Krew Walburn’s first appearance at Lucas Oil Speedway was an impressive one. The 19-year-old from Emporia, Kan., ran third in the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod feature behind a pair of former USRA national champions, Andy Bryant and Kris Jackson.

“The competition there is stiff,” Walburn said this week. “When you go there, you’re literally running with the best of the best in the B-Mod class. That’s what I told my dad I wanted to do. I wanted to see how we are running with the big dogs.”

Walburn plans a return visit this Saturday as the USRA B-Mods are the featured class, running a 25-lap main event for $750 to win courtesy of Clearlight Inn.

Vietti Marketing Group & Wild Animal Safari team up to present round 2 of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series with all moms admitted free, courtesy of Vietti Marketing Group, to commemorate Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Walburn, a second-generation racer who began competing at age 11 in the Factory Stock division on Kansas dirt tracks, hopes to be in contention again this weekend. He said the team learned some things in their first trip to Wheatland with the USRA B-Mod.

“The track has some character,” Walburn said. “We didn’t expect it to slick off like it did, real fast, in the heat races. They tilled it up before the feature, which was fine. We could have done a few more things to get the car better.”

Walburn followed in the footsteps of his dad, Brian Walburn who drove Modifieds during his racing days. Krew moved from Factory Stocks into a Midwest Mod and wound up driving both divisions the same season as Humboldt Speedway.

“It went pretty well and we finished second in points (Midwest Mod) and third in points with the Factory Stock,” Walburn said, noting his goals this season are to win Rookie of the Year honors at Humboldt and finish as high as possible in USRA B-Mod national points.

The large USRA B-Mod car counts at Lucas Oil Speedway should help his cause in the national points. Last week, he drove from 10th to fourth in his heat race, which gave him enough passing points to earn a good starting position for the feature.

“The A-Mod competition is pretty stiff, but it seems us B-Mod guys bring more of a car count now unless it’s a big USMTS event,” Walburn said. “I’d like to crack the top five in national points. That would be a good accomplishment.”

With five top-five runs already to his credit at various tracks this year, Walburn is making a name for himself. And speaking of names, what about his unique one of Krew?

“It is kind of a unique first name,” he said. “When I went to the Wild West Shootout two years ago in Arizona, one of my sponsors, he started calling me ‘Krewster.’ After that, a lot of people have been calling me that.”

"Krewster" attends Flint Hills Technical College and works for his dad’s roofing business, keeping his schedule busy. He wouldn’t mind following in the footsteps of Emporia’s biggest racing name. That’s Clint Bowyer, who Krew has gotten to know over the years. Flint Hills Towing, owned by Bowyer’s dad Chris, is one of Krew’s USRA B-Mod sponsors along with Clint Bowyer Racing.

“Clint says work hard for what you want to go after. He’s an amazing role model,” Walburn said. “He made it from dirt racing here in Emporia and took it to the next level. He’s been really supportive.”

Other sponsors include Walburn’s Roofing, Hodges Farms and Dredging, Murphy Agra, Cadillac Style Trucking, Charlie’s Place, Journey’s INC, Snap-On Tools and Kris Jackson at J2 Race Cars.

“They feel like family to me,” Walburn said of Jackson, the six-time Lucas Oil Speedway track champion, and the J2 team.

The Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Medieval USRA Stock Cars also will be in action Saturday night and Pure Stocks will be on the program as a special guest class, running for $300 to win.

It's part of a big day-night racing doubleheader coming to Lucas Oil Speedway as during the day, the first of four UTV Short Course Off-Road Racing program on the speedway's off-road course is scheduled.

Spectator gates at the off-road course will open at 9 a.m. with practice at 10 and heat races starting at noon on the off road track. Classes in action will include Pro N/A, Pro, Youth 1000, Youth 570, Youth 170 Mod, Youth 170 Stock, Sportsman, Women’s and Mini Stock Truck.

Other event dates are scheduled on July 23, Aug. 20 and Oct. 15. Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton said points will be earned at each event in each class with champions crowned after the Oct. 15 event.

UTV off-road drivers can check out the rules & registration forms on the Driver Dashboard portion of the Lucas Oil Speedway website.

Spectator and pit gates to the dirt track will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05. Fans purchasing tickets to the off road action will be admitted free to the dirt track program.

Tentative Off-Road Schedule:
8 a.m. - Pit gate opens
9 a.m. - Spectator gates open
9:30 a.m. - Drivers' meeting
10 a.m. - Registration closes, practice sessions
Noon - Heats begin
(awards follow final feature)

Off-Road Admission:
(includes FREE admission to dirt track)
Adults GA/Pit Pass Combo (16 and up) - $25
Seniors (62 and up)/Military GA/Pit Pass Combo (62 and up) - $22
Youth GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 6 to 15) - $10
Kids GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass GA/Pit Pass Combo - $60 Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 3 Kids Ages (6-15)
Racer Pit Pass - $30

Dirt Track Admission:
(FREE with Off-Road ticket purchase)
Advance discount tickets online only (16 and up) - $12
Adults (16 and up) - $15
Seniors (62 and over)/Military - $12
Youth (ages 6-15) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family pass - $35
Pit pass - $30

To purchase tickets for any event on Lucas Oil Speedway's schedule, or get ticket information for the Show-Me 100 or any future event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com.

Visit usraracing.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USRA news delivered to your inbox.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS:  American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Christie Door Company, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers, KS Engineering, KSE Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, MSD, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS:  ARMI Contractors, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DAY Motorsports, Innovative AutoGlass & Window Tint, PBM Performance Products, Star 1 Roofing & Construction, Stealth Oilwell Services, Texas Locomotive Solutions, TNT Auto Parts, YouDirt.com.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS:  AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Edelbrock, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, Keyser Manufacturing, Landrum Performance Springs, Medieval Chassis, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes Five1seven Designs, Four Seven Designs Salon & Boutique, Hi-Tek Paving, Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts, Penske Racing Shocks, Race Smart Wraps, S&S Fishing & Rental, Traeger Wood Pellet Grills by Elliott Motorsports.

USRA RACETRACKS: 67 Speedway of Texarkana, 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Big O Speedway, Bolivar Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Centerville Super Speedway, Chateau Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Eagle Valley Speedway, Electric City Speedway, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lake Ozark Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Lebanon Midway Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Pike County Speedway, Rapid Speedway, Rocket Raceway Park, Sports Park Raceway, Springfield Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Superbowl Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, Vado Speedway Park, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.