WHEATLAND, Mo. —With the 2022 season in the record books, all attention turns to what will become the 35th consecutive season of action for the Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association as the series unveiled their 2023 slate of events.
The upcoming campaign will take drivers to 11 different venues across five Midwestern states, as they compete in a total of 24 championship events.
The first 30 days will be huge for drivers vying for the series championship with a total of nine events scheduled, presenting an opportunity to win just shy of $60,000 in first-place money.
The season opener returns to the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri on March 31-April 1 for the Spring Nationals. The last time the MLRA kicked off a season at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” was in 2017, and this time the stakes will be even higher as Friday night’s winner will pocket $5,000, while Saturday night will feature a $10,000-to-win finale.
The following weekend will present a new early season addition to the schedule, as the Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. welcomes what is expected to be a huge car count. The Winter Meltdown will feature complete shows on April 7-8, paying $5,000 and $7,000 respectively.
Just five nights later action will move north to the Hawkeye State for three big nights of action. A special Thursday night stop at the quarter-mile Davenport Speedway on April 13 will get the weekend going, followed by a two night stand at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Friday’s Prelude to the Slocum will pay $5,000-to-win before the 15th Annual $10,555-to-win Slocum 50 takes center stage on Saturday night.
Just one weekend of action is planned for the month of May, but with that will come the biggest Crown Jewel of the season for the MLRA as they return to the Lucas Oil Speedway for the 31st Annual Show-Me 100. In recent years, Thursday-Friday will be complete qualifying shows co-sanctioned with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as drivers accumulate points in attempt to lock into Saturday night’s finale.
The 10th Annual Cowboy Classic, honoring longtime MLRA Owner/Promoter Allen “Cowboy” Chancellor will get the weekend underway on Thursday May, 26 followed by the Friday night Tribute to Don & Billie Gibson. Both qualifying events will pay $6,000-to-win. The Memorial Day Weekend Classic will conclude on Saturday night with the $50,000-to-win Show-Me-100.
The weekend leading up to July 4 will take drivers on a three-day swing, this time stretching across three states. On Friday, June 30 the MLRA returns to the C.J. Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Saturday, July 1 will find drivers chasing a $7,000 pay day at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo., before heading back east to the Adams County Speedway (formerly Quincy Raceways) on Sunday night for another $7,000 main event. This will be the MLRA’s first trip to the quarter-mile Speedway in Quincy, Ill. since 2019.
The only single day stand on the schedule will take place on July 15 as teams again tackle the Lucas Oil Speedway in pursuit of the 17th Annual Diamond Nationals.
The racing season will conclude on October 13-14 at the Tri-City Speedway. Over the course of the past three season, the MLRA Championship Weekend at Tri-City has showcased some of the best parity in racing, with five feature events and five different winners to date.
The Full Schedule
