SPRING VALLEY, Minn. -- Somebody is leaving the Land of 10,000 Lakes $20,000 richer on April 9, and so far dozens of drivers have added their name to the list of possible one-armed bandits.

The Deer Creek Speedway will host the inaugural World Modified Dirt Track Championship, Wednesday-Saturday, April 6-9, and with a whopping $20,000 going to the winner and each of the main event qualifiers pocketing a minimum $1,500, the early-season blockbuster is attracting the biggest names in open wheel dirt modified racing to the Mecca of Modified racing in Spring Valley, Minn.

The early entry list boasts 87 drivers from 16 states, including Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

While the race will be sanctioned and officiated by the United States Modified Touring Series, the World Modified Dirt Track Championship will be a non-points USMTS race that features a one-of-a-kind qualifying format.

Drivers can register to qualify on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, with an initial 50 slots available each day on a first-come, first-served basis. Currently, there is just one initial spot left for Wednesday, 20 remain for Thursday and Friday has 42 slots open.

Racers registering for Wednesday or Thursday may also purchase a “mulligan” that allows them to qualify a second day if they aren’t satisfied with their result on the first day. If they take a mulligan, however, they forfeit the result from the first night of qualifying.

Those who register for Friday will get just one qualifying day, but all drivers return on Championship Saturday to compete in feature races.

Click here to see the current entry list

Group time trials will be staged each day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The top six qualifiers in each heat race will be inverted for starting positions in their heat races.

Points will be awarded each night for time trials, heat races, “B” Mains and the “A” Main with the top six in overall points each night being locked into Saturday's $20,000-to-win World Modified Dirt Track Championship main event.

The highest overall points earner during the three days of qualifying will earn the pole for the Saturday's “A” Main, second most points in the middle of the front row, third most points on the outside of the front row and so on for the 18 qualified drivers.

Saturday will feature an “alphabet soup” of main events with the highest non-qualified points earner on the pole of the “B” Main and the lowest points earner at the back of the “H” Main (or lowest main event staged).

Six drivers will advance from each main event to the next, with 12 cars advancing from the “B” Main to the “A” Main to create a 30-car starting field for the feature race that will feature a three-wide start.

Nearly $100,000 has been earmarked for Saturday’s “A” Main alone, with a total purse of more than $160,000 posted for the four-day extravaganza.

SATURDAY PRIZE MONEY:

“A” Main: 1. $20,000, 2. $12,000, 3. $7,000, 4. $5,000, 5. $4,000, 6. $3,000, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,900, 12. $1,800, 13. $1,700, 14. $1,600, 15. $1,575, 16. $1,550, 17. $1,540, 18. $1,530, 19. $1,520, 20. $1,510, 21. $1,500, 22. $1,500, 23. $1,500, 24. $1,500, 25. $1,500, 26. $1,500, 27. $1,500, 28. $1,500, 29. $1,500, 30. $1,500.

“B” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. Transfer, 8. Transfer, 9. Transfer, 10. Transfer, 11. Transfer, 12. Transfer, 13. $1,000, 14. $900, 15. $800, 16. $700, 17. $700, 18. $700, 19. $700, 20. $700, 21. $700, 22. $700, 23. $700, 24. $700.

“C” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $1,000, 8. $900, 9. $800, 10. $750, 11. $700, 12. $650, 13. $600, 14. $600, 15. $600, 16. $600, 17. $600, 18. $600, 19. $600, 20. $600, 21. $600, 22. $600, 23. $600, 24. $600.

“D” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $800, 8. $700, 9. $600, 10. $550, 11. $500, 12. $500, 13. $500, 14. $500, 15. $500, 16. $500, 17. $500, 18. $500, 19. $500, 20. $500, 21. $500, 22. $500, 23. $500, 24. $500.

“E” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $500, 10. $450, 11. $450, 12. $450, 13. $450, 14. $450, 15. $450, 16. $450, 17. $450, 18. $450, 19. $450, 20. $450, 21. $450, 22. $450, 23. $450, 24. $450.

“F” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $600, 8. $500, 9. $450, 10. $400, 11. $400, 12. $400, 13. $400, 14. $400, 15. $400, 16. $400, 17. $400, 18. $400, 19. $400, 20. $400, 21. $400, 22. $400, 23. $400, 24. $400.

“G” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $500, 8. $400, 9. $350, 10. $350, 11. $350, 12. $350, 13. $350, 14. $350, 15. $350, 16. $350, 17. $350, 18. $350, 19. $350, 20. $350, 21. $350, 22. $350, 23. $350, 24. $350.

“H” Main: 1. Transfer, 2. Transfer, 3. Transfer, 4. Transfer, 5. Transfer, 6. Transfer, 7. $400, 8. $350, 9. $300, 10. $300, 11. $300, 12. $300, 13. $300, 14. $300, 15. $300, 16. $300, 17. $300, 18. $300, 19. $300, 20. $300, 21. $300, 22. $300, 23. $300, 24. $300.

Entry fee is $250 if received or postmarked by Jan. 31. Beginning Feb. 1, the entry fee is $300 and will be $400 at the gate on race day.

Each entrant may qualify on one day only, unless the driver purchases a “mulligan” which will allow that driver to throw out the points earned the first night and try again the following night (good for Wednesday and Thursday only).

Mulligans are an additional $100, must be purchased at the time of entry and are non-refundable.

To enter, drivers may download an entry form at www.usmts.com or call 515-832-7944 to register today and reserve your spot on the day of your choice.

Tickets will be available for race fans on December 1 and will be available for purchase on the Deer Creek Speedway website at www.deercreekspeedway.com or by calling toll-free 877-DCS-RACE or 507-754-6107.

To inquire about reserving a campsite, call 507-346-2342.

The Deer Creek Speedway sits on 60 acres of scenic rural rolling hills with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and a busy modern campground. More USMTS main events have been staged at ‘The Creek’ than any other racetrack.

The 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval is located 11.3 miles south of I-90 (exit 209) on US 63 (0.7 mile north of SR 16) in Spring Valley, Minn. For more info, call toll-free 877-DCS-RACE or 507-346-2342 on raceday or visit www.deercreekspeedway.com online.

In case of inclement weather, the rain date for the inaugural World Modified Dirt Track Championship is slated for July 27-30.

A lot more information and announcements about the World Modified Dirt Track Championship will be blasted to the public between now and opening day, so keep watching this publication for news and updates about this historical show.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

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