HOUSTON, Texas — A change has been made to the recently announced Southern Series schedule. Sabine Speedway in Many, La., and Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., have swapped weekends with Speedarama Speedway in Lufkin, Texas, and another track to be announced soon.

Sabine will now hold their O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series event on their brand new track surface on Friday night, May 9, with Pike County moving to Saturday night, May 10. The two tracks are about four hours apart. Speedarama moves up two weeks to Friday night, April 25, and will wind up being paired to a Saturday night show at another Louisiana track to be announced soon.

Speedarama and Pike County are new tracks for USMTS in 2008 while the USMTS returns to Many for the first time in five years.

The O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series has 23 confirmed dates with five more likely to be penciled in. In the series' inaugural season in 2007, there were 22 races staged.

The 2008 season will start on Friday, April 18, at Golden Triangle Raceway Park (formerly Motorama Speedway) in Beaumont, Texas, and move over to the Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, on Saturday night, April 19. Those same two tracks will pair up again Aug. 22-23 for what will tentatively be the 17th and 18th races of the season for the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series in 2008.

The season will end with the 2nd Annual Texas Winter Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-6. The Texas Winter Nationals purse has increased to $2,000 to win on Thursday night, $3,000 to win on Friday and will pay $4,000 to win at the season finale on Saturday. The O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series also visits Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night, May 18.

The 2008 points fund for the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series will be at least $25,000 with $10,000 earmarked for the champion. New for the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series in 2008 is the Top Dog Bonus, which guarantees a racer at least $300 per event if he/she is in the top-10 in points, and $200 to the 11th- through 15th-place drivers in points as long as the racer keeps perfect attendance in the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series.

Don't forget to plan a vacation around the week of June 3-8 as the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series Speedweek is taking shape. Dates in Arkansas and Louisiana have already been booked at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. (Wednesday), Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La. (Thursday), Monticello (Ark.) Speedway (Friday) and Fast Trax Speedway in Chatham, La. (Saturday). Both I-30 Speedway and Ark-La-Tex Speedway are new tracks on the schedule this year while Monticello and Fast Trax are back again after having successful nights in 2007.  Tracks are still being sought for Tuesday night, June 3, and Sunday night, June 8, in an attempt to race six straight $2,000-to-win events over six straight nights.

Other new tracks on the schedule for the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series in 2008 are Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., on May 2, and Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas, on May 3, with another expected to be announced for Nov. 14-15.  Other return visits in 2008 include 105 Speedway in Cleveland, Texas, on May 16 and South Texas Speedway in Corpus Christi, Texas, Nov. 20-22.

If all 2008 O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series dates get filled, the 28 events would happen over Speedweek and just 10 other weekends.  There will be five weekends in a row from April 18 through May 17, then at least 16 days off before Speedweek.  After Speedweek, there will be a 10-week break before running one weekend in August. Then, a six-week break before I-30 Speedway hosts the 10th Annual Topless Modified Nationals where the feature on Friday, Oct. 3, will pay $2,000 to win while Saturday night's one-day Modified event will pay out a huge $5,000 to the winner.

After that, one more six-week break before the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series concludes by running three more weekends in a four-week stretch, taking only Thanksgiving weekend off.

UNITED STATES MODIFIED TOURING SERIES
O’REILLY USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES - 2008 SCHEDULE

Fri Apr 18 … Golden Triangle Raceway Park, Beaumont, TX ($2,000 to win)
Sat Apr 19 … Gator Motorplex, Willis, TX ($2,000 to win)
Fri Apr 25 … Speedarama Speedway, Lufkin, TX ($2,000 to win)
Sat Apr 26 … TBA
Fri May 2 … Lake Country Speedway, Ardmore, OK ($2,000 to win)
Sat May 3 … Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale, TX ($2,000 to win)
Fri May 9 … Sabine Speedway, Many, LA ($2,000 to win)
Sat May 10 … Pike County Speedway, Magnolia, MS ($2,000 to win)
Fri May 16 … 105 Speedway, Cleveland, TX ($2,000 to win)
Sat May 17 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($2,000 to win)
Tue Jun 3 … TBA
Wed Jun 4 … I-30 Speedway, Little Rock, AR ($2,000 to win)
Thu Jun 5 … Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, LA ($2,000 to win)
Fri Jun 6 … Monticello Speedway, Monticello, AR ($2,000 to win)
Sat Jun 7 … Fast Trax Speedway, Chatham, LA $2500 to win
Sun Jun 8 … TBA
Fri Aug 22 … Golden Triangle Raceway Park, Beaumont, TX ($2,000 to win)
Sat Aug 23 … Gator Motorplex, Willis, TX ($2,000 to win)
Fri Oct 3 … I-30 Speedway, Little Rock, AR ($2,000 to win)
Sat Oct 4 … I-30 Speedway, Little Rock, AR ($5,000 to win)
Thu Nov 20 … South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, TX ($1,000 to win)
Fri Nov 21 … South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, TX ($2,000 to win)
Sat Nov 22 … South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, TX ($3,000 to win)
Thu Dec 4 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($2,000 to win)
Fri Dec 5 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($3,000 to win)
Sat Dec 6 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($4,000 to win)

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Like each of the four regions comprising the O’Reilly USMTS National Tour, the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series will boast a separate points fund and awards. Drivers competing in the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series will have the opportunity to qualify to compete in The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship. The top-10 drivers in O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series points at the start of ‘The Hunt’ on Aug. 8 are qualified, along with all other drivers that have perfect attendance at O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series events through Aug. 7.

The USMTS will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season in 2008 with many special promotions to show thanks to the fans, drivers, team members, families and sponsors who have helped make the USMTS the premier dirt modified series in the nation. More announcements about the 2008 season will be forthcoming over the next few weeks.

The O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series gives top drivers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and surrounding areas a competitive campaign that pits the best of the best in Modified racing under the banner of America's top Modified touring series. More than 400 different drivers from 15 different States competed with the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series in 2007. Eight-time O’Reilly USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock is the defending champ of the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series, but it is unclear whether he will again venture far from his hometown in Fertile, Iowa, to defend his title in 2008.

The American Racer KK704 is the Official Racing Tire of the USMTS. Drivers not wishing to compete for points and/or points funds have the option of using the stamped Hoosier G60 tire. There is no requirement that a driver purchase a USMTS license in order to compete in any USMTS event. However, benefits enjoyed by licensed drivers include bonus payouts, reduced entry fees, increased tow money, contingency awards, points funds, provisional starting spots, increased media recognition, a personalized driver profile page at www.usmts.com and more.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS — America's Hottest Ticket on Dirt.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, AMSOIL, Arizona Sport Shirts, BRODIX, Fast Company Performance, Holley Performance Products, Home Pride Companies, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Marsh Racing Wheels, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Olympic Fire Protection, Real Racing Wheels, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Yeager Machine.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Day Motor Sports, Featherlite, Gressell Oil Field Services, Hughes Racing Chassis, KraftKar Race Cars, McVicker Oil Fields, MUSCO Lighting, Rinehart Trucking.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bilstein Shocks, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Hyperco, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Racer’s Choice (RCI).