Bret Kepner

NEW SPONSORS POST CASH FOR THE 2010 GATEWAY OUTLAW ALL STARS SERIES!

Racers competing in the 2010 Outlaw All Stars Series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois, will find new support from several of the biggest names in motorsports when the season’s first event happens on Saturday, May 22nd.

Tim McAmis Performance Parts and the American Drag Racing League have posted noncontingent cash awards for the entire 2010 Outlaw All Stars Series and Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels will award new rear tires to every OAS point champion at the end of the 2010 season!

McAmis, based in Hawk Point, Missouri, was the first to offer his backing of the Outlaw Eliminator program by posting $500 on top of the actual racing purse to be divided among the top four finishers. While McAmis was the first IHRA Pro Modified World Champion in 1990 and has constructed hundreds of machines including the current world record-holding supercharged and nitrous-oxide injected doorslammers, he grew up at Gateway International Raceway and has strong ties to the area’s drag racing scene. “I was really excited to hear the first three OAS events did so well last year”, said McAmis, “and I wanted to be a part of it this season. The ‘no rules’ aspect of the Outlaw Eliminator really appeals to me and I decided to put my money behind the wildest cars in the series. I’m not doing this just for the Pro Modifieds. I’m doing this for all the local racers who run in the class because the series is designed for the local racers. The local folks know we build some awesome cars but our new Tim McAmis Performance Parts warehouse has a lot of customers who race weekly at Gateway. We just want to support a series designed for the local racers who support us. We‘re even going to try to have our support trailer at some OAS events to offer the racers hardcore parts and service at Gateway during the races!“.

The American Drag Racing League is the most progessive motorsports sanctioning body in the world but ADRL President Kenny Nowling also began his career at Gateway. “I still live in O’Fallon, Missouri, and the world headquarters of the ADRL is right here, too. I got my start racing at Gateway and I have thousands of friends who still race there weekly. I never really gave much thought to having the ADRL supporting a local series but the comparison between the ADRL’s Xtreme 10.5 division and the ’no rules’ Super Street Eliminator 10.5 class at the OAS events was obvious. It’s a way for us to support the racers who dream to one day compete in the wildest 10.5-inch tire class in the sport with a local, grass-roots program at Gateway to develop new talent. Plus, we’ll probably have our ADRL souvenir trailer at some of the OAS races to give the St. Louis fans special deals on ADRL apparel and distribute tickets for our upcoming ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III on August 6th and 7th which, I promise, will be the biggest race of the year at Gateway. I truly think the OAS program is the best deal the local racers and fans have ever had for a season-long program so we‘re going to give $500 to the Super Street racers to make it even better!”.

Carl Robinson, the Motorsports Manager for the huge racing program at Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels, learned of the OAS from coverage of the 2009 events. “I’m always watching to see how our customers perform at different events”, said Robinson from his Ohio office, “and I was impressed not only by the OAS series format but by the success of OAS racers with Mickey Thompson tires. When the motorcycle classes were added to the series, it seemed like a natural program for us to become involved with since we make every kind of racing tire for cars and bikes. Rather than post awards for just one class, we decided it would be better for us and for the competitors to present the season-ending point champions in each class with Mickey Thompson rear-wheel rubber. We’re really honored to be a part of the Outlaw All Stars. It’s a very cool series!”.

In Outlaw Eliminator and Super Street Eliminator, the $500 bonus will be paid in addition to the race day purse of each class in the amounts of $250 to the winner, $150 to the runner-up and $50 to each semi-finalist in the eight-car qualified fields.

Gateway International Raceway drastically expanded the Outlaw All Stars Series to eight events in 2010 but the first event, originally scheduled for Sunday, March 28th, was rained out. The OAS, designed to offer affordable non-handicapped drag racing on a local level, includes five Index-based Eliminators and three Heads-Up categories for cars and one Index division and one Heads-Up class for motorcycles. The next event, (now the first of the season), is scheduled for Saturday, May 22nd. The series will include point championships for each eliminator category in 2010 with winners earning traditional championship trophies and jackets.

The OAS offers very low entry fees for equally modest purses but will accommodate virtually any vehicle. Spectator admission is also extremely cheap at $10 for adults with all children under 13 years admitted free. The program and its rules were created with a goal of offering nearly all competitors a class in which to compete without the expense of adding new equipment. All purses will be based on the number of entries in each competition division and will be presented to the winner and runner-up in each class. Purse money will be accrued from all competitors above the basic $20 GIR entry fee for all contestants. Payout to the finalists will be 70% of the total accrued awarded to the winner and 30% of the total accrued awarded to the runner-up in each eliminator category.

All vehicles entered for competition must pass a basic NHRA technical inspection and must comply with all rules for the eliminator category entered as well as the NHRA-mandated regulations for advanced performance including additional safety equipment, chassis construction and driver licensing requirements. Detailed rules can be found in the 2010 Gateway International Raceway Rules and Regulations available at St. Louis Drag Racing.com by clicking HERE.


SPECTATORS

Spectator admission: $10 with children under 12 years admitted free.

INDEX ELIMINATOR CATEGORIES

Fourteen-Second Eliminator:
Entry fee: $20
Purse: Trophies to winner and runner-up

Thirteen-Second Eliminator:
Entry fee: $20
Purse: Trophies to winner and runner-up

Twelve-Second Eliminator:
Entry fee: $25
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

Eleven-Second Eliminator:
Entry fee: $30
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

Ten-Second Eliminator:
Entry fee: $35
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

Nine-Fifty (9.50 Seconds) Eliminator:
Entry fee: $35
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

HEADS-UP ELIMINATOR CATEGORIES

Super Street Eliminator:
Entry fee: $35
Rules: Open to all vehicles utilizing untreaded, (“slick”), rear tires of no more than 10.5 inches in width. Any engine modification permitted including turbocharging, supercharging or nitrous oxide injection. No “wheelie bars” permitted. 10.5W tires are prohibited.
Purse: Winner, runner-up and semi-finalists receive monetary awards. Winner and runner-up receive trophies.

Drag Radial Eliminator:
Entry fee: $40
Rules: Open to all vehicles utilizing Department Of Transportation-approved treaded rear tires of no more than 13.0 inches in width. Rear tires must carry an official D.O.T. stamp on sidewalls. Any engine modification permitted including turbocharging, supercharging or nitrous oxide injection. No “wheelie bars” permitted.
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

Outlaw Motorcycle Eliminator:
Entry fee: $45
Rules: Open to all vehicles with any engine or chassis modifications. “Wheelie bars” are permitted.
Purse: Winner and runner-up receive trophies plus monetary awards.

Outlaw Eliminator:
Entry fee: $45
Rules: Open to all vehicles with any engine or chassis modifications. “Wheelie bars” are permitted. Outlaw Eliminator (only) competes on an eighth-mile course.
Purse: Winner, runner-up and semi-finalists receive monetary awards. Winner and runner-up receive trophies.



Saturday, May 22nd Event Schedule:

Gates Open: 1:30 PM
Index Timed Trials Begin: 3:00 PM (10.0 and 11.0 only)
Qualifying Session 1 Begins: 3:20 PM (OL, OLB, DR, SS)
Index Timed Trials Continue: 3:45 PM (9.50, 12.0, 13.0, 14.0 and return)
Qualifying Session 2 Begins: 5:00 PM (OL, OLB, DR, SS)
Index Timed Trials Continue: 5:30 PM
Index Timed Trials Conclude: 7:15 PM
Eliminations Begin: 7:30 PM
Final Championship Rounds: 9:40 PM