Adairsville, Ga. — A brand new racing season will kick off on an improved track surface when the recently-established E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge stages its inaugural event during the New Year’s Battlefield Bash scheduled Dec. 31, 2020, through Jan. 2, 2021, at Cochran Motor Speedway.
The Adairsville, Ga-based Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series, which is title sponsored by Newsome Raceway Parts, will be co-featured in a 75-lap event that pays $10,000 to the winner, but will carry no points toward the regular National Touring Series championship. The event will instead be the first points-paying contest toward the overall championship on the E-Z-GO Challenge, a “series within a series” that features nine current events, and will pay a separate points fund to competitors that includes $5,000 to the inaugural series titlist.
The eye-catching new concept and its higher-paying events has drawn interest from some of the top racers across the region who choose to compete with Chevrolet Performance Circle Track Engines, and their attention will be focused on Chris and Joni Martin’s newly-resurfaced oval as the 3/8-mile facility begins the 2021 campaign with the first of eight special events scattered through the season.
The inaugural E-Z-GO Challenge Series event is also expected to draw a top-flight field of competitors as the history-making event receives a green flag. The recently-announced schedule includes events drawn from two different Crate Racin’ USA schedules—both the annual Winter Shootout Series and the regular Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series.
New Clay Greets Competitors
New clay was spread around the oval prior to the Gobbler 100 held this past November 28 at the facility, but rain has forced postponement of the event to Friday, March 12, 2021. That makes this event the first one to be held on the new surface, which showed early promise for increased side-by-side racing during the weather-affected Gobbler weekend before the inclement weather intervened.
Also highlighting the weekend card will be the $5,000-to-win Street Stock World Championship, featuring a 50-lapper for the “Baddest Street Stocks on the Planet” from Crate Racin’ USA’s highly-competitive weekly division. More than 30 entries have already been received for that special event, and includes some of the top competitors from across the region.
Feature events for the 602 Sportsman class (30 laps) will also be held, and the feature will pay $2,000 to the winner. Bombers will roll for 25 laps, and receive $1,000 to win for their main event.
Weekend Schedule
The Wrightsville, Ga-based Soul Shine Band will entertain at the track with a concert on New Year’s Eve. A three-day pit pass also gets you in the door Thursday night, Dec. 31 for the concert. Tickets will also be sold at the gate for $15. Doors for the show won’t open until 8:30 p.m., and will be preceded by a practice session for all divisions on the track’s new dirt from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Pit gates will open at 3 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 1, is slated for qualifying and heat races for all divisions. Gates open at noon, with a drivers’ meeting scheduled at 4 p.m. Hot laps will follow.
Feature races will be staged on Saturday, Jan. 2. Gates open again at noon, and the drivers’ meeting is 4 p.m. Last-chance events will precede the main events.
Check the track’s website at www.cochranmotorspeedway.com for additional information and ticket prices for the weekend. Keep up with Crate Racin’ USA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or the series website at www.crateracinusa.com for more information and updates.
E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge Schedule
Jan. 1-2: Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway ($10,000 to win)
Jan. 16: Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, Fla. ($10,000 to win)
March 19-20: Modoc (S.C.) Raceway ($10,000 to win)
May 14-15: Boothill Speedway, Greenwood, La. ($10,000 to win)
June 11-12: Cherokee Speedway, Gaffney, S.C. ($10,000 to win)
July 30-31: Thunderhill Raceway Park, Summertown, Tenn. ($10,000 to win)
Sept. 3-4: Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway ($20,000 to win)
Nov. 19-20: Deep South Speedway, Loxley, Ala. ($10,000 to win)
TBA: Duck River Raceway Park, Wheel, Tenn. ($10,000 to win)