BEAUMONT, Texas — The O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series will kick off an exciting 25-race 2008 schedule this coming Friday and Saturday, April 18-19.

The action starts on Friday at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park (formerly Motorama Speedway) in Beaumont, Texas, and continues on Saturday at the Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas.

Update: If the event on Friday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park should be rained-out, a rain date for Sunday, April 20, is in effect. Sunday racing, if needed, will see gates opening at 2 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing to follow.

Each event will carry a $2,000 top prize, with a minimum $200 to start the 24-car main event each night.

More than fifty drivers from seven States were on hand each night for last year's Texas Shootout, and the second annual event is expected to draw even more top-flight Modified pilots.

Drivers already committed to competing for the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series crown include Lone Star State standouts John Armstrong, Chris Brown, Phil Dixon, Richard Griffin, Steve Miller, Steve Pugh, Rodney Sanders, Farrel Skelton, Paul White, Howard Willis and Jeff Wood; Oklahoma outlaws Eddie Martin, Jeremy Ross, Greg Skaggs and Randy Timms; Louisiana lead-foots Larry Clevenger, Timothy Culp, Shane Hebert, Kyle Pleasant; and Arkansas ace Johnny Bone Jr.

The 2008 O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series points champion will earn $10,000.

Under new ownership in 2008, the Golden Triangle Raceway Park is a crowd-pleasing high-banked quarter-mile gumbo clay oval located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 (SSR) at the China, Texas, city limits. The track sits on 23 acres surrounded by rice fields. Under the direction of the new owner, Glen Johnson, the grounds and buildings have undergone major renovations since the end of 2007.

Limited Modifieds and Pure Stocks will also be on Friday's racing card. More information is available by calling 409-753-2370 or 409-752-7200 on raceday. The track's official website is online at www.gtraceway.com.

Not to be outdone, the Gator Motorplex is another action-packed high-banked quarter-mile clay oval located off of I-45 to Shepherd Hill (Exit 98), then east, then 1.4 miles south on SR 75 in Willis, Texas. More information is available by calling 936-588-6127 or online at www.gatormotorplex.net.

Limited Modifieds ($1,000 to win), Hobby Stocks and Pure Stocks will round out the classes for Saturday's show.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps are at 6:30 and the first green flag waves at 7 p.m. both nights.

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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TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

PRESENTING SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, Awesome Race Suits, Bear Tire Company, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Childhelp, Gressel Racing, Houston Specialty Products Co., KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Q.E.M., Inc., TrackTek Racing Fuel, Western Flyer Xpress.

PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Day Motor Sports, Kraft/Ramirez Race Cars, Olympic Fire Protection, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bert Transmission, BSB Manufacturing, COMP Cams, Duralite Racing Wheels, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.