CARTERSVILLE, GA - Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader of Fenton,
MO is looking forward to the off-season. While many of his fellow Cup
drivers will take a long-awaited vacation by traveling to places like the
Rocky Mountains for skiing, or the Caribbean for deep-sea fishing, Schrader
is going Crate Late Model racing in Tampa, FL.



Schrader is going to East Bay Raceway Park for the
$10,000-to-win Crate Racin' USA-sanctioned Jasper Engines Crate Late Model
World Championship Race presented by American Race Tire on December 1-3.



"It's a weekend, and I've always thought you needed to be at
a race track," Schrader said. "Florida is where it's at that weekend
because you've got the Performance Racing Show going on in Orlando, and
there's a race close by in Tampa, so I couldn't think of a better place to
be."



Schrader is a rare breed of race car driver. He is at the
top of his profession, a full-time Nextel Cup driver with four career wins
since 1985. Schrader spent the early portion of his career in the 1970s and
early 1980s racing anything with wheels on dirt and asphalt short tracks to
make it to the big time.



In the mid-1980s, Schrader landed a full time ride in what
was then known as Winston Cup. When most drivers get to that point in their
careers, they quit coming to the short tracks. Most are too busy with
sponsor commitments, testing, and all of the other jet-setting perks that
come with being a full time driver on the nation's premier stock car racing
circuit.



Now a few of Schrader's counter-parts in Nextel Cup racing
will return to their roots in racing by making a paid appearance at a short
track, and might even run in a staged exhibition race. What sets Schrader
apart from the rest of his fellow Nextel Cup drivers is that he will show
up, unsolicited, to race at a short track every chance he gets.



Schrader maintains a team of short track race cars that
include dirt late models, and open-wheel modifieds. Schrader is well-known
for just showing up at a dirt track anywhere in the country and race
wheel-to-wheel with drivers that have the same desires he had 30 years ago.



By coming to East Bay Raceway Park on December 1-3 for the
Jasper Engines Crate Late Model World Championship Race presented by
American Race Tire, Schrader will not only be coming for the enjoyment to
race, but it will also be a business trip of sorts as well. Not only does
Schrader love to compete on the dirt tracks, he also owns two.



Aside from all of the glitz and glamour that comes with
being a Nextel Cup driver, there is also a lot of money to be made.
Schrader takes a portion of his earnings and puts it back into dirt track
racing. Schrader is a part of ownership groups at I-55 Raceway in Pevely,
MO and Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY.



As a short track promoter, Schrader has to know what are the
latest trends in that form of racing. By competing and traveling to short
tracks nationwide, Schrader can get a first-hand account of what's going on.



"I've heard a lot of good things about what Crate Racin' USA
is trying to accomplish in dirt late model racing, and by coming to East Bay
Raceway Park and competing, I can get a good idea about it," Schrader said.
"I really think the concept of the Crate Engine is going to be good for the
sport."



The concept of the crate engine is quite simple.
Competitors can buy these engines for one-tenth of the cost of an unlimited
engine. The engines are sealed at the factory, and competitors are not
permitted to break the seals and make any modifications. They take the
engines from the factory, take them right out of the crate they come in, and
go racing - hence the term "crate engine."



Good short track promoters know that in order to be
successful, they must keep a tight "economic balance." They have to keep
the costs down for the competitors in order to pay them a fair purse. That
purse money comes from ticket sales from the spectators, and the promoter
has to charge a fair amount for a ticket that the market will bare.



When a racer has to race for more money to maintain a
$40,000 engine, the promoter has to charge more at the grandstand gate to
pay them. When the race fan won't pay the higher ticket price, the promoter
can't pay the racer without losing his profit margin to stay in business.



In addition to making dirt late model racing more affordable
for everyone, the crate engine also levels the playing field when it comes
to competing on the track. Crate Racin' USA has created a good mix of
seasoned veterans, weekend sportsman racers, and young up-and-coming drivers
looking to someday be where Ken Schrader is at.