CANEY, Kan. – When the high-powered, mud-slinging Modifieds of the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour make their maiden voyage to the Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan., on Thursday, May 14, drivers will have some added incentive to find victory lane and fans will have a chance to see one of the biggest names in NASCAR take on the biggest names in Modified racing.

NASCAR driver and television personality Kenny Wallace will strap on his helmet and stand on the gas as he competes with the USMTS Modifieds on the Caney dirt. While he's best known for circling America's superspeedways with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, Wallace is also a prolific dirt track racer with a pedigree.

Wallace is a fan favorite among NASCAR fans, but the 45-year-old driver, racetrack owner and television personality is still looking for his first win with the USMTS Modifieds after 17 starts during the last three seasons.

Wallace won the first race he ever entered in 1982. The youngest of the Wallace racing family and longtime mechanic and crew member for his brothers Rusty and Mike, had a shot at driving a racecar of his own in the Illinois Street Stock State Championship. His win in that race would be the first of many in his racing career.

In September of 1988, Dale Earnhardt gave Wallace the seat for his first-ever NASCAR start. He finished seventh in his first Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Series) start at Martinsville, Va. The following year, Wallace raced the full Nationwide Series schedule in a car owned by his brother Rusty and earned the Rookie of the Year award while finishing sixth in the points.

Among his greatest accomplishments, Wallace says, came in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2007 when he was voted by fans to compete in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

In addition to his driving duties, Wallace also works as an on-air personality for SPEED Channel on shows such as NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane. He was also featured on the show NASCAR Drivers: 360 on FX and is part owner of the Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

Race fans will have an ample number of opportunities to catch “The Hermanator” in 2009 as he has penciled-in 14 dates with the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour. The following dates remain on Wallace's 2009 USMTS schedule:

Thu May 14 … Caney Valley Speedway, Caney, KS
Fri May 15 … Midway Speedway, Lebanon, MO
Sun May 17 … Monett Speedway, Monett, MO
Tue May 19 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA
Mon Jun 1 … Iowa State Fair Speedway, Des Moines, IA
Tue Jun 16 … Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, SD
Wed Jun 17 … Casino Speedway, Watertown, SD
Thu Jun 18 … Huset’s Speedway, Brandon, SD
Tue Jun 23 … Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, IA
Wed Jun 24 … I-35 Speedway, Mason City, IA
Tue Aug 11 … LA Raceway, La Monte, MO
Wed Aug 12 … Monett Speedway, Monett, MO

Wallace competed both days when the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour competed at the Humboldt (Kan.) Speedway, March 14-15, where he finished 17th and 19th, respectively.

More information about Wallace is available at his official website: www.kennywallace.com.

Under the direction of promoter Kerry Gorby, the Caney Valley Speedway reopened last August for the first time since 2004. Gorby and his staff have given the facility a complete top-to-bottom facelift, including new restrooms, concessions and pit buildings, plus the addition of an air-conditioned press tower, a new and improved p.a. system and thousands of gallons of fresh paint.

Thursday's USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour event at CVS will be the sixth race in the rough-and-tumble Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region. Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., and current points leader Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., both have two wins under their belt this season, while Steve Holzkamper of Gentry, Ark., also has a victory.

Two-time defending regional champ and eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, will also be on hand to try and become the first USMTS winner at the Caney oval. Other names that race fans can expect to see include Rodney Sanders, Johnny Bone Jr., Dustin Boney, Zack VanderBeek, Chad Wheeler, Scott Green, Bryan Rowland, Dereck Ramirez, Tommy Myer, Tate Cole, Tim Shields, Don Crnkovich, Kip Hughes, Terry Phillips, Jason Krohn, Jeremy Payne, Steven Martin, Brian Bolin, Brian McGowen, Dan Daniels, Pat McVicker, Ron Gould Jr., Jake Richards, Tim Setzer, Matt Waugh, Brian Wolfe, Austin Siebert, Brian Green, Justin Boney, Tony Jackson Jr., Richard Payne and Curt Potter.

Drivers expected to defend their home turf include 2008 Caney Valley Speedway track champion Colby Artherton and 2008 American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series national runner-up Justin "Whitey" Folk. Fellow area hotshoes expected are John Allen, Jerry Reeves, Rodney Sigg, Gary Langworthy Jr., Chris Deaton, Joe Gorby, Stevie Wright, Jessie Fox, Dena Wilson, Bill McMurtrie, Chance Bishop, Jeremy Chambers, Ryan Whitworth, Brandon Morton and others.

The main event will pay $2,000 to win and a minimum $250 to start. The racing card will also include local B-Mod and Factory Stock classes racing for track points.

Pit gates will open at 4:00, grandstands open at 5:00, hot laps are at 6:30 and racing starts at 7:00. The Caney Valley Speedway is a 1/4-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.8 mile west of the junction of US 75 and US 166 on CR 1600. For more information call 620-330-0485 or visit www.caneyvalleyspeedway.net.

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.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Racewear, AwesomeRaceSuits.com, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Childhelp, COMP Cams, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest Media, PBM Performance Products, Q.E.M., Inc., Western Flyer Xpress.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Bear Tire Company, Buzzard Racing Engines, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Gressel Racing, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

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