LA MONTE, Mo. -- A pair of fan-favorite venues in Missouri are up next for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy as the month of April kicks off with a big bang.

On Friday, April 1, the series invades the LA Raceway in La Monte, Mo., for the Schwab’s Tinker Shop Show-Me Shootout, then heads north to the I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo., for the first time since the 2003 season and the Yancy’s Automotive Missouri Meltdown on Saturday, April 1.

Each event will pay $2,000 to the winner with a minimum of $250 to start.

The mud starts flying on April Fools’ Day as the rugged USMTS road warriors invade the LA Raceway for the seventh time in five years.

Jason Hughes won last August during ‘The Hunt’ and used that momentum to carry him to the USMTS National Championship. Other former winners at the LA Raceway include Kelly Shryock, Rodney Sanders, Grant Junghans and Jeremy Payne.

Payne is the only two-time winner, having captured the debut event in 2007 and last April’s show. He also crossed the finish line first in 2009, but was later disqualified for illegal tires and the win was awarded to Junghans.

A smooth, fast and wide racing surface has been the norm with each visit to the facility. After 230 laps and six feature races at the track since 2007, the yellow flag has waved just once in three of them while the other three main events went green to checkered without a caution.

Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps start at 7 and the first heat race is slated for 7:30. Local B-Mods will also be racing. The LA Raceway is a located 3.5 miles west of SR 127 on Hwy Y. For more information, call 660-620-1152 (office) or 660-563-9878 (track) or check out www.laraceway.com online.

More than 2,000 race fans packed the I-35 Speedway during the last USMTS show in 2003.

Although it has been nearly eight years since the USMTS Modifieds have thrown dirt at the I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo., there were seven USMTS events staged at the 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt oval during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

John Allen picked up the win on March 29, 2002, in the first race at what was called Winston Speedway at the time. The next night saw Kelly Shryock take the checkers. The series returned in October for a three-day show with Shryock winning the first two features and John Van Den Berg taking home the $5,000 winner’s paycheck the third night.

Another doubleheader was held April 12-13, 2003, with Scott Drake and Mark Noble each picking up main event wins.

I-35 Speedway owners Mike and Kyle Johnson have taken advantage of some nice weather and completed some improvements at the facility, including fresh concrete in the grandstand area and countless hours of track preparation.

This will be the first USMTS points race for drivers competing in the Arnold Motor Supply Central States Region. Also on the racing card will be the season-opening event for the USRA Iron Man Challenge featuring USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods racing for $700 and $500 to win, respectively.

Pit gates open 4:30 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps start at 6 and the green flag flies at 6:30.

An open practice for all classes is scheduled for Thursday, March 31, with gates opening at 4 p.m.

The I-35 Speedway is located 10 miles north of Cameron on SR 6 (exit 64). For more information, call the track at 660-749-5317 or visit www.i-35speedway.net online.

For lodging information, check out www.valleyspeedway.com/specialevents.aspx

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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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, DAY Motor Sports, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Dirt Track Racing School, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, COMP Cams, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, ISKY Racing Cams, The Joie of Seating, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products.