BAYTOWN, Texas – The USMTS Southern Series is set to kick off the 2010 racing season with an earlier start date than ever this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-20, at the Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas, for the 3rd Annual Texas Winter Nationals presented by Ed Rinehart for County Commissioner.

Dozens of drivers, however, still got a head start during a three-hour practice session on the 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval Wednesday night.

In contrast to 76 days ago when heavy rainfall and bitter cold resulted in a soft rough racing surface, drivers embraced the smooth surface on Wednesday night.

And everybody involved is looking forward to the next three days where the weatherman is forecasting temperatures to be 30 to 40 degrees warmer than the last time they visited the Baytown, Texas, speedplant.

This weekend’s event will be the highest-paying in the four-year history of the USMTS Southern Series, with a possible $10,000 to win over three nights. 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.

Winner of the last two main events at HRP, Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., was the most dominant USMTS Southern Series driver in 2009, and capped off a personal-best record-setting season with his second straight USMTS Southern Series title.

Nine-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, finished second behind Hughes in the final standings, and was on hand Wednesday night to shake down his new 2010 Skyrocket Chassis in hopes of improving his ranking at the end of the 2010 racing season.

A field of 74 cars and drivers were in attendance on Dec. 3 for the snow-shortened program, and officials are expecting even more for this weekend’s blockbuster tripleheader.

In addition to Hughes and Shryock, other heavyweights that fans can expect to see in action are Mark Noble, Michael Long, Jon Tesch, Rodney Sanders, Morgan Bagley, Bumper Jones, Scott Green, Zack VanderBeek, Tommy Weder Jr., Shane Hebert, Chris Henigan, Dereck Ramirez, Bryan Rowland, Cody Smith, John O Whittington, Steven Whiteaker Jr., Randy Timms, Wes Armstrong, B.J. Robinson, Garrett Durrett, Dustin Hyde, Jason Armstrong, Kyle Schmidt, Steve Holzkamper, Chad Davis, William Gould, Jeff Huckaby, Bobby Malchus, Michael Robertson, Eddie Martin, Kyle Anderson, Howard Willis, David Horner, Tracy Denby Sr., Danny Barringer, Tracy Denby Jr., Paul White, Kyle Anderson, Phil Dixon, Chris Brown, Grant Junghans, Brandon Davis and many more.

In addition to the touring titans of the USMTS, the racing card will feature Southern Limited Modifieds racing for $700, $1,000 and $1,500 to win, respectively, courtesy of Express Race Cars.

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. 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, a personalized driver profile page at www.usmts.com and more. The cost of a license is $200 for the USMTS Southern Series, which is good for all 29 events on this year’s campaign.

ENTRY FEES: The entry fee for Thursday is $80 for licensed drivers, $90 for non-licensed or $100 for all drivers entering at the track. Friday’s early entry fee for licensed drivers is $100, non-licensed $110 and at-the-track entry for all drivers is $125. On Saturday, early entry is $125 for licensed drivers, $135 for non-licensed drivers and $150 for all drivers on race day. There is no entry fee on any night for Limited Mods. However, any driver racing in both Modifieds and Limited Mods will pay an entry of $30 on Thursday and Friday, and $35 on Saturday.

RULES & PROCEDURES: All USMTS rules apply. The American Racer KK704 is the Official Tire of the USMTS; however drivers may utilize the Hoosier G60 but will not be eligible to earn points. Qualifying will be done by heat race passing points and Real Racing Wheels “B” Mains. Draw for heat race starting spot ends 15 minutes before hot laps begin.

FREE TICKETS: Free grandstand tickets for Friday and Saturday night are available at several locations throughout the Houston area, or by calling the track’s ticket office at 281-383-RACE and requesting free tickets by will-call for the USMTS race. Free event passes that were distributed for the December event are still good for the Feb. 18-20 show this year.

2010 USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES SCHEDULE:
Thu Feb 18 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($2000 to win)
Fri Feb 19 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($3000 to win)
Sat Feb 20 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($5000 to win)
Thu Mar 18 … Creek County Speedway, Kellyville, OK ($2000 o win)
Fri Mar 19 … Outlaw Motor Speedway, Muskogee, OK ($2000 to win)
Sat Mar 20 … West Siloam Speedway, West Siloam Springs, OK ($2000 to win)
Fri Apr 16 … Golden Triangle Raceway Park, Beaumont, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat Apr 17 … Gator Motorplex, Willis, TX ($2000 to win)
Sun Apr 18 … 105 Motor Speedway, Cleveland, TX ($2000 to win)
Fri Apr 30 … Clinton Motorsports Park, Clinton, OK ($2000 to win)
Sat May 1 … Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, TX ($2000 to win)
Sun May 2 … Lubbock Motor Speedway, Lubbock, TX ($2000 to win)
Fri May 7 … Grand Prairie Speedway, Grand Prairie, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat May 8 … Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale, TX ($2000 to win)
Sun May 9 … Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Waco, TX ($2000 to win)
Thu Jun 10 … Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, OK ($2000 to win)
Fri Jun 11 … Paris Motor Speedway, Blossom, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat Jun 12 … Texarkana 67 Speedway, Texarkana, AR ($2000 to win)
Sun Jun 13 … Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, LA ($2000 to win)
Fri Oct 8 … Golden Triangle Raceway Park, Beaumont, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat Oct 9 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($2000 to win)
Sun Oct 10 … 105 Motor Speedway, Cleveland, TX ($2000 to win)
Fri Oct 22 … Gator Motorplex, Willis, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat Oct 23 … Gator Motorplex, Willis, TX ($3000 to win)
Fri Oct 29 … Lonestar Speedway, Kilgore, TX ($2000 to win)
Sat Oct 30 … Lonestar Speedway, Kilgore, TX ($3000 to win)
Thu Nov 18 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($2000 to win)
Fri Nov 19 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($3000 to win)
Sat Nov 20 … Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX ($4000 to win)

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 and Twitter.

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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, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ, Gressel Oil Field Service, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Ai-Racing, Belleville Motorsports, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Hyperco, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.