Cory Hedgecock was last week’s Iron-Man winner at Volunteer
Last weekend the Iron-Man Series for both Late Models and Modifieds resumed its 2018 campaign with a pair of races at the Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. That signified the beginning of what looks to be an action packed racing season in and around the east Tennessee region. From this point forward, there are events scheduled for almost every weekend through November somewhere in this area.
While the two national tours were under the spotlight for much of the month of February as they hit the tracks in Georgia and Florida during SpeedWeeks, it’s now time for the regional series that sanction competition throughout this area to take center stage. This weekend will see a significant double-header of racing action on tracks located in the southeastern corner of the country.
The Ultimate Super Late Model Series will make its way to the North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth on Saturday night. The feature will pay out $4,000 to the victor in the first of what is scheduled to be a 27-race campaign for this tour that plans to visit five states over the course of 2018.
The Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series will also open its season this weekend as it heads to the Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC to contest a $12,000-to-win main event for Super Late Model cars at ‘The Place Your Mama Warned You About’. This will be the first of what is currently scheduled to be a 19-race season that will see the historic series visit five states in total.
Riley Hickman is a regional racer who often competes with the series mentioned in this piece
Aside from the regional series mentioned above, the Spring Nationals, Southern Nationals, Southern Nationals Bonus, Carolina Clash, Iron-Man, NeSmith and Chevrolet Performance tours will roll in and out of this region during 2018.
Regional series offer a lot of excitement for fans by providing great racing action on southeastern speedways throughout the spring, summer and fall. And more, they offer excellent opportunities for racers who may not have the resources or time to follow a national series to test their skills against good competition. A varied number of purse structures and more scheduling options also provide track owners and promoters the chance to offer their fans competitive Late Model racing at a price they can afford.
Dakotah Knuckles(21) and Billy Ogle,Jr. are two regional standouts
Each series tends to offer differing rules packages in areas such as tires, shocks and any number of other aspects of the car that provide enough variety to keep each series from being a carbon copy of the others.
Additionally, there is often a bit intrigue associated with regional series in that it is not always known which drivers will compete full-time on which tours. Often times, a driver who had no intention of sticking with any series may get off to a good start with one or the other and may add more races, ultimately ending up as a champion when such was never intended. Or, a team may intend to run one series but get off to a bad start there then switch to another and find success.
Thanks to each of the regional series mentioned in this piece, there will be very few weekends in the coming year for fans who enjoy watching their favorite local Late Model stars go head-to-head on the clay surfaces around the southeast.
