Only in the southeastern portion of the country could a weekend that will mark the end of February and the beginning of March serve as the ending of one regional Dirt Late Model tour and the beginning of others. The fans and competitors of this form of racing in this part of the country have seemingly grown used to the idea that there is no such thing as an off-season on the clay surfaces that dot the area.
As recently noted on this site, the Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Winter Series will conclude its five-race schedule this Saturday night at Modoc(SC) Raceway with the eventual champion receiving a hefty $20,000 payout. And the following afternoon will see the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series kick off its 2020 campaign with a $12,000-to-win feature race at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC.
David Breazeale was the 2019 Southern All Stars champion
The Ginger Owens Memorial March Madness event at Cherokee will serve as the opening for the 37th season of Southern All Stars action. The South’s oldest regional series has 19 races currently listed on what it calls a “working schedule”. The states of South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky will play host to the drivers and teams throughout the season.
David Breazeale was the 2019 Southern All Stars champion while Jonathan Davenport is the defending champion of the Ginger Owens Memorial March Madness event. Chris Madden has won eight SAS features at Cherokee Speedway over the course of his career.
The weekend of March 7th will see two other regional tours open their seasons.
The Ultimate Southeast Series will take to the track on March 7th for a $4,000-to-win event at North Georgia Speedway in Chatsworth, GA. South Carolina driver Zack Mitchell is the two-time and defending champion of the series and will lead the series into a 23-race slate that will take competitors across the southeast. There are still some dates that could be added to the tour.
Brett Hamm secured the Carolina Clash championship in 2019
On the same day, the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series will kick off what will be at least a 10-race schedule with a $5,000-to-win feature at the Lancaster(SC) Speedway. Brett Hamm was the 2019 series champion for the tour.
The Southern Nationals family of racing series will commence with the Spring Nationals on March 20 and 21 at Boyd’s Speedway and Senoia Raceway in Georgia. Over the course of the season the Southern Nationals and Fall Nationals will follow as the year progresses. Also sharing the Schaeffer’s Oil sponsorship with the Southern Nationals tours will be the Iron-Man Series which will get underway in April.
It is true nowadays that racing season never really stops in the southeast. Still, there has to be a point which is considered the beginning and we have reached that point. Three of the tours that contest features regionally in this area will be getting underway over the course of the next two weekends with still more to follow in the near future.
Not that it wasn’t already, but it’s now officially racing season in the southeast.
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