PCMS opens 11th season in County

The eleventh season of Phillips County Motorsports is set to have their first bracket racing event this weekend.

"When the car show ends, cars will come to the track and we generally kick off at about 3:00 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. and we run a test and tune," PCMS Vice President John Carnahan said. "On Sunday Morning, we will do qualifying rounds."

The qualifying rounds will start at 9:30 a.m. and will go until noon. After a one-hour lunch break, the Psycho Sports Cartel (PSC) will put on a Freestyle Motocross demo for spectators and racers at the Hi-Line Drag Strip.

This year's event will mark the second consecutive time that the high flying group of bikers will perform in Phillips County at the 2017 Car Show and the PCMS first points race.

"We had quite a few people come out and watch that didn't see it on Saturday and had heard about it, so we are going to go ahead and do it this year," Carnahan said. "That helps support them for coming all the way up here to do what they are doing."

The PSC will perform right in front of the grandstands on the north side of the drag strip.

The Hi-Line Drag Strip is scheduled to host nine Phillips County Motorsports events over five racing weekends this year.

The track will host two IronMan Classic events, the first of which will take place on Sunday, June 18 and the second on Monday, September 4. There will be a winner in each racing category, including Junior Dragster, Sportsman, Box and NoBox.

"We have an IronMan trophy which is the most prestigious that you can win in the International Hot Rod Association," Carnahan said.

PCMS typically has one IronMan Classic per season but this year is different due to inclement weather last year.

"These trophies carried over, so we are going to go ahead and run this race and have another race the first weekend of August," Carnahan said.

The Montana Drag Racing Association (MDRA) Points Race is scheduled as a two-day event starting on Saturday, July 22 and ending on Sunday, July 23.

The MDRA consists of Malta, Anaconda, Lewistown and Billings.

"How it works is that you go to each track for one race and then if you are the overall points winner you receive a trophy along with some cash along with a jacket that says you are the state champion," Carnahan said.

The Quick 16, an all class race is scheduled for Saturday, September 2 and will be the first of three races on that three day weekend.

"The top sixteen quickest cars that have the fastest elapsed times go into a bracket. We ladder the cars and they run off for the winner," Carnahan said. "We don't have a number right now but generally we give around $10,000 for the top five or six places."

PCMS will have their Annual Fundraiser Banquet on Saturday, September 23 and the $12,000 Big Dollar Race will take place on Sunday, September 24.

"On that Saturday we have what we would call a Big Dollar race for the junior dragsters," Carnahan said. "I believe last year we gave around $5,000 to the juniors. On Sunday the juniors don't race and it's just a race for all the big kids. That's the one we give out $12,000."

During the Big Dollar Race there are only two classes, Box and NoBox. PCMS will pay out $3,500 in each class for the winners and $1,500 for the runner ups. The third and fourth placers will get $500 a piece.