Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois expects to play host to a new Super Late Model major in October 2019.
The event has been conceived by Gateway Executive VP and GM Chris Blair and ARCA Midwest Tour promoter Gregg McKarns as a non-points crown jewel. As such, the Midwest Tour will no longer be part of the June 22-23 racing weekend which is headlined by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Racing Series.
This is a project that has been in the work for several seasons and Blair believes now is the time to move forward.
“One of our goals has been to build a true year-end specialty event for asphalt Super Late Models that is in a convenient location so we can reach racers from all areas,” Blair said in a Wednesday press release. “Gregg and I have been kicking around the idea for nearly three years and our next step is to finalize a date and start laying the groundwork for 2019.
“One challenge a mid-season, points-paying event presents is that it requires a tremendous amount of travel for the regional teams, not to mention possible scheduling conflicts with other series. Gregg and his team and I decided our best effort would be to focus on the future when we can get support from multiple series and produce a major motorsports festival that showcases asphalt Super Late Models and the best drivers in the business.”
Ty Makeski won both the 2016 and 2017 Midwest Tour races at the 1.25-mile track. Eddie Hoffman won an ASA event at the track in 2008. Mike Garvey, Steven Howard and Butch Miller won Late Model races at Gateway in the 1990s.
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