The Outlaws will ride into town again in 2012.

The tour of professional sprint car drivers, nationally renowned for exciting high-speed competition, drew the largest crowds this past season at Oval Motorsports’ Merced and Antioch speedways. Using roof wings for down force to control 600-horsepower engines sitting on frames with large tires, the cars are the fastest racers on dirt. The Antioch Speedway hosts the event on Sept. 10, 2012.

“These races are our premier events of the season,” said Oval Motorsports President John Soares. “There has been a steady stream of communication from race fans begging for us to bring the shows back this year.”

Tickets are on sale at www.dirtcar.ticketforce.com. A free pit pass for the Merced event – scheduled for March 30, 2012 – is offered with each purchase of an advance reserved ticket.

Soares has already begun preparing the two clay ovals for the event. The most noticeable changes are at Merced Speedway, where light poles and walls are being moved in order to widen the track to 70 feet.

“Merced Speedway will continue to evolve into the top dirt track in California,” Soares said. “We have four trucks running all day, hauling in clay to build the new surface.”

The track will feature an infield devoid of obstacles. Its width will allow for more side-by-side racing and passing.

“It will be a driver’s track,” Soares said. “It will be wider and ‘racier,’ as they say. The World of Outlaws will be a better show than ever this coming March.”

Antioch Speedway, the pride of Oval Motorsports, Inc. received a face lift for this past September’s World of Outlaws competition. Sprint car drivers raved about its surface, which provided fans with a thrilling main event.

Steve Kinser, the World of Outlaws’ franchise driver boasting nearly 600 wins, brought the fans to their feet at Antioch in September as he won the first time running there.

“This track is perfect. I can’t complain about a thing,” said Kinser in victory lane. “We were able to set up and run like we had run here before.”

Second-place finisher Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, an Antioch Speedway veteran, also praised the track. “The track was better than ever,” Larson said. “You could run high or run low. It made for great racing. I almost had Steve (Kinser).”

The Oval Motorsports tracks will run continuously through the 2012 season. Merced Speedway will be in operation on Friday nights and Antioch Speedway on Saturday nights. The season’s schedule and the classes of cars being raced will be released soon.

– Courtesy of Mike Adaskaveg