super late models.”

And then there’s the driver that was instrumental in bringing us to this point in super dirt late model history, National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.

Four years ago, Chevrolet Performance tabbed Johnson, a 40-year veteran of super late model racing with two Dirt Track World Championship Race wins and two Southern All-Star Series titles on his resume, to be the lead Research and Development driver for the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine.

Since 2010, Johnson has raised eyebrows and made headlines with 16 wins, 40 top five finishes, and 46 top ten finishes after 52 starts in major dirt late model national events using the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine. In addition to wins, Johnson also raced trouble-free over three seasons of competition with the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine.

“In my 40 years of racing, I’ve never had an engine that I didn’t have to work on until I got this Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine,” Johnson said. “In three seasons of racing, it’s been practically maintenance-free. The only thing I’ve had to do to it is change the oil and I’ve put in a couple of sets of spark plugs. That gives me a lot more time to work on the rest of my race car.”

Like Thomas found out last week, Johnson said that he has won enough money in three seasons with his Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine to pay for it several times over.

The Chevrolet Performance CT525 Engine is in stock and available at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA for $7,195.00 with free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast. They also have an interchangeable Turn Key Kit that includes everything except the carburetor, fuel pump, power steering pump, or headers that is also available for $2,259.00. To place an order, call Tim Bland at 1-877-497-3624.

Several drivers from the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series are expected to compete in the first two events of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series this weekend at Penton Raceway and East Alabama Motor Speedway that include the defending Champion Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA, the 2011 Rookie of the Year Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL, Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS.

Super late model veterans planning to run the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series events this season are Riley Hickman of Cleveland, TN, Tim Busha of Boaz, AL, Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL, Ted Lackey of Munford, AL, David Jackson of Winchester, TN, and 2010 UMP National Champion and two-time ALMS Champion Rusty Schlenk of McClure, OH.

Drivers looking to make their super late model racing debuts in the Chevrolet Super Late Model Series are Brad Smith of Winston Salem, NC, Chris Cheek of North Wilkesboro, NC, and Pierce McCarter of Sevierville, TN.

On Friday at Penton Raceway, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m. with Chevrolet Performance Super Dirt Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Drivers Meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and Racing is set for 8 p.m.

Penton Raceway is located at 2120 County Road 108, Lafayette, AL 36862. For more information call 334-864-0666, or visit the track web site at www.pentonraceways.com.

On Saturday at East Alabama Motor Speedway, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., with Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Drivers Meeting is set for 7 p.m. and Racing is scheduled for 8 p.m.

East Alabama Motor Speedway is on Eastern Daylight Time and is located at 4238 U.S. Highway 80 West, Phenix City, AL 36870. For more information call 334-297-2594, or visit the track web site at www.eamsdirt.com.

The Hampton Inn at 4210 Phillips Road in Lanett, AL and the Holiday Inn Express at 3645 55th Street in Valley, AL are the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Official Host Hotels for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Inaugural Weekend.

To make reservations at the Hampton Inn call 334-576-5400 and ask for the racing discount rate of $69 per night. To make reservations at the Holiday Inn Express call 334-756-2000 and ask for the racing discount rate of $51 per night. Both hotels are located off I-85 at Exit 77 about a mile apart of each other.

For more information about the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.525superseries.com, or visit the series on Facebook at Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.

Chevrolet Performance Parts is the Title Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2013 are Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, AR Bodies, Velocita Racewear, and KRC Power Steering.

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