The United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) has taken the mid-West Modified scene by storm in the past 5 years. What was once a struggling series on the verge of going belly up has now become a highly cherished touring series which will soon be featured on national television. Recently, we talked with the USMTS marketing director, Jeff Nun about the success of the USMTS, where the series is heading, and which series champion goes commando under his fire suit. Jeff gave us the inside dirt on what the USMTS is all about.
An Interview With Jeff Nun; What Makes The USMTS So Successful?
by
Ian McBride
on
July 16, 2010
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10 Questions With GM Performance Parts Circle Track Guru, Bill Martens
by
Bobby Kimbrough
on
April 29, 2010
We had the opportunity to sit down with Bill Martens, the resident Circle Track guru at GM Performance Parts, and talk about the sport with him. Bill shared with us his insight and opinions on many aspects of the Circle Track world, and we’re happy to be able to share the conversation with you.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Dirt Knights’ Mike Spaulding and Corey Dripps
by
Bobby Kimbrough
on
April 15, 2010
The dirt track racing world is buzzing about the new dirt track racing TV reality show on Versus that is set to air next January. The show is centered around a cast of five characters that compete in the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour with Dirt Knights creators Mike Spaulding and Corey Dripps being the driving force behind the show. Spaulding and Dripps are not uncomfortable in the limelight, in fact, these guys live their lives in the spotlight. Known as devil-may-care, cavalier and roguish dirt track warriors that will take on any challenge, anywhere and anytime, these guys are open books for anyone to see. However, we got the chance to talk to Spaulding about Dripps and visa-versa, and discovered 10 things that you probably didn’t know about these racers.
Sammy Swindell does most of his talking on the track, but we managed to get the legendary driver to speak with us about his unprecedented 39 year career. Over the course of those 39 years, Swindell, who started racing at age 15 in 1971, has done everything there is to do in dirt track racing. He has raced modifieds to World of Outlaw Sprint Cars along with some Indy Car, Craftsman Truck, and NASCAR Busch racing thrown in for good measure. Swindell has raced at practically every track that exists, and he has won every major open wheel dirt track event at least once. It goes without saying that this guy is a true racing legend!
He stood in Victory Lane at Florida’s East Bay Raceway Park. It was Saturday, October 3, 2009 and he was there because he had driven a hard race in his open wheel Modified. He was there as the winner. He is Emil “Buzzie” Reutimann, a man who has made a name in racing in two regions of the country. If you say his name in Florida, people know it. You can say it in New York and Pennsylvania and get the same response, even though he hasn’t raced there competitively in many years. We profile Buzzie on some of his accomplishments over the years.
D. William Smith was born and raised in the heart of the Great Plains in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of the local neighborhood auto mechanic. From this ‘salt of the earth’ blue-collar upbringing, Bill Smith has created a motorsports empire. Today, Smith’s privately owned Museum of American Speed and “America’s Oldest Speed Shop,” Speedway Motors, have made the name Speedy Bill synonymous with going fast. We talk to Bill about his history in racing.
Red Farmer is a short track God. A legend. Not a household name like Petty, Allison, or Earnhardt, but every racer across the nation knows him. Honest and candid, there are no mysteries about Red except his age, which he keeps a closely guarded secret. Red simply calls it like he sees it, and does things his way. We sat down with Red and talked about his racing career and inspirations.
Last November, Norco, California Sprint Car racing superstar Tony Jones shocked the racing community when he announced his retirement. Jones was just two months shy of his 39th birthday when he called it quits. If he had been a stick and ball athlete whose career was on the downside, it would have been understandable. That was not the case with Jones. Like fine wine, he was getting better with time and was seemingly at the top of his game. Jones is a second generation Sprint Car driver, the son of Sprint Car Hall of Famer Bubby Jones. This is his story.
Tom Wolfe once called Junior Johnson the “Last American Hero” in his first book of essays written in 1965. Years later, when I first heard that reference, I remember thinking, “Oh God, I hope not.” While Junior Johnson is indeed an American Hero, he most certainly is not the last. In these tough days, what we need most is home-grown heroes, and I would like to present sprint car racer Rip Williams as the newest American hero, and yet again, anything but the last American hero. Like most men worthy of the title, Williams would not want to be recognized as a hero, much less the last at anything.
You’ve gotta have thick skin to run a circle track. On any given night, a promoter or his crew will have to make calls that are not liked by the spectators or the race teams. It takes courage to make those tough calls, especially those that are in the spirit of competition but unpopular to the masses. At a premier dirt circle track like Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, California, where high profile series like the World of Outlaws and USAC routinely compete, the challenges are much more difficult.
