Stewart and Schrader to take on UDTRA's best

[KC]

The United Dirt Track Racers Association puts on the best Unlimited Late Model races to be found and now Tony Stewart and Kenny Schrader will join their ranks at the RPM-Week Texas race held at Texas Motor Speedway on March 28th. They will take on 4 time UDTRA champ Scotty Bloomquist, perennial favorite Wendell Wallace, Donnie Moran and last years champ Dan Schleiper. These guys are hardcore and hardnosed racers and will not use kid gloves to handle two of NACSAR's best all round drivers. Both Stewart and Schrader cut their teeth racing in all kinds of dirt cars from midgets and sprints to hot stocks and late models before going on the Winston Cup.

[KC]

Sorry for those fns who have no idea what a late model racer is. this is a picture of the UDTRA guys sliding around East Bay Raceway.




I have seen unlimited late models exceed 145mph on the high banked dirt oval at Lone Star Speedway near Liberty City, Texas. They are powered by 410cu engines very similar to World of Outlaw cars and run a flat sheetmetal aerodynamic wedge body. These guys out on a great show.

[Joe Fan]

Sounds like a good race to go see. Are you going KC? That seems to be fairly close to you.

I wish NASCAR Winston Cup and BGN would replace one of the races on the schedule with a 1 mile dirt track race. This would break the monotony of all the 1.5 Mile paved ovals. It would also be a return of NASCAR's roots. Anybody with me on this idea?

[KC]

I'd love to go but finances will keep me closer to home.

I think a race on dirt would be awesome. Maybe some momentum could happen if the night before the Cup race a charity event were held with World of Outlaw guys, UDTRA guys, Midget racers, and other dirt racers along with Cup drivers all raced each other. I think Fox/NBC would have no trouble televising an event such as this. I also would think that sponsors would line up for it as well.

I think I'll send a quick email down to Eddie Gossage at TMS.

[Lee]

I completely agree with the idea of replacing an existing race with a race on a one mile dirt track. I would replace both Watkins Glen, and Sears Point with one mile dirt tracks. ARCA runs two to three dirt tracks a year, and puts on a good show. They run the one mile track at Springfield IL, and the one mile at DuQuain (spelling) Il. they also run a 1/2 mile sometime. The only problem with these tracks is that none of them could handle the crowds that a Winston Cup or Busch race would generate. Possible ISC could build a modern 1 mile dirt track, that could accomdate a Cup or Busch race. The cars would not be that much of a problem, as proven by ARCA. The main drawback would be Corporate America. The stuffed suits are not real race fans. They couldn't stand to get a little dirt on them. They would rather sit up in their air conditioned suites, and sip their designer water. Unfortunatly, they are the ones that call the shots in racing nowdays! Great idea, but unfortunatly, it will not happen.

[KC]

Well, that can be accomodated too. Just go to Knoxville. The have huge air conditioned luxury boxes, seating for around 40,000. It can be done.

[Lee]

KC, the only problem with that is that rarely will you see a Winston Cup race with less than 100,000 in attendance. An off weekend will be around 80,000. If Knoxville only seats 40,000, it is too small, by half of what it needs to be to host a Cup race.

[KC]

I understand, the Knoxville Nationals sell out ever year as well and tickets are very hard to come by. But they still have the event. Its just like getting tickets for Daytona or Indy. There are only so many to sell and not everyone can go.