BRISTOL, Tenn. (Dec 27, 2017) - After a thrilling inaugural Short Track U.S. Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway last May, Track and Series officials diligently went to work to on ways to make the next event better than ever for competitors.

According to Champion Racing Association's (CRA) managing partner R. J. Scott, "For a first of its kind event, last year's Short Track U.S. Nationals was exciting and super competitive. We learned a lot and received some great ideas that we wanted to implement immediately. We hope the competitors will be as thrilled as we are for the 2018 enhancements."

Key Highlights Include:

  • Consolidating the schedule so that each division spends a maximum of two days on track
  • Allowing a Late Model division to be showcased each night of competition and for a feature race each night
  • Significant purse increases for the weekend-headlining Super Late Models
    • The winner of the feature will now win $12,000 (over a 50 percent increase) while all competitors who start the feature will earn $1,200 (over a 50 percent increase)
  • Most Late Model haulers will move to the infield; Competitors are encouraged to register early
  • The open test for the Short Track U.S. Nationals is scheduled for Saturday, May 12

Weekend Schedule Highlights Include:

  • Thursday:
    • Optional move-in for teams that are on track on Friday
    • Welcome Party for all competitors
  • Friday:
    • Practice, qualifying and racing for Pro Late Models and Modifieds
    • Optional practice for Late Model Stocks and Compacts
  • Saturday:
    • Practice, qualifying and racing for Late Model Stocks and Compacts, Modified A-Feature
    • Optional practice for Super Late Models and Street Stocks
  • Sunday:
    • Practice, qualifying and racing for Super Late Models and Street Stocks

Also new in 2018, organizers are proud to welcome the I-CAR All-Star Modified Tour as the lead sanctioning body for the Modified division. In addition, the Short Track U.S. Nationals continues to be led by the Champion Racing Association powered by JEGS (CRA), who will be co-sanctioning the Super Late Model race with the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, The CARS Super Late Model Tour (CARS) and the Southern Super Series (SSS). CRA also will oversee the action for the crate late model event with their JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet and the Street Stocks with their Lawrence Towing/CRA Street Stock Series. The CARS officials will oversee the Late Model Stock portion of the event with their CARS Late Model Stock Tour while compacts will be organized and overseen by the Vore's Compact Touring Series. The Short Track U. S. Nationals is being presented by Vore's Welding & Steel.

The inaugural Short Track U.S. Nationals event featured nearly 350 cars on track and crowned 13 different winners, including current full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, Myatt Snider, Cole Williams and Chad Poole, among others.

Racers should follow the websites of the appropriate sanctioning bodies for more news and information as details are released. Fans can tune to BMS' social channels and www.BristolMotorSpeedway.com for updates.