WEBSTER CITY, Iowa -- United States Racing Association officials announced today that beginning July 1, 2011, all competitors utilizing the CT525 crate engine must add an additional 50 pounds of weight in front of the mid-plate.

The overall racecar weight will now be 2,250 pounds.

As the first and only sanctioning body in the nation to implement the CT525 crate motor as an option for the Modified division, USRA officials also had the burden of testing, doing research and observing the results. Those results led them to announce today's rules amendment.

“We've had the chance to see the crate in action now, and determined that this was the right move at this time,” said USRA President Todd Staley. “We feel there is a performance advantage with the current configuration, and we need to remove that advantage. The crate motor is an option for drivers who want to be competitive, but at a lower cost. We don't want drivers to feel they need to have a crate motor under the hood in order to run up front.”

USRA officials will continue to monitor the crate's performance – as well as every other aspect of the rulebook – to ensure a level playing field for all competitors, Staley noted.

“Although the addition of the crate option was a first for the Modifieds, we're sure that other sanctions will follow our lead. Hopefully the development work our team has done will help those organizations make more educated decisions in their implementation process too.”

In addition to other innovations and industry firsts in Modified racing, the USRA was the first to introduce the quick change rear end as an option at the beginning of the 2007 season. Since then, most other organizations which sanction or promote open-wheel dirt Modified racing have recognized the increased safety and long-term cost savings to the competitor and have implemented the quick change as part of their rules package.

While taking pride in giving drivers and teams more choices and creative license in how they operate their racing program, the USRA has also been at the forefront of reigning in those that push the limits like only the best drivers and crew chiefs in the sport can do. For instance, in April 2009 the USRA was the first organization to publicly release a statement regarding the issue of raised/altered frame rails and mandating the elimination of the practice.

To learn more about the USRA, visit www.usraracing.com or call 515-832-6000. You can also like us on Facebook, join us on MySpace or follow us on Twitter.

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