Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Drivers angle for $130K purse
The nation’s top dirt modified drivers will again converge on Locust Grove and Batesville Motor Speedway beginning tonight for the fourth annual Race for Hope 71, which will feature nearly a week of IMCA modified racing.
The event begins tonight and concludes Saturday night with the 71-lap finale, which will pay $ 12,000 to win and $ 1,500 to start, making it one of the nation’s richest dirt modified races.
“We’ve got them coming in from everywhere,” track promoter Mooney Starr said Tuesday. “I’ve gotten a lot of guys from out West who called in the past few days — New Mexico, Arizona, California. So far I’ve gotten 73 who have pre-entered, but a lot of people don’t pre-enter because they want to keep an eye on the weather. But the weather is supposed to be great, so we’ll
have a good car count.”
In addition to top racers in the region, drivers who have pre-entered include 2020 IMCA national champion Tom Berry Jr. of Des Moines, Iowa; former NASCAR Cup Series regular David Stremme of Mooresville, N.C.; and Jake O’Neill of Tucson, Ariz., who recently won the United States Modified Touring Series’ biggest event, the Featherlite Fall Jamboree at Spring Valley, Minn. Also expected to attend is Ricky
Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz., who collected a $20,000 victory in the Pittsburgher 100 late model event Saturday night at Imperial, Pa.
Tonight, Thursday night and Friday night will feature a full card of racing, including heats, last-chance qualifiers and a 30lap preliminary feature with 30 starters.
The top 10 finishers each night will earn starting spots in Saturday’s main event.
The total purse for the event is more than $130,000. On Saturday, in addition to the finale, there will be added money up for grabs for drivers not qualifying for the feature.
The winner of the B-Main will transfer to the feature, but the remaining finishing positions will pay from $1,000 for second to $750 to start. The C-Main will pay $ 1,000 to win and $ 600 to start, while the D-Main will pay $800 to win and $400 to start.