O'Reilly USCS invades Malden Speedway this Saturday for Mid-South Thunder season opener

March 27, 2006
Atlanta, GA – The O'Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series www.uscsracing.com invades Malden Speedway in Malden, Missouri this Saturday evening for its 2006 O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder Tour season opening event. Drivers from six states are already entered for the first round of thirty nights of competition in what is expected to be a repeat of last season when the tour was possibly the most competitive regional winged sprint car racing series in America. Six drivers in the top ten of the O'Reilly USCS Mid South Thunder final standings were ranked in the top 40 drivers in North America in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame poll. Several of those drivers received individual National honors as well.

The success of 2005 has the latest version of the O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder Tour with over twice as many events on the schedule as in 2005. The robust regional series schedule features the O'Reilly USCS drivers as the main attraction for thirty nights (30) of winged outlaw sprint car racing action in front of the fans at twelve (12) speedways in six (6) Mid-South states. The top ten drivers from the series will participate in a substantial awards fund at season's end and the top fifteen drivers in the standings on July 29 th will be invited to the Tournament of Champions multi-sanctioned challenge event at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa on Sunday, August 6 th , 2006.

Since many of the Mid-South Thunder dates overlap with O'Reilly USCS National Championship points events and O'Reilly USCS Dirt Cup National points events this will allow race fans to see the top drivers from the Mid-South area plus top drivers from many other states at most of the Mid-South Thunder events. Each and every event of the O'Reilly USCS Speed week 2006 scheduled from May 26th through June 3rd is included in the Mid-South Thunder Tour schedule. This will feature seven nights of highly competitive racing action over nine days. Although the venues are situated in five different states, most are reached easily within a three hour or less drive of Memphis, Tennessee and generally only two to three hours apart, providing almost the perfect need for a week speed for the racer or the fan.

Last season's O'Reilly Mid-South Thunder standings had five drivers from outside the region and ten drivers from the Mid-South area in the top fifteen positions in the final point standings. The 2005 Champion was Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida. Adams won the title by only sixteen points over Mid-South sprint car legend Mike Ward from Memphis, Tennessee. Eighteen year old Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. from Olive Branch, Mississippi, who was the 2003 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 360 sprint car “Rookie of the Year” finished in third place in the standings just twenty-nine points out of first place. Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida and Marshall Skinner from West Memphis Arkansas tied for fourth place just one point behind Stenhouse.

Joining the O'Reilly USCS sprint cars on April Fool's Day in the event billed as the Fool's Day 50 will be the new USCS Open Wheel Modified Series drivers in a $1000 to win shootout with the tough Malden Speedway Open Wheel Modified regulars. Accompanying the USCS double-header will be a race for the Malden Pure street class. There is a Malden Speedway practice day scheduled at 1:0 pm to 4:00 pm on Saturday as well.

After the April Fool's Day send off at Malden Speedway, the O'Reilly Mid-South Thunder Tour regional series and the USCS Open Wheel Modifieds makes their next stop for the two-day, Hooker Hood Sprint Car Shootout at Garnertown Speedway in Luray, Tennessee two weeks later on Friday and Saturday April 14 th and 15th. The series will crown its 2006 Champion on November 11th in the USCS Bullring Nationals at Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi.

Malden Speedway is located by traveling one mile north of Malden on Highway 25 then two miles West on Thunder Road also known as County Road 102. The speedway's phone number is 573-276-6265 and the website is www.maldenspeedway.com For info on the O”Reilly USCS visit www.uscsracing.com or call 404-886-5913.

2006 O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder Tour

APRIL
Sat. 4/01 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO
Fri. 4/14 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Luray/Jackson, TN
Sat. 4/15 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Luray/Jackson, TN

MAY
Fri. 5/26 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO
Sat. 5/27 – D - Riverside Speedway, West Memphis, AR
Sun 5/28 – D - Clarksville Speedway, Clarksville, TN
Mon. 5/29 – D - Clayhill Motorsports, Atwood, TN
Tue. 5/30 – D - OFF Travel and Repair
Wed. 5/31 – D - OFF Media Day and Cookout at EAMS

JUNE
Thu. 6/01 – D - East Ala. Motor Speedway, Phenix City, AL
Fri. 6/02 – D - No. Alabama Speedway, Tuscumbia, AL
Sat. 6/03 – D - Columbus Speedway, Columbus, MS
Fri. 6/23 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO
Fri. 6/30 – D - Crossville Raceway, Crossville, TN

JULY
Sat. 7/01 – D - Checkered Flag Speedway, Hohenwald, TN
Mon. 7/03 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN
Fri. 7/28 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO

AUGUST
Fri. 8/18 – D - North Alabama Speedway, Tuscumbia, AL
Sat. 8/19 – D - Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway, Calvert City, KY

SEPTEMBER
Fri. 9/01 – A - Huntsville Speedway, Huntsville, AL

(non-points event) Asphalt setup and driving clinic associated with this event.
Sun. 9/03 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN
Mon. 9/04 – D - TBA
Sat. 9/16 – D - Checkered Flag Speedway, Hohenwald, TN
Fri. 9/22 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO
Sat. 9/23 – D - Malden Speedway, Malden, MO

OCTOBER
Fri. 10/06 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN
Sat. 10/07 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN

NOVEMBER
Fri 11/03 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN
Sat. 11/04 – D - Garnertown Speedway, Jackson, TN (Ten.)
Fri. 11/10 – D - Columbus Speedway, Columbus, MS
Sat. 11/11 – D - Columbus Speedway, Columbus, MS

Several additional dates maybe added *****