By: Kevin Ramsell
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 (Loves Park, IL) – The tradition is still there but it’s a week later. The 42nd Annual Chicago International Trucks National Short Track Championships will feature 12 divisions of racing over three days on its new weekend of September 28-30, 2007.

“With so many tracks having special events, and with the last weekend being open, we felt it was in our best interest to move the National Short Track Championships weekend to the last week in September,” Rockford Speedway General Manager Gregg McKarns recently stated. “With us moving this date, we don’t see us conflicting with other racing events in the area, so this will allow more competitors to come and compete at this historic event.”

Headlining this year’s event will be a 200-lap main event for the National Short Track Super Late Models. This is an open event for all area Super Late Models. There are no sanctioning fees and no points to worry about. “It’s going back to what Hugh Deery had in mind when he started NSTC,” McKarns stated. “That was to have an end of year event where all drivers from around the Midwest come to one place and compete to see who will be the best Super Late Model driver in the Midwest. It will pay $1,000 to start and $3,000 to win.”

The action will get underway on Friday, September 28th with five divisions competing for NSTC titles. The Weekly Warrior Late Models, All-American Sportsman, American Short Trackers, and RoadRunners will each compete in 42-lap feature events. And, back by popular demand is the return of the Hornet vs. Bandit Challenge. The best in the 4 cylinder divisions from area tracks will compete on the high-banked .29167 mile oval in a 25-lap shootout. The racing action will start at 7:07 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. Following the races, fans and competitors are invited to the Budweiser Pavilion for an After Race Party.

The Weekly Warrior Late Models will feature the stars that run the weekly late model divisions at the surrounding local tracks like Rockford, Jefferson, Columbus, Dells, Madison, and La Crosse. Fans will see late model racing every night at this year’s NSTC.

It will be a busy day on Saturday as Nason’s Landscaping “Faster than a Speeding Bullet” Qualifying gets underway at 2:15 p.m. for the NST Late Models, Big 8 Series, Area Sportsman, USST Super Trucks, and Hobby Stox. After qualifying the pits will be open to the fans for an Open Pit Party until 5:30 p.m.

The racing action will get underway at 5:05 p.m. with qualifying events for the Big 8 Series, Area Sportsman, USST Super Trucks and the NST Late Models. Then it’s on to the feature events for the Area Sportsman (50 laps), USST Super Trucks (42 laps), Hobby Stox (42 laps) and the Big 8 Series Twin 58-lap feature events. Following the racing action will be an After Race Party in the Budweiser Pavilion.

The racing weekend will conclude on Sunday, September 30th with a Fan Autograph session starting at 11:30 a.m. The racing action will get underway at 12:30 p.m. with qualifying events for the Mid-American Stock Car Series and Last Chance Races. Then its on to the feature events for the Mid-American Series (75 laps), a 42-lap Big 8/Weekly Feature Winner Invite, and the Chicago International Trucks 200-lap feature event for the National Short Track Late Models.

For a copy of the competition booklet, please call the track office at (815) 633-1500 or e-mail your request to nstcinfo@yahoo.com.

To order your tickets, please visit www.rockfordspeedway.com or www.tix.com. Or you can call the track office at (815) 633-1500 and if you are in the area, please feel free to stop by the track office and purchase them in person from 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday.

Make your plans now to be a part of “One Great Racing Weekend!”