The Valvoline Iron-Man Racing Southern Series will begin the 2021 season officially on Saturday April 3 at Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, TN with the track’s inaugural Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial presented by Toyots Knoxville, which will be the richest event in tour history and the biggest one-day event to date in the history of Tazewell Speedway as the 75-lap main event will pay $21,000 to win and $1,000 to start. The event will be co-sanctioned with the Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals Series.
The Inaugural Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial will take place at Tazewell Speedway on Saturday April 3 and will feature the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series co-sanctioned with the Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals Series in a full program of practice, E-Z-GO time trials, Sunoco Race Fuels heats, Consolation Races and the 75-lap, $21,000-to-win/$1,000-to-start Lil’ Bill Corum main event. Other divisions in competition at the Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial event on Saturday April 3 at Tazewell Speedway will be released closer to the date of the event. The track has posted a $2,100 fast time award sponsored by Toyota Knoxville for the overall top qualifier for the Super Late Model portion provided the driver has pre-entered for the event, which had to be postmarked by March 20.
Lil’ Bill Corum was the winner of more than 300 races and is a Hall of Fame Member at three different tracks. His career spanned from 1959 through 1989 throughout East-Tennessee and North Georgia while winning the first event at Knoxville Raceway, a two-time winner of the Tennessee Dirt Track Championship, and captured the NDRA’s Stroh’s 100 at Atomic Motor Speedway in 1981. Corum also competed in the only ARCA race that was held at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN, finishing third in 1973. Corum collected track championships at 411 Motor Speedway, Atomic Motor Speedway, Tazewell Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Ashway Speedway, Appalachian Speedway and Newport Speedway.
Activities at Tazewell Speedway on Saturday April 3 for the Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial will see the pit area open at 2:00 p.m., with the general admission area opening at 4:00 p.m. The driver’s meeting will be at 6:30 p.m., with practice laps set to begin at 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices for the Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial at Tazewell Speedway on Saturday April 3 in the general admission area will be $30 for adults, while a pit pass will be $45.
The Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series will co-sanction the event with the Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals Series and the tire rule will be as follows: Hoosier 1350 and 1600 and/or American Racer 48 and 56 (NO 29.0 size tires on the left rear and the droop rule will be in effect for this event). The entry fee will be $150 and transponders for timing/scoring will be available for rent at the track. Any driver not making the 22-car starting field will receive $75 tow money.
This event will also mark the first race of the Sunoco Race Fuels $10,000+ Challenge for the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series, with this being a “mini-series” with both the Northern and Southern regions of the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series in 2021 for all events that pay $10,000 or more to win. For more information about the Sunoco Race Fuels $10,000 Plus Challenge, visit the tour’s official website at www.IMDIRT.net.
The Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series has made eleven previous appearances at Tazewell Speedway, with three of those coming in 2020 and the tour saw three different winners at the East Tennessee track last season, with David Payne of Murphy, NC, Jason Trammell of Powell, TN, and Donald McIntosh of Dawsonville, GA scoring victories. Other series winners at Tazewell Speedway in past seasons include Chad Ogle of Sevierville, TN (2015, 2016), Vic Hill of Mosheim, TN (2017), Brian Smith of Barbourville, KY (2017), Eric Wells of Hazard. KY (2018), David Payne (2018), Kyle Strickler of Mooresville, NC (2019), and Dakotah Knuckles of Ewing, VA (2019). Ryan King of Seymour, TN is the 2020 champion of the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series.
Tazewell Speedway is located at 1400 Bacchus Road in Tazewell, TN 37879. For more information about Tazewell Speedway, visit the track website at www.tazewellspeedway.net.
For more information on the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series, please call Series Director Chris Tilley at (828) 361-5981 or by visiting the tour website at www.IMDIRT.net or by following @CTPROMOTE on Twitter or by liking Iron-Man Racing Series on Facebook.
The Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series would like to thank the following sponsors and marketing partners for their support of the 2021 racing season: Valvoline, Zerex by Valvoline, Brucebilt Performance, Hoosier Racing Tire, E-Z-GO, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, DirtonDirt.com, FloRacing, Vic Hill Racing Engines, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Swafford Signs, MSR Mafia, Envy Suspension, Knowles Race Parts and Bodies, Cruise with the Champions, KND Safety and Denby’s J&J Construction.
Lil’ Bill Corum Memorial Purse at Tazewell Speedway (75 laps): 1. $21,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,000, 6. $2,000, 7. $1,500, 8. $1,400, 9. $1,300, 10. $1,200, 11. $1,150, 12. $1,090, 13. $1,080, 14. $1,070, 15. $1,060, 16. $1,050, 17. $1,040, 18. $1,030, 19. $1,020, 20. $1,010, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000
