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Hawkeye State welcomes new IMCA Modified Tour in 2010
By Jeff Werderman
VINTON, Iowa (Jan. 14) – The Hawkeye Dirt Tour, which launches this season,
will usher in a new and exciting racing series to the State of Iowa.
Sanctioned by IMCA, the tour will bring together the best Modified drivers
each night at tracks in the Hawkeye State.
Each event will pay a minimum of $1,000 to win and $125 to start, making all
eight races qualifiers for the 2010 or 2011 Fast Shafts All-Star
Invitational ballot. IMCA national, ButlerBuilt North Central Region and
Smiley’s Racing Products State points will be awarded each night.
The inaugural series begins on Tuesday, May 11 at Independence Motor
Speedway. The Mod Mayham at Indee promises to be an exciting night as race
teams and race fans get their first taste of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour. The
series championship will be determined Saturday, Sept. 25 at 34 Raceway in
West Burlington.
In between, the tour will travel to I-35 Speedway in Mason City on Memorial
Day, Monday, May 31; Fayette County Speedway in West Union on Tuesday, June
15; Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah on Wednesday, July 28; Hancock County
Speedway in Britt on Thursday, Aug. 12; and Marshalltown Speedway on Friday
and Saturday, Sept. 17 and 18.
The Hancock County show is also the Night of 1,000 Stars special; the
Marshalltown dates do double duty as the Havoc On The Highbanks special.
There will be a $50 entry fee per event, along with a one-time driver
registration fee of $40, $30 of which goes directly to the tour point fund.
The top eight drivers pocket shares of that fund, with the champion earning
$1,000 along with a spot on the All-Star ballot.
Bucky Doren, the tour's coordinator and spokesman, said it has been a
whirlwind the last few months as details were finalized.
"The idea started innocently enough," he explained. "A couple of us wanted
to put together a special event or two for Modified drivers in Iowa. Since
the largest field of open wheels in Iowa was IMCA, we called IMCA to see
what we needed to do to make it happen.”
"After a couple meetings with Vice President of Operations Brett Root, the
idea of a tour came up," Doren continued. "After literally hundreds of phone
calls to drivers, promoters and IMCA, we were able to put to¬gether the
eight-race Hawkeye Dirt Tour."
"We knew that we'd probably go a year or two before we could find a title
sponsor that had the same vi¬sion we have for the Hawkeye Dirt Tour," Doren
said after being asked about the season-end point fund. "So the group
decided the top eight would be in the first year's payout."
Whatever amount is not covered through driver registration fees would be
covered by the group. The goal is to generate sponsor support and add to the
number of drivers who receive year-end money in future series.
More information can be found at the
www.dirttour.com and www.imca.com
websites.
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