Cody Morris
Lucas Oil POWRi West Public Relations
Sunday, December 15th, 2013
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Each year, the Sooner State hosts the largest Midget event in the world in Tulsa. To the surprise of the open wheel nation, Midget racing has struggled to find a foothold in Sooner Country the remaining 360 days of the year.
Not anymore. Oklahoma officially welcomes the premier Midget sanctioning body in the country to the heartland.
While many of the Dirt Nation elite gather in Indianapolis, the Lucas Oil POWRi Midget camp just doubled. Joining the Illinois/Tri-State based Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series will be the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget division.
Along with the rebirth of the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series is official confirmation that both the National and West series’ will ignite their respective 2014 campaigns at Oklahoma City’s I44 Riverside Speedway.
On March 21st and 22nd, the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series will kick off a landmark season on West turf, at Oklahoma City’s I44 Riverside Speedway. This event will also launch the Lucas Oil POWRi West campaign.
The landmark event serves as the second coming for Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget camapaign, as the West warriors rallied for a two day show at I44 Riverside over Memorial Day Weekend in 2012. A weekend swept by eventual 2012 Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series champ Andrew Felker. 2013 Lucas Oil POWRi National Titlist Zach Daum also made the trek West as well.
A trio of Oklahomans are extremely proud to join the POWRi family in expanding POWRi westward , as well as introducing high quality Midget racing to the masses within the state that yearn to enjoy high quality outdoor Midget racing.
Jenks, Oklahoma’s Eric Fenton will pilot the helm of the renewed Lucas Oil POWRi West Series. Owasso, Oklahoma resident Jeff Foster will wear the whistle as Director of Competition while El Reno, Oklahoma’s Cody Morris serves as Director of Public Relations for the Lucas Oil POWRi West Series.
I44 Riverside Speedway skipper Mark Banister is also excited to work with the POWRi network. The last remaining dirt oval operating in central Oklahoma, Banister has proven his mettle often. Be it building the 1/5th mile oval in 1999, taking over the helm once more in 2011, and as most remember, rebuilding/reopening the speedway a third time after the infamous May 20th tornado obliterated it just seven months ago.
Banister’s arduous campaign to keep dirt track and Midget racing alive in the area is a genesis of sorts for the return of the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series. Banister continued the 2013 Midget effort following I44 Riverside's reopening, enlisting the current POWRi West trio to assist at the 2013 Midget finale. The result was the Inaugural Twister Nationals in October, a two day Midget spectacular that earned nearly 30 Midget teams from 8 states.
Banister’s I44 Riverside Speedway will be a strong anchor to the Lucas Oil POWRi West effort, opening both the Lucas Oil POWRi National and West campaigns on March 21-22, while also hosting the West finale on October 10-11, as well as several West events in between.
The Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget campaign is currently (and tentatively) scheduled for 14 events at four venues in Oklahoma and Missouri. Multiple dates and host venues are still under active discussion and we look forward to sharing the final calendar of the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series with regional race teams and fans.
For now, we are extremely proud to welcome the Lucas Oil POWRi Midgets to the Wild West!
For more information regarding the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget Series, please visit www.powri.com or Like and Follow POWRi West on Facebook.
To contact the series directly, e-mail powri_west@hotmail.com
- Admin Account on Dec 16, 2013
- Article Date: 12/15/2013