BAYTOWN, Texas – Heavy rain throughout the night and into Thursday and a guarantee by the weatherman for another four to six inches of moisture over the next 48 hours has prompted USMTS officials to postpone this weekend’s 3rd Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals to next weekend.

The event will now be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-25, at the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. Practice will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

All other details including gate times, prices and payoffs will remain the same as previously announced.

The nation’s elite dirt Modified drivers begin their quest for a 2012 USMTS National Championship with the season openers for both the USMTS Casey’s Cup and newly-formed USMTS National Championship Series.

With the best names in the business entered for this year’s lidlifter, just making one of the main events will be a feat but one driver could come up smelling like roses and walk away with $10,000 or more from the tripleheader at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile clay oval located just east of Houston.

HotMods (Limited Mods) will also be on the racing card each night. Thanks to the folks at Express Race Cars, the win amounts for the HotMods are $500, $600 and $900 to win, respectively, plus several bonus cash awards up for grabs.

The green flag unfurls for the first time on Thursday for the year’s first USMTS Casey’s Cup Qualifier with at least $2,000 going to the winner. On Friday and Saturday, the inaugural events for the USMTS National Championship Series are on tap with each night carrying a $4,000 top prize and at least $400 to take the green flag in the main event.

THURSDAY PAYOFF:
Licensed – 1. $2000, 2. $1500, 3. $1000, 4. $800, 5. $700, 6. $600, 7. $500, 8. $450, 9. $400, 10. $350, 11. $320, 12. $300, 13. $275, 14-26. $250, Tow $80.
Non-Licensed – 1. $2000, 2. $1200, 3. $800, 4. $600, 5. $500, 6. $400, 7. $350, 8. $300, 9. $250, 10. $230, 11. $210, 12-26. $200, Tow $60.

FRIDAY PAYOFF:
Licensed – 1. $4000, 2. $2200, 3. $1600, 4. $1200, 5. $1000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $475, 12. $450, 13. $425, 14-30. $400, Tow $100.
Non-Licensed – 1. $4000, 2. $2200, 3. $1500, 4. $1000, 5. $800, 6. $700, 7. $600, 8. $550, 9. $500, 10. $450, 11. $400, 12. $375, 13. $350, 14. $325, 15-30. $300, Tow $100.

SATURDAY PAYOFF:
Licensed – 1. $4000, 2. $2200, 3. $1600, 4. $1200, 5. $1000, 6. $800, 7. $700, 8. $600, 9. $550, 10. $500, 11. $475, 12. $450, 13. $425, 14-30. $400, Tow $100.
Non-Licensed – 1. $4000, 2. $2200, 3. $1500, 4. $1000, 5. $800, 6. $700, 7. $600, 8. $550, 9. $500, 10. $450, 11. $400, 12. $375, 13. $350, 14. $325, 15-30. $300, Tow $100.

ENTRY FEES:
On Thursday, early entry is $90 for licensed or $100 for non-licensed while at-the-track entry is $110 on race day. On Friday and Saturday, the early entry is $125 for licensed or $135 for non-licensed while entry on race day is $150. Drivers can still get the early entry rate through the end of practice on Wednesday night.

LICENSES:
There is no requirement to purchase a USMTS license to compete in any USMTS event. However, benefits enjoyed by licensed drivers include provisional starting spots, higher event purses and bonus payouts, increased tow money, discounted entry fees, points fund eligibility, increased media recognition, a personalized driver profile page on the USMTS website and more. The cost of a USMTS Casey’s Cup license is $150 and the cost of a USMTS National Championship license is $300.

RULES & PROCEDURES:
All USMTS rules apply. Qualifying will be done by heat race passing points and “B” Mains. Draw for heat race starting spot ends 15 minutes before hot laps. RACEceivers and AMB transponders are mandatory and available for rent or purchase from the USMTS. See complete rules at www.usmts.com.

HOTMOD PAYOFFS:
Thursday – 1. $500, 2. $300, 3. $200, 4. $170, 5. $150, 6. $130, 7. $110, 8. $100, 9. $90, 10. $80, 11. $70, 12. $65, 13. $60, 14. $55, 15-24. $50.
Friday – 1. $600, 2. $400, 3. $300, 4. $200, 5. $170, 6. $150, 7. $130, 8. $110, 9. $100, 10. $90, 11. $80, 12. $75, 13. $70, 14. $65, 15-24. $60.
Saturday – 1. $900, 2. $500, 3. $400, 4. $300, 5. $200, 6. $175, 7. $150, 8. $140, 9. $130, 10. $120, 11. $110, 12. $105, 13-24. $100.

The top-finishing HotMod drivers that have not raced a USMTS Modified or are not currently a USMTS Modified driver will get the following bonus money: Thursday – $100, $75, $50, $25; Friday – $150, $100, $75, $50, $25; Saturday – $200, $150, $100, $75, $50, $25.

A $100 bonus will be paid to any driver racing all three nights and not qualifying for the “A” Main on Saturday, and there is also a Hard Charger Award worth $100 each night too.

EVENT TIMES:
On Wednesday, practice will be from 6-9 p.m. On Thursday and Friday, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and racing begins at 7. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4 and the first heat race hits the track at 5:30.

TRACK INFO:
The Royal Purple Raceway is located just east of Houston on I-10 to exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565. For more information, call the track office at 281-383-7223 or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.com online.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like the USMTS on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Dominator Race Products, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, SLAP Energy, Snickers.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DAY Motor Sports, Dirthead.com, Dirt Knights, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Erson Cams, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, ISKY Racing Cams, The Joie of Seating, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Racing Head Service, Tiger Rear Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, WIX Filters.