Race 1 (Sat) of the 8th Annual Thaw Brawl Presented by Hoker Truck has been postponed. Race 2 (Sun) is still on as scheduled. Due to the heavy
rains overnight and a forecast working against track crews, LaSalle Speedway & American Ethanol Touring Officials have determined that the race surface and speedway grounds are not in a suitable condition to hold an event today (Sat). Crews will be working
throughout the day in preparation for the events scheduled tomorrow (Sun). Tickets for Thaw Brawl Race 1 (Sat) may be used towards the purchase of tickets for Thaw Brawl Race 2 (Sun). Fans who cannot attend tomorrow’s (Sun) race, may use their Thaw Brawl tickets
towards the purchase of any other LaSalle Speedway event in 2019. The AELMT & AEmods postponed race, scheduled for today (Sat), has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 20th at LaSalle Speedway. Sunday, Pit Gates open at 11am with Hot Laps at 1pm and Racing
set for 3pm Central Time.

Thanks,

Scott Menlen
Motor City Racing Promotions
Phone: 586-201-0378
smenlen@motorcityracing.co
www.motorcityracing.co

LaSalle, IL (Wednesday, March 27, 2019) – The 8th Annual Thaw Brawl Presented by Hoker Trucking from LaSalle Speedway schedule of events has been changed in light of the weekend weather forecast. LaSalle Speedway and American Ethanol Late Model Tour (AELMT) and the
American Ethanol Modified Tour Presented by Allstar Performance (AEmods) officials are continuing preparation for this weekend’s highly anticipated event.

As part of the changes, the weekend events are being pushed back one day, with start times and gate times changing as well. Officials are now planning on holding an Open Practice session on Friday night. With that, the first race night of the weekend will be
Saturday, March 30th. Gates and the draw will open at 11:00 a.m. Central Time. From there, Hot Laps and Qualifying will begin at 1:00 p.m., with the first American Ethanol Green Flag of the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The American Ethanol Late Model Tour will
still race for 50-laps and $5,000 to win as part of the now Saturday night program, alongside the AEmods and IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods.Sunday (the originally scheduled rain date) will also be an afternoon event. With Pit Gates and the draw opening at 11:00 a.m.. Hot Laps and Qualifying at 1:00 p.m., and the first race of the day at 3:00 p.m. The now Sunday afternoon show will still showcase a
$15,000 payday in the AELMT, with AEmods, IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods on the agenda as well.

The official schedule change comes as a result of improving forecasts, reducing the significance of rain – however, the continued chance for cold temperatures prompted the earlier start times.
For more information on the Thaw Brawl, including advanced ticket sales, log onto
lasallespeedway.com

For more on the American Ethanol Late Model Tour, log on to
aelmt.com. Get exclusive content and stay up to date by following the AELMT on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Keep up with the AEmods at
aemodt.com and enjoy exclusive content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Eighth annual weekend set for March 29-30 capped by $15,000-to-win American Ethanol-sanctioned feature

LA SALLE, Ill. (March 12) — If history is any indication, drivers from Illinois and Iowa will be tough to beat in the $15,000-to-win finale of the March 29-30 Thaw Brawl presented by Hoker Trucking at La Salle Speedway.

Residents of the neighboring Midwest states have owned the featured attraction of the high-banked, quarter-mile oval’s season-opening blockbuster since its inception in 2012. Three standouts from the Land of Lincoln (Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Bobby Pierce of Oakwood and Brian Shirley of Chatham) and two Hawkeye State stars (Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine and Chris Simpson of Oxford) have captured the Thaw Brawl’s Saturday-evening headliner, which has been contested six times.

The only driver not hailing from Illinois or Iowa who has reached victory lane during the Thaw Brawl weekend is Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who topped 2017’s Friday-night preliminary A-main before Saturday’s main event was rained out and not rescheduled.

Erb holds the distinction of being the only two-winner winner of the Thaw Brawl finale after claiming the $5,000 first-place prize in the inaugural race in 2012 — the only year that a five-figure victor’s check wasn’t offered — and again in ’14 when the payoff rose to $15,000. Pierce and Shirley were triumphant in 2015 and ’16, respectively, to cap perfect $20,000 weekends in which they swept the Friday and Saturday features, while Birkhofer earned $10,000 for grabbing the checkered flag in ’13 and Simpson pocketed a career-high $15,000 for his score in last year’s 75-lapper.

The Illinois/Iowa stranglehold on the Thaw Brawl’s main event is evidenced by another statistic: of the 30 top-five finishing positions in the six big-money finales, only seven spots have been occupied by drivers who live in other states. The highest-finishing non-Illinois/Iowa driver in the Thaw Brawl finale is Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, who was the runner-up last year. Schlenk also earned a fifth-place finish in 2016, while the other top-five interlopers are Ricky Weiss of Headingley, Manitoba (third in ’15 and ’18), Austin Hubbard of Seaford, Del. (fifth in ’13), Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. (fourth in ’14) and Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark. (fifth in ’15).

Will the superiority of the Illinois and Iowa contingent continue during the 2019 Thaw Brawl, which kicks off with a 50-lap, $5,000-to-win A-main on Fri., March 29, before concluding with the 75-lap, $15,000-to-win feature on Sat., March 30? Erb, Pierce, Shirley and Simpson are all expected back to chase another rich victory as well as other home-state talents like Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, who won last year’s Thaw Brawl preliminary feature, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ryan Unzicker of El Paso and Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, but drivers from other states are primed to challenge them.

With the Thaw Brawl sporting sanctioning from the Michigan-based American Ethanol Late Model Tour for the first time, a bigger representation of Wolverine State racers is expected, including defending AELMT champion Brandon Thirlby of Traverse City, two-time series titlist Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, Eric Spangler of Lake City and Travis Stemler of Ionia. Other notables with plans to enter the weekend include Schlenk, Hall of Famer Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Steve Casebolt of Richmond, Ind.

Tickets, reserved motorhome camping spots and VIP parking are now on sale for the Thaw Brawl presented by Hoker Trucking, which also includes complete programs on both March 29 and 30 for the American Ethanol Modified Tour presented by All-Star Performance, IMCA modifieds and sport mods. The American Ethanol Late Model and Modified action will be contested under UMP DIRTcar rules and regulations while the IMCA modifieds and sport mods will utilize IMCA rules. The rain date for the weekend is Sun., March 31, or April 12-13.

DirtonDirt.com will provide live pay-per-view video coverage of the Thaw Brawl weekend for those who can not attend in person.

Izzo has scheduled a pair of pre-Thaw Brawl open practice sessions at La Salle for March 23 and 28, both from 4-10 p.m.

The Thaw Brawl is one of three trips the American Ethanol Tour is set to make to La Salle in 2019, establishing the track as a key venue on the circuit’s 25-race schedule. The series will also sanction the $6,000-to-win Bill Waite Jr. Memorial Classic on Sun., July 21, and the inaugural Fan Fueled 50K on Sept. 27-28, a blockbuster two-day inaugural event that boasts a $30,000-to-win finale and offers the opportunity for one driver to pocket $50,000. Izzo said he will announce details of the Fan Fueled 50K at a later date.

Ticket and camping information and other details about the Thaw Brawl weekend can be obtained by visitingwww.lasallespeedway.com or calling the track office at 815-223-6900.