Racers and fans are getting fired up for the 25th Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, at the state-of-the-art Vado Speedway Park in Vado, New Mexico.

Three Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series divisions are on tap. USRA Modifieds will headline the action with Medieval USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods while Legends Cars joining the stellar lineup that also serves as the official 2023 season opener.

A pair of open practices prior to the Winter Meltdown will allow competitors to knock the rust off and clean out the cobwebs.

This Saturday, March 4, will see open practice with gates opening at noon and practice from 2-5 p.m. Then, on the eve of the Winter Meltdown, another practice takes place Thursday, March 9, with pit gates opening at 5 p.m. and practice from 6-9 p.m. Pit passes will be $25 and grandstands will be closed both nights.

The decibels rise and the action gets hot on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, with Rancho Milagro USRA Modifieds, Extreme Landscaping Medieval USRA Stock Cars, Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mods and Legends in action both nights. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstands will open at 5 with the first green flag slated to wave at 7:30.

Tickets for adults are $20 for general admission or $23 for reserved seating. Members of the military, seniors and students are $17 or $20 reserved and youth ages 6-11 are $7 or $10 reserved. Get your tickets in advance at Tix.com. Kids ages 5 and under get in for free both nights. Pit passes each night at $40 or $20 for youth ages 3-15 while kids ages 2 and under are free.

Last year's Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown saw four-time USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, sweep the weekend, collecting $2,000 and $3,000, respectively, for his pair of victories. Once again, USRA Modified competitors will be racing for a possible $5,000 to sweep both nights in 2023.

Medieval USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods will battle for $500 to win on Friday with a top prize of $1,000 to the winner's on Saturday.

The Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown, which started in 1995 with Don Veal triumphing in the inaugural race, enters it's 25th year in 2023. The event has seen some incredible racing during its long history.

Other past champions include Eddie Martin (1996), Danny Bradford (1997), Monte Bolton (1998), Ron Jones (1999-2001, 2003 and 2007), Terry Tipton (2002), George White (2004), Jason Hughes (2005, 2008 and 2010), Johnny Scott (2006), Terry Phillips (2009, 2011-2013), Stormy Scott (2014), Ryan Gustin (2015), Ricky Thornton Jr. (2016), Bumper Jones (2021) and Rodney Sanders (2022).

The event was not held from 2017-2020.

Both nights of the Winter Meltdown will award track, regional and national points in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series.

The Vado Speedway Park is a state-of-the-art, semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located just off I-10 at exit 155, then 0.2 mile north to 15900 Stern Dr, Vado, NM 88072. For more information, call (575) 524-7913 and visit VadoSpeedwayPark.com. You can also follow Vado Speedway Park on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For fans not able to attend in person, the event will also be streaming live at WatchFYE.tv.

Continuing to crush it: Year after year, the USRA continues to attract more racetracks and dirt track racers through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. In the 2022 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, more than 50 of America’s finest dirt ovals host over 1,000 nights of racing.

USRA competitors can register online at MyRacePass today. Alternatively, you can call (515) 832-6000 to register by phone, or submit a completed USRA License Application by email at office@usraracing.com or fax (515) 832-7958. You can download the application at usraracing.com/downloads.

To learn more, check out 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.

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USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Edelbrock, Hooker Harness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers, Keyser Manufacturing, Landrum Performance Springs, MD3, Medieval Chassis, MSD, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

USRA RACETRACKS: 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Boothill Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Chateau Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Eagle Valley Speedway, Elk City Motorsports Park, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Longdale Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Moberly Motorsports Park, Monett Raceway, Rapid Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Route 66 Motor Speedway, RPM Speedway, Sabine Speedway, Salina Highbanks Speedway, Sandia Speedway, Sports Park Raceway, Springfield Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Texarkana 67 Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, US 36 Raceway, Vado Speedway Park, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.