KEN SCHRADER STARTS HIS 2006 RACING SEASON WITH THE STORMPAY.COM DIRT LATE
MODEL SERIES AT THE ICE BOWL
CLARKSVILLE, TN - NASCAR Nextel Cup star Ken Schrader of
Fenton, MO will begin his 2006 racing season competing with the StormPay.com
Dirt Late Model Series at the 16th Annual Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track
in Eastaboga, AL on January 7-8. Schrader will attempt to make his second
series event by qualifying for the $2,500-to-win NeSmith Chevrolet 40.
Schrader finished fifth in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model
Series Crate Racin' USA World Championship Race at East Bay Raceway Park in
Tampa, FL on December 3. After the race, Schrader said he was impressed
with the GM Performance crate engine that costs one-tenth what an unlimited
dirt late model engine costs.
After his Ice Bowl competition with the StormPay.com Dirt
Late Model Series powered by Crate Racin' USA, Schrader will begin to
concentrate on his "day job," getting ready for the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup
season with a new ride. For 2006, Schrader will step into the legendary #21
Woods Brothers Ford.
The entry of Schrader is just part of the equation of drivers that will make
up the Ice Bowl driver roster for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series'
first National Touring points event of the 2006 season.
NASCAR Busch Grand National regular Kenny Wallace of St.
Louis, MO has also announced his intentions of running with the StormPay.com
Dirt Late Model Series at the Ice Bowl driving a car out of the Villanow,
GA-based Jeff Smith Racing stables.
Add to the nationally-known NASCAR drivers a good mix of
dirt late model seasoned veterans, weekly drivers trying to make a name for
themselves, plus young drivers making their first ventures into dirt late
model racing, and you have the makings for a part of the sport that is
gaining popularity among dirt late model fans.
Dirt late model veterans that include National Dirt Late
Model Hall of Fame driver Jeff Purvis of Clarksville, TN, Ronnie Johnson of
Chattanooga, TN, and Mike Head of Ellenwood, GA will join Schrader and
Wallace.
Carrying the torch for the weekly racers will be the defending StormPay.com
Dirt Late Model National Champion Denny Slayton of Rossville, GA, along with
Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA, Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA, Curtis Cline
of Douglasville, GA, and Robby Bilbrey of Albertville, AL.
Chris "The Survivor" Turley of Oxford, AL will be coming out of the
Talladega Short Track Junior Late Model Division to compete for the
StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series Rookie of the Year honors. The
23-year-old driver gets his nickname because he is a surviving cancer
patient, who was paralyzed during chemotherapy, and drives with hand
controls.
It's the affordability and dependability of the crate engine
that has brought these drivers together. The engine gets it name because it
is built, sealed, and put into a crate at the GM factory, where it is
shipped to a GM dealership. The engine can be purchased by the racer right
at the dealership, who then takes it home in the crate, unpacks it, and
places it right in their dirt late model chassis.
The steel-head "602" engine sells for $2,800, and the
aluminum-head "604" engine sells for $4,800. Race cars using the 602 engine
weigh 2,200 pounds, and get a 150 pound weight break over the race cars
using the 604 engine that must weigh 2,350 pounds.
On Saturday afternoon, January 7, the StormPay.com Dirt Late
Model Series will participate in Qualifying to set the top 18 cars for the
NeSmith Chevrolet 40, and the top six qualifiers will run the Fast Car Dash
to determine the top six starting positions for Sunday afternoon's main
event.
Qualifiers 19 on back will line up for B-Main action on
Sunday afternoon, January 8 to fill the starting field for the NeSmith
Chevrolet 40 to be run later in the day.
For more information about the 16th Annual Ice Bowl visit
the Talladega Short Track web site at www.talladegashorttrack.com, or call
(256) 831-1413. For more information about the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model
Series powered by Crate Racin' USA visit the series web site at
www.stormpayracing.com.
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