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Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: Ewing hopes strong USRA B-Mod start is only the beginning of a big 2019

WHEATLAND, Missouri - With a new race car performing flawlessly, Robbe Ewing started a new season at Lucas Oil Speedway with the best finish of his career at that the track. He hopes to build off that third-place run when action resumes on Saturday night.

"We've had a handful of top-five finishes over there the last couple of years, but we've never run top-three before," Ewing said of his opening-night finish in the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod portion of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series.

"It's pretty exciting, this early in the year, to run that well. I feel that we kind of struggle out the gates, traditionally. It usually takes us a month or so to get going."

Ewing, Lucas Oil Speedway's Spotlight Driver of the Week, and the USRA B-Mods will be the featured division on Saturday with a special 25-lap, $750-to-win main event. The Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds and O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks also are on the program.

Fans can save big on $uper $saver $pecial Night Presented by OnMedia/DISH/DirecTV. Spectators arriving before 5:30 p.m. will receive four admissions, four hot dogs and four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products for $30. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Ewing, 26, served early notice that he will be a contender this season in the deep and talented B-Mod division. He's proving a quick fit with a new car that replaced the nine-year-old one he drove to a ninth-place finish in track points in 2018.

"We have a new 2019 Rage that we got through Prime Racing with Dustin Boney," Ewing said. "I've been very happy with it so far. I hope it stays as good as it's been. We've caught some good luck and got off to a good start, which is what it takes."

The former high school and college baseball standout from Stockton said he got a favorable heat-race draw that led to a second-place finish in the qualifier on opening night. That earned him a front-row starting position in the feature.

While no match for main event winner and reigning track champion JC Morton, Ewing was putting pressure on runner-up Cole Campbell on the white-flag lap.

"I don't think we had anything for JC, but I would like to think if we would have had one more lap, we could have got into second," Ewing said. "Hopefully, as the year goes on, we can get up there and maybe contend for a win at some point."

Ewing already has a feature win this season at North Central Arkansas Speedway in Flippin, Arkansas. He said racing for wins and high finishes are his priority this season, more so than points racing though he plans to compete at Lucas Oil Speedway on a regular basis.

"I'd really like to win one at Lucas, but if we can run in the top five or even top 10 and contend every week, I'll be pleased," he said.

The quality of the B-Mod division, with the likes of past USRA National Champions like Morton, Kris Jackson and Andy Bryant fuels Ewing's competitive juices from his days as an all-state athlete at Stockton High School. He went on from there to play baseball at Neosho County Community College in Kansas - not far from Humboldt Speedway - and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Ewing started racing B-Mods a few years ago when it was considered by many an entry-level class.

"It was competitive, but it was still an entry-level class and man, it has evolved the last five years," he said. "It's crazy. The competition level, top to bottom, makes it one of the toughest classes around.

"When you go to Lucas and run against guys like JC and Kris, Taylor Moore ... I could rattle off 10 guys that are there every week that have a legitimate chance to win. Any time you run with guys like that, it's a blast. And any time you beat them, it's even better."

Ewing said he's contend to continue racing B-Mods for the foreseeable future.

"It's what we started in and it's what we know and what we can afford," he said. "I think if you're going to race, do what you can afford and have fun. That's where we are and we enjoy it."

Ewing said his dad, Brian, continues to be a mainstay in his success in prepping the car during the week and on race nights.

"Dad is right in the middle of it," Robbe Ewing said. "He does it all and I can't thank him enough for what he does. He puts in a lot of time on the car."

Ewing's sponsors include Gordon Julian Trucking, Billy Deckman with Prime Racing, Dirt Track Specialists, The Hail Team, Johnson Paint & Body, Julian Concrete Construction, Eagle Machine, Loehr Construction, Harryman Harvesting, Spurgeon Yachts, Ewing Ready Mix, Laub Bros. Dump Trucking, Tommy's Construction, Kustom Auto and Whistance Farms.

Admission prices:
$uper $aver $pecial (before 5:30 p.m.) - $30 for four admissions, four hot dogs and four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products
Regular admission:
Adults (16 and over) - $12
Seniors (62 and over)/Military - $9
Youth (ages 6-15) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family pass - $30
Pit pass - $30

Fans through the gates will receive a FREE 2019 schedule magnet, courtesy of City Magnet, while supplies last.

To inquire about tickets, VIP suites or camping, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.

CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com

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Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and 2019 schedule can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.

Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.

Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.

In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway

About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.

Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the ninth season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series as well as a host of other regional events.

Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro-Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.

In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series features the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks and the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods.

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