At the conclusion of last Sunday’s installment of Dirt Knights, race fans across America heaped praise on the dirt track racing docu-drama which follows six drivers in their pursuit of the USMTS National Championship.

At the same time, the viewers lamented the 167 hours they would have to wait for the next episode.

Now just hours away, the third episode of the popular Dirt Knights TV show will be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central time on the VERSUS cable sports network to the delight of tens of thousands of racing fans worldwide.

Dirt Knights is an on-going dramatic series of one-hour programs that airs twice a week for 13 weeks, with each episode reaching more than 75 million households.

Corey Dripps, Ryan Gustin, Al Hejna, Dereck Ramirez, Mike Spaulding and Jon Tesch are the Dirt Knights, and the cameras follow the band of mud-slinging motorheads night after night and from town to town as they seek out a life of danger and on-the-edge-thrills.

Filming of Dirt Knights began in June and continued through September, capturing the action as the drivers battled scorching summer heat and flash floods off the track during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship.

The first episode introduced viewers to the Dirt Knights cast of characters and featured some great on-track action from the North Central Speedway and Elko Speedway in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Episode 2 followed Tesch as he set out to make his own way as the series visited his hometown track in Watertown, S.D., while Dripps continued his comeback and picked up a feature win at the Cresco Speedway in Cresco, Iowa. Meanwhile, Ryan Gustin and the Gressel Racing team were up in arms as a regional championship went out the window. The second installment of Dirt Knights also featured action from the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D., where NASCAR legend Ken Schrader captured his first USMTS victory.

In this Sunday’s third Dirt Knights episode, “The Final Countdown” reveals that the Gressel Racing team has momentum, fire in their eyes and sights set on nothing less than the title. Dripps is on his game but makes a big gamble, while Tesch returns to the track in the last two races leading into the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship.

New one-hour episodes air on Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Eastern (5:00 p.m. Central) in High Definition on VERSUS – the fastest growing cable sports network in the nation. Replays of the Sunday shows air on Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. Central) and online at www.modfury.com on Friday.

VERSUS can be found on DIRECTV (channel 603), DISH Network (channel 151) and regionally on most cable systems, including Charter, Comcast, Mediacom, Time Warner and more. Check your local listings or your cable provider for channels and availability in your area.

Visit www.dirtknights.com on the World Wide Web for more information or to view the trailer. Also look for Dirt Knights on Facebook and Twitter.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. For sponsorship and marketing inquiries, call 515-297-3935 or email media@usmts.com. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AwesomeRacesuits.com, GoPro, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, NITROQUEST, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allstar Performance, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, Bear Tire, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Cagle Motorsports, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Dry Slik Dirt Trak Racewear, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Gressel Oil Field Service, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Just Say Yes, Karl Performance Parts, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Ai-Racing, Belleville Motorsports, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, COMP Cams, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Inc, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Schoenfeld Headers, US Brake, Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop, WIX Filters.