BRITT, Iowa – The toughest Stock Car drivers in the upper Midwest are gearing up for the  toughest Stock Car series in the region as the Dart Iron Man Challenge joins the USMTS Modifieds this week at two popular venues in the Hawkeye State.

This Wednesday, August 18, the newly-formed hard-as-nails series for the full-fendered USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars ventures to the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City and then make their debut on Thursday night at the Hancock County Speedway in Britt.

Interest from fans and drivers alike prompted event officials to add the show at Britt just last week.

To add to the excitement, film crews will be present recording all the USMTS action for the upcoming Dirt Knights TV show. Dirt Knights will be an on-going dramatic series of one-hour programs that will air twice a week for 13 weeks. The much-anticipated TV show is set to debut in January of 2011 on the VERSUS cable network - the fastest growing cable sports network in the nation, which reaches more than 75 million households.

Gates will open at 5:00 with racing at 7:30 both days. Race fans can pick up $2-off-admission coupons on race day at Casey’s General Stores locations in Webster City and Britt. For more information, or to find the Casey’s location nearest you, check out www.caseys.com on the World Wide Web.

The Hamilton County Speedway is a half-file semi-banked dirt oval located 1.2 miles north of US 20 t exit 140, then 0.5 mile east on Bank St., then 5 blocks south on Bluff St. (at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds). For more information, call the track office at 515-899-2222 or 515-832-5382 on race day or check out www.hamiltoncountyspeedway.com online.

The Hancock County Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt oval located 1.3 miles south of US 18 on James St. (turns into Main Ave. and Diagonal and 1st), then 0.5 mile east on 220th Ave., then 0.1 mile north on Jewell Ave. For more information, call the track hotline at 641-843-9080 or check them out at www.hcspeedway.com online.

In all, 15 dates at 13 premier speedways throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri dot the calendar for the inaugural campaign for the Dart Iron Man Challenge, which will accompany the popular USMTS Modifieds at each event.

Made possible by support from Dart Machinery and Allstar Performance, all races will pay at least $600 to win and $125 to start the main event when 21 or more cars are checked in for battle.

The points fund carries a $1,000 top prize with the 10th-place finisher earning $100. In addition, each race will award national points in the USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Car division of the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series where the national champion will earn $700. At each event, Dart will award a $75 certificate to the winner and a $50 certificate to the ninth-place finisher.

The Dart Iron Man Challenge will score a driver’s 10 best points during the 15-race campaign toward the final year-end standings. Drivers are invited and encouraged to compete in all 15 shows, but perfect attendance is not be necessary to be eligible for the year-end points total.

A USRA license is not required to compete and/or earn points in the Dart Iron Man Challenge, but only USRA-licensed drivers will be eligible for points funds in either the Dart Iron Man Challenge or American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.

Each event will have a qualifying format similar to the USMTS, with heat race passing points determining the “B” Main and “A” Main line-ups.

USRA rules will apply at each event. Drivers are permitted to utilize the Rochester, Motorcraft or 1¾ Holley 4412 open carburetor but must be run with the Edelbrock Performer (Part #2701) or Weiand X-CELerator (Part ##7541) intake manifold. These intakes must be stock (no porting allowed). The 4412 carb must be stock and must be 1-11/16. For conforming to IMCA rules, the 350 carb is allowed with a 2,800-pound weight rule. Any driver running the 604 crate motor is allowed the 4-barrel carburetor.

To view the complete USRA rulebook, check out www.usraracing.com online.

2010 DART IRON MAN CHALLENGE SCHEDULE:

Wed May 26 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA (winner: Nathan Wood)
Thu May 27 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA (winner: Mike Van Genderen)
Sat Jun 19 … Scotland County Speedway, Memphis, MO (winner: Steve Jackson)
Tue Jun 22 … Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, IA (winner: Mark Elliott)
Sun Aug 1 … Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, MN ($2,000 to win)
Tue Aug 3 … Algona Raceway, Algona, IA ($1,000 to win)
Wed Aug 4 … Cresco Speedway, Cresco, IA ($1,000 to win)
Thu Aug 5 … Jackson Speedway, Jackson, MN ($1,000 to win)
Fri Aug 6 … Murray County Speedway, Slayton, MN ($1,000 to win)
Wed Aug 18 … Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, IA ($600 to win)
Thu Aug 19 … Hancock County Speedway, Britt, IA ($600 to win)
Sat Aug 28 … 24 Raceway, Moberly, MO ($600 to win)
Tue Aug 31 … Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, IA ($600 to win)
Wed Sep 1 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($600 to win)
Thu Sep 2 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($600 to win)

Minimum Event Purse (21+ entries): 1. $600, 2. $400, 3. $300, 4. $200, 5. $175, 6. $150, 7. $140, 8. $130, 9-24. $125, Tow $60; If less than 21 entries: 1. $500, 2. $400, 3. $300, 4. $200, 5. $175, 6. $150, 7. $140, 8. $130, 9. $120, 10. $110, 11-20. $100, Tow $50.

Dart Iron Man Challenge Points Fund: 1. $1000, 2. $600, 3. $400, 4. $350, 5. $275, 6. $200, 7. $175, 8. $150, 9. $125, 10. $100. (Guaranteed based on ten events)

National Points Fund for USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars: 1. $700, 2. $500, 3. $400, 4. $300, 5. $275, 6. $250, 7. $225, 8. $200, 9. $200, 10. $200.

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

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USRA TITLE SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: Awesome Racewear, Dart Machinery, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Karl Performance Parts, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RHS – Racing Head Service.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allstar Performance, Boubin Tire & Automotive, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Day Motor Sports, SpeedNet Direct.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: COMP Cams, Eibach Springs, Forty9Designs.com, Hooker Harness, Marsh Racing Wheels, QuickTime Inc, Racing Optics, Real Racing Wheels.