A NEW MOTORSPORTS ERA BEGINS TONIGHT IN LOUISIANA

                CARTERSVILLE , GA – A new era in Louisiana motorsports begins tonight.  A1 Raceway in Slidell , LA will rise from the ashes, and will become the sixth track in the South Region of the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series.  After being demolished by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the track has been rebuilt, reconfigured, and is now ready for operation.

                A group led by Ronnie Marshall and Jody Peterson has been working non-stop for the past three months putting the finishing touches on the track that will reopen tonight under the sanction of the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series.

              Everything at the facility is new because the Category 4 Hurricane Katrina took dead aim on the speedway over Labor Day weekend in 2005 with a direct hit.  After the storm blew through, there was nothing left.

“Hurricane Katrina totally wiped out the speedway, and then after the storm, FEMA used the track as a dumping site,” Peterson said.  “They burned a lot of the debris the storm left behind here, which made getting this place back into shape even harder.”

Despite the ruin, Marshall bought the place, and hired Peterson has the promoter.  They were inspired by the can-do attitude of the people that make up the motorsports community in the State of Louisiana .  Together, they all worked relentlessly to build a new race track.

“I’ve talked to a lot of the racers in Louisiana over the past two years, and it always seems like we end up taking about Katrina,” StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series President of Operations and Communications Roby Helm said.  “I always seem to come away with the notion that these people, despite what they’ve been through, are a forward thinking people with a positive attitude.  It’s like the storm was just a little inconvenience, and that they would rebuild and go on, like it was just another day.  These are amazing people.”

Everything at A1 Raceway is new including the shape of the track.  Peterson said the old “D-Shaped” track is gone, and in it’s place is a more “Paper-Clip-shaped” track measuring ¼-mile around on the inside, and 3/8-mile around the outside.

“There is new sod on the ground, new concrete sidewalks, new grandstands, new rest room and concession buildings, a new scoreboard and timing system,” Peterson said.  “We also have good experienced people working at the track.”

The top division at the track, the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series Crate Late Models, will pay $600-to-win each Saturday night.  The competitors in the A1 Raceway StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series Division will race for two separate point funds.  They will compete for a track point fund, as well as a Regional point fund.

The Regional points will be competed for by drivers at A1 Raceway, and five other tracks in the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series South Region.  Those tracks are Baton Rouge Raceway in Baton Rouge , LA , Blackman Motor Speedway in Blackman , FL , Pike County Speedway in McComb , MS , Deep South Speedway in Loxley , AL , and Butler County Motorsports Park in Greenville , AL .

Drivers in the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series compete under a common set of the rules based around the economical GM Performance Crate Engines.  This helps level the playing field in that competition is more geared to a competitor’s driving skill and mechanical knowledge, rather than the size of his checkbook.

The GM Performance Crate Engines are built and sealed at the factory to prohibit any expensive modifications to the engine.  The engines are shipped to GM dealers across the nation, and are readily available to racers at an economic price.

                The 400-horsepower aluminum-head 604 engine sells for right at $5,000, and the 350-horsepower 602 engine sells for right at $3,000.  The dirt late models powered by the 602 engine also receives a 150 pound weight break.

In addition to the StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series and its three regions – the South, East and West, the series also has a National Touring Division that competes throughout the Southeastern and Midwestern United States .  Two of its stars began their careers at A1 Raceway and will return home tonight for the reopening of the race track.

Jay Blair of Angie, LA will be at A1 Raceway tonight.  The “Angie Assassin” is currently third in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Touring point standings with one win on the season, and is a title contender.

Another National Touring regular returning to A1 Raceway is Kody Barber of Bogalusa, LA.  When the “ Bogalusa Bullet” speaks of A1 Raceway, his eyes light up like he is talking about an old, dear friend.

“I drove my first laps in a race car at A1 Raceway, and that’s where I started my racing career,” Barber said.  “I can’t wait to get back and race there again because that race track will always be a special place for me.  I appreciate what Ronnie Marshall and his people have done to bring back the race track.”

                A1 Raceway is located northwest of Slidell on State Road 36.  For more information visit the A1 Raceway web site at www.a1raceway.net.