Story By: RYAN DELPH / I-75 RACEWAY – SWEETWATER, TN – With a layer of snow on the track since last week and a heavy dose of rain in the forecast for this week, I-75 Raceway officials and Ray Cook Promotions have pushed the inaugural running of the ‘I-75 Winter Championships’ back to February 8-10, 2024.
Originally slated for January 25-27, the extra time will allow for optimum track preparation heading into the three-day spectacular. Following an open practice session on Thursday, February 8 for all classes, a total of eleven different divisions will be in racing competition on that Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Taking to the track on Friday will be the Limited Late Model ($1,500 to win), Sportsman ($800 to win), Street Stock ($500 to win), Hobby ($500 to win), Front Wheel Drive ($500 to win), and B-Sportsman ($300 to win) classes.
Saturday’s action at I-75 Raceway will be headlined by the ground-pounding Super Late Models, as a $5,053 top prize will be up for grabs in the inaugural ‘I-75 Winter Championships.’ Joining the Supers in competition will be the 604 Late Model ($1,500 to win), Cumberland Plateau Open Wheel Modified Series ($1,500 to win), Cumberland Plateau Mod Mini Series / Southern Mod 4 Mini Association ($1,500 to win), 602 Late Model ($800 to win), and Front Wheel Drive ($500 to win) divisions. If you’re unable to attend all or part of the weekend, every lap will be broadcast LIVE to subscribers of HuntTheFront.tv.
“It is very unfortunate that we couldn’t run the I-75 Winter Championships on the original date because there has been a lot of excitement about the event from both drivers and fans,” quoted Cook today via telephone. “They have had snow on the track since last week and the forecast for this week looks awfully wet. It doesn’t allow for any time to prep the track, so the best decision we could make is to move the show back a few weeks to February 8-10. Hopefully, teams will have a few more weeks to get their cars ready and we can have an even better turnout than we would have had this coming weekend.”
The three-day extended weekend will now start on Thursday, February 8 with an open practice session for all divisions from 5:00pm-9:00pm. On Friday, the pits will open at 2:00pm, tier parking will open at 3:00pm, and the grandstands will start to allow patrons into the facility starting at 4:30pm. The Drivers Meeting is slated for 6:15pm, while Hot Laps will take to the track shortly after at 6:30pm. At I-75 Raceway on Saturday, the pit gates will swing open at 10:00am, while tier parking and the grandstands will both open at 11:00am. The Drivers Meeting will be held at 12:45pm with race cars lighting up the racing surface for Hot Laps starting at 1:00pm.