By Bert Lehman

Editor, Full Throttle

When the stars and cars of the World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model Series take to the track at Mississippi Thunder Speedway (MTS) May 7-8 for the Dairyland Showdown it will be the culmination of several years of effort by the speedway to bring the series to the speedway.

Tyrone Lingenfelter, promoter of MTS, said he and Bob Timm, owner of MTS, have been trying for around 5 years to bring the World of Outlaws Dirt Late Models Series to the speedway.

“We started working hard on it probably a couple of years ago,” Lingenfelter said. “When Casey Shuman (director of the World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model Series) gave us a phone call this last year, he said the opportunity was open and we jumped right on it.”

Since MTS first expressed interest in hosting an Outlaws race, Lingenfelter said the speedway has worked hard to improve its facility in order to improve its chances of getting a race date. This included upgrading its seating area.

“Once we knew we were going to get that, we told them we’d be putting up more seating to make sure we could accommodate all the fans for a show like this,” Lingenfelter said.

In addition, Lingenfelter said MTS has been working on providing the best possible racing surface in order to show others that MTS could handle an Outlaws race.

“Over the years, just working on having a top-notch racing surface, a place where people could clearly come run and race multiple grooves,” he said. “I think we’ve established that.”

So, why did MTS want a World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model Series show on its schedule?

“Bob (Timm) and I talk about it all the time, they’re (World of Outlaws) the NASCAR of dirt racing, between them and Lucas Oil Late Models,” Lingenfelter said. “Those are top-notch racecar drivers and they have the highest value in racing in our opinion. Super Late Model racing right now I think is off the charts. The amount of talent and the big races that are going on all over the country packed with fans all over the place.”

He added that the Outlaws have never had a show at a track in that part of Wisconsin.

“There have been a lot of people asking for it,” Lingenfelter said.

Lingenfelter admitted that MTS had the opportunity to host an Outlaws show in 2020, but decided against it. One opportunity was a mid-week show, but Lingenfelter said MTS has never had success with mid-week shows. It also had the opportunity to host a show last year on the same weekend as this year’s show.

“But we just didn’t have the financial support, sponsorships to make it work, so we ended up passing on it at that time,” Lingenfelter said. “I think we got ourselves in a much better position after the 2020 season.”

Needless to say, when Timm and Lingenfelter fielded the call from the World of Outlaws Series about hosting a race in 2021, they jumped at the opportunity.

“It felt good to finally see some of the work we’ve been doing, paying off,” Lingenfelter said. “Now we’re going to take this opportunity and try to make the best of it.

We’re kind of taking it right now that this is our one shot and opportunity to show, not just to this area, but to the whole country that we can be one of the premier racetracks and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to be one of those racetracks.”

Lingenfelter said fans can expect to see a multi-grooved, wide, and racey track.

“The racetrack has been pretty much hammer down and we plan to do a complete farming prior to the A-main Friday and Saturday. We have all the equipment to do that within 10-15 minutes,” Lingenfelter said.

Race Details

The feature on Friday, May 7 will be 40 laps and pay the winner $12,500. The 60-lap feature on Saturday, May 8 will pay the winner $22,500. If a driver wins both features, they will receive a $5,000 bonus.  So, in total, if a driver wins both features, they will receive $40,000.

The only support class will be USRA Modifieds. The USRA Modified feature will pay $1,000-to-win on Friday night, and $2,000-to-win on Saturday night.

Dynamic Concrete Resurfacing is the major sponsor for the event, but Lingenfelter said all of the track’s sponsors have helped make this show possible.

Tickets for the event are available at the track each day.

For more information about Mississippi Thunder Speedway, visit: www.mississippithunder.com