FAIRBURY, IL (March 24, 2025) – 2025 is a season of new for the MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends. New tracks, new events, new drivers chasing a championship, and a record 32-race schedule welcome drivers and teams alike this season as it all gets kicked off this weekend, March 27-29, in Maquoketa, Iowa.
For the first time in series history the tour will lift its lid at the ¼-mile Maquoketa Speedway in Maquoketa, Iowa. Not only will the series open the season here for the first time, but it also marks the first trip ever for the tour to the Jackson County Fairgrounds oval. An all-new track to the series schedule will bring along an all-new event for the MARS Late Model tour: The Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services.
The Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services may only be a second-year event but is quickly gaining traction as one of the must-see events of the Spring in not only the Midwest, but the entire country. Last season the event fought through adversity thanks to mother nature, but the show went on thanks to event promoters Darkside Promotions, Hoker Promotions, along with track-prep guru Ricky Kay. 26 Late Models checked in for action for the unsanctioned show on Friday night with a World of Outlaws Late Models trio of Bobby Pierce, Ryan Gustin, and Brian Shirley earning podium finishes. Saturday night’s finale saw 25 cars checked in for battle with Ricky Thornton Jr taking home the victory over Ryan Gustin, and Brandon Sheppard.
The 2025 edition of the event appears to have all the makings of a who’s-who of Late Model racing with over 40 drivers expected to make the trip with many of the biggest names in both regional, and national tour racing. Over $115,000 in A-Main purse money alone will be distributed over the two nights of racing, headlined by not only the $10,000-to-win on Friday and $15,000-to-win on Saturday, but more so for the $1,000-to-start the main event on Friday and $2,000 just to take the green-flag on Saturday.
Back-to-back MARS Late Model Series champion Jason Feger is set to begin his quest for a three-peat, but with the newly added Drivers Loyalty program paired with a significant increase in points money for 2025, his competition looks to be his toughest yet. 2024 series regulars Ryan Unzicker, Justin Duty, Bob Gardner (tentatively), McKay Wenger, and Mark Voigt are prepared to tackle the tour in 2025 along with a list of approximately seven additional drivers headlined by one of the most accomplished Dirt Late Model racers of all-time: The Moweaqua Missile Shannon Babb.
Event Info
Maquoketa Speedway
Maquoketa, Iowa
Thursday, March 27
Open Practice for all classes (Late Models only from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.)
Pits open at 4:00 p.m.
Grandstands open at 4:00 p.m.
Open Practice for all classes from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. + Late Models only from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Adult General Admission FREE
Pit Admission $25
Friday, March 28
$10,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends
$1,000-to-win IMCA Modifieds
$750-to-win IMCA Stock Cars
Pits open at 3:00 p.m.
Grandstands open at 3:00 p.m.
Drivers Meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Hot Laps at 6:30 p.m.
Adult General Admission $25
Kids ages 8-15 $10
Kids 7 and under FREE
Pit Admission $40
Saturday, March 29
$15,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends
$1,200-to-win IMCA Modifieds
$1,000-to-win IMCA Stock Cars
$500-to-win IMCA Sport Mods
Pits open at 1:00 p.m.
Grandstands open at 1:00 p.m.
Drivers Autograph Session from 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. PLUS the Easter Bunny
Drivers Meeting at 5:00 p.m.
Hot Laps at 5:30 p.m.
Adult General Admission $35
Kids ages 8-15 $15
Kids 7 and under FREE
Pit Admission $45
Nippy 50 Event Sponsors
D & E Outside Services
Quality Lawn Care Services
Eastern Iowa Overhead Doors
HD Equipment
Trix Utility Services
RLM Enterprises
Five Star Shop & Service
C&J Trucking
Pit Crew BBQ
Allgaier Performance
Ascendance Truck Centers
Gator Express
FloRacing
Elite Signs
MARS Late Model Bonus Money for Nippy 50 Weekend
$500 to the Hard Charger in the Feature event each night
$250 to each Heat Race winner each night
$100 to each first non-qualifier out of each B-Main each night
$150 to the overall Fast Qualifier each night
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Tire Rule for each night:
LF: Any (90) Hoosier
RF: Hoosier NLMT2 (90) or Hoosier NLMT3 (90)
LR: Hoosier NLMT2 (90) or Hoosier NLMT3 (90)
RR: Hoosier NLMT3 (92) or Hoosier NLMT4 (92)
Grooving and Siping will be permitted.
Event Purses
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Feature purse for Friday: 1) $10,000 2) $5,000 3) $2,500 4) $2,000 5) $1,500 6) $1,450 7) $1,400 8) $1,350 9) $1,300 10) $1,250 11) $1,200 12) $1,150 13) $1,100 14) $1,050 15) $1,000 16) $1,000 17) $1,000 18) $1,000 19) $1,000 20) $1,000 21) $1,000 22) $1,000. Non-Transfer Tow Money - $115
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Feature purse for Saturday: 1) $15,000 2) $7,500 3) $5,000 4) $4,000 5) $3,500 6) $3,000 7) $2,900 8) $2,800 9) $2,700 10) $2,600 11) $2,500 12) $2,400 13) $2,300 14) $2,250 15) $2,200 16) $2,150 17) $2,100 18) $2,050 19) $2,000 20) $2,000 21) $2,000 22) $2,000. Non-Transfer Tow Money - $120
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR:
· NEW YEAR NEW FACES: With the new season kicking off this weekend, we have already seen announcements of returning drivers to the tour such as Feger, Unzicker, Duty, Gardner (tentatively), Wenger, and Voigt… But what about the new guys? Shannon Babb, Jake Little, Guy Taylor, and Steve Stultz are all verbal commitments for the entire tour, with a list of an additional 7 playing the wait-and-see game depending on their first couple of weekends of action.
· MARS LATE MODEL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR CLASS BEGINS TO FORM: With drivers having until the conclusion of opening weekend to register for the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year chase, the full class is yet to be seen. The past two seasons have had competitive battles with Mike Harrison taking home the 2023 Rookie honors, and Justin Duty topping the chase last season.
· MORE MONEY THAN EVER TO SERIES REGULARS: With the championship chase beginning, one big item that received an overhaul for the 2025 season is the end of the year earnings for the teams. With the point fund more than doubled from the past two seasons, and the new Driver Loyalty Program money added, the series champion could earn as much as $29,600 if every event on the schedule was completed and the championship driver maintained a top-5 standing in points from race 7 (when the program kicks in) until the end of the tour.
· NEW PARTNERS JOINING THE SQUAD: The MARS Championship Tours are only as strong as our partners. Over the winter we have added Mesilla Valley Transportation, Shepard Synthetics, Allgaier Performance, and Midwest Sheet Metal to the crew so far. We thank them for their support of the 2025 season!
· HITTING THE SEASON FULL THROTTLE: Weather permitting, the MARS Championship Tours are in action every weekend from this weekend (March 28-29) until May 2-3 with events stretching from Iowa to Kentucky to Illinois with 13 events in total to kick off the season.
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends and MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment would like to thank the following sponsors and marketing partners for their support of the 2025 racing season: FK Rod Ends (MARS Late Model title sponsor), Summit Racing Equipment (MARS Modified title sponsor), Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts (Official trailer and golf cart provider of the MARS Dirt Series), Flo Racing (Official streaming provider of the MARS Late Model tour), Racing Electronics (Official communications provider of the MARS Dirt Series), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official tire manufacturer of the MARS Dirt Series), Sunoco Race Fuels (Official fuel of the MARS Dirt Series and proud sponsor of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year chase all season long on the MARS Late Model & Modified Championship tours), Pontiac RV (Official RV Dealer of the MARS Dirt Series), Allstar Performance, O’Reilly Auto Parts, DIRTcar Racing, Driscoll Motors (Official dealership of the MARS Dirt Series), Woods Basement Systems (Official Basement Contractor of the MARS Dirt Series), MD3, Josh James Artwork, MWD Signs & Graphix, Fairbury Fastener & Supply, Dirt Draft, Digital Copy Systems, Whelen, Multi Fire X, Budda Bert Transmission, Dyer’s Top Rods, Fast Shafts, Wilwood Brakes, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Keyser Manufacturing, Varsitee Screenprinting, Willy’s Carb & Dyno, Trackside Racewear, Hooker Harness, Lethal Chassis, Remtek Enterprises, QuickCar Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Midwest Sheet Metal, Shepard Synthetics, and Allgaier Performance.
MARS Championship Upcoming Events
· March 28, 2025 - Maquoketa Speedway - Maquoketa, IA - Nippy 50 Presented by D & E Outside Services - $10,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends
· March 29, 2025 - Maquoketa Speedway - Maquoketa, IA - Nippy 50 Presented by D & E Outside Services - $15,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends
· April 4, 2025 - Paducah International Raceway - Paducah, KY - USA World 50 - $10,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends & $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment
· April 5, 2025 - Charleston Speedway - Charleston, IL - Charleston Challenge - $5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends & $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment
· April 11, 2025 - Farmer City Raceway - Farmer City, IL - Illini 100 - $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment