Drivers gear up for inaugural Ninety 9 Nationals
POCOLOA, Oklahoma (April 4, 2024) — Fans of the popular USRA B-Mod division have plenty of reasons to smile this week, as KR Promotions and Scotty Allen host their inaugural Ninety 9 Nationals on Friday and Saturday, April 5-6, at the mighty Tri-State Speedway.
This event will utilize a unique format that promises to deliver exciting races both nights. Rather than run two sets of Heat races on Friday, that night will see three qualifiers (33 laps each) with 33 cars in each race. How drivers finish in those determines which of three features they will be in on Saturday.
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Positions 1 through 11 will transfer into the Gold Feature which pays $5,000-to-win; positions 12-22 will transfer to the Silver Feature and compete for $3,000; while positions 23 to 33 will compete in the Bronze Feature and compete for $2,000-to-win. No Heats or Time Trials here, you race your way in.
Ryan Gillmore, of Springfield, Missouri, had a sensational 2023 season, with 16 wins, 24 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes in 40 starts. He’s already run two races this year, and is gearing up for Tri-State.
“I’ve had this race circled on my calendar since it was announced,” Gillmore said. “Tri-State is easily my favorite race track. I love going there, and think we’ll have a shot at a good finish. We’ve been running the last couple of weeks or so, but I got a little too smart for myself.
“I wasn’t that good, but we got everything dialed back down and I think we’re in a good place to go racing this weekend. I just got a little ahead of myself this Spring, but we’ve got it back to where it belongs. I think racers are going to enjoy this event, good bang for their buck and less stress overall.”
Rogers says the numbers may change slightly by race time, but there will be ample talent in the pits.
“We capped it at 99 entries, but we’ve had a few wreck their cars and drop out unfortunately,” Rogers said Wednesday as he made final preparations for the race. “But we picked up a few others, so I think we’re going to be close to that magic number. We have a contingency plan in place, and will be fine.
“It’s a racer’s race, we’re even going to start them three-wide. Those B-Mod guys can all plan to run 33 competitive laps on Friday, and 33 more on Saturday for the possibility of a $5,000 payday. That’s a total of 66 laps on their cars all weekend, way less than most big events, and the money is substantial.”
This unique event may be hosted by Rogers and partner Allen, but the idea wasn’t really his initially.
“This format is the brainchild of Lone Star 600 promoter Brad Dixon, but he’s allowing Scotty and I to use it for this event,” Rogers explained. “So I can’t take full credit for how it’s laid out, but I think it’s a great concept that should make for exciting racing both nights. There will be some strategy involved.
“You’ll have some guys out there in each race calculating where they’ll start the next one, and base their efforts off of that. Some may rather start up front in a $2,000-to-win feature than way out back in one that pays $5,000-to-win. So it’ll be different than Heat races; each car they pass moves them up a spot.”
Along with the mighty USRA B-Mods, the inaugural Ninety 9 Nationals will also feature Factory Stocks and USRA Stock Cars. Combined, the three divisions will make for two nights of exciting competition.
Allen, a noted chassis builder, former racer and promoter at Dallas County Speedway in Missouri, says this show will deliver the goods.
“The entry list for this race contains some of the top B-Mod drivers in the entire country,” Allen said on Thursday. “These are all working-class racers, and we designed this race for them. They won’t need a lot of new tires, they won’t wear out their equipment, and will have a fair shot at some good money.
“I pulled in last night, and they already have guys here working on the track. Jake and his crew got up early this morning (Thursday), and they started preparing the track surface and the entire grounds. They’ve done tons of improvements to this place. It’s wide, racy, and is the perfect track for this race.”
Tri-State Speedway opened on Memorial Day Weekend of 1971 and has a rich history. Paved later that first year, Tri-State went back to dirt in 1979 and has played host to some incredible races over the years. Former NASCAR stars Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace won points titles in the pavement era.
Hot Laps for Friday night’s competition will begin at 6:45, with racing to follow. On Saturday, racing will get under way at 7 p.m. at the historic oval. If you can’t make it out to the track, you can catch every lap of the action all weekend with a subscription at RaceON.com.
By Phil Whipple, RaceON.com Staff Writer
