TDN

TDN

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

No Fan Left In Cold This Week; Gateway Nationals and Knepper 55 Provide Great Action



Your skin may have been crawling with the first hard dirt racing withdrawal symptoms starting to creep into your mindset lately.  But this week, there's a couple of things coming your way to take the edge off which we can all be grateful for.



Two great events spotlight action this week, and there's no ticket required! You don't even have to get out of your recliner unless you forgot to move the snacks and beer fridge close enough for you to reach them! You can watch the snow fly outside, and be warm and toasty inside with these indoor shows on dirt!



The Inaugural running of the VP Fuels Gateway Dirt Nationals brings intrigue, tons of wow factor, and yes Super Late Models and Modifieds! This event marks the first time since 1982 that the beasts have been indoors. Yes, the show at the old Pontiac Silverdome everybody tries to tell you they were there at, that's the one!

Anyhow, this one's going to take place at The Dome at America's Center right down the road from the famous Golden Arches in St.Louis, Missouri. The Rams used to play there, well they tried to anyway most Sundays. It used to be called the Edward Jones Dome, but the financial company disassociated by terminating the agreement once the Rams left and well, Ed Jones financial management figured to be prudent and suspend the overspending. Who really needs him anyway, we at TDN bet he's never seen a late model before.  Alright enough about Ed. Let's talk about racing.



We know there's a bit of a stigma about indoor racing, especially when it's the first time in a new building, and it consists of cars with 900 horsepower.  But rest assured, early pictures of the track and surface indicate that it's now complete and ready for racing.  Promoter Cody Sommer and his experienced crew have brought in tons of sifted dirt and have all manner of equipment on hand at the ready. There's a lot of expertise here and the surface looks to be a winner.

The track stands at a 1/5 mile standard oval configuration with 10 degree banking. It's not unlike some tracks such as Macon, IL or Belle Claire that have seen some rather big Super Late Model Shows. Expect lots of adjustments in gear ratio and so forth. The racing should be tight, but passes will be there for the taking.

As far as who will be there goes? A better question might be who won't? There's room for 150 Super Late Models and 250 Modifieds and preliminary indications are that both counts are in the hundreds, in fact, in terms of pre-registration, there were tons of each before summer even started.  Pierce, Moyer, O'Neal, Hoffman, Wallace, we can't list them all for you, but the field depth could be perhaps unparalleled for a two division show.




When: Thursday, Friday and Satruday December 15-17; (On track activity begins at 3PM central time each day)

Format: There will be rounds of qualifying on Thursday with Non Qualifier features and Modified heats. On Friday you'll see Super Late Model heats, Modified Consi's, and a $5,000 to win Super Late and Modified main event. The action wraps up on Saturday with qualifying races and the final main events featuring a $10,000 to win Modified main and a $20,000 to win Super Late Model feature.  For a complete day by day breakdown, Click Here

How to Watch: Don't miss the action on DirtOnDirt.com  Here's everything you need to know as Dustin Jarrett and Ben Shelton bring you the action LIVE all three nights!  To order, Click Here





And there are things without fenders too!  It's Chili Bowl Prep time, and what better way to get a sneak peak at the scene than at the Junior Knepper 55 for USAC Midgets! The Southern Illinois Center at DuQuoin, IL once again plays host to the indoor extravaganza, and for the TDN faithful, it'will bring one more chance to play our "Schatz's Shots" before the year is over and done with!



Yes, the World of Outlaw Sprint Car Champion will be in action here, as well as Ricky Stenhouse, Brady Bacon, Joey Saldana, Jason Johnson, Corey Kruseman, Ryan Bernal, Thomas Meseraull and many more stars of the USAC and non fendered world! It's a taste of what to come, and a chance for everyone to shakedown their rides with a big payday on the line as well. 



When: Saturday December 17th at 4:30 PM Central



How to Watch:   Don't miss the action as our good friends at SpeedShiftTV.com have you covered this Saturday. For ordering information, Click Here: 

No comments:

Post a Comment