FAIRBURY, IL (November 25, 2024) – With all eyes looking ahead to the 2025 season, officials with the MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends are excited to announce that the tour will kick off on Friday & Saturday, March 28 & 29, 2025, at the Maquoketa Speedway (Maquoketa, IA) with the 2nd annual Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services. This will mark the earliest the tour has begun since 2019, and the first time in series history that the tour will make the trip to the racy 3/8-mile speedway located at the Jackson County (IA) Fairgrounds.
The Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services weekend at Maquoketa Speedway boasts a MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends total purse of over $120,000 (full payout listed below). On Friday, March 28, the MARS Late Models will compete for $7,500-to-win and $1,000-to-start, while a live band will headline post-race activities. On Saturday, March 29, the evening will feature a $15,000-to-win main event with a whopping $2,000 just to take the green flag. IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars are both tentatively set to accompany the blockbuster MARS Late Model weekend. An open practice is scheduled for Thursday, March 27, to give competitors an opportunity to shake off the winter blues before racing action kicks off on Friday.
“To have the opportunity to open up the 2025 season with an event of this magnitude is huge for our tour” said MARS Series Director Jonathan Clayton. “When you have an event that has been spearheaded by successful people in the industry such as Jeff Hoker, the Darkside Promotions team, and Ricky Kay overseeing the track prep, it’s easily an event you want to be a part of and to help continue to grow into the future.”
The Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services launched in 2024 at Maquoketa Speedway, led by the Eastern-Iowa promotional duo of Hoker Promotions LLC and Darkside Promotions LLC. The inaugural event saw a 26-car field checked in for action on March 29, 2024, with Bobby Pierce taking home the victory over Ryan Gustin and Brian Shirley. Saturday, March 30, saw Ricky Thornton Jr. take home the feature event with Ryan Gustin and Brandon Sheppard rounding out the podium.
“We are very excited to be able to partner with the MARS Racing Series for the 2nd annual Nippy 50.” stated event promoter Jeff Hoker. “The inaugural year was a huge success with two great nights of racing, and we feel sanctioning with MARS is a great fit to help us grow the event and make it even bigger in 2025. Our goal is to have a great paying weekend with a field full of the best late model drivers in the country and we feel sanctioning the event helps us do that and be even more successful. We will once again have Ricky Kay taking care of track prep to give the drivers the best race surface they can have and provide the fans with fantastic racing action. We cannot thank all our marketing partners enough for helping us make this event successful and anyone interested in joining the great list of partners we already have can contact us directly.”
In the coming weeks additional information will be released including event times, event prices, tire rules, daily event schedules, support class information, and much more at marsracingseries.com and maquoketaspeedway.com. Camping inquiries can be directed to the Jackson County Fairgrounds at 563-652-4282. If you are interested in becoming an event partner of this blockbuster weekend of racing, please reach out to Jeff Hoker at jhoker@hokertrucking.com.
If you are unable to make it to the track, you can catch the 2nd annual Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services at Maquoketa Speedway live at floracing.com.
Rio Grande Waste Services Nippy 50 Presented by D&E Outside Services at Maquoketa Speedway (Maquoketa, IA) MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Feature Event Purse
Friday, March 28, 2025
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Feature: 1. $7,500 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 23. $1,000 24. $1,000.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Feature: 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 23. $2,000 24. $2,000.
The MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends & MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment tours are set to kick-off in Spring of 2025. Complete schedules for each series will be released in the coming days.
For more information about the MARS Dirt Series, please contact Jonathan Clayton at 731-467- 1316, visit the tour’s webpage at marsracingseries.com, or visit @MARSDirtRacing on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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 2024 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), Illinois State Rifle Association, 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, King’s Graphix, 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, and QuickCar Racing Products.
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