The event will be the highest-paying USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series event in the three-year existence of the popular dirt modified tour, with a possible $10,000 to win over three nights.

What's more, the 2009 series champion will emerge from the weekend tripleheader that will wrap up the Hunt for the USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series Championship presented by Dirt Modified Magazine.

The main event will pay $2,000 to win on Thursday, with $3,000 earmarked for Friday's winner and $5,000 to win on Saturday.

In addition to the touring open-wheeled titans of the USMTS, the racing card will feature Limited Modifieds racing for $500, $700 and $1,500 to win, respectively.

The battle for the crown finds the two winningest drivers in USMTS history atop the standings.

Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., has been the most dominant driver this season. The defending series champ has nine USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series wins in 2009, plus another nine wins on the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour where he finished third in points after pocketing $9,500 at the season-ending Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.

However, it's been the consistency of Fertile, Iowa's Kelly Shryock that helped earn him his unprecedented ninth USMTS National Championship a little more than two months ago, and has him clinging to a nine-point lead over Hughes (317 to 308) coming into this weekend's title tilt. While Hughes held the points lead coming into the Hunt for the USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series Championship, a win on Oct. 24 at the Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, put Shryock in the driver's seat.

Between the two, the rival chassis builders have 239 career wins under the USMTS banner. Shryock, who was also the 2007 USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series titleist, leads Hughes in National Tour wins with 152 to 61, but Hughes holds the edge in Southern Series triumphs with 19 to Shryock's 7.

Despite being the odds-on favorites, the two heavyweights are by no means locks for the crown. Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., has been sizzling hot late in the season and sits just 29 markers behind Hughes, while Texans Morgan Bagley and Rodney Sanders are just 4 and 12 points, respectively, back in fourth and fifth.

Bumper Jones, Scott Green, Chris Henigan, Dereck Ramirez and Shane Hebert round out the top-10 in points — all mathematically in contention for the crown.

Early entries are coming in at a record clip, according to event officials. Last year, a field of 95 different drivers competed over the three days — the second-largest car count in USMTS history behind the Featherlite Fall Jamboree. Nearly 80 different Limited Mod drivers also competed in the 2008 event.

Paul White won the first-ever USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series event at Houston Raceway Park in 2007. Since then, trips to victory lane have also been made by Alan Mondus, Shryock, Hughes, Tommy Weder Jr., Johnny Bone Jr. and Zack VanderBeek, who captured last year's finale at the 2nd Annual Texas Winter Nationals.

Local aces expected to compete include David Smith, Corey Neil, Kevin Battarbee, Joe Mayhew, Kenny Battarbee, Ed Wickham, Brent Nicholas, Brian Spindleman, Brian Sellier and many others.

On Thursday and Friday, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and racing begins at 6:30. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4 and the first heat race hits the track at 6 p.m.

UPDATE: Wednesday's practice has been canceled. Hot laps each day will begin approximately one half-hour before race time.

The Houston Raceway Park is a state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval with a main grandstand seating capacity of 7,500 which includes fourteen VIP luxury suites and boasts a modern Musco Lighting system suitable for television productions.

Located in Baytown, Texas, the track is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565. Speedway entrance located at Gate 3.. For more information, call the track office at 281-383-RACE or visit www.houstonraceway.com online.

EVENT PAYOUTS:

Thursday – 1. $2000, 2. $1200, 3. $800, 4. $600, 5. $500, 6. $400, 7. $350, 8. $300, 9. $250, 10. $230, 11. $210, 12-26. $200, Tow $60.

Friday – 1. $3000, 2. $1800, 3. $1200, 4. $800, 5. $600, 6. $500, 7. $450, 8. $400, 9. $350, 10. $300, 11-26. $275, Tow $80.

Saturday – 1. $5000, 2. $2500, 3. $1700, 4. $1000, 5. $700, 6. $600, 7. $500, 8. $450, 9. $400, 10. $350, 11. $325, 12-26. $300, Tow $100.

Published payouts are for non-licensed drivers. There is no requirement to purchase a USMTS license to compete in any USMTS event. However, benefits enjoyed by licensed drivers includes higher event purses and bonus payouts, increased tow money, discounted entry fees, contingency awards, points funds, provisional starting spots, increased media recognition, a personalized driver profile page at www.usmts.com and more. The cost of a license is $200 for the USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series.

POINTS STANDINGS:

1. 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa ... 317
2. 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla. ... 308
3. 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D. ... 279
4. 5r Morgan Bagley, Longview, Texas ... 275
5. 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas ... 265
6. 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M. ... 263
7. 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan. ... 260
8. 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas ... 233
9. 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla. ... 231
10. 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La. ... 230
11. 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla. ... 215
12. 58 Garrett Durrett, Simsboro, La. ... 211
13. 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas ... 206
14. 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas ... 193
15. 18 Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas ... 192
16. 18 Jack Sullivan, Greenbrier, Ark. ... 180
17. 5a Wes Armstrong, Marshall, Texas ... 171
18. 02x B.J. Robinson, Shreveport, La. ... 167
19. 57 Jason Armstrong, Marshall, Texas ... 162
20. 8j Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas ... 161
21. 5 Steve Holzkamper, Genry, Ark. ... 146
22. 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla. ... 145
22. 52 Chad Davis, Tulsa, Okla. ... 145
22. 10 Kyle Schmidt, Farmington, Ark. ... 145
25. 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla. ... 141
26. 12h Jeff Huckaby, Texarkana, Texas ... 140
27. 05 Michael Robertson, Minden, La. ... 102
28. 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas ... 70
29. 6 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla. ... 57
30. 12b Johnny Bone Jr., Pea Ridge, Ark. ... 12
31. 19 Jamie Burford, Keatchie, La. ... 5
31. 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas ... 5
31. 71k Kevin Sustaire, Emery, Texas ... 5
31. 12t Tyler Townsend, Longview, Texas ... 5

Free grandstand tickets for Friday and Saturday night are available at Marshall Mobile Homes in Marshall, Day Motorsports in Tyler and at dozens of O'Reilly Auto Parts locations throughout Texas and Louisiana.

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, COMP Cams, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, PBM Performance Products, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Diamond Oil Company, Dirthead.com, Gressel Oil Field Service, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Lone Star Super Gas, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, SuperFlow, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Fast Shafts, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.