WEBSTER CITY, Iowa -- The Dirt Knights will heat up living rooms all across America this Sunday as the fastest hour on television returns for another nail-biting hour this Sunday, Feb. 13, on the VERSUS cable sports network.

The sixth of thirteen episodes will find the tireless dirt track racing vagabonds returning to the Hawkeye State as they continue their quest for a crown in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship.

Race fans are invited to cone along for the ride through the northern half of Iowa as the Dirt Knights invade the legendary Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City and then trek to the Hancock County Speedway in Britt.

Dirt Knights Episode 6: “Fear the Reaper” will follow the USMTS Modifieds as they make their way north as everyone is asking whether or not Marshalltown’s Ryan Gustin can be stopped.

Filming began last July at the North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn., and wrapped up at the season finale Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.

Dirt Knights is a dramatic series of one-hour programs that air every Sunday and Thursday for 13 weeks on VERSUS – the fastest growing cable sports network in the nation and available in more than 75 million households.

“Dirt Knights has been an excellent addition to their Sunday night schedule of programming,” said Mike Spaulding of Bemidji, Minn., one of the featured drivers and co-founder of the show. “It’s the perfect time for the millions of dirt track racers and fans to tune in and catch our unique brand of hard-charging, dirt track racing. And it wouldn’t be the Dirt Knights without a little good old-fashioned off-track antics.”

Along with Spaulding and Gustin, USMTS drivers Corey Dripps of Waterloo, Al Hejna of Clear Lake, Dereck Ramirez of Woodward, Okla., and Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., are the Dirt Knights.

While life has taken them in unique directions, all of them have one thing in common: a hunger for the checkered flag. Night after night in town after town, these dirt track racing road warriors seek out a life of danger and on-the-edge-thrills.

For the first time on television, the high-octane lifestyle of the tireless touring titans behind the wheel of a USMTS Modified is revealed.

“This project was in the works for more than two years,” noted Dripps. “For some, racing is a hobby and for others it’s how we make our living, but either way, we all love and respect this sport. We hope that people will tune in and be entertained, but at the same time we want to convey what the racing life is really all about.”

Despite going up against NFL football each week, including this past Sunday’s Super Bowl game, Spaulding said that viewership of the program has far exceeded expectations.

“Early numbers have been phenomenal and continue to gain momentum with every new episode.

“We are already gearing up for a second season of Dirt Knights, and we are working on long-term relationships with our marketing partners and looking for companies interested in growing and prospering along with us for years to come.

New one-hour episodes air Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Eastern (5:00 p.m. Central) in High Definition on VERSUS. Replays of the Sunday shows air on Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. Central) and can be watched free on-demand at www.modfury.com the following 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, Awesome Race Suits, 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, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Gressel Oil Field Service, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Just Say Yes, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Swan Energy, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, COMP Cams®, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Shocks, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Schoenfeld Headers, US Brake, Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop, WIX Filters.