Schedule Update: Open practice will be this coming Thursday night April 26th from 6-9 PM. This includes all the weekly classes and the Super Late Models who wish to practice the Showdown. Grandstand admission is free and pit passes are $10. Concessions will be available. There is no practice this Saturday April 21st.

Pictured: Billy Moyer in action during the 2011 season

Photo: Lloyd Collins

Story By: Trenton Berry / RacinDirt.com

April 19, 2011 – (Springfield, MO) With the date drawing closer, the anticipation is at a near fever pitch as several of the best Dirt Late Model racers in the country are getting set to converge on Jetmore, Kansas. The 3^rd Annual Showdown, presented by United Wireless and Southwest Distributing, is now just over a week and a half away at The Great American Dirt Track. This year’s edition promises to be the biggest and most star studded to date. The event purse has increased to over $50,000 just in the A Main. Friday April 27th will be the Showdown Preview with $1,500 going to the winner. Saturday April 28th will be the main event, with $12,000 going to the Showdown winner.

A loaded field is expected, with more entries coming in by the day. Among the already committed is arguably the best to ever sit behind the wheel of a Dirt Late Model, Billy Moyer. Moyer’s nine wins this season have him on par for another stellar season, as the 54 year old pilot shows no signs of slowing down. Moyer’s won virtually every big race in the country, multiple times. His 761 career feature wins is nearly unfathomable.

Also on the card is fellow Batesville, Arkansas driver Wendell Wallace. Wallace will be behind the wheel of a new Barry Wright Race Car, which he debuted just a few weeks ago. He has triumphs in the Topless 100, Dirt Track World Championship and three Show Me 100 victories. He’s also amassed over one million dollars behind the wheel of a Dirt Late Model. Springfield, Missouri’s Terry Phillips will be back for his third attempt at claiming the Showdown. He’ll be wheeling a Bloomquist Race Car this time around though. Phillips has eight regional Late Model titles, including six with the MARS DIRTcar Series. His biggest Late Model win came in 1999 at the Show Me 100. Kyle Berck will be looking to help represent Nebraska in the big race. Berck sports over 290 career wins and 8 regional Late Model titles to go along with the 1996 IMCA Late Model National Championship.

Chad Simpson of Mt. Vernon, IA comes in as a major player. His two WDRL titles and two Corn Belt Clash titles have shot this young driver up the charts in a relatively short amount of time. Omaha, Nebraska’s John Anderson won the inaugural Showdown back in 2010. He is coming off his second MLRA championship last season and with his first win of 2012 last weekend, his program is poised to win several races this season. The defending MARS DIRTcar Series Champion, Brad Looney, had a tough go in this race one year ago, but put together his best year to date with 8 wins and the previously mentioned championship. Like Anderson, Looney has visited victory lane already in the young season. Jesse Stovall from Republic, Missouri is on everyone’s mind as a threat right now. Shuffling between two teams, Stovall has won two marquee races already in 2012. He scored a $5,000 paycheck at Clarksville Speedway in Clarksville, TN and backed it up a couple of weeks later with his first $10,000 victory in the Pelican 100 in Vivian, LA. These are just a few of the nearly 40 drivers pre entered for the biggest Late Model show west of Missouri. Several other names are floating around as possibilities to compete, but have yet to pre-register.

A complete to date pre entry list is included below. Fans unable to be there in person can listen to lap by lap coverage of the race by logging on to RaicnDirt.com. The broadcast will be absolutely free and requires no site registration.

The Great American Dirt Track would like to thank all of the marketing partners for the 2012 season. Showdown partners include; United Wireless and Southwest Distributing.

Expected Drivers

Chad Simpson – Chris Simpson – Wendell Wallace – Billy Moyer – Billy Moyer Jr. – Brad Looney – Eric Turner – Terry Phillips – Jesse Stovall – Tony Jackson Jr. – Justin Asplin – LeRoy Johnson – Dan Hendrickson – Craig Baukema – Kyle Berck – Will Brack – Allen Bowers – Scott Lewis – Mike Spadel – Brandon Morton – Jared Maas – Cliff Morrow – Jason Rauen – Jeff Wyman – Delbert Smith – Gary Gorby – Dustin Mooneyham – Wylan Petrie – Ron Frazier Jr. – Kyle Hill – Timothy Kiefer – Brian Shirley – John Anderson – Brad Wagoner – Dylan Schmer – Clay Daly – David Deetz – Garrett Alberson – Bill Leighton