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February 3, 2010
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS LAUNCHES THE NeSMITH SUPER DIRT CAR SERIES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CARTERSVILLE, GA – The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series has launched the
NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series, a five-state super late model series that is inclusive to several
types of engines through a set of rules that creates a level playing field using weight and spoiler
sizes. The series will pay the 2010 Champion $10,000 with an additional $5,000 available in
bonus money.
The NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series is proposing separate series in five states with a separate
point fund that guarantees a minimum of $1,000-to-win. Competitors may also compete in any
state event for a regional point fund that will pay a minimum of $10,000-to-win and pay back ten
places. State series will be in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
The engines approved to power the dirt late model race cars include open motors, Spec engines,
the GM Performance CT525 Spec Engine, and the GM Performance 604 and 602 Crate Engines.
Cars with open motors must weigh 2,300 pounds and use an eight-inch spoiler. Cars with a steel-
block open motor must weigh 2,250 pounds and use an eight-inch spoiler. Cars with a
SAS/SPUR Spec engine must weigh 2,250 pounds and can use a 12-inch spoiler. Cars with a
GM Performance CT 525 Spec Engine, or a 604 and 602 Crate Engine must weight 2,200
pounds and can use a 12-inch spoiler.
If a driver wins the $10,000 NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series Regional Championship and uses a
GM Performance CT 525 Spec Engine in 75 percent of the races, that driver will receive a $5,000
bonus from NeSmith Chevrolet of Claxton, GA.
“We’ve done a lot of development work with CT 525 Spec Engine during the 2009 season, and
with the weight break and the bigger spoiler, we have proven it can compete with an open motor
for one-third of the cost,” NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Founder and Director Mike
Vaughn said. “This engine can be bought, race-ready with everything except the carburetor from
NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA for under $10,000.”
Vaughn has enlisted input from several drivers, including some of the top super late model
drivers in the country, in the development of the GM Performance CT525 Engine.
“Mike Marlar and Aaron Ridley have won super late model races with the CT 525, and drivers like
Ronnie Johnson, Skip Arp, Rodney Wing, Larry Boutwell, and Jake Knowles have all been
impressed with the performance of this economical 600 horsepower engine,” Vaughn said.
“NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series driver Matthew Turner has found that this engine has
made it possible for him to move up to super late model racing economically, and be competitive
right out of the box.”
The CT 525 was the engine Vaughn originally wanted to use as the platform for the NeSmith
Chevrolet DLMS when he founded the series in 2005.
“The CT 525 engine has been around for awhile, as it basically a stock Corvette production
engine,” Vaughn said. “In 2005 I was looking to start a more affordable dirt late model series with
an economical engine, and the CT 525 engine was the engine I wanted to use. I talked to GM
Performance, and they said they would give us support if we used the 604 and 602 crate
engines, as they had yet to develop the CT 525 for racing application.”
Vaughn began the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS in 2005 using the GM Performance 604 and 602
Crate engines. In five seasons, the series has grown with both a National Tour and a Weekly
Racing Series. Economically, there was still a big price and horsepower gap between the 400
horsepower $5,000 604 engine, and the 700 horsepower $30,000 open engine.
GM Performance and Vaughn had not forgotten about the CT 525 engine, and they began to
develop the engine for racing application by late 2008. The gap between the “haves” and the
“have nots” in super late model racing is now being narrowed.
The NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series will have a ten-race series in each state. A driver can
compete for the Regional Championship by competing in any series event in any state, and their
best ten finishes will count towards their Regional point total. Each State Series will have its own
Directors and Officials that will coordinate the events in their respective states.
Mike Mauldin and Johnny Stokes will be the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series Directors in
Mississippi. Mauldin, Stokes, and 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Promoter of the Year Rodney
Wing were instrumental in working with Vaughn in developing the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series.
They all have been on both sides of the fence being both super late model competitors and
promoters.
“When we would all get together and talk, the conversation would always go to the high cost of
super late models as a part of a weekly racing program, and even as a special event,” Vaughn
said. “Mike Mauldin, Johnny Stokes and Rodney Wing were the driving force in forming the
Promoters Racing Organization (PRO) that proposed a series of affordable super late model
races that met the economic balance for weekly tracks in Mississippi.”
Vaughn was able to take the Mississippi PRO concept, and take it a step further with the help of
NeSmith Chevrolet of Claxton, GA in making it a Regional series with the largest regional super
late model point fund in the country.
“The PRO concept was well received by the Mississippi promoters, and we’re looking to take it to
the rest of the Southeast,” Vaughn said. “The events range from a $2,000-to-win show with a
$9,900 purse to a $3,000-to-win show with a $14,300 purse. There is also a Winner’s Circle
Program for the Top 10 drivers in the State point standings that pays $200 to $100 at each
event.”
There are already 11 races on the schedule in 2010 for Mississippi. Kevin Coffey will be the
Tennessee NeSmith SDCS Director, and he has two events on the working schedule at Mountain
Raceway Park in Maryville, TN on April 17 and August 28.
Marvin Ford returns to the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS as the NeSmith SDCS Director in Alabama
and Georgia, and Al Varnadore and Todd Hutto will be the NeSmith SDCS Directors in Florida.
The ten-race schedules in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are currently being
developed.
The Mississippi NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series already has a web site up and running with the
rules and schedule of events at www.prodirtcarseries.com. Web sites for Tennessee, Alabama,
Georgia, and Florida are currently under development, and will be announced in the coming
weeks.
Competitors must be members of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series to earn points
and be eligible to earn point fund and Winners Circle money. The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late
Model Series annual membership is good for the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series, as well as the
NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Tour and Weekly Racing Series for the 604 and 602 engines.
Drivers are not required to be series members to compete in the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series,
but they will not be eligible to earn points and point fund or Winners Circle money.
Promoters interested in hosting a NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series event in their respective states
should contact either NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS officials Mike Vaughn at 770-560-1240, or Roby
Helm at 865-207-4157 for more information.
2010 NeSMITH SUPER DIRT CAR SERIES STATE SCHEDULES:
TENNESSEE:
April 17 – Mountain Raceway Park, Maryville, TN - $2,500-To-Win
August 28 – Mountain Raceway Park, Maryville, TN - $3,000-To-Win
MISSISSIPPI:
March 19 – North Alabama Speedway, Tuscumbia, AL - $2,000-To-Win
March 20 – North Alabama Speedway, Tuscumbia, AL - $2,500-To-Win
April 3 – Central Mississippi Speedway, Winona, MS - $2,000-To-Win
May 22 – Corinth Speedway, Corinth, MS - $2,000-To-Win
May 29 – Whynot Motorsports Park, Meridian, MS - $2,000-To-Win
May 30 – Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, MS - $2,000-To-Win
July 1 – Greenville Speedway, Greenville, MS - $2,000-To-Win
July 2 – Central Mississippi Speedway, Winona, MS - $2,000-To-Win
July 3 – Whynot Motorsports Park, Meridian, MS - $2,000-To-Win
July 4 – Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, MS - $2,000-To-Win
August 14 – Greenville Speedway, Greenville, MS - $3,000-To-Win
ALABAMA: TBA
GEORGIA: TBA
FLORIDA: TBA
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