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For Immediate Release
Contact: Ben Shelton (msrmafia@gmail.com)
March 2, 2016

Riley Hickman Notches First Win of ’16 with Cochran Triumph

Cleveland, Tennessee (03/02/16) – Riley Hickman notched his first win of the season on Sunday evening with a $2,500 triumph in his CVR Race Car #1v entry in NeSmith Late Model Series action.

Riley Hickman traveled to Cochran Motor Speedway (Cochran, Georgia) on Saturday, competing in both the Super Late Model and NeSmith Crate Late Model divisions. Drawing 26 Late Models for the Southern All Star (SAS) Series opener, Hickman earned a 10th-place, starting spot for the feature via preliminary action. Battling for a $5,000 payday, Riley gained five spots in the 50-lapper to register a 5th place finish behind race winner, Brandon Overton, Dale McDowell, Casey Roberts, and Jordy Nipper.

With 31 NeSmith Crate Late Models signed in for battle on Saturday in the NeSmith RockAuto.com Winter Shootout, Riley captured a podium finish in the 30-lap, feature. Paying $2,000 to the winner, Hickman finished in the 3rd position behind race winner, Pearson Lee Williams and Montana Dudley with Chelsey Dixon and Ben Faircloth rounding out the top five.

The following night against a field of 21 SAS Late Models, Riley posted the fastest time in qualifying, which earned him a starting spot on the front row for the finale, where he started alongside Casey Roberts. Battling for another $5,000 payday, Hickman claimed a runner-up finish in the 50-lap affair behind race winner, Roberts with Brandon Overton, Jordy Nipper, and Hunter Peacock completing the top five.

On Sunday afternoon for the final NeSmith Winter Shootout event of the weekend, Riley earned the pole position starting spot for the feature after recording the fastest time in qualifying out of a field of 28 cars. With $2,500 on the line, Hickman led the entire distance to capture his first victory of the 2016 season with Jimmy Thomas, Chase Edge, Robbie Metts, and Chelsey Dixon trailing him across the finish line.

“It was a really solid weekend for our team, and obviously it feels good to get the first win of the season,” commented Hickman. Racing is really about to get busy for us, so hopefully we can continue to get better and better.”

Complete results from these events can be found at www.SASDirt.com and www.NeSmithRacing.com .

The team will return to action this weekend, March 5-6, with a pair of events in Tennessee and South Carolina. On Saturday evening Hickman will travel to Clarksville Speedway (Clarksville, Tennessee) to compete in the $5,000-to-win, Tuckasee Toilet Bowl, which will be sanctioned by the Mid America Racing Series (MARS) Super Late Models. Sunday afternoon will find Hickman competing at Cherokee Speedway (Gaffney, South Carolina) in the $10,000-to-win, March Madness XIV event. For more information on these races, please visit www.MARSRacingSeries.com and www.SASDirt.com .

Riley Hickman would like to thank all of his sponsors including Hickman Manufacturing Company, American Billet, RH Designs, CVR Race Cars, Austin Trucking, A-1 Towing and Recovery, Competition Racing Equipment, MRC Racing Components, Vic Hill Racing Engines, Performance Masters Inc., All-Star Graphix, Stealth Racing Carburetors, Hoosier Racing Tires, JRI Shocks, VP Race Fuels, Comp Cams, Weld Wheels, FSR Racing Products, Design 500, Fel-Pro, KRC Power Steering, Wiles Racing Drive Shafts, Old Mans Garage, and MSRMafia.com Marketing Services.

For the latest information on Riley Hickman, please visit www.RileyHickman.com .

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ben Shelton (msrmafia@gmail.com)
March 2, 2016

Chris Brown Returns to Modified Roots with Strong USMTS Finishes

Spring, Texas (03/02/16) – For the first time in almost a year, Chris Brown returned to the driver’s seat of a Modified as he took part in the 5th Annual Cajun Clash at Ark-La-Tex Speedway (Vivian, Louisiana).

Piloting Tommy Fain’s #21 LG21 Modified, Brown went into battle in a tripleheader against almost 80 of the nation’s best United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) drivers. While Brown did qualify for Thursday night’s $2,000-to-win feature, the team battled adversity to a 21st-place finish.

Returning for the second night of action at the 1/3-mile oval, Chris captured a heat race victory, setting him up a 4th place starting spot for Friday’s feature. Competing for a $3,000 payday, Brown raced in the top five throughout the feature before recording a 4th-place finish behind race winner, Ryan Gustin, Jason Hughes, and Rodney Sanders with Kyle Strickler rounding out the top five.

Wrapping up the three-day stint with the USMTS contingent, Brown scored a heat race win from the 2nd place starting position on Saturday evening. Paying $4,000 to the winner of the finale, Chris Brown notched a 5th-place finish behind winner, Jake Gallardo, Stormy Scott, Johnny Scott, and Rodney Sanders in the 50-lap affair.

“With this being my first Modified event in almost a year against this caliber of competition, I couldn’t have asked for much better,” said Brown with a smile. “I can’t thank Tommy Fain enough for giving me the opportunity to drive his car. He really provided me with a great piece, and to be able to drive it with my family and friends here just meant a lot. The entire weekend was truly a blast.”

For complete standings and full results please visit www.USMTS.com.

Chris Brown now turns his attention back to the Super Late Model ranks. He and teammate, Gavin Landers, will travel to Ark-La-Tex Speedway (Vivian, Louisiana) on March 11-12 to compete in the 6th Annual Pelican 100. For more information on the $10,000-to-win event, please visit www.ArkLaTexSpeedway.com .

The team is currently seeking marketing partners. Any interested parties are encouraged to please contact Gavin Landers at 870-251-6866.

For the latest information on Chris Brown please visit www.ChrisBrownRacing.com .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Lyndal Scranton

Wheatland, Missouri (March 2, 2016) - Chad Simpson's offseason has been typically busy, preparing his Victory Circle race cars for another dirt Late Model season.

Other things, even more important, have grabbed Simpson's attention.

"I have a daughter playing club basketball and I've been traveling around doing all that stuff," Simpson said earlier this week from his home in Mount Vernon, Iowa. "It's been fun."

As daughter Peyton (10) and son Clay (7) get more and more involved in activities, Simpson's racing schedule will be affected. The 2014 Lucas Oil MLRA Series champion said he's going to "pick and choose" his races carefully in 2016.

"The kids are getting a little older," Simpson said. "They're playing sports, with softball and baseball this summer. We'll see where their games are and we'll go racing when we can."

This is not to say that Simpson, 37, is going to be any less committed or less competitive when he rolls into a race track. His first scheduled races are the Lucas Oil MLRA Spring Meltdown, April 1-2 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska.

Simpson said he might not chase any touring series full time, but his mission remains clear when he fires up the motor.

"We want to win. Win all of them," Simpson said of his goal for 2016. "That's always the goal. Win as many races as we can and have fun doing it."

Simpson won five times in 2015, including once on the MLRA circuit at Park Jefferson Speedway in South Dakota. The original plan to chase a repeat MLRA championship fell part early with some DNFs, but Simpson said it turned out to be "a pretty good" season.

The finish was especially satisfying. Simpson captured his first victory in a national-touring series event when he won a $7,000 feature during the Knoxville Nationals week in his home state.

"I've been doing the dirt Late Models since about 2003 and I always had in the back of my mind a goal to win a national-tour event," Simpson said. "Whether it was World of Outlaws or Lucas Oil Dirt Series, it's always been a goal to win one of those races."

Coming at historic Knoxville Raceway, in his home state late in the 2015 season, was icing on the proverbial cake.

"I've won races that have paid more and won championships that have paid more," Simpson said. "But for it to be right there in your home state, in front of your home crowd, to finally pick up that national-tour win that I had been shooting for so many years ... it was big for us."

Armed with that momentum, Simpson heads into the new racing season with no changes in his program. He's back in Victory Circle Race Car with Jay Dickens Racing Engines.

With youth softball and baseball games to attend, Simpson's schedule is fluid. But he does have one of dirt-racing's crown jewel events - the 24th annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 presented by Protecttheharvest.com - already circled.

"We're looking forward to making it down there and seeing if we can do something," Simpson said. "We've kind of struggled in the past trying to get qualified for it. I know if we can qualify good we can run good in the main."

For all of the latest news and information fans are encouraged to visit the series website at www.MLRARacing.com.

Fans may also "like" the Lucas Oil MLRA Facebook page by clicking www.Facebook.com/lucasoilmlra or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MLRA.

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CONTACT:

Dan Robinson
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Lucas Oil MLRA Series Director
Office: (417) 282-5984

Dan@lucasoil.com
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