LEBANON, Mo. - Even though it is still three weeks away, the staff and fans at the Midway Speedway in Lebanon, Mo., are anxiously awaiting Friday, Aug. 8, as the first race in the Casey's General Stores Hunt for the USMTS National Championship will begin at the "Action Track of he Ozarks."

"We are very honored to be hosting the first race of The Hunt for the greatest Modified drivers in the world," said track owner Jack Jones. "Our local drivers are excited about this $2,000-to-win event as they know the Best of the Best are coming to their backyard."

Eight-time O'Reilly USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa; Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla.; defending O'Reilly USMTS National Champion Jason Krohn of Slayton, Minn.; Clear Lake, Iowa's Al Hejna and many more of the traveling drivers will battle the tough Midway regulars.

Heading the pack for the local contingent will include defending USRA Modified track champion Eric Hudson of Rolla; 2005 track champion Jamie Ragland of Lebanon; current track points leader Jimmy Willis of Macks Creek; Steve Muilenburg of Sparta; veteran Rex Merritt of Billings; 2006 track champion Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon and many others.

Other drivers expected to tackle the Midway Speedway will be Central Missouri standout Eric Turner of Hermitage; former Coca-Cola Fall Brawl champion Justin Boney of Leavenworth, Kan.; defending Coca-Cola Fall Brawl champion Jesse Stovall of Galena and a star-studded field.

Support classes will include points battles in the Super Stocks, Factory Stocks and Bombers.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. with racing to start at 8 p.m. sharp. For more information, visit the Midway Speedway website at www.lebanonmidwayspeedway.com or contact Jack Jones at (417) 594-0594 or Tony Jackson Jr. at (417) 594-0310. The raceday track phone is (417) 588-4430.

CASEY’S GENERAL STORES HUNT FOR THE USMTS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:

Friday, Aug. 8 … Midway Speedway, Lebanon, MO
Saturday, Aug. 9 … TBA
Sunday, Aug. 10 … Monett Speedway, Monett, MO
Monday, Aug. 11 … Belleville High Banks, Belleville, KS
Tuesday, Aug. 12 … U.S. 36 Raceway, Osborn, MO
Wednesday, Aug. 13 … Upper Iowa Speedway, Decorah, IA
Thursday, Aug. 14 … Steele County Speedway, Owatonna, MN
Friday, Aug. 15 … Tri-Oval Speedway, Fountain City, WI
Thursday, Aug. 28 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA
Friday, Aug. 29 … Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN
Saturday, Aug. 30 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN
Sunday, Aug. 31 … Kasson Speedway, Kasson, MN
Monday, Sept. 1 … Steele County Speedway, Owatonna, MN
Friday, Sept. 12 … Iowa State Fair Speedway, Des Moines, IA
Saturday, Sept. 13 … Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, IA
Thursday, Sept. 18 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN
Friday, Sept. 19 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, Sept. 20 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN

The O'Reilly USMTS National Tour is comprised of four regions which host 10 to 14 races each. The top-10 in final points for each of the four regions, along with all drivers having perfect attendance in any one region, are eligible to compete for the Casey's General Stores Hunt for the USMTS National Championship. Drivers in the O'Reilly USMTS Southern Series are also part of the mix. ‘The Hunt’ is comprised of the final 18 races of the season, with the USMTS points system used at these events to determine the O’Reilly USMTS National Champion. For the fans, the ‘The Hunt’ serves as a “playoff” for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship. While handicapping gives a slight advantage to the drivers that compete on the entire O’Reilly USMTS National Tour circuit, any of the qualified drivers have a legitimate shot at capturing the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship.

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.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

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., Karl Chevrolet, 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.