By Jordan Kuehne

LOVES PARK, Ill. (Saturday, October 3rd, 2009) -- Today promises to be chock full of excitement as the action is already underway at the 44th annual National Short Track Championships at the historic Rockford Speedway. Cars are on the track practicing right now with several cars in the pits getting ready for tonight and tomorrow’s events. The quarter-mile will play host to a series of qualifying to get the on-track festivities off to a quick start before the stars and cars of the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet take to the high banks in their Loves Park Motorsports 108 to headline tonight’s racing docket.

A driver to watch out for in the Nason’s Landscaping ‘Faster Than A Speeding Bullet’ Super Late Model qualifying is Frank Kreyer, who had one of the fastest machines in yesterday’s practice session. Kreyer grabbed a win in the ASA Midwest Tour earlier this year and has a lot of experience at Rockford. ‘Fast’ Eddie Hoffman took to the track for a couple of practice sessions as well and lived up to his nickname, laying down a series of swift laps to serve notice that he’s a contender to win the Budweiser 200 tomorrow.

Tonight’s action is sure to be full of white-knuckle excitement with names like Knaus, Bilderback and Gille headlining the BRP Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet field. The Loves Park Motorsports 108 has over 30 entries as Ross Kenseth looks to edge closer to his first series championship, but two-time defending champion Jeremy Miller will try to make a last gasp effort to close on the rising star. Tonight’s schedule includes the Area Sportsman Classic Limousine 50, the American Short Trackers’ Gilley’s Heating & Cooling 44, the Hobby Stox Marden Tire 44 and the addition of the Hornet/Bandit Challenge 25-lap event. The Super Late Models will also be running their preliminary events to help set the field for tomorrow’s Budweiser 200.

Nason’s Landscaping ‘Faster Than A Speeding Bullet’ Qualifying gets underway at 2:15pm with spectator gates opening at 2pm. The green flag waves on tonight’s action at 5:05pm sharp. Adult admission is just $18 while kids ages 6-11 are $9 and children 5 and under get in for FREE.

Sunday’s jam-packed lineup will feature the Super Late Model main event, the Budweiser 200, which has 46 entrants already. The Mid-American Stock Car Series will be on hand as well for their Mtn Dew 75 and now the RoadRunners will have their O’Reilly Auto Parts 44 added to the schedule. Gates open at 10am Sunday morning with the green flag waving on the legendary event at 12:30pm.

For more information on the 44th annual National Short Track Championships, including ticket packages and a full schedule of events, please call the Speedway Box Office at (815) 633-1500 or visit the track's website at www.rockfordspeedway.com.