Contact: World Racing Group Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director 704-254-7929 * [email protected][email protected]>
Local Favorite Kevin Sitton Excited To Challenge World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stars This Weekend (March 20-21) At Battleground Speedway
Reopened Texas Track Hosting Huge $20,000-To-Win Lone Star 100
HIGHLANDS, TX - March 17, 2009 - Kevin Sitton lives just minutes away from Battleground Speedway and calls the three-eighths-mile oval his favorite track, so his feelings about this weekend's inaugural Lone Star 100 aren't a mystery.
Yes, Sitton is pumped up to challenge the national stars from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the reopened facility.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Sitton said of the $100,000 two-day event, which begins on Fri., March 20, with time trials and heat races and concludes on Sat., March 21, with a driver autograph session, last-chance races and the $20,000-to-win 100-lapper. "Seeing the track reopen this year (after being idle since early 2006) was a great thing - and then when somebody said something about a World of Outlaws Late Model Series race happening, everybody just went nuts.
"This is a real big deal for this area, this state. There's never been a dirt Late Model show this big around here and everybody is excited about it."
A 26-year-old driver from Baytown, Texas, who's in his second year of dirt Late Model racing, Sitton will make his first career attempt to qualify for a WoO LMS A-Main. He has no illusions about how tough it will be to crack the starting field with so much top-rated talent from across the country in attendance.
"The Outlaw guys are the best of the best," said Sitton. "I just hope they don't whoop up on me too bad."
Coming off an impressive debut campaign in the dirt Late Model ranks that saw him emerge as the Southern United Professional Racing (SUPR) tour's Rookie of the Year, Sitton is looking at the Lone Star 100 as an invaluable educational experience for his burgeoning career. He relishes the rare opportunity to rub shoulders - and sheet metal - with the fulltime traveling professionals of the WoO LMS.
"You can see these guys racing on television (on the SPEED cable network) and in videos on the internet, but it's not the same as seeing them in person," said Sitton, who finished second in the 2008 SUPR points standings and won three features. "When you race with them, you can see how they drive the track and how they handle different situations. And you can walk down and talk to them.
"It's gonna be a great thing for us to have a chance to talk to guys like Chub Frank, Steve Francis, Josh Richards and the rest of the Outlaws. I just want to learn some things about tires and setups from them."
Sitton already has a long-distance relationship with Frank, the 47-year-old WoO LMS veteran from Bear Lake, Pa. Last year Sitton made his dirt Late Model debut after his family purchased an '05 Rocket car from fellow Baytown resident Chris Brown - a machine that Brown had obtained from Frank. Sitton is still driving the same car and has been regularly calling Frank for setup tips over the past year.
"This will be the first time I've met Chub in person," said Sitton, whose No. 20 car will carry a Wall 2 Wall Performance open engine borrowed from Tony Flynn of Oklahoma City, Okla. "I might have to buy a case a beer and bring it over to him for helping me out with my setup questions so many times."
Sitton is thrilled that promoter Mike Walling has resurrected Battleground Speedway, a local facility that holds a special place in his heart. The track previously operated from 1984-2001 and 2004-2006.
"Battleground is my favorite track mostly because of the memories I have of growing up there," said Sitton. "I can remember being in the pits there with my father (veteran racer Tim Sitton), scraping mud and learning about setups. Then when I got a Bomber to start racing (in 2000), we used to get a case of beer for the guy who worked on the track (surface) and he'd water it so I could go over there and practice."
A points champion at Battleground in 2004 competing in the Late Model Stock division, Sitton expects spectacular racing this weekend.
"It has a real nice black-gumbo (clay) surface," Sitton said of Battleground. "I went out there two weeks ago (for the track's second program under Walling) and watched from the stands and (the surface) stayed heavy all night. People were racing two- and three-wide, and I think you'll see the same thing this weekend.
"Battleground is one of the few tracks I've been to where you can run the bottom or the top (grooves) without a problem. It's going to be a great show."
There will be certainly be plenty of Sitton fans on hand to see the weekend action, which brings the WoO LMS to Texas for the first time since 2004. The field will feature series regulars Frank; Ashland, Ky.'s Francis, who is riding a two-race win streak and leads the points standings; Shinnston, W.Va.'s Richards, a 20-year-old who won the tour's season opener last month in Florida; defending champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y.; and Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.
A healthy contingent of WoO LMS Rookie of the Year candidates is also expected, including Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D.; Russ King of Bristolville, Ohio; Brent Robinson of Smithfield, Va.; 14-year-old Tyler Reddick of Corning, Calif.; Chuck Hummer of Ottawa Lake, Mich.; and Chas Shellenberger of Winfield, Pa.
And the field will also include a cross-section of well-known names from far away (Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., and Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan.) and along the Gulf Coast (Chris Brown of Baytown, Texas, Howard Willis of Dayton, Texas, Chris Wall of Holden, La., James Ward of Lettsworth, La., Ray Moore of Shreveport, La., and Rob Litton of Alexandria, La.).
All the entrants will compete not only for the $20,000 top prize - just the second dirt Late Model race held in Texas to offer that much money to win - but also a post-race visit with Hondo, a 1,300-pound Texas Longhorn. The A-Main winner will pose with the 14-year-old steer in a Texas-themed Victory Lane.
The Lone Star 100 weekend will kick off on Thurs., March 19, with an open practice session from 6-9 p.m. Fans can enter the grandstands free of charge to get a preview of the action, while pit admission will be $20.
Gates will open at 3 p.m. on both Fri., March 20, and Sat., March 21, with practice scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. each day.
Saturday's schedule will include a driver autograph session in the grandstand area from 4-5 p.m.
For ticket information and other info on the Lone Star 100, visit www.battlegroundspeedway.net<http://www.battlegroundspeedway.net/> or call 832-421-RACE.
Battleground Speedway is located 12 miles east of Houston, just four miles north of Interstate 10 Exit 787 on FM 2100.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master and Wrisco Aluminum; Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.