Winston Cup standouts Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Ken Schrader and John Andretti along with Craftsman Truck Series champion Mike Bliss are among the drivers whose success in the Midwestern-based USAC sprint car series helped catapult them to national stardom.
¿USAC¿s sprint car series has become a training ground for future NASCAR stars, and the skill these drivers demonstrate as they finesse 800-horsepower machines around a dirt track at over 100 mph is simply amazing,¿ said H.A. ¿Humpy¿ Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe¿s Motor Speedway. ¿The Dirt Track is the perfect size and configuration for the USAC sprint cars and they are a tremendous addition to our already action-packed lineup.¿
In addition to the USAC sprint cars, the Oct. 8 Charlotte Dirt Doubleheader will feature a full slate of racing for the Southern All Star Racing Series dirt late models. The event kicks off October Race Week which concludes with the UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race under the lights Saturday night, Oct. 11, at Lowe¿s Motor Speedway.
The Charlotte Dirt Doubleheader is one of nine special events planned for The Dirt Track @ Lowe¿s Motor Speedway in 2003.
The World of Outlaws sprint cars return for two nights of racing on May 23-24. The fourth annual Charlotte Outlaw Showdown will once again run in conjunction with the May 25 Coca-Cola 600.
The big-block modifieds of the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series return for the third annual Eckerd 100 on Saturday night, April 5, and will be joined for the first time by DIRT¿s small-block modifieds. The Charlotte Small-Block Championship on Friday night, April 4, will open the season for the Turning Stone Casino 358-Modified Super DIRT Series. The two-day program, run in conjunction with the spring Food Lion AutoFair, will also feature the DIRT Pro Stocks.
The Golden Corral Dirt Late Model Championship, sanctioned by the Southern All Star Racing Series, is set for Saturday night, Sept. 13, in conjunction with the fall Food Lion AutoFair and the Charlotte Back-to-School Monster Truck Bash returns Saturday night, Aug. 16. Radical freestyle motocross will make its first appearance at The Dirt Track during the Charlotte Freestyle Motocross Championship on Saturday night, July 26, and a Night of Fireworks is slated for Thursday, July 3.
Tickets for all 2003 events at The Dirt Track @ Lowe¿s Motor Speedway are now available and can be obtained by calling 1-800-455-FANS.
The Dirt Track @ Lowe¿s Motor Speedway
2003 Schedule
April 4 Charlotte Small-Block Shootout
Turning Stone Casino 358-Modified Super DIRT Series & DIRT Pro Stocks
April 5 Eckerd 100
Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series & DIRT Pro Stocks
May 23 Charlotte Outlaw Showdown
World of Outlaws Winged Sprint Cars
May 24 Charlotte Outlaw Showdown
World of Outlaws Winged Sprint Cars
July 3 Night of Fireworks
Classes To Be Announced
July 26 Charlotte Freestyle Motocross Championship
Radical Freestyle Motocross Contest
Aug. 16 Charlotte Back-to-School Monster Truck Bash
Championship Monster Trucks
Sept. 13 Golden Corral Dirt Late Model Championship
Southern All Star Racing Series Dirt Late Models
Oct. 8 Charlotte Dirt Doubleheader
USAC Sprint Cars & Southern All Star Dirt Late Models
