Seven-event schedule to begin at Havasu 95 Speedway

The Late Model Truck Series will begin its 2019 season where the 2018 campaign concluded – Havasu 95 Speedway – on Saturday night.

The regional truck series will kick off its second season at the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., quarter-mile track with a 35-lap feature that is part of a five-division night of racing. Andrew Porter won the LMTS’ season-ending race there on Nov. 10, and Mark Allison of Las Vegas is the defending series champion, edging series organizers Gary Wyatt and Mike Riefler for the 2018 title after four competitive races.

Approximately a dozen trucks are expected to run in the season-opening race, which is presented by Bearing King.

“We can’t wait to go racing again at Havasu 95 Speedway, and Gary Wyatt and I think it’s a great place to kick off our 2019 season,” Riefler said. “The 2018 season was a successful one, and we’re looking to keep the momentum going in a big way this year. We expect a great field of trucks and some exciting racing at one of the region’s top tracks!”

Spectator gates open at 4 p.m. PT, with racing beginning at 6. Saturday’s event will be the first of two LMTS stops at Havasu 95 Speedway in 2019, with the second coming on Nov. 2.

Havasu 95 Speedway opened in 1989 and ran for seven years before being closed. Paved and re-opened in March of 1996, the track again closed before 2000. It re-opened in September 2006 under the direction of Bill Rozhon and his family and has been running strong ever since.

 

The region’s truck racing lineage dates back to the Speed Truck Series that originated in 1997 under the American Speed Association (ASA). MechanixWear gloves and Go Fast! energy drinks sponsored the class throughout the years, and the trucks raced at up to 10 different tracks in California, Arizona and Nevada before the ASA disbanded in 2013.

The series trucks feature a full-tube chassis, a 330-horsepower sealed V-8 spec engine and two-speed direct-drive transmission, with a clutch pedal dump valve, coupled to an aluminum quick-change rear end. The trucks sport replica fiberglass bodies of the Chevrolet S-10, Chevrolet Colorado, Dodge Dakota, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.

Series partners include the On Wheels Now online radio show – the longest-running motorsports radio show in Las Vegas – Melling Performance Racing, The Bomber Nation, KO Mechanical Services, Gary’s Trailer Repair, Nevada Pic-A-Part, The “Racer’s Rewards” Contingency Connection, Richmond Gear, Campout, ReliableBanner.com and Bearing King AZ.

Late Model Truck Series 2019 schedule

March 23           Havasu 95 Speedway                                              Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
April 20             The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway        Las Vegas
June 29              Orange Show Speedway                                         San Bernardino, Calif.
Aug. 31               The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway        Las Vegas
Oct. 12                The Speedway at Willow Springs                          Rosamond, Calif.
Nov. 2                 Havasu 95 Speedway                                               Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Championship Night
Nov. 23                The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway       Las Vegas