From Dirt Entertainment
San Bernardino, CA — (January 21, 2013) — Dirt Entertainment is pleased to announce the launch of an entirely new racing series for open wheel racing in Southern California, the United Racing Association (URA). The URA is a new series created specifically around the focus of bringing open wheel short track racing “back to basics” by creating a uniform, simplistic set of rules for its racing divisions in hopes of allowing a diverse group of race car drivers to compete at multiple racing venues, while providing first-class dirt oval track racing for its fans.
Although the series hopes to bring new life to the sport of open wheel racing in Southern California and up to the Central Coast, the vision is to rekindle some of the ideals of the past that were highly successful throughout the history of grass roots auto racing to promote innovation, attract more teams, and reduce the overall costs involved with the sport.
The United Racing Association consists of a series of four (4) open wheel divisions: Unlimited Sprint Cars, Limited Sprint Cars, Unlimited Midgets, and Limited Midgets. All divisions will compete for an annual championship that will be based upon points accumulated at URA sanctioned tracks. The 2013 schedule will focus heavily on the series’ two “home tracks”, which are Orange Show Stadium, a ¼-mile clay oval located within the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, California, and Route 66 Motorplex, located at the San Bernardino Fairgrounds in Victorville, California. The Inaugural URA Season will kick off in March of 2013, with opening night races on back-to-back weekends March 16th at Route 66 Motorplex and March 23rd at Orange Show Stadium. Santa Maria Speedway in Nipomo, California will host the URA on August 24th. So far, 11 events are scheduled for the 2013 season.
The URA was founded by racers with a couple of long-term goals in mind. First and foremost, the URA was created to provide quality oval dirt track venues for California open wheel racers that have identical, scaled-back rules packages and are promoted with a common purpose….to bring racing back to its purest form. The idea is to keep the rules and enforcement of such to a minimum so as to promote innovation and reduce overall costs. This will also encourage competitors from other organizations to participate with the URA without having to spend time and money conforming to specific rules packages. Instead, the URA will allow competitors to “run whatcha brung” in the Unlimited divisions.
The URA is also aimed at providing a “stepping-stone” driver-development program by offering a multi-tier platform of racing divisions that promote growth within the sport of open wheel dirt-track oval racing. The four divisions sanctioned by the URA will offer an entire spectrum of opportunities of participation for drivers with skill levels ranging from first-time novices to seasoned veterans. The Unlimited classes will be reserved for qualified or licensed drivers, over the age of 16, with experience in their divisions. Those with little or no experience may participate in the Limited divisions and may gain valuable experience in an economical, entry-level Limited Midget or Limited Sprint Car. The limited midget class is open to anyone over the age of 12 years old.
The concept behind the URA will benefit teams in various other ways, including allowing them to compete in multiple divisions. Also, younger, less experienced drivers will have the opportunity to watch and learn from their peers and from more experienced drivers that will be on hand in the Unlimited divisions, while gaining valuable track time competing with each other.
The URA believes that offering a progressive list of divisions with limited rules will also create a better overall show for the fans, as they will be able to see a minimum of four divisions compete on any given night, and as they watch the younger generation blossom and graduate up through the ranks. The vision is that heroes will be born and raised among the ranks, and California open wheel fans will have the opportunity to watch drivers throughout their entire career in open wheel racing.
Aside from stringent safety rules and requirements, the descriptions of the four divisions are quite simple:
1. Unlimited Sprint Car : This division is open to conventional sprint car chassis. Wings are not allowed. There will be no restrictions for aspiration, displacement, or fuel. Electronic fuel injection is allowed. The tire rule applies only to the right rear, which must be a HTW. A weight rule will be enforced via scales.
2. Limited Sprint Car: This division is open to conventional sprint car chassis. Wings are not allowed. Fuel is limited to Methanol. The engines must have a cast iron block with a maximum displacement of 360 cubic inches, and must be normally-aspirated, mechanically injected, and have 23-degree heads. The tire rule applies only to the right rear, which must be a HTW. A weight rule will be enforced via scales.
3. Unlimited Midget: This division is open to conventional full-midget chassis. Wings are not allowed. There will be no restrictions for aspiration, displacement, or fuel. Electronic fuel injection is allowed. The tire rule applies only to the right rear, which must be a SP2. A weight rule will be enforced via scales.
4. Limited Midget: This division is open to conventional midget chassis. Wings are not allowed. Fuel is limited to Methanol. The engines must be of the Ford Focus motor package. The tire rule applies only to the right rear, which must be a SP2. A weight rule will be enforced via scales.
To keep up with all of the latest news from the United Racing Association, Dirt Entertainment, Orange Show Stadium, or Route 66 Motorplex, please visit www.dirtentertainment.com.
For more specific rules and event information, please email info@dirtentertainment.com.
The United Racing Association hopes to see all of you this year.