Good things happen to those who race

GOLIAD, Texas (Feb. 11)--Following a hearty practice session Wednesday night that saw dozens of drivers fine-tune their machines and test out a new facility on the schedule, the United States Modified Touring Series will kick off 2015 campaign at the Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas, on Thursday night.

USMTS drivers taking a green flag Thursday night will get a leg up on the competition, and instantly join a fraternity of racers with a lot to look forward to in 2015.

The USMTS Casey's Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental will open its 17th season of showcasing the Best of the Best in dirt modified racing with the series making its first-ever trip to the 1/3-mile high-banked dirt oval for three thrilling nights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-14.

The first of four straight three-night affairs will open the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports with $2,000 to win posted for Thursday night, $3,000 to Friday's feature winner and a whopping $4,000 to win Saturday's main event.

And in more ways than one, it "pays" to be on the track Thursday.

Each of the four USMTS regional champions will earn $5,000 while the USMTS National Champion and winner of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup will earn $20,000.

That's $40,000 to win all four regions and The Hunt, but for any driver who can complete such an unheard of feat, there's a $110,000 bonus to make the champion's check a an incredible $150,000.

There's also bonuses for winning multiple regions and The Hunt:

* Win 4 Regions + The Hunt = $150,000 (includes $110,000 bonus)
* Win 3 Regions + The Hunt = $100,000 (includes $65,000 bonus)
* Win 2 Regions + The Hunt = $50,000 (includes $30,000 bonus)

And there's even more...

The USMTS and Mesilla Valley Transportation have teamed up to provide a pair of provisional starting positions at three huge events during the 2015 campaign.

Each driver who competes in all of the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region events will be eligible for one of two provisionals at this year's King of America V presented by Chix Gear Racewear, March 26-28, at the Humboldt (Kan.) Speedway; 5th Annual World Modified Dirt Track Championship, July 23-25, at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.; and the 16th Annual Fall Nationals, Oct. 22-24, at the Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M.

Each of these events pays a minimum of $900 to start the championship main event, and the provisional starters will be selected randomly from all drivers in attendance at those events who also had perfect attendance in the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region.

By the end of this Thursday's main event at the Shady Oaks Speedway, everybody will know the names of those who are racing for a possible provisional at three of the biggest USMTS events of the year, as well as the players in the game for a possible season-ending paycheck of $150,000.

With sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s forecasted for all three days, racing starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday while Saturday's show gets underway at 6 p.m.

Limited Mods and Street Stocks will serve as support classes all three nights.

Spectator tickets are $20 on Friday and Saturday, and just $15 on Thursday. Kids ages 12 and under get in for free each night. Pit passes are $35 Thursday and Friday, $40 on Saturday. Kids ages 6 and under get into the pits for free each day. Tickets will be available for purchase at the track.

The track will also host an open practice for all classes on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Tickets will be free in the grandstands and $20 in the pits for open practice.

For race fans unable to make the trip but hungry to see their first USMTS race of the season, point your browser to www.racindirt.com/livevideo to order the pay-per-view broadcast of the 2015 season lid-lifter. Every pay-per-view customer will also get a free month of RacinDirt.com's On Demand video coverage free of charge (new subscribers only).

The popular South Texas dirt track owned and operated by Bobby & Rosemary Stacy and Keith Stacy is located 4.0 miles north of Goliad on US 183, then 3.0 miles east on FM 622. To learn more, check out www.shadyoakspeedway.com, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShadyOaksSpeedway and follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ShadyOaksGoliad.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, S&S Fishing and Rental, Snickers, VP Racing Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Integra Shocks and Springs, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Oreo, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Schwab's Tinker Shop, Sour Patch Kids, UMotors Motorsports & Marine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe Racing Cells, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance Products, Hooker Custom Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, QA1, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Race Products, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends, Tilton Engineering, Velocity Race Gear, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

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Contact Info:
Jeff Nun
Communications Director
United States Modified Touring Series, Inc. (USMTS)
1715 W. 2nd St., P.O. Box 905
Webster City, IA 50595
Tel: 515-297-3835