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2007 archives

For the 2008 UMP Summernationals schedule, complete with clickable links
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Erb & Leka Collect Lion’s Share Of Nearly Half-Million Dollars Handed Out At Saturday’s 25^th Annual UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Jan. 10, 2009 – Midwestern short-track veterans Dennis Erb Jr. and Jeff Leka shared the spotlight during Saturday night’s 25^th annual UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet inside the Springfield Crowne Plaza Hotel’s ballroom.

For Carpentersville, Ill.’s Erb, the gala evening capped a 2008 season that saw him sweep UMP DIRTcar’s Super Late Model national and Summer Nationals championships for the second consecutive year. The 36-year-old driver collected a total of $51,400 in points-fund checks for his record-setting campaign, which also included the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Northern Allstars Late Model Series title.

Buffalo, Ill.’s Leka, meanwhile, captured the 2008 UMP DIRTcar open-wheel Modified national championship, ending his longtime pursuit of the division’s highest honor after several heartbreaking near-misses.

Over 800 attendees from more than a dozen states and Canada filled the ballroom to watch UMP DIRT Racing officials distribute nearly a half-million dollars to the organization’s 2008 champions and top performers.

A no-nonsense racer known for his quiet demeanor, Erb delivered a short acceptance speech that closely mirrored his remarks one year ago. He gave most of the credit to his backers, including his car and engine builders.

“First of all I want to thank C.J. Rayburn (the legendary chassis builder) and everybody in his family for helping me out and getting me to where I am today,” said Erb, who sat alongside Rayburn during the awards dinner. “And I have to thank Rhyne Racing Engines. I made the switch to them over the winter months and I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Erb also hailed his head wrench Heather Lyne, who received the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model Mechanic of the Year Award by vote of the organization’s membership. It marked the second consecutive year that Lyne earned the honor, but in 2007 she shared the award with Terry Aaron.

“Thanks to Heather for all her hard work all year,” said Erb, an owner-operator known as the ‘One Man Band.’ “It’s hard to be out there by yourself, so her help means a lot.”

Erb earned $25,000 for winning the grueling, month-long UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals, which he secured after battling with Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., to the final race. He picked up another $20,000 for capturing the national title, plus $5,000 for the NALMS crown; $700 for finishing fourth in the North Region; $300 for ninth in the South Region; $300 for third in the Illinois State standings; and $100 for 10^th in the Indiana State points. He also received two sets of Dyer’s Top Rods for his twin series titles.

“I said last year I didn’t know if I’d be able to do this two years in a row,” said Erb, whose 13 feature wins in 2008 included the points-season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway. “But we had a great year and pulled it off again, so here we are.”

No driver in the ballroom was happier on Saturday night than Leka, an accomplished 43-year-old standout who has been trying for years to secure the UMP DIRTcar Modified crown.

“It’s been a long time coming,” a relieved Leka said when he stood at the podium in front of the crowd. “I’ve always got up here and congratulated champions and now I’m the champion, so it feels great.”

Leka read a long list of supporters who propelled his family-operated team to the title, including car builder Bob Pierce and Hovis Racing Engines. He also spoke highly of two close rivals: 2007 national champ Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill., and Gary Cook Jr. of Deer Creek, Ill., who finished third in the ’08 points standings.

“Gary and Denny both race with me every week and they both let me run their car this year when I had trouble,” said Leka. “That means a lot to me, to race with guys like that.”

Leka added some levity to his remarks when he brought up his 16-year-old son Justin, who threw a playful verbal dart at his dad early in the night when he was recognized as the fourth-place finisher in the new Kid Modz class.

“My boy kinda put me on the spot here,” smiled Leka. “I wasn’t gonna have much to say until he told me he was gonna ‘knock me off’ (when he moves up to the full-blown Modifieds in ’09), so I’ve buddied up with Denny (Schwartz) and we’re gonna tag-team on him next year and take him out.”

Leka’s points-fund earnings totaled $24,000, including $3,000 for winning the North Region and $1,000 for capturing the Illinois State standings.

The night’s third-largest championship booty was claimed by Tait Davenport of Paducah, Ky., who pocketed $10,000 for becoming the first-ever UMP DIRTcar Pro Late Model national titlist. He earned an additional $500 for winning the Kentucky State points standings.

“I think this is a great deal,” the 30-year-old Davenport said of UMP DIRTcar’s affordable new crate-engine Late Model division. “It’s an honor to be the first Pro Late Model champion.”

Jeremy Hines, 31, of Seymour, Ind., roared to his first career UMP DIRTcar Sportsman national title on the strength of 20 featuare wins. He pocketed $3,500, including $500 for capturing the Indiana State points.

Jonathan Clayton, 28, of Denham Springs, La., repeated as the UMP DIRTcar Limited Modified national champion. He made a 12-hour drive north with 10 family and crew members to accept a check for $3,500, which included $500 for winning the Louisiana/Mississippi State points standings.

A third consecutive UMP DIRTcar Street Stock national title fell to Jerrad Krick of Earl Park, Ind., who regained full control of the crown after finishing in a tie with Jim Ransom of Williamsport, Ind., one year ago. The 32-year-old earned $2,200, including $200 for placing second in the Indiana State points.

Joe Reed, 43, of Decatur, Ill. (Four-Cylinders) and Bill Delonge, 36, of Hesperia, Mich. (Factory Stocks) were honored as the national champions of UMP DIRTcar’s entry-level classes, which debuted in 2007. Both drivers earned $1,400, including $400 checks for State titles.

With the addition of the Pro Late Models to the UMP DIRTcar Racing sanctioning lineup in 2008, drivers from eight divisions received recognition during Saturday’s festivities. Nearly 10,000 drivers earned points in the eight classes during the 2008 season.

Region and State champions were named in the Late Model and Modified classes.

* Late Model Region champions Steve Sheppard Jr. (North), Michael Kloos (South) and Brian Ruhlman (East) each received a check worth $3,000.

* Late Model State champs eligible for $1,000 payoffs (if UMP DIRTcar members) were Bobby Hogge IV (Arizona/California), Dale Glassford (Canada), Richard Ferry (Florida), Wes Steidinger (Illinois), Dan Walden (Indiana), Jeff Walston (Kentucky), Alan Vochaska (Michigan), Brad Looney (Missouri), Dusty Moore (Ohio), Alex Ferree (Pennsylvania) and Tony Albright (Tennessee).

* Capturing Modified Region crowns worth $3,000 apiece were Doug Adkins (East), Leka (North), Randle Sweeney (South), Kent Wood (Deep South/Northwest) and Anthony Madrid (Wild West).

* Earning $1,000 each (if UMP DIRTcar members) as Modified State champions were Travis Peery (California), Curtis Coulter (Canada), Jamie Carter (Florida), Leka (Illinois), Matt Bex (Indiana), Sweeney (Kentucky), Charles Sibley (Louisiana), John McCaul (Michigan), Wood (Mississippi), Michael Vanderiet Jr. (Missouri), Adkins (Ohio), Mark Wauge (Oregon), Clayton Miller (Tennessee), Mike Girardo (Texas), Madrid (Arizona/New Mexico/West Texas), Tyler Ivey (Speedweeks) and Kenny Schrader (Alltel DIRTcar Nationals).

The Sportsman, Street Stock and Limited Modified State champions were each presented $500 provided they maintained UMP DIRTcar memberships. The Sportsman titlists were Shaun Daugherty (FL), Joel Funk (IL), Hines (IN), Bob Boyd (LA), Chad Weinrick (MI), Jeff Herzog (MO), Pete Stefanski (NY), Mike Jessen (OH), Mike Hodges (TN) and Don Newcomb (NM/TX); Street Stock champs were Bob Egley (PA), Grady Christian (FL), Jason Bahrs (IL), David Hurst (IN), Poncho Elder (KY), Travis Myers (LA), Eddie Lowery (MO), Dave Mannise (NY), Chris Peltier (TN), Collin Hodges (TX), Wayne Clauss (MI) and Stephen Chatman (MS); and Limited Modified winners were Eric Adkins (MO/KY), Clayton (LA/MS), Dustin Shoemaker (TX) and Rob Madrid (AZ/NM/West TX).

Other UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned series titlists honored during Saturday’s festivities were Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich. (Sunoco American Late Model Series) and Nick Allen of Wheatfield, Ind. (Wolfpack Challenge Series for Modifieds).

A number of special awards determined by a vote of the UMP DIRTcar Racing membership were handed out:

* In the Mechanic of the Year category, Lyne was joined by Modified division winner Chris Pfeiler.

* Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., earned recognition as the Most Improved Late Model Driver.

* Daren Friedman (Late Models) and Mike Spatola (Modifieds) received Sportsman of the Year hardware.

* Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind., was announced as the UMP DIRTcar Racing Track of the Year. The oval’s husband-and-wife ownership team of Bob and Gail Kamp accepted the honor.

* Ray Marler, who operates I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., with NASCAR veteran Kenny Schrader, was feted as the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing Promoter of the Year.

Hoosier Tire’s Terry Young, meanwhile, received the fourth annual Bob Memmer Achievement Award, which honors the memory of UMP DIRTcar Racing’s late founder. The prestigious plaque was presented to Young by Eldora Speedway general manager Larry Boos, who won the award last year.

Drivers recognized with Rookie of the Year awards during the program were Jeff Walston of Paducah, Ky., who earned $1,000 as the top first-year UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model racer, and teenager Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., who pocketed $2,000 for his strong debut season on the NALMS.

 

The 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing Chassis Builder of the Year awards went to C.J. Rayburn Race Cars of Whiteland, Ill., in the Late Models and Bob Pierce Race Cars of Oakwood, Ill., in the Modifieds. Both veteran drivers/car builders were on hand.

Claiming the 2008 Engine Builder of the Year awards were Rhyne Competition Engines (Late Models) and Hovis Racing Engines (Modifieds).

The affair began with an awards ceremony for the top-seven drivers in the new Kid Modz division, a brainchild of former UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national champion Bob Pierce to bring youngsters into the sport. Pierce’s 12-year-old son, Bobby, emerged as the 2008 champion of the division, which ran races at 15 tracks in the Midwest.

Appreciation plaques were presented during the evening to promoters or representatives from Eldora Speedway, Fairbury American Legion Speedway, Belle-Claire Speedway, Clarksville Speedway, Farmer City Raceway/Lincoln Speedway, Highland Speedway, I-55 Raceway, I-57/I-64 Speedway, Kamp Motor Speedway, Kankakee County Speedway, Morgan County Speedway, Mt. Pleasant Speedway, Oakshade Raceway, Shep’s Speedway, Spoon River Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway/Twin Cities Raceway Park, Track Enterprises (Macon Speedway and Paducah International Raceway), Tri-City Speedway/Lake Ozark Speedway and Winston Motor Speedway.

World Racing Group Chief Operating Office Tom Deery spoke during the banquet. He focused on UMP DIRTcar Racing’s emergence as a national sanctioning force.

“If (late UMP DIRTcar Racing founder) Bob Memmer were here tonight, he would be very proud of what UMP has become,” said Deery. “And not only is UMP something that was forged in the Midwest, but it’s something that is recognized across the country.”

Earlier in the day, Deery and UMP DIRTcar Racing director Sam Driggers hosted a meeting with promoters to discuss several topics, including the new DIRTcarMembers.com membership website, sanctioning agreements and public relations initiatives.

The 2009 UMP DIRTcar Racing season begins with a three-day meet for the open-wheel Modifieds on Jan. 29-31 at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway. Both the Modifieds and Super Late Models will then be part of the 38^th annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., which runs from Feb. 3-14.

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

Jeff Leka Will Pick Up $20,000 Modified National Title Check At UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet On Jan. 10

EVANSVILLE, IN – Dec. 10, 2008 – Jeff Leka already celebrated his long-awaited first career UMP DIRTcar Racing Open-Wheel Modified national championship two months ago at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

But the veteran driver from Buffalo, Ill., still has his formal coronation to go.

That will come on Jan. 10, 2009, when Leka dons a suit-and-tie and accepts a $20,000 check during the 25^th annual UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Ill.

Leka, 43, will stand in the spotlight at the gala with the national champions of seven other UMP DIRTcar Racing divisions, including repeat Super Late Model title-holder Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.

No driver, of course, will deliver a championship acceptance speech dripping with more relief and satisfaction than Leka.

“We’ve been trying (to win the national crown) for a long time and came so close so many times,” said Leka, who ran away with the title by 159 points (2,979-2,820) over Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky. “To finally win the thing after all the near-misses – yeah, it does make it sweeter.”

Despite a sparkling Modified resume that includes over 200 career victories and a 1999 NASCAR Winston Racing Series national championship worth $150,000, Leka had annually fallen short in the chase for UMP DIRTcar Racing’s top prize. His national points finishes included second (2004 and 2007), third (1998), fourth (2006) and fifth (2003 and 2005).

Last year’s runner-up was especially heartbreaking for Leka. He led the circuit in feature wins but lost the title by four points to his good buddy Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill., who claimed his second UMP DIRTcar national title.

The eternally upbeat Leka didn’t hang his head after the dramatic battle for the 2007 title, which went down to the final lap of the season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals A-Main at Eldora. He seemed more excited about racing his friend for the national trophy than disappointed about losing it again.

“Last year was so much fun, battling it out with Denny,” said Leka. “We race the same racetracks and battle it out all year, and then we come to Eldora (for the finale) and I’ve got to do so good and he’s got to do so bad for us to tie or to win. It was good for the fans in the stands.”

When it was over, Leka simply stated that he’d just “try again to win it” – and not look back if fate continued to keep him from the brass ring.

“I thought, if I never do it, I can be like (NASCAR driver) Mark Martin,” said Leka. “He’s tried (for the Sprint Cup title) and come so close for so many years.

“And we still had that NASCAR national championship to fall back on. We could still always say we did something bigger than anybody (in Modified racing) has ever thought of doing.”

Ironically, Schwartz played a role in pushing Leka over the hump in 2008. Schwartz, who finished 10^th in the national points standings, offered his rival some sage advice for the stretch run. What’s more, at Eldora’s UMP DIRTcar Nationals in early October, Schwartz stepped out of the seat of his Modified and gave the ride to Leka, who had already clinched the title, after Leka’s car was sidelined by a burnt piston during hot laps.

“Me and Denny are good friends and we work real well together,” said Leka, refuting any suggestion that the two competitors do not get along. “One day this year we were talking when I had the points lead and I was thinking about them, and he was like, ‘Jeff, just settle down and drive your race car like you always do and you’ll be good.’ When you sit back you realize, ‘You know, he’s right.’

“The NASCAR Winston Racing Series national deal in ’99 paid $150,000 and I wasn’t stressed out on that at all. This UMP deal pays $20,000 to win and it was a whole different story. I stressed on it quite a bit. It’s something we’ve come so close to winning before and have been wanting to do for such a long time to kind of fulfill what we’ve done over the years.”

Leka buckled down, regained his focus and rolled to the title. But even as his points lead grew and a crown seemed inevitable, he refused to think ahead to a championship celebration until he had first place officially cemented.

“I didn’t want to believe until I had it (clinched) until (the last week in September) when UMP put it on their website,” said Leka. “I kept telling my wife, ‘I think mathematically they can catch us.’ She was like, ‘Jeff, there’s no way.’ But you just keep looking at everything that can happen.”

Leka earned his title in much the same manner as Schwartz did in 2007. It was Sweeney who led the circuit in feature wins this season, but Leka came out on top of the points race because he performed well in events with higher car counts.

Under the UMP DIRTcar Racing points system, the national open-wheel Modified champ is determined using a driver’s best 35 finishes/points nights with an emphasis on car counts. A field of 21 cars provides one bonus point for each finishing position, with a one-point-per-car increase up to a maximum of 20 bonus points for fields numbering 40 or more.

Leka certainly gathered his share of victories, however. He won 25 UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned features and four unsanctioned events, including the $7,000-to-win Big Dawg 100 at Union County Speedway in Liberty, Ind., and the Modified World 100 (worth $3,000) at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway. In addition, he captured the Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway championships; the UMP DIRTcar North Region and Illinois State titles; and the Monster Midwest Tour mini-series crown.

And Leka did it all with his own familiar No. 3L equipment. He runs cars built by Bob Pierce and uses powerplants from the Hovis Racing Engines shop in St. Charles, Mo.

“It’s taken so many people to do this,” said Leka, who works as a mechanic at his brother-in-law’s auto repair shop. “It isn’t just me as a driver. It’s everybody with this whole team – the guys on the team, the people who help us, our wives, my kids (a 24-year-old daughter and sons Jeffrey, 22, who finished third in the Lincoln Speedway’s Modified points standings, and Justin, 16, who debuted in the Kid Modz class in 2008).

“It’s a big deal for us to win this championship, and we’re excited about it,” he continued. “Nobody realizes how hard this is to do. There’s a lot of good racers out there. At our hometrack (Farmer City), I race against probably five of the top 10 (drivers) in the nation every weekend.

“So to win (the national title) means a lot. It gives us a boost. It takes a lot of pressure off, and hopefully we can come back next year and do it again.”

*****

Tickets to the 25^th annual UMP DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Ill., are on sale for $35 each or $65 per couple. They can be purchased with a credit or debit card by calling the UMP DIRTcar Racing office at 812-426-1200 during regular business hours.

Ticket reservations must be made by Jan. 3.

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

Call Him Mr. UMP DIRTcar Racing: Dennis Erb Jr. Sweeps Organization’s Summer Nationals & National Super Late Model Titles For Second Straight Season

EVANSVILLE, IN – Oct. 23, 2008 - Just call him Mr. UMP DIRTcar Racing.

After sweeping the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals and national Super Late Model championships for the second consecutive season, the moniker clearly suits Dennis Erb Jr.

Yes, Erb, 36, of Carpentersville, Ill., has become the poster boy for the Midwest’s well-known grassroots short-track organization.

“Running with UMP just fits my program,” said Erb, an owner-operator known as the ‘One Man Band’ who hails from the heart of UMP DIRTcar country. “We can stay close to home and run a lot of good-paying races, so, with my budget, it’s the most feasible way for me to try to make some money.”

A fulltime professional driver, Erb has certainly found racing on the UMP DIRTcar circuit to be a formula for financial success. For the second straight year he’ll collect a hefty chunk of points-fund cash to help get him through the winter and prepare for 2009 – a total of $50,000, including $25,000 for the Summer Nationals, $20,000 for the national crown and $5,000 for capturing the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Northern Allstars Late Model Series championship.

The road Erb took to that booty was a bit less stressful than in 2007, when he became the first driver in UMP DIRTcar history to win the Summer Nationals and national Super Late Model points titles in the same season. While he once again engaged in a close battle for the Summer Nationals trophy, he needed no dramatic, second-half rally to grab the national championship. This year he simply cruised to the national title, clinching it with several weeks of points racing remaining.

“This year was definitely a little different,” Erb said of his pursuit of the UMP DIRTcar national crown, which was determined using drivers’ 40 best finishes/points nights. “Last year we were over 200 points behind (Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.) in the national points after the Summer Nationals and had to chase him down to the last couple races, but this year we got a little bit of a lead after the Summer Nationals and were able to run with it to the end.

“We had a little bit of breathing room this year, so that made it a little easier on us. We didn’t have to worry about what track we were gonna go to every week to make sure we’d race against the most cars possible to get (national) bonus points (which are based on car counts).”

Erb’s total of 15 UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned feature wins fell short of the 20 victories he tallied in 2007, but he entered the month of June with just a single circuit triumph to his credit. A Tri-Track Challenge win on June 1 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway got him rolling heading into the Summer Nationals and he never looked back.

On the strength of two wins (at Haubstadt, Ind., and Lawrenceburg, Ind.), 15 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 20 Summer Nationals A-Mains (his only placing outside the top 10 came when he experienced a mechanical malfunction on the final lap of a race), Erb out-pointed Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., for the grueling tour’s championship in mid-July. Then, through the conclusion of weekly points racing at the end of September, he pulled away in the national standings with victories at seven different tracks in four states, including an Aug. 2 score at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., that was worth $16,000 thanks to a $10,000 bonus he received for capturing two of the season’s three Tri-Track Challenge events.

Erb capped his championship campaign in style, winning his first-ever feature at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in the points-season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals on Oct. 4 and clinching his first career NALMS title with a triumph on Oct. 10 during the tour’s concluding weekend at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill.

“We had a real good year,” analyzed the low-key Erb, who also registered 10 runner-up finishes this season in UMP DIRTcar events en route to a 292-point margin of victory (3,285-2,993) over Steidinger in the national standings. “To go out and win a championship anywhere proves that you had a good season, a good car, good equipment and you race good.

“When you can come back and win both of championships, it just shows that we’re on top of things and we run good all year long.”

With help from such backers as Petroff Towing, J&J Steel, Thomason Transportation, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars and Rhyne Engines and a dedicated volunteer mechanic in Heather Lyne, Erb has assembled a team that’s become the envy of the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model world.

And he couldn’t be happier about reaching the pinnacle of a circuit that’s in his blood.

“When you’ve grown up running with the (UMP DIRTcar) series, it means a lot to be on top of it,” said Erb. “With the caliber of drivers that UMP has and the number of cars we have to compete against the whole year, winning a championship is an accomplishment.”

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

Official Final 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model National Points Standings (driver/points):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3285

2. Wes Steidinger 2993

3. Jason Feger 2888

4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2718

5. Brian Shirley 2695

6. Kevin Weaver 2669

7. Michael Kloos 2570

8. Brian Ruhlman 2451

9. Rusty Schlenk 2439

10. Eric Smith 2425

11. Ryan Unzicker 2418

12. Mike Hammerle 2322

13. Daren Friedman 2147

14. Mike Schulte 2135

15. Jayme Zidar 2131

16. Scott Bull 2087

17. Dusty Moore 2072

18. Randy Korte 2062

19. Jeep VanWormer 2034

20. Will Vaught 2008

UMP DIRTcar Racing Update: Final 2008 National, Regional & State Points Released

EVANSVILLE, IN – Oct. 16, 2008 – Dozens of drivers spread over eight divisions had their 2008 championship performances certified this week by UMP DIRTcar Racing officials, who released the organization’s final official points standings following an annual post-season audit of the thousands of sanctioned events held at more than 100 tracks in 2008.

Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. (Super Late Models) and Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Ill. (open-wheel Modifieds) head the list of UMP DIRTcar national titlists after romping to convincing margins of victory in their respective divisional points battle. Both veteran racers built large enough advantages to clinch their crowns before the points-season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals on Oct. 3-4 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Erb, 37, completed a UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model ‘double’ in 2008, sweeping the national and Summer Nationals championships for the second consecutive season. He added the UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned Northern Allstars Late Model Series title to his ledger this season as well.

The 41-year-old Leka, meanwhile, captured his long-awaited first career UMP DIRTcar open-wheel Modified championship this season. He also won the UMP DIRTcar North Region and Illinois State titles.

Other 2008 UMP DIRTcar national champions include:

* Tait Davenport of Paducah, Ky., in the Pro Late Model division. He was a dominant force throughout the season en route to becoming the first national champion of UMP DIRTcar’s new crate-engine Late Model class.

* Jeremy Hines of Seymour, Ind., rolled to the UMP DIRTcar Sportsman national crown.

* Jonathan Clayton of Denham Springs, La., was one of three repeat UMP DIRTcar national champions in 2008, copping the Limited Sportsman hardware for the second straight season.

* Jerrad Krick of Earl Park, Ind., repeated as the UMP DIRTcar Street Stock national champion – albeit this time by himself. Krick tied for the 2007 title with Jim Ransom of Williamsport, Ind.

* Ohio’s Bill DeLong (Factory Stocks) and Illinois racer Joe Reed (4-Cylinders) came out on top of the national points races in UMP DIRTcar’s two entry-level divisions, which joined the circuit’s lineup in 2007.

Regional champions were named in UMP DIRTcar’s two marquee divisions. The titlists included:

* Super Late Models: Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill. (South); Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill. (North); and Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich. (East).

* Modifieds: Leka (North); Doug Adkins of West Ponts, Ohio (East); Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky. (South); Kent Wood of Biloxi, Miss. (Deep South/Northwest); and Anthony Madrid of Phoenix, Ariz. (Wild West and Arizona/New Mexico/Western Texas).

State champions included:

* Super Late Models: Richard Ferry of Macclenny, Fla. (FL); Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill. (IL); Dan Walden of Crawfordsville, Ind. (IN); Jeff Walston of Paducah, Ky. (KY); Alan Vochaska of South Haven, Mich. (MI); Brad Looney of Lebanon, Mo. (MO); Dusty Moore of Swanton, Ohio (OH); Alex Ferree of Saxonburg, Pa. (PA); Tony Albright of Clarksville, Tenn. (TN); Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calif. (AZ/CA); and Dale Glassford of Thamesville, Ont. (Canada).

* Modifieds: Travis Peery of Corvallis, Ore. (CA); Jamie Carter of Maxville, Fla. (FL); Leka (IL); Matt Bex of Avoca, Ohio (IN); Sweeney (KY); Charles Sibley of Livingston, La. (LA); John McCaul of Montague, Mich. (MI); Wood (MS); Michael Vanderiet Jr. of Mexico, Mo. (MO); Adkins (OH); Mark Wauge of Medford, Ore. (OR); Clayton Miller of Elkton, Tenn. (TN); Mike Girardo of Elkhart, Texas (TX); Tyler Ivey of Tallahassee, Fla. (Speedweeks); Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo. (Alltel DIRTcar Nationals); and Curtis Coulter of Learnington, Ont. (Canada).

* Pro Late Models: Andy Orbetello (CA); Brad Denney (IL); Shane Cockrum (MO); Davenport (KY); Mike Pegher Jr. (PA); and Caleb Ashby (TN).

* Sportsman: Shawn Daugherty (FL); Joel Funk (IL); Hines (IN); Bob Boyd (LA); Chad Weinrick (MI); Jeff Herzog (MO); Patrick Wicker (MS); Don Newcomb (NM/TX); Pete Stefanski (NY); Mike Jessen (OH); and Mike Hodges (TN).

* Limited Modifieds: Clayton (LA); Eric Adkins (MO/KY); Rob Madrid (AZ/NM/Western TX); and Dustin Shoemaker (TX).

* Street Stocks: Grady Christian (FL); Jason Bahrs (IL); David Hurst (IN); Poncho Elder (KY); Travis Myers (LA); Wayne Clauss (MI); Stephan Chatman (MS); Eddie Lowry (MO); Dave Mannise (NY); Bob Egley (PA); Collin Hodges (TX); and Jon Wix (TN).

* Factory Stocks: Casey Crane (IL); William Burton (IN); DeLong (MI); and Jim Scout (OH).

* 4-Cylinders: Leslie Cobb (CA); Charlie Staats (FL); Reed (IL); Don Grace (IN); Aimee Foster (LA); Ken Huber (MO); Tyler Line (OH); and Michael Rittenberry (TN).

Champions of other UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned or –affiliated Super Late Model series were Erb (NALMS); Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich. (Sunoco American Late Model Series); Kyle Logue of Oreana, Ill. (Big 10 Series); and Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo. (O’Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series and DLRA).

All the 2008 UMP DIRTcar champions and other high finishers in the divisional points standings will share in nearly a half-million dollars in points-fund money during January’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet in Springfield, Ill.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

Official Final 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings:

Super Late Models (driver/points):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3285

2. Wes Steidinger 2993

3. Jason Feger 2888

4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2718

5. Brian Shirley 2695

6. Kevin Weaver 2669

7. Michael Kloos 2570

8. Brian Ruhlman 2451

9. Rusty Schlenk 2439

10. Eric Smith 2425

11. Ryan Unzicker 2418

12. Mike Hammerle 2322

13. Daren Friedman 2147

14. Mike Schulte 2135

15. Jayme Zidar 2131

16. Scott Bull 2087

17. Dusty Moore 2072

18. Randy Korte 2062

19. Jeep VanWormer 2034

20. Will Vaught 2008

Modifieds (driver/points):

1. Jeff Leka 2979

2. Randle Sweeney 2820

3. Gary Cook Jr. 2793

4. Tim Hancock 2773

5. Kent Robinson 2754

6. Doug Adkins 2609

7. Anthony Madrid 2570

8. Mike Spatola 2564

9. John DeMoss 2550

10. Denny Schwartz 2550

11. Jon Henry 2549

12. Todd Sherman 2531

13. McKay Wenger 2530

14. Bobby Martintoni 2491

15. Matt Bex 2487

16. Bobby Bittle 2454

17. Nick Allen 2451

18. John McCaul 2450

19. Bub Patrick 2418

20. Clayton Miller 2412

Pro Late Models (driver/points):

1. Tait Davenport 2259

2. Bobby Dauderman 2105

3. Matt Liner 2063

4. Brad Denney 2061

5. Josh Harris 1930

6. Caleb Ashby 1919

7. Aaron Heck 1884

8. Carnell Parker 1867

9. Daniel Heck 1789

10. Levi Ashby 1650

Sportsman (driver/points):

1. Jeremy Hines 2018

2. Jeff Herzog 1881

3. Joel Funk 1873

4. Troy Medley 1832

5. Brad Cummings 1799

6. Mike Hodges 1757

7. Pete Stefanski 1745

8. Troy Clark 1700

9. Jimmy Cummins 1697

10. Chad Weinrick 1683

Limited Modifieds (driver/points):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1596

2. Eric Adkins 1514

3. Zach Dennis 1493

4. Alex Ashley 1366

5. Dan Bimson 1269

6. Rob Madrid 1239

7. John Paul Talkington 1135

8. Paddy Rush 1117

9. Jacob Sewell 1117

10. Richard Ashby 1048

Street Stocks (driver/points):

1. Jerrad Krick 1916

2. David Hurst 1849

3. Steve Maisel 1845

4. Travis Myers 1820

5. Jason Bahrs 1798

6. Terry Miller 1790

7. Dave Mannise 1789

8. Josh Griffith 1787

9. Steve Ewing 1767

10. Mike Welch 1698

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Bill DeLong 1828

2. William Burton 1796

3. Jim Scout 1540

4. Mickey Hines 1539

5. Chris Henry 1492

6. Brett Miller 1432

7. Clay Ellison 1405

8. Craig Dippman 1316

9. Casey Crane 1298

10. Jeff Foks 1295

4-Cylinders (driver/points):

1. Joe Reed 1909

2. Bob Zbinden 1837

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1822

4. Keaton Downing 1813

5. Michael Rittenberry 1771

6. David Reed 1743

7. Jason Broughton 1735

8. Tyler Griffin 1640

9. Mike Martin 1608

10. Michael Perrigo 1587

Inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup Brings Four-Day Party To Pevely’s I-55 Raceway This Week (Oct. 15-18)

Eight UMP DIRTcar Racing Divisions Will Battle On High-Banked Bullring

PEVELY, MO – Oct. 14, 2008 – Let the party begin.

The inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com – aka the ‘Party in Pevely’ – kicks off on Wednesday (Oct. 15) and runs through Saturday (Oct. 18) at NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway outside St. Louis.

All eight UMP DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned divisions will participate in the blockbuster program, which blends hard-nosed competition on the high-banked, one-third-mile oval with fun and festivities off it.

UMP DIRTcar’s marquee Super Late Model and open-wheel Modified classes headline the Roundup, with each contesting complete shows of heat races and last-chance events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The Thursday and Friday cards for each division will be topped by 20-lap preliminary A-Mains that transfer the top-eight finishers directly to Saturday night’s Roundup Championship features – a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win event for the Super Late Models and a 25-lap, $2,500-to-win battle for the open-wheel Modifieds.

Also joining in on the Show-Me State bash are UMP DIRTcar’s Pro Late Model, Sportsman, Limited Modified, Street Stock, 4-Cylinder and Factory Stock divisions. Championship features for the 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks are scheduled for Friday night, while the Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds and Street Stocks will go to the post in Championship A-Mains on Saturday night.

Nearly $120,000 in purse awards has been posted for the UMP DIRTcar Roundup by I-55 Raceway and World Racing Group officials, who have banded together to present an unprecedented multi-day extravaganza of grassroots dirt-track racing.

More than 70 drivers spanning all the divisions have pre-entered the Roundup by reserving pit stalls, and dozens upon dozens more racers from across the Midwest and beyond are expected to descend on I-55 Raceway this week. Teams will begin signing in when registration opens at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and the first cars will hit the track at 7 o’clock Wednesday evening for rotating divisional hot laps.

Notable pre-entries include Super Late Model standouts Billy Faust of Highland, Ill., Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., Bryan Collins of Elsberry, Mo., and Denny Woodworth of Mendon, Ill., and open-wheel Modified talents Scott Weber of Festus, Mo., Tim Hancock of Mt. Olive, Ill., Bobby Bittle of Smithton, Ill., and Steve Arpin of Fort Frances, Ont.

In addition, NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace is scheduled to drive a dirt Late Model fielded by Ed Petroff in the Roundup.

While there will be non-stop racing action on the I-55 Raceway surface, there will also be plenty going on off the track throughout the UMP DIRTcar Roundup. An expansive ‘Roundup Tent’ that has been erected near the main entrance will be the focal point of activity each day of the meet.

A variety of activities will be held inside the ‘Roundup Tent,’ including ‘Movie Night’ following Wednesday’s practice sessions; breakfast from 10 a.m. to 12 noon each day; and parties featuring live music following each night’s racing action, topped by the Champions’ Party that will officially conclude the UMP DIRTcar Roundup on Saturday night. There will also be a charity wienie roast on Friday, and Saturday’s schedule includes a driver autograph session and a charity chili feed.

Fans unable to attend the UMP DIRTcar Roundup can still catch all the action on DIRTVision.com, which will carry live internet broadcasts of the racing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Users can purchase a ‘UMP VIP Subscription’ for $19.99 to gain access to over 15 hours of live video coverage of the events on DIRTVision.com.

For more information on the UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com., call the I-55 Raceway office at 636-479-3219 or visit www.i55raceway.com, www.umpdirtcarroundup.com or www.dirtcar.com.

UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com Schedule of Events (All times and events subject to change)

Wed., Oct. 15:

12 Noon - Main Gate & Camping Area Opens

1 p.m. - Registration Opens

5-9 p.m. – ‘Early Bird’ Inspection (Inspection Compound)

5-9 p.m. – Manufacturer’s Row Set-up

7-9 p.m. - Rotating division hot laps

10 p.m. - Pits Close

6-11 p.m. - Movie Night (Roundup Tent)

Thurs., Oct. 16:

10 a.m. – 12 Noon – Breakfast (Roundup Tent)

12 Noon - Registration Opens

1 p.m. - Inspection Open (Inspection Compound)

5 p.m. - Opening Ceremonies

5:15 p.m. - Racing

* 4-Cylinder Heats - 6 laps

* Factory Stock Heats - 6 laps

* Street Stock Heats - 8 laps

* Limited Modified Heats - 8 laps

* Sportsman Heats - 8 laps

* Pro Late Model Heats - 10 laps

* Modified Heats - 10 laps

* Late Model Heat 1 - 10 laps

* Modified E-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model Heat 2 - 10 laps

* Modified D-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model Heat 3 - 10 laps

* Modified C-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model Heat 4 - 10 laps

* Modified B-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model C-Main - 12 laps

* Limited Mod B-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model B-Main - 12 laps

* Street Stock D-Main - 10 laps

* Sportsman C-Main - 10 laps

* Pro Late Model D-Main - 10 laps

* Modified A-Main - 20 laps (Top 8 locked in to Saturday A-Main)

* Late Model A-Main - 20 laps (Top 8 locked in to Saturday A-Main)

10 p.m. – Live Music at Roundup Tent

Fri., Oct. 17:

10 a.m. – 12 Noon – Breakfast (Roundup Tent)

12 Noon - Registration Opens

1 p.m.  - Inspection Open (Inspection Compound)

3 p.m. - Charity Wienie Roast

5 p.m. - Opening Ceremonies

5:15 p.m. - Racing

* Modified Heats - 10 laps

* Late Model Heats - 10 laps

* Modified E-Main - 12 laps

* 4-Cylinder C-Main - 10 laps

* Factory Stock C-Main - 10 laps

* Street Stock C-Main - 10 laps

* Sportsman C-Main - 10 laps

* Modified D-Main - 10 laps

* Limited Modified B-Main - 10 laps

* Sportsman B-Main - 10 laps

* Late Model C-Main - 12 laps

* Pro Late Model B-Main - 10 laps

* 4-Cylinder B-Main - 10 laps

* Modified C-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model B-Main - 12 laps

* 4-Cylinder A-Main - 15 laps

* Modified B-Main - 12 laps

* Factory Stock A-Main - 15 laps

* Modified A-Main - 20 laps (Top 8 locked in to Saturday A-Main)

* Late Model A-Main - 20 laps (Top 8 locked in to Saturday A-Main)

10 p.m. - Live Music at Roundup Tent

Sat., Oct. 18:

10 a.m.- 12 Noon – Breakfast (Roundup Tent)

12 Noon - Registration  Opens

1 p.m. - Inspection Open (Inspection  Compound)

3 p.m. - Charity Wienie Roast

5 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies

5:15 p.m. - Racing

* Modified Heats - 10 laps

* Late Model Heats - 10 laps

* Modified E-Main - 12 laps

* Street Stock Feature - 20 laps

* Modified D-Main - 12 laps

* Limited Modified Feature - 20 laps

* Modified C-Main - 12 laps

* Sportsman Feature - 20 laps

* Modified B-Main - 12 laps

* Pro Late Model Feature - 20 laps

* Late Model C-Main - 12 laps

* Late Model B-Main - 12 laps

* Modified Feature - 25 laps

* Late Model Feature - 30 laps

10 p.m. – Champions’ Party at Roundup Tent

UMP DIRTcar Nationals: Erb Tops Championship Season With First Super Late Model Victory At Eldora Speedway, Harrison Wins Non-Stop Modified Thriller

ROSSBURG, OH – Oct. 4, 2008 – Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. (Super Late Models) and Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill. (open-wheel Modifieds) turned back late-race challenges to triumph in Saturday night’s Moser Engineering UMP DIRTcar Nationals at Eldora Speedway.

Erb, who turns 36 on Oct. 12, ended his second consecutive UMP DIRTcar national championship season with a $5,000 flourish in the 40-lap Super Late Model A-Main. He grabbed the lead from Richie Hedrick of Urbana, Ill., on lap four and made all the right moves in lapped traffic during the final circuits to hold off Matt Miller of Waterville, Ohio, and Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., for his first career win at the famed half-mile oval.

Harrison, meanwhile, led the caution-free 25-lap open-wheel Modified feature from flag-to-flag, but he worked hard for every cent of his $3,000 top prize. He spent many hours repairing the damage his car sustained in an unusual accident after his heat-race victory on Friday night and repelled heavy pressure from Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., and Steve Arpin of Fort Frances, Ont., during the late stages of the headline event.

With the two-day program closing out the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Racing points season, Erb and first-time open-wheel Modified national champion Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Ill., were officially crowned in front of the crowd prior to the start of the night’s action. The points battles had already been decided in each driver’s favor prior to the weekend.

Erb and Leka, who was never a factor in the Modified A-Main after using a points provisional to make the starting field, will each receive a $20,000 check at the 2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet, scheduled for Jan. 10, 2009, in Springfield, Ill.

The low-key Erb proudly climbed out of his Thomason Transportation Rayburn machine on the Eldora winner’s stage after surviving the frenetic Super Late Model headliner, which was slowed by just one caution flag (on lap 12 for the slow car driven by Jared Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va.) and one red flag (on lap 21 for a fire under the hood of Summerfield, Ill., racer Mike Schulte’s car).

“To stand up here after winning this thing really caps off the year,” said Erb, who has 15 overall victories this season. “Going out and repeating both championships (the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals and nationals points race) and winning the Nationals here is just a great thing.”

It was also the coveted first Eldora feature win for Erb, who had gotten a taste of success at the track by capturing the previous night’s 12-lap, 11-car Race of Champions event.

“It means a lot to win here,” said Erb. “I’ve been coming here a long time. We’ve made the World 100 and the Dream and run good in them and we’ve finished second and third here in this (UMP DIRTcar Nationals), but getting a win is tough.”

The victory is “a big confidence boost for when we come back for the bigger shows,” he added. “We’re not here very much, so every time we get on the racetrack we learn a bunch. Hopefully this will help out in the future.”

Erb, who started fourth, knew he wouldn’t be able to waltz to the checkered flag when he realized during the red flag that VanWormer, who started 19^th, and Miller, who started 14^th, were positioned behind him.

“I looked up at the scoreboard and saw Jeep and Matt coming, so I knew I just had to keep driving hard,” said Erb. “We just took off (on the restart), kept driving as hard as I could through lapped traffic and it worked out.”

Miller – a former Dream winner who clinched the 2008 Eldora Super Late Model points title by entering the UMP DIRTcar Nationals – traded slide-jobs with VanWormer at both ends of the track for laps 30-34 before securing second place. He got the nose of his McCullough Motorsports car up to the rear deck of Erb’s machine amid lapped traffic but had to settle for a close runner-up finish.

VanWormer finished third, followed by ninth-starter Billy Faust of Highland, Ill., and 15^th-starter Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill.

Former UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national champion Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., advanced from the 12^th starting spot to second in just 10 laps, but he retired after the race’s red flag because his car’s radiator was punctured by a rock.

Saturday’s Super Late Model heat winners were Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., Jared Hawkins, Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., Hedrick, Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, and Erb. The trio of B-Mains were captured by VanWormer, Rick DeLong of Whitehouse, Ohio, and Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., who retired two laps into the A-Main but still finished second in the UMP DIRTcar national points for the second straight year.

In the Modified A-Main, Harrison turned around what appeared to be a weekend headed into the abyss with his first career win at Eldora.

The 2004 UMP DIRTcar Modified national champion ran into trouble after crossing the finish first in Friday night’s sixth heat. He clipped a stopped car in turn one and flipped his No. 24, leaving him sore and his car with significant damage.

“I thought our weekend was over,” said Harrison, who had to replace the car’s busted rearend and an assortment of bolt-on components. “We pieced it back together the best we could and it worked out.

“We were up until about 2:30 this morning working on the car, and then we got back up this morning about 9 and started again and finished about 1.”

Armed with the outside pole starting spot for the A-Main, Harrison surged in front at the initial green flag and never looked back in the fast-paced event. But he spent the race’s final six laps frantically steering through lapped traffic to hold off Hawkins, who ran second for virtually the entire distance, and the hard-charging Arpin, who started 17^th.

Harrison barely nipped Hawkins at the start/finish line to lead lap 20. Shortly thereafter, on lap 22, Harrison raced three-wide for the lead with his challengers through turns one and two.

When the checkered flag fell, Harrison was less than a car length ahead of Hawkins. Arpin and Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., were close behind in third and fourth, respectively, and Scott Orr of Columbia City, Ind., placed fifth.

“Since 1995, one of my goals was to win a race here,” said Harrison. “I finally did it.”

Leka, 43, couldn’t match Erb’s season-ending heroics, finishing a quiet 24^th in the A-Main. He had to park his own No. 3L after its engine was disabled by a burnt piston during Friday’s hot laps, but 2007 UMP DIRTcar Modified national champion Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill., graciously allowed Leka to drive his car for the remainder of the weekend.

“We had a heck of a year and to top it off with the national title just makes it better,” said Leka, who had come close to the premier UMP DIRTcar Modified honor several times in the past. “I felt bad for my guys when the motor laid down in our car (on Friday) because they worked so hard on it, but we’re still awfully proud to stand here this weekend and celebrate a national championship.”

Saturday’s Modified B-Mains were captured by Chad Kinder of Newton, Ill., Kenny Johnson of Washington, W.Va., Keith Berner of Millersburg, Ohio, and Arpin.

Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, pocketed $1,000 for winning the 12-lap Race of Champions event, which included 15 drivers who won UMP state, regional or series titles or were a chassis builder’s highest-ranked representative in the national points standings

For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.dirtcar.com.

Results of UMP DIRTcar Nationals Super Late Model A-Main (40 laps):

1. Dennis Erb Jr.

2. Matt Miller

3. Jeep VanWormer

4. Billy Faust

5. Jason Feger

6. Aaron Scott

7. Chris Ross

8. Richie Hedrick

9. Michael Kloos

10. Brian Ruhlman

11. Rick DeLong

12. Curt Spalding

13. Ben Adkins

14. Jon Henry

15. Jerry Bowersock

16. Rusty Shlenk

17. Andrew Reaume

18. Ronnie Perrine Jr.

19. Dan Walden

20. Jared Hawkins

21. Jeff Beyers

22. Randy Korte

23. Mike Shult

24. Scott Orr

25. Duane Chamberlain

26. Shawn Toczek

27. Wes Steidinger

28. Dusty Moore

Late Model Heat 1 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Michael Kloos, Chris Ross, Dan Walden, Jerry Bowersock, Dylan Thompson, Corey Bevard, Kevin Reeb, Curtis Deisnroth, Butch Smith, Eric Spangler, Chad Ruhlman

Late Model Heat 2 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Jared Hawkins, Andrew Reaume, Matt Miller, Jeep VanWormer, Shon Flannery, Kyle Logue, Kevin Cole, J.R. Hotovy, Wayne Maffett Jr., Dean Anderson, Adam Thrush

Late Model Heat 3 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Rusty Schlenk, Billy Faust, Jason Feger, Rick DeLong, Ben Adkins, Richard Neiser, Justin McNeal, David Hilliker, Jason Riggs, Greg Longfellow, Jason McBride, Scott Baker

Late Model Heat 4 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Richie Hedrick, Brian Ruhlman, Aaron Scott, Curt Spalding, Robby Hensley, Dustin Moore, Andy Sprague, Matt Weidner, Pat Ehlert, Michael Schulte, Brad Eitniear, Bill Hahn

Late Model Heat 5 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Jon Henry, Duane Chamberlain, Shawn Toczek, Jeff Beyers, Ken Hahn, Brandon Thirlby, Craig Cortman, Chad Todd, Jerry Rice, Nick Corbitt, Brad Harden (DNS) Jon Lawhorn

Late Model Heat 6 (10 laps/Top 3 Transfer): Dennis Erb Jr., Randy Korte, Ronnie Perrine Jr., Wes Steidinger, Scott Orr, Brett Reaume, Jimmy Gallagher, Don Gordon, Ryan Vanderveen, Pat Ferguson, Don Mihelich, Tom Treon

Late Model B-Main 1 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Jeep VanWormer, Jerry Bowersock, Shon Flannery, Kyle Logue, Kevin Cole, Wayne Maffett Jr., Chad Ruhlman, J.R. Hotovy, Corey Bevard, Adam Thrush, Kevin Reeb, Eric Spangler, Dylan Thompson, Curtis Deisnroth, Butch Smith, Dean Anderson

Late Model B-Main 2 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Rick DeLong, Curt Spalding, Robby Hensley, Matt Weidner, Michael Schulte, Richard Neiser, David Hilliker, Jason Riggs, Brad Eitniear, Greg Longfellow, Bill Hahn, Justin McNeal, Scott Baker, Andy Sprague, Ben Adkins, Pat Ehlert, Dustin Moore, Jason McBride

Late Model B-Main 3 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Wes Steidinger, Jeff Beyers, Scott Orr, Ken Hahn, Bradon Thirlby, Nick Corbitt, Brett Reaume, Chad Todd, Don Mihelich, Tom Treon, Jimmy Gallagher, Don Gordon, Craig Cortman, Ryan Vanderveen, Jerry Rice, Pat Ferguson, Brad Harden, John Lawhorn

Results of UMP DIRTcar Nationals Open-Wheel Modified A-Main (25 laps):

1. Mike Harrison

2. Jacob Hawkins

3. Steve Arpin

4. Kent Robinson

5. Scott Orr

6. Doug Adkins

7. Matt Bex

8. Chad Kinder

9. Clayton Miller

10. Lance Dehm

11. Chris Stotts

12. Chad Ruhlman

13. Mike Spatola

14. Keith Berner

15. Kenny Johnson

16. Clint Shutts

17. Jess Hartman

18. Brian Ruhlman

19. Ed Roley

20. Jeff Harris

21. Todd Sherman

22. John DeMoss

23. Jeff Babcock

24. Jeff Leka

25. Michael Asberry

26. Curt Spalding

27. Danny Schwartz

28. Randle Sweeney

Modified B-Main 1 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Chad Kinder, Ed Roley, Kelly Devall, Justin Matson, Curt Spalding, Tim Brown, Ben Adkins, Tommie Seets Jr, Travis Shoulders, Zach Schroeder, Dean Hoffman, Mike Neighbors, Scott Ricketts, Jeremy Powley, Steven Hilliker, Bruce Gould III, Brandon Morrow, Matt Aber, Jerry Bowersock, Jeff Harris, Nick Katterhenry, Matt Verbeck, Josh Morton, Darryl Banks, Jim Hilligas Jr, Jeff Leka, Rob Pendergrass

Modified B-Main 2 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Kenny Johnson, Brian Ruhlman, Jeff Leka, Troy Marciniak, Matt Westfall, George Catanzano, Justin Coulter, Cody Hood, Tim Richardson, Brad McLeod, Thomas Sigler, Bob Burch, Mark Kowarsch, Nick Hoffman, Jamie Kuntz, John Taylor, Anthony Davis, Mark hotovy, Gary Ricketts, Josh Greber, Lenny Guyton, Jamie Cobb, Mike Spatola, Randy Dickman, Jimmy Hayden, Mark Anderson

Modified B-Main 3 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Keith Berner, Chad Ruhlman, Gary Richard, Chad Bauer, Dave Pinkerton, Ryan Ritchie, Kasey Schrock, Brent Hole, Ben Hulse, Paul Bumgardner, Kevan Free, Darrell Lowe, Tony Molnar, Jared Bailey, Chad Rosenbeck, David Treon Jr, Shon Flannery, Jessie Bittlering, Bryce Jewell, Kyle Gibbs, Donny Huber, Joe Pendergrass, Billy Palmer, Josh Morrow, Jon Henry, Mike Dirksen

Modified B-Main 4 (12 laps/Top 2 Transfer): Steve Arpin, Chris Stotts, Davey Gannt, Dennis Wilson, David Smith, John Brooks, Chad Oberson, John McCaul, Davin Gilpin, Michael Brown, Matt Hamilton, Terry Hull, Shawn Bayliff, Mike Holbein, Ronnie Chance, Jeff Stanton, Shane Unger, Chad Thornhill, Rich Robinson Jr, Derek Groomer, Todd Sanders, Doug St Meyers, Bob Baldwin, Ian Keller, Christopher Anstead, Zeke McKenzie, Jeff Sommers, Jeremy Rayburn

UMP DIRTcar Racing Open-Wheel Modified Race of Champions Finish (12 laps): 1. Jon Henry, 2. Jeff Leka, 3. Tommie Seets Jr., 4. Doug Adkins, 5. Devin Gilpin, 6. Travis Shoulders, 7. John McCaul, 8. Jamie Cobb, 9. Randle Sweeney, 10. Bryce Jewell, 11. Mike Spatola, 12. Matt Bex, 13. Todd Sherman, 14. Clayton Miller, 15. Kent Robinson

Erb Begins Coronation Weekend With Race of Champions Victory On Opening Night Of UMP DIRTcar Nationals At Eldora Speedway

Famed Track’s Pit Area Filled With 69 Super Late Models & 123 Open-Wheel Modifieds

ROSSBURG, OH – Oct. 3, 2008 – Dennis Erb Jr.’s coronation as the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model champion began in fine fashion on Friday night at Eldora Speedway.

Racing without points pressure after clinching his second consecutive national title several weeks ago, the 36-year-old from Carpentersville, Ill., rolled to a $1,000 victory in the 12-lap Race of Champions event that closed the opening night of the Moser UMP DIRTcar Nationals.

Erb also was the fastest qualifier in one of the six group time-trial sessions for the 69-car Super Late Model field, giving him a fourth-place starting spot in the sixth heat race on Saturday night. He’ll shoot for his first career feature triumph at the famed half-mile oval in Saturday’s 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Nationals headliner, which offers a $5,000 winner’s prize.

“A win would be a great way to top (the season) off,” said Erb, who will earn $20,000 for his UMP DIRTcar national crown. “Winning both UMP championships (he also captured the Summer Nationals title) and the season finale would be a pretty big accomplishment for us.”

The driver known as the ‘One Man Band’ had his Thomason Transportation Rayburn purring perfectly in the Race of Champions sprint, which included 11 drivers who won UMP state, regional or series titles or were a chassis builder’s highest-ranked representative in the national points standings. He slid inside Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., through turns three and four to assume command on lap five and never looked back.

“I feel pretty good about our chances (on Saturday),” said Erb, whose lap of 16.221 seconds was the fifth-fastest time overall of Friday’s qualifying session. “We changed some things around on the car and it worked pretty well I guess.”

Erb crossed the finish line a half-straightaway ahead of Pinconning, Mich.’s Jeep VanWormer, who started ninth. Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., whose time-trial lap of 16.007 seconds was the fastest overall in the qualifying session, placed third, followed by Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., and Brian Ruhlman of Clarklake, Mich.

Steidinger, meanwhile, dropped out of the special event with mechanical trouble while running in third place. The second-place driver in the UMP DIRTcar national points standings also experienced problems during time trials, saddling him with the 10^th starting spot in Saturday’s sixth heat.

Joining Erb as Super Late Model group fast-timers were Chris Ross of Wallaceburg, Ont. (16.553 seconds), Curt Spalding of Hartford, Mich (16.755), VanWormer (16.192) and Jerry Rice of 16.793).

A huge field of 123 UMP DIRTcar open-wheel Modifieds was signed in for the division’s portion of the program, which included group time trials and eight 10-lap heat races.

Mike Spatola of Manhattan, Ill., was the overall fastest Modified qualifier with a lap of 17.770 seconds. He earned a $1,000 bonus from Larry Shaw Race Cars.

Modified heat winners were Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., who is the country’s winningest UMP DIRTcar Modified driver in 2008; Michael Asberry of Crossville, Tenn., who inherited the victory after apparent winner Curt Spalding of Hartford, Mich., was disqualified for weighing in three pounds light; defending UMP DIRTcar Nationals winner Scott Orr of Columbia City, Ind.; Danny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill.; Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind.; Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill.; Doug Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio; and Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va.

Harrison’s triumph in the sixth heat was tainted, however, by a post-race incident. After taking the checkered flag he clipped the stopped car driven by Billy Palmer of Knoxville, Tenn., in turn one and flipped.

While Harrison escaped the crash without serious injury, his car sustained a broken rearend and an assortment of damage to other bolt-on components. He was planning to pull the rearend out of his backup car and install it in the machine he qualified for Saturday’s 25-lap, $3,000-to-win A-Main.

Another flip victim was Jim Hilligas Jr. of Dayton, Ohio, who tumbled down the homestretch on the opening lap of the first heat. He walked away from the wreck after crawling out of his upside-down car.

Jeff Leka, 42, of Buffalo, Ill., entered Friday’s action having already clinched his first-ever UMP DIRTcar Modified national championship, but his hopes of finishing the points season with a winning flourish took a turn for the worse at the start of the program. His familiar No. 3L was struck by a burnt engine piston during hot laps, sidelining the machine for the night.

Leka accepted a ride offer from longtime rival Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill., who beat Leka by four points to win the 2007 UMP DIRTcar Modified national title. Leka steered the car from the 15^th starting spot to a fifth-place finish in the third heat and will start fifth in Saturday night’s second B-Main.

Saturday night’s UMP DIRTcar Nationals card is scheduled to begin at 6 o’clock with the Modified Race of Champions. Late Model heats and B- and A-Mains for both divisions are also on the agenda.

For more information, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or www.dirtcar.com.

UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model Race of Champions Finish (12 laps):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. (Summer Nationals/Northern Allstars Late Model Series)

2. Jeep VanWormer (MasterSbilt Chassis)

3. Jason Feger (Pierce Chassis)

4. Michael Kloos (TNT Chassis)

5. Brian Ruhlman (Rocket Chassis)

6. Dan Walden (Indiana State)

7. Mike Schulte (Rayburn Chassis)

8. Kyle Logue (Big 10 Series)

9. Wes Steidinger (Illinois State)

10. Dusty Moore (Ohio State)

11. Rusty Schlenk (Sunoco American Late Model Series)

Starting Lineups For Saturday’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model Heat Races (inside/outside, with Friday qualifying lap time):

Heat 1 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Jerry Bowersock (16.797)/Michael Kloos (16.730)

Row 2: Chad Ruhlman (16.592)/Chris Ross (16.553)

Row 3: Dan Walden (17.471)/Dylan Thompson (17.486)

Row 4: Curtis Deisnroth (17.495)/Eric Spangler (17.611)

Row 5: Kevin Reed (17.824)/Corey Bevard (17.902)

Row 6: Butch Smith (N/T)

Heat 2 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Andrew Reaume (16.605)/Jared Hawkins (16.595)

Row 2: Matt Miller (16.198)/Jeep VanWormer (16.192)

Row 3: J.R. Hotovy (16.908)/Kyle Logue (17.108)

Row 4: Shon Flannery (17.166)/Kevin Cole (17.248)

Row 5: Dean Anderson (17.360)/Wayne Maffett Jr. (17.455)

Row 6: Adam Thrush (19.971)

Heat 3 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Rusty Schlenk (16.544)/Billy Faust (16.349)

Row 2: Ben Adkins (16.196)/Jason Feger (16.007)

Row 3: Jason McBride (16.902)/Rick DeLong (17.172)

Row 4: David Hilliker (17.296)/Richard Neiser (17.603)

Row 5: Justin McNeal (17.652)/Greg Longfellow (17.672)

Row 6: Scott Baker (17.889)/Jason Riggs (18.070)

Heat 4 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Richard Hedrick (17.017)/Robby Hensley (16.998)

Row 2: Brian Ruhlman (16.760)/Curt Spalding (16.755)

Row 3: Dustin Moore (17.210)/Brad Eitniear (17.244)

Row 4: Matt Weidner (17.383)/Michael Shult (17.739)

Row 5: Andy Sprague (17.930)/Pat Ehlert (18.124)

Row 6: Bill Hahn (N/T)/Aaron Scott (N/T)

Heat 5 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Jon Henry (17.210)/Shawn Toczek (17.109)

Row 2: Duane Chamberlain (16.920)/Jerry Rice (16.793)

Row 3: Jeff Beyers (17.472)/Ken Hahn (17.521)

Row 4: John Lawhorn (17.724)/Chad Todd (18.041)

Row 5: Brandon Thirlby (18.043)/Brad Harden (18.282)

Row 6: Nick Corbitt (18.290)/Craig Cortman (18.878)

Heat 6 (Top 3 Transfer):

Row 1: Ronnie Perrine Jr. (17.155)/Ryan Vanderveen (17.006)

Row 2: Scott Orr (16.939)/Dennis Erb Jr. (16.221)

Row 3: Don Gordon (18.106)/Brett Reaume (18.314)

Row 4: Don Mihelich (18.356)/Jimmy Gallagher (19.331)

Row 5: Pat Ferguson (19.954)/Wes Steidinger (N/T)

Row 6: Randy Korte (N/T)/Tom Treon (N/T)

Results of Friday Night’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Open-Wheel Modified Heat Races (10 Laps/Top 2 Transfer):

Heat 1: 1. Randle Sweeney, 2. John DeMoss, 3. Ben Adkins, 4. Chad Kinder, 5. Zach Schroeder, 6. Steven Hilliker, 7. Kelly Devall, 8. Matt Verbeck, 9. Jeremy Powley, 10. Dean Hoffman, 11. Jerry Bowersock, 12. Jeff Harris, 13. Jim Hilligas Jr., 14. Mike Neighbors, 15. Brandon Morrow

Heat 2: 1. Michael Asberry, 2. Jess Hartman, 3. Ed Roley, 4. Justin Matson, 5. Bruce Gould III, 6. Rob Pendergrass, 7. Tim Brown, 8. Travis Shoulders, 9. Josh Morton, 10. Nick Katterhenry, 11. Scott Ricketts, 12. Darryl Banks, 13. Matt Aber, 14. Tommie Seets Sr., 15. Curt Spalding (DQ – light)

Heat 3: 1. Scott Orr, 2. Jimmy Hayden, 3. Brian Ruhlman, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Jeff Leka, 6. George Catanzano, 7. Jamie Cobb, 8. Lenny Guyton, 9. Bob Burch, 10. Nick Hoffman, 11. Tim Richardson, 12. Jamie Kuntz, 13. Anthony Davis, 14. Jimmy Hayden, 15. Cody Hood

Heat 4: 1. Danny Schwartz, 2. Todd Sherman, 3. Mike Spatola, 4. Randy Dickman, 5. Kenny Johnson, 6. Troy Marciniak, 7. Justin Coulter, 8. Thomas Sigler, 9. Mark Kowarsch, 10. Brad McLeod, 11. Josh Greber, 12. John Taylor, 13. Gary Ricketts, 14. Mark Hotovy, 15. Mark Anderson

Heat 5: 1. Kent Robinson, 2. Lance Dehm, 3. Keith Berner, 4. Chad Ruhlman, 5. Joe Pendergrass, 6. Dave Pinkerton, 7. Bryce Jewell, 8. Brent Hole, 9. Ryan Ritchie, 10. Jared Bailey, 11. Paul Bumgardner, 12. Kevan Free, 13. David Treon Jr., 14. Tony Molnar, 15. Jon Henry

Heat 6: 1. Mike Harrison, 2. Matt Bex, 3. Gary Richard, 4. Shon Flannery, 5. Chad Bauer, 6. Jesse Bitterling, 7. Kyle Gibbs, 8. Darrell Lowe, 9. Kasey Schrock, 10. Ben Hulse, 11. Donny Huber, 12. Billy Palmer, 13. Josh Morrow, 14. Chad Rosenbeck, 15. Mike Dirksen

Heat 7: 1. Doug Adkins, 2. Clint Shutts, 3. Davey Gannt, 4. Dennis Wilson, 5. Todd Sanders, 6. David Smith, 7. Matt Hamilton, 8. Michael Brown, 9. Shane Unger, 10. Shawn Bayliff, 11. Mike Hohlbein, 12. Jeff Stanton, 13. Bob Baldwin, 14. Chad Thornhill, 15. Christopher Anstead, 16. Jeff Sommers

Heat 8: 1. Jacob Hawkins, 2. Jeff Babcock, 3. Chris Stotts, 4. Steve Arpin, 5. Derek Groomer, 6. John Brooks, 7. Terry Hull, 8. Chad Oberson, 9. Devin Gilpin, 10. Rich Robinson Jr., 11. Ronnie Chance, 12. Doug St. Meyers, 13. Ian Keller, 14. John McCaul, 15. Zeke McKenzie, 16. Jeremy Rayburn

UMP DIRTcar Racing Update: Entering Final Weekend Of Weekly Points Chasing, Erb & Leka Among Drivers Who Have Clinched National Titles

EVANSVILLE, IN – Sept. 26, 2008 –

END OF THE BATTLES: Chalk up another UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national championship for Dennis Erb Jr.

And put a first career UMP DIRTcar Open-Wheel Modified national crown in the record book for Jeff Leka.

With UMP DIRTcar Racing’s weekly points season closing this weekend, the two veteran drivers from the ‘Land of Lincoln’ can relax knowing that they’ve already clinched their respective division titles. Both drivers will receive their public coronations as 2008 national champions during the Moser Engineering UMP DIRTcar Racing Nationals on Oct. 3-4 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio – an event that serves as the final points race for the Super Late Models and Modifieds.

Erb, 35, of Carpentersville, Ill., rolled to his second consecutive Super Late Model national title. Unlike the late-season surge that saw him chase down Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., to win last year’s points battle, he seized command of the national points standings in July after capturing his second straight UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals crown and just pulled away over the remaining months.

Entering this weekend’s action, Erb holds an insurmountable 266-point lead (3,232-2,966) over Steidinger in the national standings, which are determined using a driver’s best 40 finishes/points nights of the season.

Erb stands to collect over $50,000 in points-fund cash at January’s UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet in Springfield, Ill., including his sweep of the national and Summer Nationals titles and a potential Northern All-Stars Late Model Series championship.

Leka, meanwhile, has already secured his long-awaited first-ever UMP DIRTcar Modified national championship. The 42-year-old from Buffalo, Ill., enters this weekend’s action with a 159-point lead (2,979-2,820) over Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., in the national standings, which are determined using a driver’s best 35 finishes/points of the season.

The title comes one year after Leka led the UMP DIRTcar Modified circuit in feature wins but finished second in the national points race, a mere four points behind Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill. Ironically, this season it’s Sweeney who is the organization’s winningest Modified driver – Sweeney has 34 victories to Leka’s 25 – but Leka has accumulated more points thanks to the bonus points he earned at events with strong car counts.

While the Super Late Model and Modified national championships have been decided, both divisions still have several top-10 positions under contest.

On the Super Late Model side, the closest battle is the two points separating fourth-place Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., from fifth-place Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill. Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill., is 55 points behind Shirley in sixth place.

Sweeney appears to have a solid grasp of second place in the Modified standings, but third-place Gary Cook Jr. of Deer Creek, Ill., fourth-place Tim Hancock of Mt. Olive, Ill., and fifth-place Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., are separated by just 29 points, and there’s a mere 64-point difference between sixth-place Mike Spatola of Manhattan, Ill., and 12^th-place John DeMoss of Bloomington, Ind.

The biggest UMP DIRTcar Modified show on this weekend’s agenda is the $5,000-to-win ‘Midwest Modified Nationals’ on Saturday night (Sept. 27) at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway.

The national points pictures for the other UMP DIRTcar divisions shape up this way entering the final points weekend of the season:

* Tait Davenport of Paducah, Ky., will be the first-ever UMP DIRTcar Pro Late Model national champion. He holds a commanding 253-point lead over Matt Liner of Calvert City, Ky., entering the final weekend of points racing for the new crate-engine Late Model class.

* With a 136-point advantage in the standings, Jeremy Hines of Seymour, Ind., is headed toward the UMP DIRTcar national crown in the Sportsman class.

* Jonathan Clayton of Denham Springs, La., is in the driver’s seat for his second consecutive UMP DIRTcar Limited Modified national title, holding an 83-point edge over Zach Dennis.

* Jerrad Krick of Earl Park, Ind., is on the verge of repeating as the UMP DIRTcar Street Stock national champion – but this time by himself. Krick, who is ahead by 67 points entering the weekend’s action, finished tied for the 2007 title with Jim Ransom of Williamsport, Ind.

* Ohio’s Bill DeLong (Factory Stocks) and Illinois racer Joe Reed (4-Cylinders) are headed toward national titles in the entry-level divisions.

ACROSS THE BORDER: Sunny skies and warm fall temperatures are in the forecast for this Saturday (Sept. 27) at South Buxton (Ont.) Raceway, which is set to host its huge fourth annual Castrol Canadian UMP DIRTcar Late Model Showdown and Advantage Warehouse UMP DIRTcar Modified Canadian Fall Blowout.

The largest purse in the track’s 37-year history will be on the line on Saturday. Track owner Scott Mihalco has posted a total payoff of over $34,000 (U.S. funds) for the doubleheader, with a $6,000 winner’s share for the Super Late Models and a $2,500 check earmarked for the Modified victor.

All three former winners of Super Late Model Showdown are planning to be in the field, including Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich. (2007), Curtis Roberts of Coleman, Mich. (2006) and Jayme Zidar of Greenfield, Wis. (2005).

Over 70 race teams from across Ontario and the Midwestern United States are expected to enter the event.

South Buxton Raceway is located near Chatham, Ont., 45 miles southeast of the Windsor-Detroit border.

Go to www.southbuxtonraceway.com for more information on the track and event, including a pre-registration form and a downloadable tariff form for crossing the border.

MORE CASH: More money will be on the line for the both the Super Late Model and Modified competitors during the Moser Engineering UMP DIRTcar Racing Nationals on Oct. 3-4 at Eldora Speedway.

The prize money for the Modifieds has been increased 46 percent over 2007. While the winner’s share of the 25-lap A-Main will remain at $3,000 to win, the feature start money has been doubled from $150 to $300.

The purse for the 40-lap Super Late Model A-Main has been pumped up and redistributed for 2008. The race winner will receive $5,000, with second place increased to $3,500 and the spread between all other positions much more equitable than in the past.

The two-day program will include time trials for the Super Late Models and Modifieds, qualifying heat races for the Modifieds and Race of Champions events for both classes on Friday night (Oct. 3), and then heats for the Late Models, B-Mains for both divisions and the headlining main events for both classes on Saturday night (Oct. 4).

For more information, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com or call 937-338-3815.

UMP DIRTcar EXTRAVAGANZA: Preparations are continuing for the inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com on Oct. 15-18 at NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

All eight divisions sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing – Super Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks – will compete in the four-day extravaganza that’s been dubbed the “Party in Pevely.”

Complete details of the blockbuster program are available by logging on to www.UMPDIRTcarRoundup.com or calling the I-55 Raceway office at 636-479-3219.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of Sept. 22):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races counted):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3232 40

2. Wes Steidinger 2966 40

3. Jason Feger 2851 40

4. Brian Shirley 2695 40

5. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2693 40

6. Kevin Weaver 2640 40

7. Michael Kloos 2496 40

8. Ryan Unzicker 2391 40

9. Mike Hammerle 2305 40

10. Eric Smith 2276 36

11. Rusty Schlenk 2252 40

12. Brian Ruhlman 2181 37

13. Daren Friedman 2147 40

14. Mike Schulte 2103 40

15. Scott Bull 2087 40

16. Jayme Zidar 2070 40

17. Randy Korte 2013 33

18. Will Vaught 2008 35

19. Kerry Mathew 2007 40

20. Jeep VanWormer 1949 32

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races counted):

1. Jeff Leka 2979 35

2. Randle Sweeney 2820 35

3. Gary Cook Jr. 2772 35

4. Tim Hancock 2749 35

5. Kent Robinson 2743 35

6. Mike Spatola 2564 35

7. Doug Adkins 2549 35

8. Anthony Madrid 2547 35

9. McKay Wenger 2530 35

10. Todd Sherman 2520 35

11. Denny Schwartz 2519 35

12. John DeMoss 2500 35

13. Bobby Martintoni 2491 35

14. Matt Bex 2465 35

15. Jon Henry 2448 35

16. Nick Allen 2398 35

17. Bobby Bittle 2396 35

18. Bub Patrick 2374 35

19. Clayton Miller 2360 35

20. Chad Evans 2347 35

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races counted):

1. Tait Davenport 2259 30

2. Matt Liner 2006 30

3. Brad Denney 1986 28

4. Bobby Dauderman 1977 30

5. Josh Harris 1930 30

6. Caleb Ashby 1894 30

7. Aaron Heck 1833 30

8. Carnell Parker 1807 26

9. Daniel Heck 1769 30

10. Levi Ashby 1650 30

Sportsman (driver/points/races counted):

1. Jeremy Hines 2008 25

2. Jeff Herzog 1876 25

3. Joel Funk 1873 25

4. Troy Medley 1800 25

5. Brad Cummings 1799 25

6. Pete Stefanski 1698 25

7. Jimmy Cummins 1697 25

8. Mike Hodges 1687 24

9. Chad Weinrick 1683 25

10. Troy Clark 1678 25

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races counted):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1596 25

2. Zach Dennis 1513 24

3. Eric Adkins 1470 24

4. Alex Ashley 1291 20

5. Dan Bimson 1231 19

6. Rob Madrid 1200 19

7. Jacob Sewell 1080 19

8. Shelli O’Bryan 1068 19

9. John Paul Talkington 1065 18

10. Paddy Rush 1052 17

Street Stocks (driver/points/races counted):

1. Jarred Krick 1916 25

2. David Hurst 1849 25

3. Steve Maisel 1845 25

4. Travis Myers 1820 25

5. Dave Mannise 1789 25

6. Terry Miller 1785 25

7. Steve Ewing 1767 25

8. Josh Griffith 1756 25

9. Mike Welch 1672 25

10. Lee Hall 1659 25

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Bill DeLong 1825

2. William Burton 1737

3. Mickey Hines 1510

4. Jim Scout 1481

5. Chris Henry 1434

6. Clay Ellison 1389

7. Brett Miller 1370

8. Casey Crane 1298

9. Danny Hogrefe 1230

10. Skid Moudy 1224

4-Cylinders (driver/points/races counted):

1. Joe Reed 1909

2. Bob Zbinden 1837

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1816

4. Keaton Downing 1813

5. David Reed 1743

6. Michael Rittenberry 1740

7. Jason Broughton 1703

8. Tyler Griffin 1640

9. Mike Martin 1591

10. Michael Perrigo 1566

UMP DIRTcar Roundup Website Provides Everything Competitors & Fans Need To Know About Inaugural Event At I-55 Raceway

CONCORD, N.C. — Sept. 24, 2008 — Have a question about the inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com?

Everything competitors and fans need to know about the blockbuster four-day program set for Oct. 15-18 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., is now available at the event’s dedicated website, www.UMPDIRTcarRoundup.com.

Dubbed the “Party in Pevely” by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and track owner Ken Schrader, the Roundup will feature all eight divisions of UMP DIRTcar Racing during the course of the autumn extravaganza at the one-third-mile oval outside St. Louis.

Features of www.UMPDIRTcarRoundup.com include:

* The latest news about the much anticipated event, which puts UMP DIRTcar Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks and 4-Cylinders in the spotlight.

* A complete schedule of events for each day of the Roundup.

* General race information, rules, purse structures and entry forms for all divisions that will be in action.

* Information about tickets, camping reservations and off-track activity in the ‘Roundup Tent’ (highlighted by post-race parties).

* Details about the track, including directions.

* Contact information for I-55 Raceway and UMP DIRTcar Racing.

The UMPDIRTcarRoundup.com website will also be the place to find results and photos of Roundup competition from Oct. 15-18.

For more information on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing, visit DIRTcar.com.

UMP DIRTcar Racing Update: Anticipation Begins To Build For Inaugural UMP DIRTcar Round-Up Oct. 15-18 At I-55 Raceway

EVANSVILLE, IN – Sept. 12, 2008 –

THE BIG ONE: Just one month remains before the UMP DIRTcar Racing world will converge on Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

The inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com is scheduled for Oct. 15-18 at the NASCAR veteran’s high-banked, one-third-mile oval a half-hour south of downtown St. Louis. All eight divisions sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing – Super Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks – will compete in the four-day extravaganza that’s been dubbed the “Party in Pevely.”

Details of the UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com were recently released by I-55 Raceway and DIRTcar Racing officials, who are banding together to bring the Midwest’s competitors and fans an action-packed, fun-filled multi-day program.

The track’s main gate and camping area will open on Wed., Oct. 15, at 12 noon, with registration to begin at 1 p.m. “Early Bird” inspection will run from 5-9 p.m. and practice for all divisions on a rotating basis will stretch from 7-9 p.m.

The circuit’s headlining Super Late Model and open-wheel Modified divisions will share the limelight during the Roundup. Both classes will run complete programs consisting of heats, last-chance races and an A-Main each night, with the 20-lap ‘preliminary’ features for each class on Thurs., Oct. 16, and Fri., Oct. 17, transferring eight drivers per race directly to Saturday night’s (Oct. 18) grand finale A-Mains (30 laps/$5,000 to win for Super Late Models, 25 laps/$2,500 to win for Modifieds).

Thursday’s program is scheduled to include qualifying races for all eight UMP DIRTcar divisions, but only the Super Late Models and Modifieds will run features. The 4-Cylinders and Factory Stocks are scheduled for A-Main action on Friday night, while the Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds and Street Stocks will join the Super Late Models and Modifieds in feature competition on Saturday night.

Racing is scheduled to begin each evening at 5:15 p.m.

While there will be non-stop racing on the I-55 Raceway surface, there will also be plenty going on off the track throughout the UMP DIRTcar Roundup. The ‘Roundup Tent’ will be the focal point of activity each day of the meet.

A variety of activities will be held inside the ‘Roundup Tent,’ including ‘Movie Night’ following Wednesday’s practice sessions; breakfast from 10 a.m. to 12 noon each day; and parties featuring live music following each night’s racing action, topped by the ‘Champions’ Party’ to conclude the UMP DIRTcar Roundup on Saturday night. There will also be a charity wienie roast on Friday, and Saturday’s schedule includes a driver autograph session and a charity chili feed.

A UMP DIRTcar Roundup Competition & Competitor Guide has been produced to provide all the necessary details of the event, including time schedules, rules, entry forms and purse structures. Call the I-55 Raceway office at 636-479-3219 for more information, or visit www.i55raceway.com, www.umpdirtcarroundup.com or www.dirtcar.com.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. (Super Late Models) and Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Ill. (Modifieds) sit in the driver’s seat with the UMP DIRTcar Racing national points races drawing to a close.

Erb leads the Super Late Model points standings by a commanding 266-point margin (3,229-2,963) over Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., while Leka is atop the Modified standings by 123 points (2,940-2,817) over Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky. Erb is gunning for his second consecutive national Super Late Model title, but Leka is chasing his first-ever Modified national crown after coming close several times in the past, including last year.

Just three weekends of weekly UMP DIRTcar points racing remains (the last three weekends of September). The points chase then ends for the Super Late Models and Modifieds on Oct. 3-4 with the Moser UMP DIRTcar Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, a two-day program topped by a 40-lap Super Late Model A-Main paying $5,000 to win and a 25-lap Modified feature offering a $3,000 first prize.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of Sept. 8):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3229 40

2. Wes Steidinger 2963 40

3. Jason Feger 2755 40

4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2693 40

5. Kevin Weaver 2640 40

6. Brian Shirley 2574 40

7. Ryan Unzicker 2391 40

8. Michael Kloos 2357 40

9. Mike Hammerle 2264 40

10. Eric Smith 2208 35

11. Rusty Schlenk 2160 40

12. Daren Friedman 2147 40

13. Scott Bull 2087 40

14. Mike Schulte 2075 40

15. Jayme Zidar 2032 40

16. Brian Ruhlman 2028 35

17. Randy Korte 1956 31

18. Jeep VanWormer 1949 32

19. Billy Moyer 1947 25

20. Kerry Mathew 1944 40

Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jeff Leka 2940 35

2. Randle Sweeney 2817 35

3. Ken Robinson 2743 35

4. Gary Cook Jr. 2702 35

5. Tim Hancock 2650 35

6. McKay Wenger 2530 35

7. Mike Spatola 2516 35

8. John DeMoss 2500 35

9. Anthony Madrid 2493 35

10. Denny Schwartz 2479 35

11. Bobby Martintoni 2466 35

12. Todd Sherman 2423 35

13. Doug Adkins 2422 35

14. Matt Bex 2409 35

15. Bub Patrick 2357 35

16. Nick Allen 2351 35

17. John McCaul 2346 35

18. Chad Evans 2334 35

19. Jon Henry 2312 35

20. Clayton Miller 2310 35

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 2216 30

2. Matt Liner 1967 30

3. Josh Harris 1898 30

4. Caleb Ashby 1866 30

5. Aaron Heck 1776 30

6. Brad Denney 1771 25

7. Daniel Heck 1696 30

8. Carnell Parker 1657 24

9. Bobby Dauderman 1640 25

10. Levi Ashby 1598 30

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Jeremy Hines 2008 25

2. Joel Funk 1863 25

3. Jeff Herzog 1852 25

4. Brad Cummings 1762 25

5. Troy Medley 1742 25

6. Chad Weinrick 1654 25

6. Jason Unzicker 1654 25

8. Troy Clark 1652 25

9. Rick Hufford 1643 25

10. Jimmy Cummins 1617 25

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1443 22

2. Alex Ashley 1291 20

3. Eric Adkins 1289 20

4. Zach Dennis 1213 20

5. Rob Madrid 1200 19

6. Dan Bimson 1080 17

7. John Paul Talkington 1065 18

8. Paddy Rush 1052 17

9. Randy Dickman 970 17

10. Dustin Shoemaker 969 18

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jarred Krick 1900 25

2. David Hurst 1848 25

3. Steve Maisel 1820 25

4. Travis Myers 1815 25

5. Dave Mannise 1780 25

6. Terry Miller 1770 25

7. Josh Griffith 1751 25

8. Steve Ewing 1734 25

9. Mike Welch 1672 25

10. Lee Hall 1659 25

4-Cylinders (driver/points):

1. Joe Reed 1903

2. Bob Zbinden 1810

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1801

4. Keaton Downing 1798

5. David Reed 1676

6. Michael Rittenberry 1642

7. Mark Farber 1554

8. Jason Broughton 1504

9. Tyler Griffin 1474

10. Mike Martin 1467

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Bill DeLong 1825

2. William Burton 1715

3. Mickey Hines 1484

4. Jim Scout 1386

5. Chris Henry 1375

6. Clay Ellison 1332

7. Brett Miller 1285

8. Skid Moudy 1216

9. Danny Hogrefe 1179

DIRTcar Racing Partners With MyRaceLife.com On Inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup at I-55 Raceway

CONCORD, N.C. — Sept. 5, 2008 — World Racing Group and 4D Media, Inc., announced today that MyRaceLife.com will be the presenting sponsor of the inaugural UMP DIRTcar Roundup at I-55 Raceway.

The four-day event dubbed the “Party in Pevely” by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and track owner Ken Schrader will feature all eight divisions of UMP DIRTcar Racing during the course of the Oct. 15-18 extravaganza in the St. Louis suburb.

“It’s easy to see that UMP DIRTcar Racing is the heart of Grassroots racing and MyRaceLife.com aims to provide those Grassroots fans and competitors a place on the Internet to connect and share thoughts, pictures and videos,” said Thomas N. Carter, CEO of 4D Media. “MyRaceLife.com is Built By Racers and Driven By Fans(TM), just like DIRTcar Racing, which makes our partnership a perfect fit.”

The UMP DIRTcar Roundup By MyRaceLife.com will put each of the sanctioning body’s eight divisions — UMP DIRTcar Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Sportsman, Limited Modifieds, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks and 4-Cylinders — in the spotlight over four days.

“There are more than 120 member tracks, 5,000 competitors and millions of fans in DIRTcar Racing, and it makes sense to partner with MyRaceLife.com on our biggest event of the year,” said World Racing Group Chief Marketing Officer Ben Geisler. “MyRaceLife.com gives competitors, fans and track operators an easy way to keep in touch with each other, which only compliments what we are doing with our all new DIRTcar.com site and makes our entire community stronger.”

About 4D Media, Inc.

4D Media, Inc. is a leading multimedia company that combines proprietary analytics with web 2.0 technology to deliver a new level of connectivity among operators, sponsors and consumers, primarily targeted at the $3.5B North American motorsports market. While similar to other social networks in the ability to help groups connect and communicate, 4D Media provides a unique and targeted functionality to enable online execution and internet communication of real life activities, such as scheduling, registrations, standings, and sponsorships. The company has developed a wide array of multimedia marketing solutions that it delivers through Internet, CD/DVD-ROM and mobile applications, including a social community dedicated to motorsports, MyRaceLife.com. For further information please visit http://www.4dmediainc.com.

About MyRaceLife.com.

MyRaceLife.com is the online social community dedicated to motorsports. The site is built on a state-of-the-art platform that bridges all racing constituencies -- track owners, teams, drivers, sponsors and fans -- with blogs, videos and more. MyRaceLife.com caters to each member's interest in motorsports, delivering technology-enabled tools which allow all members of the racing community to get more out of motorsports. For more information, please visit http://www.MyRaceLife.com.

About World Racing Group, Inc.

World Racing Group, Inc. (OTCBB: WRGI), a sports entertainment company, is a world leader in the sanctioning and promotion of dirt track auto racing.  WRGI, based in Concord, N.C., owns and operates the three highest profile national touring series for dirt track racing in the United States: 

•              The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws® Sprint Car Series

•              The World of Outlaws Late Model Series(SM)

•              The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series™

World Racing Group sanctions more than 4,900 local and regional dirt track racing events in the United States and Canada at 126 tracks each year under the DIRTcar™ Racing brand. In addition, World Racing Group owns and/or operates seven premier dirt track speedways.  WRG races can be heard online at DIRTVision.com®. 

To learn more about World Racing Group, visit worldracinggroup.com

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update: 2008 Summer Nationals Officially Closes This Weekend With Postponed Events At Morgan County & Macon

EVANSVILLE, IN – Aug. 14, 2008 –

TWO MORE: The curtain will officially close on the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals this weekend with the running of postponed events on Friday night (Aug. 15) at Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., and Saturday night (Aug. 16) at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

Both shows are classified as non-point Summer Nationals races, coming one month after Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., clinched his second straight championship in the ‘Hell Tour’ points finale on July 12 at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio.

Morgan County’s Summer Nationals date was originally scheduled for July 2 and Macon’s was set for July 3, but rain washed out both races. Thirty-five cars were signed in for Morgan County’s program and just over half of the field took time-trial laps before the precipitation dive-bombed the evening’s action, while Macon’s Summer Nationals card was postponed early in the afternoon due to heavy rain.

UMP DIRTcar officials were able to reschedule the Morgan County/Macon doubleheader for Aug. 15-16 – albeit without points on the line – to set up an attractive weekend of competition in central Illinois for UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model racers. Most of the Summer Nationals travelers are expected back for the events, including Erb, third-place points finisher Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., and fifth-place points man Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill.

The quarter-mile Morgan County oval will feature a 40-lap A-Main paying $6,000 to win on Friday night. This will be the third Summer Nationals event in the track’s history – all run consecutively since 2006.

Saturday night’s stop at Macon Speedway, a high-banked, one-fifth-mile bullring promoted by Bob Sargent’s Track Enterprises group, will feature the track’s prestigious Herald & Review 100. A $6,000 top prize will be on the line, but if the winner has raced at Macon at least 10 times in 2008 then their first-place take with be pushed to $10,000 by a $4,000 bonus.

This will mark the second consecutive year that Macon’s Herald & Review 100 was made into a non-point Summer Nationals event due to a rain-induced postponement. But it will be the 20^th Summer Nationals race in the storied history of Macon Speedway, which has hosted a tour event every season since 1988 except one (1998).

Both events will also be part of the ‘Big Ten Series’ that is being contested this season at Morgan County and Macon. In addition, both races will offer valuable points toward the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national championship battle, which is currently led by Erb.

For more information on the final UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals events, visit www.morgancountyspeedway.com or www.maconracing.com.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of Aug. 11):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3090 40

2. Wes Steidinger 2860 40

3. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2562 40

4. Jason Feger 2509 40

5. Ryan Unzicker 2324 40

6. Brian Shirley 2247 35

7. Kevin Weaver 2238 40

8. Mike Hammerle 2198 40

9. Michael Kloos 2082 40

10. Scott Bull 1948 40

11. Jeep VanWormer 1864 31

12. Rusty Schlenk 1857 36

13. Daren Friedman 1740 34

14. Jayme Zidar 1737 37

15. Mike Schulte 1735 38

16. Will Vaught 1681 29

17. Eric Smith 1662 27

18. Jason McBride 1653 40

19. Randy Korte 1636 25

20. Brian Ruhlman 1623 28

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jeff Leka 2876 35

2. Randle Sweeney 2779 35

3. Kent Robinson 2654 35

4. Gary Cook Jr. 2595 35

5. Tim Hancock 2500 35

6. McKay Wenger 2443 35

7. Mike Spatola 2426 35

8. Denny Schwartz 2402 35

9. John DeMoss 2318 35

10. Anthony Madrid 2304 33

11. Chad Evans 2250 35

12. Bobby Martintoni 2244 35

13. Rob Fuqua 2131 35

14. Matt Bex 2113 33

15. Tommie Seets Jr. 2021 35

16. Doug Adkins 2004 32

17. Jon Henry 1976 32

18. Chad Osterhoff 1967 34

19. Nick Allen 1928 29

20. Jeb Friedman 1910 35

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 1941 28

2. Caleb Ashby 1764 30

3. Josh Harris 1623 27

4. Jason Jones 1517 30

5. Brad Denney 1491 21

6. Levi Ashby 1472 30

7. Matt Liner 1466 25

8. Carnell Parker 1382 20

9. Aaron Heck1 1347 24

10. Kevin Hardin 1324 23

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Jeremy Hines 1966 25

2. Joel Funk 1828 25

3. Brad Cummings 1699 25

4. Jeff Herzog 1698 25

5. Jason Unzicker 1610 25

6. Rick Hufford 1599 25

7. Chad Weinrick 1582 25

8. Troy Clark 1575 25

9. Chris Hillman 1559 25

10. Troy Medley 1550 25

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1409 21

2. Alex Ashley 1177 18

3. Erick Adkins 1024 16

4. John Paul Talkington 995 17

5. Zach Dennis 969 16

6. Rob Madrid 939 15

7. Matthew Holmes 925 16

8. Dustin Shoemaker 917 17

9. Dan Bimson 843 13

10. Paddy Rush 824 13

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jarred Krick 1879 25

2. David Hurst 1800 25

3. Travis Myers 1773 25

4. Dave Mannise 1680 25

5. Terry Miller 1678 25

6. Steve Maisel 1662 25

7. Josh Griffith 1629 25

8. Chris Fisher 1598 25

9. Lee Hall 1585 25

10. Steve Ewing 1536 25

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Bill DeLong 1337

2. William Burton 1260

3. Mickey Hines 1240

4. Jim Scout 1102

5. Chris Henry 1084

6. Clay Ellison 1001

7. Skip Moudy 955

8. Brett Miller 952

9. Craig Dippman 910

10. Kyle Woodard 879

4-Cylinders (driver/points/races):

1. Joe Reed 1891

2. Keaton Downing 1724

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1677

4. Bob Zbinden 1628

5. David Reed 1485

6. Mark Farber 1388

7. Michael Rittenberry 1347

8. Eric Wilson 1316

9. Jason Broughton 1229

10. Mike Martin 1224

World Racing Group Appeal Commission
Adjusts Penalties For Farmer City Altercation

 CONCORD, N.C. — Aug. 9, 2008 — The World Racing Group Appeal Commission heard the appeal of UMP DIRTcar members in good standing, Don Hammer and Wes Steidinger, for an altercation that occurred at Farmer City Raceway on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. 

The penalties that were issued were adjusted as follows: Don Hammer, a $500 fine to UMP DIRTcar and probation until Dec. 31, 2008. Wes Steidinger, a $500 fine to UMP DIRTcar, suspension from the Aug. 8, 2008 racing event at Farmer City Raceway and probation until Dec. 31, 2008. 

The Commission quorum that heard the appeal (Joe Skotnicki, Daniel Grill and AJ Moore) determined the penalties issued must be adjusted.

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Roundup: Erb, Leka Among Leaders In National Points Championship Battles

EVANSVILLE, IN – Aug. 8, 2008 –

AT THE TOP: Dennis Erb Jr. can smell a second consecutive UMP DIRTcar Racing national title.

Jeff Leka, meanwhile, is chasing a first career national crown.

Both drivers find themselves in the driver’s seat toward their goals with exactly two months left in the UMP DIRTcar Racing points season – Erb leading the Super Late Model standings, and Leka topping the open-wheel Modified rankings.

Erb, 36, of Carpentersville, Ill., pulled off a late-season rally to bag last year’s Super Late Model national crown, but he appears to be rolling down the championship highway in 2008. He already captured his second straight UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals title last month, and as of Aug. 4 he holds a solid 192-point lead over Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., in the national standings. Third-place Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., is 512 points behind Erb, signaling that this will be a two-driver race to the finish.

A spectacular two-win weekend to welcome August helped Erb pump up his margin over Steidinger. He won on Friday night (Aug. 1) at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., and backed it up with a triumph worth a whopping $16,000 on Saturday night (Aug. 2) at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. -- $6,000 for winning the rain-postponed Tri-Track Challenge event, and a $10,000 bonus for winning two of the three races that comprised the mini-series.

Buffalo, Ill.’s Leka, meanwhile, is trying to erase one missing line on his resume: a UMP DIRTcar Racing national title. The accomplished driver has come close several times – including last year, when he finished second in the national points race by just four points to Denny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill. – and is focused on grabbing the brass ring in ’08.

With 20 feature wins already to his credit this season, Leka leads Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., by 88 points in the points standings as of Aug. 4. Sweeney leads the division in feature victories with 28, but Leka has compiled more points thanks to his finishes and car-count bonus points.

Other UMP DIRTcar Racing national points leaders through Aug. 4 include Tait Davenport of Paducah, Ky. (Pro Late Models); Jeremy Hines of Seymour, Ind. (Sportsman); defending division champion Jonathan Clayton of Denham Springs, La. (Limited Modifieds); defending class titlist Jerrad Krick of Earl Park, Ind. (Street Stocks); Joe Reed of Decatur, Ill. (4-Cylinders); and Indiana’s Mickey Hines (Factory Stocks).

LONG RACE, LITTLE TRACK: The one-fifth-mile Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., is set to host its annual 100-lap UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model feature during the St. Clair County Fair this Friday night (Aug. 8).

The special long-distance event will also include the traditional ‘Throwing of the T-Shirts’ at intermission. Fans will clamor for 200 shirts – all featuring last year’s 100-lap winner Brent Kreke of Lebanon, Ill. – that will be tossed into the grandstands.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of Aug. 4):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 3034 40

2. Wes Steidinger 2842 40

3. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2522 40

4. Jason Feger 2372 40

5. Ryan Unzicker 2300 40

6. Brian Shirley 2247 35

7. Mike Hammerle 2128 40

8. Kevin Weaver 2124 40

9. Michael Kloos 2004 40

10. Jeep VanWormer 1864 31

11. Scott Bull 1847 38

12. Rusty Schlenk 1757 34

13. Jayme Zidar 1737 37

14. Will Vaught 1681 29

15. Mike Schulte 1643 36

16. Jason McBride 1577 40

17. Randy Korte 1563 24

18. Derek Chandler 1561 34

19. Eric Smith 1524 25

20. Brian Ruhlman 1503 26

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jeff Leka 2853 35

2. Randle Sweeney 2765 35

3. Kent Robinson 2588 35

4. Gary Cook Jr. 2559 35

5. Tim Hancock 2495 35

6. Mike Spatola 2379 35

7. McKay Wenger 2369 35

8. Denny Schwartz 2331 35

9. Anthony Madrid 2227 32

10. Chad Evans 2208 35

11. John DeMoss 2204 35

12. Bobby Martintoni 2180 34

13. Rob Fuqua 2076 35

14. Tommie Seets Jr. 2021 35

15. Matt Bex 1996 31

16. Doug Adkins 1857 30

17. Jeb Friedman 1854 35

18. Chad Osterhoff 1825 32

19. Jeff Curl 1819 35

20. Matt Boknecht 1808 27

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 1802 26

2. Caleb Ashby 1644 30

3. Josh Harris 1499 25

4. Jason Jones 1498 30

5. Levi Ashby 1414 28

6. Brad Denney 1345 18

7. Kevin Hardin 1324 23

8. Matt Liner 1322 23

9. Carnell Parker 1312 19

10. Aaron Heck 1232 22

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Jeremy Hines 1912 25

2. Joel Funk 1808 25

3. Jeff Herzog 1648 25

4. Brad Cummings 1614 25

5. Jason Unzicker 1562 25

6. Chris Hillman 1559 25

7. Rick Hufford 1550 25

8. Chada Weinrick 1546 25

9. Troy Clark 1541 25

10. Troy Medley 1487 24

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1365 20

2. Alex Ashley 1112 17

3. Eric Adkins 976 15

4. John Paul Talkington 920 16

5. Zach Dennis 899 15

6. Matthew Holmes 879 15

7. Dustin Shoemaker 847 16

8. Rob Madrid 829 13

9. Brandon Buhler 808 12

10. Dan Bimson 783 12

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jerrad Krick 1855 25

2. David Hurst 1777 25

3. Travis Myers 1744 25

4. Dave Mannise 1645 25

5. Steve Maisel 1607 25

6. Terry Miller 1599 25

7. Chris Fisher 1578 25

8. Lee Hall 1568 25

9. Josh Griffith 1562 25

10. Steve Ewing 1469 25

4-Cylinders (driver/points):

1. Joe Reed 1864

2. Keaton Downing 1693

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1633

4. Bob Zbinden 1528

5. David Reed 1405

6. Mark Farber 1309

7. Michael Rittenberry 1272

8. Eric Wilson 1167

9. Jason Broughton 1159

10. Michael Perrigo 1157

Factory Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Mickey Hines 1190

2. William Burton 1185

3. Billy DeLong 1180

4. Jim Scout 1053

5. Chris Henry 989

6. Clay Ellison 959

7. Brett Miller 888

8. Craig Dippman 858

9. Skid Moudy 849

10. Casey Crane 818

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update: UMP DIRTcar Modifieds Headline American Heritage 101 At Brushcreek Motorsports Complex This Weekend

EVANSVILLE, IN – Aug. 1, 2008 -

MAJOR FOR MODS: A race that has become one of the biggest in the country for open-wheel Modifieds will hit the track this weekend under the UMP DIRTcar Racing banner.

The American Heritage 101 at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, Ohio – a unique event that offers its winner the option of accepting a brand-new American Heritage Harley Davidson motorcycle or $10,000 in cash – being co-sanctioned by UMP DIRTcar Racing for the first time.

“It’s an honor for UMP DIRTcar to be involved with such a big race for the Modified division,” said UMP DIRTcar Racing director Sam Driggers. “We want to help bring even more attention to what is already a huge event for Modifieds.”

Set for this Friday and Saturday (Aug. 1-2), the American Heritage 101 Weekend will include two complete programs for the Modified division.

Friday’s ‘Night Before the Heritage’ features a 43-lap A-Main paying $1,000 to win. Adding extra importance to the race, a provisional starting spot in Saturday night’s ‘Heritage’ headliner will go to the non-qualifier who finished highest in Friday’s feature.

The Saturday-night card will include a full qualifying program leading up to the 58-lap ‘Heritage’ feature, which boasts a purse of nearly $20,000 just for positions 2-26. The headline event was run over the 101-lap distance for its first three years of its existence, but it was shortened to 58 laps in 2004 in memory of the late Jake McCane, a partner at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex and a major force behind the ‘American Heritage 101.’ McCane was 58 when he unexpectedly passed away on May 9, 2004.

The event’s traditional ‘101’ distance will still be reflected in the total number of feature laps run over the two nights of Modified competition.

This weekend marks the eighth running of the ‘American Heritage 101’ at the three-eighths-mile Brushcreek oval, but just the second with Modifieds as the featured attraction. Super Late Models served as the headliner for the first six years of the event before Bruschcreek owner Tom Partin installed the Modifieds as the race’s marquee class last season. Canadian Modified star Steve Arpin made the long tow to Ohio and won the 2007 edition of the event.

A huge field of Modifieds is expected for this year’s ‘Heritage’ classic, including many UMP DIRTcar standouts who will have a chance to chase national UMP DIRTcar points – as well as the new Harley Davidson motorcycle.

An interesting twist to the ‘American Heritage 101’ weekend provides anyone who purchases a ticket to the event a chance to win a Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle.

For more information, visit www.brushcreekmotorsports.com or call 937-544-3344.

POINTS BATTLES: Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., leads the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model points standings by 149 points over Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., following a strong performance on last week’s five-race ‘Monster Midwest Tour.’ Erb registered one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes in Monster Midwest Tour action. His victory came in the opener on July 22 at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway.

Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Ill., has moved to the top of the UMP DIRTcar Modified national points standings, unseating Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky. Sweeney leads Leka in the feature-win department, 26-19, but Leka has accumulated more points than Sweeney (2,832-2,741) through July 28 in search of his first-ever UMP DIRTcar national crown.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of July 28):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 2991 40

2. Wes Steidinger 2842 40

3. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2468 40

4. Jason Feger 2297 40

5. Brian Shirley 2247 35

6. Ryan Unzicker 2194 40

7. Kevin Weaver 2124 40

8. Mike Hammerle 2083 40

9. Michael Kloos 1906 39

10. Jeep VanWormer 1864 31

11. Scott Bull 1738 36

12. Will Vaughtm1681 29

13. Rusty Schlenk 1662 33

14. Jayme Zidar 1633 35

15. Jason McBride 1529 40

16. Mike Schulte 1515 34

17. Randy Korte 1493 23

18. Billy Moyer 1489 19

19. Derek Chandler 1444 32

20. Eric Smith 1442 24

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jeff Leka 2832 35

2. Randle Sweeney 2741 35

3. Kent Robinson 2588 35

4. Tim Hancock 2495 35

5. Gary Cook Jr. 2463 35

6, Mike Spatola 2312 35

7. McKay Wenger 2270 35

8. Denny Schwartz 2215 35

9. Chad Evans 2189 35

10. Anthony Madrid 2151 31

11. John DeMoss 2109 35

12. Bobby Martintoni 2060 32

13. Rob Fuqua 2010 35

14. Tommie Seets Jr. 1864 33

15. Matt Bex 1856 29

16. Jon Henry 1790 29

17. Jason Noll 1782 30

18. Jeff Curl 1765 35

19. Jeb Friedman 1764 34

20. Matt Boknecht 1743 26

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 1577 23

2. Caleb Ashby 1433 26

3. Jason Jones 1385 29

4. Josh Harris 1379 23

5. Kevin Hardin 1324 23

6. Levi Ashby 1299 26

7. Brad Denney 1270 17

8. Matt Liner 1196 21

9. Carnell Parker 1172 17

10. Aaron Heck 1118 20

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Jeremy Hines 1795 25

2. Joel Funk 1788 25

3. Brad Cummings 1557 25

4. Troy Clark 1514 25

5. Jason Unzicker 1504 25

6. Jeff Herzog 1486 25

7. Chris Hillman 1476 25

8. Jimmy Cummins 1430 25

9. Chad Weinrick 1426 24

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1305 19

2. Alex Ashley 1042 16

3. Eric Adkins 906 14

4. Zach Dennis 834 14

5. Matthew Holmes 837 14

6. Rob Madrid 829 13

7. John Paul Talkington 822 14

8. Brandon Buhler 808 12

9. Dustin Shoemaker 777 15

10. Dan Bimson 745 11

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jerrad Krick 1835 25

2. Travis Myers 1713 25

3. David Hurst 1699 25

4. Dave Mannise 1590 24

5. Lee Hall 1553 25

6. Chris Fisher 1543 25

7. Josh Griffith 1434 25

8. Jesse Simmons 1428 25

9. Terry Miller 1405 24

10. Steve Ewing 1404 25

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Mickey Hines 1190

2. William Burton 1185

3. Billy DeLong 1045

4. Jim Scout 968

5. Clay Ellison 959

6. Chris Henry 909

7. Craig Dippman 802

8. Brett Miller 793

9. Josh Phelps 780

10. Skid Moudy 770

4-Cylinders (driver/points):

1. Joe Reed 1864

2. Keaton Downing 1684

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1573

4. Bob Zbinden 1456

5. David Reed 1255

6. Michael Rittenberry 1207

7. Mark Farber 1195

8. Mike Martin 1112

9. Eric Wilson 1102

10. Michael Perrigo 1092

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update: Dennis Erb Jr. Claims Second Straight Summer Nationals Crown; Notes From The 20^th Anniversary Summer Nationals Tour

EVANSVILLE, IN – July 18, 2008 –

HAIL TO THE CHAMP: The path Dennis Erb Jr. took this year was slightly different, but the result was the same.

After one month of hardscrabble racing and living on the road, the dirt Late Model veteran from Carpentersville, Ill., clinched his second consecutive UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals points championship.

“It feels really good to win it back-to-back,” said the 35-year-old Erb, who realized his longtime goal of capturing the Summer Nationals title in 2007 after finishes of fourth (2004), third (2005) and fifth (2006). “We had to battle right down to the end a little more this time and we won a few less races this year, but our consistency was probably a little better and that’s what wins championships.”

Indeed, Erb was steady as a rock on the 2008 tour. He compiled an amazing performance record, rolling up two wins, 15 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 20 events. His only hiccup was a 12^th-place finish on July 5 at Fairbury (Ill.) American Legion – the result of a broken oil cooler on the final lap that caused him to tumble out of the top 10.

What’s more, Erb accomplished the remarkable achievement of completing every feature lap run during the grueling Summer Nationals, proving the impeccable preparation program that he and chief mechanic Heather Lyne manage to keep up throughout the grueling month of Super Late Model action across the Midwest.

Erb wrapped up the $25,000 championship with a typically-solid third-place finish in the 60-lap ‘Birthday Race’ at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, that ended the Summer Nationals points on July 12. He entered the event clinging to a four-point lead over Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., but Shirley had to use a provisional to start the A-Main and then dropped out on lap 45 because his car’s fan blade busted the radiator.

The final championship margin for Erb? It totaled 37 points over Shirley – nearly identical to Erb’s 32-point besting of Martinsville, Ind.’s Don O’Neal for last year’s Summer Nationals title, but with much more drama involved.

Last year Erb secured the points crown in anti-climactic fashion. Rather than celebrating his title on the homestretch following the series points finale at Oakshade, he was halfway home because both Erb and O’Neal mutually agreed to pull out of the event after an evening thunderstorm pushed the start of the program to nearly midnight.

That wasn’t the case this time. Erb was brought to Oakshade’s Victory Lane after his third-place finish last Saturday night to receive the adulation of the capacity crowd.

“It was pretty cool to actually come out on the track and get our picture taken this year,” said Erb. “Last year was one of those bad racing deals with the rain, but we got to run this year and finish it off the right way.

Erb, who drives self-owned Rayburn cars that are powered by Rhyne engines and carry sponsorship from Thomason Express, Petroff Towing and J&J Steel, asserted that the tight points race with Shirley put no extra pressure on him.

“You just have to go out there and race, whether (the lead is) four points, 20 points or whatever,” said Erb. “I knew that I just had to finish in front of Brian (at Oakshade). It was pretty simple and straightforward.”

After swapping the points lead several times with Shirley, Erb gained command for good with a second-place finish in the 17^th race of the tour, on July 6 at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill. Erb looks back on that evening as being the most critical event of his championship drive.

“The night before we had our first mechanical problem of the Summer Nationals at Fairbury,” said Erb, whose five-position fall on the final lap of Fairbury’s A-Main allowed Shirley to grab the points lead. “At Quad City we won our heat, ran up front the whole feature, finished second and got the points lead back. We really rebounded well.”

Erb became the fifth driver to win consecutive Summer Nationals titles, joining Rick Aukland, Shannon Babb, Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer. He didn’t register as many triumphs as he would have liked, but that doesn’t diminish his satisfaction.

“We only won two races this year after winning four last year, but we did lose a bunch of races to rain,” said Erb, whose victories came on June 15 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., and June 27 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway. “I also had five seconds (runner-up finishes) and more top-fives this year, so we were consistently running up front.

“Every year we put our focus on the Summer Nationals, and to win the championship makes everything we do really worthwhile.”

Next up for Erb? He’ll try to complete a sweep of the Summer Nationals and UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national titles for the second consecutive season.

Erb is well-positioned to repeat his history-making double-dip of a year ago. He ended the 2008 Summer Nationals leading the UMP DIRTcar national points standings – a stark contrast from ’07, when he had to rally from over 200 points behind Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., over the final two-and-a-half months of the campaign to snare the $20,000 national crown.

NOTES FROM THE 2008 UMP DIRTcar SUMMER NATIONALS (compiled by Kellen Burns/DIRTcar Racing P.R.)…

* There were 12 different winners in the 20 points races that were completed – an increase from last year’s 11 victors in 25 points events.

* Shirley and Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., tied for the honor of most wins on the 2008 tour, with three victories apiece.

* Six drivers in the top 25 of the final points standings entered all 20 points events: Erb, Shirley, Steidinger, Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., and Jason McBride of Carbondale, Ill.

* Five drivers competed in every A-Main: Erb, Shirley, Steidinger, VanWormer and Sheppard. McBride, meanwhile, qualified for six of the 20 features and finished 19^th in the points standings.

* A total of 285 different drivers competed in the 20 points events.

* The average car count for the 2008 Summer Nationals was 37.6 cars.

* The biggest field numbered 51 cars on July 4 at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., and the smallest turnout was 21 cars on July 6 at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill.

* The Summer Nationals was originally scheduled to include 26 events, but seven shows were washed out by the rainy weather, including the June 21 date at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., that was canceled due to flooding that covered the track’s access road.

In addition to I-55, Mother Nature claimed the originally scheduled dates at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway, StormPay.com Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway, Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., Macon (Ill.) Speedway, Quincy (Ill.) Raceway and La Salle (Ill.) Speedway. Brownstown was reset as a points race on July 11, while Clarksville (July 19), Morgan County (Aug. 15) and Macon (the Herald & Review 100 on Aug. 16) were rescheduled as non-points Summer Nationals shows but will serve as key events in the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national points battle.

* Erb and VanWormer led all drivers in fast-time honors, taking three apiece.

* VanWormer was the most prolific heat-race winner on the tour, capturing 11 prelims.

* Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., who entered 19 of the 20 events, won the most B-Mains (three).

* The top newcomer to the Summer Nationals trail was 21-year-old Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. He scored his first-ever tour triumph at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., and finished seventh in the points standings (after skipping the final two events and dropping two spots).

* The 20 Summer Nationals points races paid out a combined total of over $520,000 to the drivers. The total tour purse distribution reaches nearly $600,000 with the addition of the three rescheduled non-points events.

* The top-15 drivers in the Summer Nationals points standings will share a points fund of $56,600.

PRO LATE MODEL NEWS: UMP DIRTcar officials recently announced that Pro Late Model division national points leader Tait Davenport of Paducah, Ky., had his car’s crate engine torn down and inspected buy a certified GM motor builder and it was found to be 100 percent legal.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

Final UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Points Standings (driver/points/points fund earnings:

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 1540 ($25,000)

2. Brian Shirley 1503 ($10,000)

3. Wes Steidinger 1365 ($7,000)

4. Jeep VanWormer 1358 ($5,000)

5. Steve Sheppard Jr. 1179 ($3,000)

6. Randy Korte 1169 ($2,000)

7. Will Vaught 1134 ($1,000)

8. Darren Miller 956 ($800)

9. Jason Feger 951 ($700)

10. Kevin Weaver 904 ($600)

11. Jordan Bland 794 ($500)

12. Ryan Unzicker 776 ($400)

13. Billy Moyer 644 ($300)

14. Don O’Neal 580 ($200)

15. Kevin Claycomb 534 ($100)

16. Tim Lance 528

17. Dewayne Kiefer 510

18. Terry English 498

19. Jason McBride 458

20. Ryan Dauber 411

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of July 14):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 2564 38

2. Wes Steidinger 2512 39

3. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2179 40

4. Brian Shirley 1981 31

5. Jason Feger 1935 36

6. Ryan Unzicker 1892 40

7. Mike Hammerle 1877 40

8. Jeep VanWormer 1817 30

9. Michael Kloos 1696 35

10. Kevin Weaver 1552 32

11. Will Vaught 1474 25

12. Rusty Schlenk 1450 29

13. Billy Moyer 1439 18

14. Scott Bull 1404 28

15. Jason McBride 1398 40

16. Jayme Zidar 1348 30

17. Randy Korte 1308 20

18. Mike Schulte 1264 29

19. Darren Miller 1237 18

20. Brian Ruhlman 1209 21

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Randle Sweeney 2599 34

2. Kent Robinson 2438 35

3. Jeff Leka 2416 34

4. Tim Hancock 2383 35

5. Gary Cook Jr. 2342 35

6. Chad Evans 2073 35

7. McKay Wenger 2066 35

8. Mike Spatola 2025 35

9. Denny Schwartz 1866 31

10. Anthony Madrid 1843 26

11. Bobby Martintoni 1685 27

12. Rob Fuqua 1683 29

13. John DeMoss 1584 26

14. Jon Henry 1552 25

15. Todd Sherman 1498 23

16. Matt Bex 1497 23

17. Jeff Curl 1481 28

18. Doug Adkins 1450 24

19. Chad Osterhoff 1441 25

20. Matt Boknecht 1435 21

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 1533 21

2. Josh Harris 1379 23

3. Kevin Hardin 1324 23

4. Caleb Ashby 1278 23

5. Jason Jones 1237 26

6. Levi Ashby 1182 23

7. Carnell Parker 1027 15

8. Brad Denney 1006 14

9. Matt Liner 966 17

10. Phil Gregory 945 18

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Joel Funk 1684 28

2. Jeremy Hines 1487 23

3. Troy Clark 1435 25

4. Brad Cummings 1339 23

5. Jimmy Cummins 1334 26

6. Chris Hillman 1286 21

7. Stephanie Lebrun 1274 23

8. Jason Unzicker 1249 23

9. Jeff Herzog 1229 21

10. Derrick Hufford 1181 19

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1170 17

2. Alex Ashley 897 14

3. Rob Madrid 829 13

4. Brandon Buhler 808 12

5. Erick Adkins 766 12

6. Zach Dennis 731 12

7. Derek Brooks 729 12

8. Paddy Rush 715 11

9. John Paul Talkington 702 12

10. Dan Bimson 670 10

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jerrad Krick 1573 21

2. Travis Myers 1481 21

3. Lee Hall 1477 24

4. Dave Mannise 1380 21

5. David Hurst 1371 20

6. Chris Fisher 1363 23

7. Josh Griffith 1234 21

8. Jesse Simmons 1221 23

9. Steve Ewing 1179 22

10. Steve Maisel 1172 18

4-Cylinders (driver/points):

1. Joe Reed 1842

2. Keaton Downing 1458

3. Jeffrey Bailey 1395

4. Bob Zbinden 1242

5. Michael Rittenberry 1022

6. David Reed 1001

7. John Cooper 976

8. Michael Perrigo 947

9. Mark Farber 930

10. Eric Wilson 912

Factory Stocks (driver/points):

1. Mickey Hines 1049

2. William Burton 1037

3. Jim Scout 900

4. Clay Ellison 858

5. Chris Henry 845

6. Bill Delong 830

7. Craig Dippman 722

8. Brett Miller 698

9. Casey Crane 689

10. Danny Hogrefe 664

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update: Brian Shirley In Title Chase As UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Enters Final Week Of Action

EVANSVILLE, IN – July 4, 2008 –

DECISION TIME: When the 2008 season began, Brian Shirley never envisioned that he would be in a neck-and-neck battle for the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals championship as the tour entered its final week.

But that’s exactly the position in which Shirley finds himself – and thus he must soon make a hard decision.

You see, Shirley, 27, of Chatham, Ill., has been running the Summer Nationals on a race-by-race basis, repeatedly refusing to commit to following the tour through its points finale next Saturday night (July 12) at Oakshade Speedway in Wauseon, Ohio. He maintained the air of mystery surrounding his plans during Wednesday night’s rainout at Morgan County Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill.

Will he or won’t he try to pry the title from defending champion and current points leader Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., whom Shirley trailed by just three points (1,086-1,083) entering a $10,000-to-win event on Friday night (July 4) at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill.? The driver known as ‘Squirrel’ wouldn’t answer that question.

“The guy that decides is sitting out there in the truck,” Shirley said in Morgan County’s pit area, referring to his veteran car owner Ed Petroff. “When he decides, I guess everybody else will know. It’s his decision, not mine. I’m just the guy who drives the car.”

Shirley started the campaign with plans to chase the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, but he struggled to score strong finishes and pulled off the trail in mid-May to find his groove racing closer to home. He seems to have gotten back on track with regular activity on the Summer Nationals tour, which he last ran as a regular in 2005, finishing fourth in the points standings.

“I really thought we would be a little better (on the WoO LMS) than we were,” said Shirley, who had just two top-10 finishes in the first nine WoO LMS events of 2008. “I really don’t think we were bad, but we just had so much bad luck. Maybe it was just the circumstances that happened to us, but it was just frustrating for me and we decided to come back around home and race more to get ourselves going again.

“With this (the busy Summer Nationals schedule), you’re in the car every night – and that means a lot. We’ve learned a lot about our car, and we’ve been pretty consistent. We’ve put ourselves in the situation where I’ve been in a car that I felt was good enough to run up front and win almost every night, and that’s the most important thing.”

Shirley has two wins (June 24 at Missouri’s Sedalia State Fair Speedway and June 29 at Illinois’s Lincoln Speedway) and is the only driver who’s managed to match the consistency of the impeccably steady Erb through 14 events. His performance suggests that he could race Erb to the end in what could go down as one of the closest two-man Summer Nationals points battles in tour history, but…

“We’ll see what happens next week,” Shirley slyly said.

Shirley and Petroff are considering rejoining the WoO LMS for the upcoming ‘Wild West Tour,’ which boasts nine $10,000-to-win shows over a 13-day period beginning on July 9 with the ‘Gopher 50’ at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. The lucrative swing also will visit North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska.

But Shirley is in a prime position to grab the $25,000 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals crown – and his boss did admit that’s a pretty attractive pot of gold.

“It would be pretty hard to leave that money on the table,” Petroff said at Morgan County, still remaining coy about Shirley’s upcoming schedule but providing the strongest clue yet about where he’s leaning.

BACK ON TOP: Defending UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national champion Dennis Erb Jr. moved to the top of the division’s national points standings as of June 30.

Erb had a 27-point lead over Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., who finished second in last year’s national points race, through Monday. Last year Erb didn’t take the points lead until the final weeks of the season – in fact, he was more than 200 points behind when the 2007 Summer Nationals ended but made a strong late-season push to grab the title.

The beat rolled on, meanwhile, for Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., who maintained his convincing lead in the UMP DIRTcar Modified national points standings with another perfect weekend. He won features on June 26 at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway and June 28 at Soggy Bottom Raceway in Morgantown, Ky., giving him a circuit-best 21 victories – including five straight wins and 18 triumphs in his last 21 starts.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of June 30):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Dennis Erb Jr. 2036 30

2. Wes Steidinger 2009 31

3. Mike Hammerle 1727 39

4. Steve Sheppard Jr. 1667 31

5. Ryan Unzicker 1584 38

6. Jason Feger 1541 28

7. Michael Kloos 1524 31

8. Brian Shirley 1482 23

9. Rusty Schlenk 1299 25

10. Jeep VanWormer 1290 22

11. Billy Moyer 1274 16

12. Jason McBride 1185 36

13. Will Vaught 1165 19

14. Kevin Weaver 1119 25

15. Ed Dixon 1117 22

16. Mike Schulte 1070 25

17. Scott Bull 1051 22

18. Jayme Zidar 988 23

19. Kerry Mathew 984 23

20. Brian Diveley 981 24

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Randle Sweeney 2362 31

2. Kent Robinson 2163 33

3. Tim Hancock 2108 33

4. Jeff Leka 1874 27

5. Gary Cook Jr. 1793 29

6. Chad Evans 1781 34

7. Denny Schwartz 1683 28

8. Mike Spatola 1680 29

9. Anthony Madrid 1615 23

10. McKay Wenger 1586 29

11. Rob Fuqua 1518 26

12. Jon Henry 1411 23

13. Bobby Martintoni 1362 21

14. John DeMoss 1349 22

15. Bub Patrick 1309 21

16. Matt Bex 1295 20

17. Jason Noll 1290 23

18. Clayton Miller 1280 22

19. Matt Boknecht 1278 19

20. Chad Osterhoff 1240 22

Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Tait Davenport 1403 19

2. Kevin Hardin 1324 23

3. Josh Harris 1244 21

4. Caleb Ashby 1157 21

5. Levi Ashby 1139 22

6. Jason Jones 1136 23

7. Carnell Parker 972 14

8. Phil Gregory 945 18

9. Matt Liner 862 15

10. Brad Denney 825 11

Sportsman (driver/points/races):

1. Joel Funk 1286 22

2. Brad Cummings 1286 21

3. Jeremy Hines 1260 20

4. Troy Clark 1223 22

5. Chris Hillman 1200 19

6. Derrick Hufford 1181 19

7. Jimmy Cummins 1175 23

8. Jeff Herzog 1097 19

9. Rick Hufford 1021 19

10. Stephanie Lebrun 1010 18

Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Jonathan Clayton 1055 15

2. Alex Ashley 757 12

3. Eric Adkins 716 11

4. Zach Dennis 676 11

5. Derek Brooks 659 10

6. Brandon Buhler 658 10

7. John Paul Talkington 605 10

8. Matthew Holmes 598 10

9. Rob Madrid 595 9

10. Dustin Shoemaker 590 11

Street Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Jerrad Krick 1352 19

2. Lee Hall 1228 21

3. Travis Myers 1191 18

4. David Hurst 1165 17

5. Dave Mannise 1155 18

6. Chris Fisher 1138 19

7. Josh Griffith 1114 18

8. Jesse Simmons 1050 20

9. Steve Ewing 1014 18

10. David Pope 921 16

4-Cylinders (driver/points/races):

1. Joe Reed 1577 22

2. Keaton Downing 1253 20

3. Jeffery Bailey 1245 20

4. Bob Zbinden 1160 18

5. Michael Rittenberry 1022 16

6. Daniel Stephens 905 15

7. Michael Perrigo 877 14

8. Jeff Rittenberry  871 13

9. Travis Staats 813 12

10. John Cooper 809 12

Factory Stocks (driver/points/races):

1. Mickey Hines 769 12

2. William Burton 747 12

3. Jim Scout 720 8

4. Chris Henry 655 8

5. Casey Crane 619 9

6. Clay Ellison 612 13

7. Craig Dippman 605 8

8. Josh Phelps 582 11

9. Bil Delong 575 10

10. Donnie Wilson 569 11

UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update: 2008 Summer Nationals Has Already Been One For The Record Books

EVANSVILLE, IN – June 26, 2008 –

HOT COMPETITION: The 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals is just approaching its halfway point, but it has already been unlike any other in the tour’s 20-year history.

In fact, the opening two weeks of the grueling, month-long Super Late Model series have been one for the history books. With nine drivers making visits to RacingJunk.com Victory Lane through June 25, a new record for most different winners in the first 10 events of the Summer Nationals has been established.

For a series that has often seen one driver roll up some big win totals – guys like Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. – the 2008 edition has boasted unprecedented competition. The only driver with multiple victories after 10 events is Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., who registered back-to-back wins on June 19 at I-57/I-64 Raceway in Mt. Vernon, Ill., and June 20 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway.

The other eight Summer Nationals winners to date include Brad Neat of Dunnville, Ky.; Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.; defending champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill.; Terry English of Benton, Ky.; Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., who recorded a career-first tour triumph on June 18 at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill.; Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich.; Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.; and Moyer.

This year’s run of different winners in the first 10 series races tops the previous standard of eight, set in both 1996 and 1997. The Summer Nationals that saw the fewest different victors in the first 10 shows was 1990, when only two drivers were triumphant – Bloomquist nine times, and Moyer once.

Car counts have also been extremely strong throughout this year’s UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals, with the average field numbering 39.1. The largest gathering was 50 cars for the June 20 event at Farmer City Raceway.

A total of 148 different drivers entered at least one of the first 10 Summer Nationals events. Eleven drivers had perfect attendance through 10 programs (Shirley, Erb, Vaught, Steidinger, VanWormer, Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., Dewayne Kiefer of St. Genevieve, Mo., Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., Tim Lance of Brimfield, Ill., and Jason McBride of Carbondale, Ill.) and six drivers had qualified for all 10 A-Mains (Shirley, Erb, Vaught, Steidinger, VanWormer and Sheppard).

The 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals A-Main winners and car counts through June 25 and remaining schedule follows:

June 12 – Thurs. - Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway/Calvert City, KY - $7,500 (Brad Neat - 40)

June 13 – Fri. - Brownstown (IN) Speedway - $10,000 (Rain – postponed to July 11)

June 14 – Sat. - Kamp Motor Speedway/Boswell, IN - $10,000 (Wes Steidinger - 36)

June 15 – Sun. – Tri-State Speedway/Haubstadt, IN - $6,000 (Dennis Erb Jr. – 39)

June 16 – Mon - OFF

June 17 – Tues. – Highland Speedway/Highland, IL - $6,000 (Terry English – 47)

June 18 – Wed. – Belle Clair Speedway/Belleville, IL - $6,000 (Will Vaught – 41)

June 19 – Thurs. – I-57/I-64 Raceway/Mt. Vernon, IL - $6,000 (Darren Miller – 37)

June 20 – Fri. – Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL - $10,000 (Darren Miller – 50)

June 21 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO - $10,000 (CANCELED – flooding)

June 22 – Sun. – Vermilion Co. Speedway/Danville, IL - $6,000 (Jeep VanWormer – 43)

June 23 – Mon. - OFF

June 24 – Tue. – Sedalia State Fair Speedway/Sedalia, MO - $6,000 (Brian Shirley – 27)

June 25 – Wed. – Lake Ozark Speedway/Eldon, MO - $6,000 (Billy Moyer – 31)

June 26 – Thurs. – Paducah Int’l Raceway/Paducah, KY - $6,000

June 27 – Fri. – Lawrenceburg Speedway/Lawrenceburg, IN - $10,000

June 28 – Sat. – Clarksville Speedway/Clarksville, TN - $10,000

June 29 – Sun. – Lincoln Speedway/Lincoln, IL - $6,000

June 30 – Mon. - OFF

July 1 – Tue. – Peoria Speedway/Peoria, IL - $6,000

July 2 – Wed. – Morgan Co. Speedway/Jacksonville, IL - $6,000

July 3 – Thurs. – Macon Speedway/Macon, IL - $6,000

July 4 – Fri. – Tri-City Speedway/Pontoon Beach, IL - $10,000

July 5 – Sat. – Fairbury American Legion Speedway/Fairbury, IL -$10,000

July 6 – Sun. – Quad City Raceway/East Moline, IL - $6,000

July 7 – Mon. - OFF

July 8 – Tue. – Quincy (IL) Speedway - $6,000 

July 9 – Wed. – Spoon River Speedway/Canton, IL - $6,000

July 10 – Thurs. – La Salle Speedway/La Salle, IL - $6,000

July 11 – Fri. – Brownstown (IN) Speedway - $10,000 (Rescheduled date)

July 12 – Sat. – Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH - $10,000

NEW LEADER: Buoyed by the car-count bonus points he’s been collecting as a UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals regular, Wes Steidinger moved into the UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national points lead following last weekend’s action.

The 25-year-old talent finished second in last year’s national points battle and is focused on grabbing the title in 2008.

Clifty, Ky.’s Randle Sweeney, meanwhile, continued his torrid pace to remain atop the UMP DIRTcar Modified national points standings. He won features last weekend at Chandler (Ind.) Speedway and Soggy Bottom Raceway in Morgantown, Ky., giving him a circuit-best 19 victories – including an amazing 16 wins in his last 19 starts.

UMP DIRTcar RACING INFO: Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.

ATTENTION: Any UMP DIRTcar track or race team with news that could be used in the ‘UMP DIRTcar Racing Weekly Update’ release can e-mail the info to Kevin Kovac at [email protected].

UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of June 23):

Super Late Models (driver/points/races):

1. Wes Steidinger 1689 26

2. Dennis Erb Jr. 1626 25

3. Mike Hammerle 1505 34

4. Jason Feger 1446 25

5. Michael Kloos 1415 29

6. Steve Sheppard Jr. 1370 26

7. Ryan Unzicker 1307 32

8. Rusty Schlenk 1213 24

9. Ed Dixon 1117 22

10. Billy Moyer 1110 14

11. Brian Shirley 1094 18

12. Jason McBride 1060 31

13. Mike Schulte 1017 24

14. Jeep VanWormer 1003 17

15. Scott Bull 968 20

16. Kevin Weaver 956 22

17. Rusty Griffaw 953 21

18. Brian Diveley 945 23

19. Kerry Mathew 942 22

20. Chris Shelton 910 20

Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):

1. Randle Sweeney 2208 29

2. Tim Hancock 2056 32

3. Kent Robinson 2040 31

4. Jeff Leka 1759 25

5. Chad Evans 1691 32

6. Gary Cook Jr. 16 44 26

7. Anthony Madrid 1543 22

8. Denny Schwartz 1523 26

9. Mike Spatola 1394 24

10. McKay Wenger 1366 26

11. Jon Henry 1327 22

12. Rob Fuqua 1315 23

13. Jason Noll 1256 22

14. John DeMoss 1254 20

15. Bobby Martintoni 1235 19

16. Matt Boknecht 1222 18

17. Clayton Miller 1217 21

18. Clint DeMoss 1164 20

19. Danny Schwartz 1163 20

20. Chad Osterhoff 1160 21