Demons of the dirt will be out in force at speedway

AMERICAN speedway superstars will help light up the new year in Grafton.

STARS AND STRIPES: Prominent American driver Steve Francis will be in town in January, ready to do battle with Australia’s best.

AMERICAN speedway superstars will help light up the new year in Grafton.

Trevan Ford Grafton Speedway is gearing up for the busiest period of racing in the venue's long history.

Promoter David Lander has scheduled three fixtures in eight days in a spectacular promotion under the Speedweek banner.

Lander is one of the most experienced promoters in the country with over 25 years at the helm and his expertise will give Grafton fans three super shows that do justice to any speedway venue in the world.

"The Christmas-New Year period is the high time of our summer season and we must capitalise on this window of opportunity by giving fans some great fixtures," Lander said yesterday.

The Speedweek shows commence on December 28 with the Mr Modified Series grand final, two days after the opening round at Lucas Oil Lismore Speedway.

A highlight of the Mr Modified Series will be the appearance of three-time Australian V8 Dirt Modified champion Peter Britten who recently returned from another successful season in the United States.

The Queenslander finished ninth in the American Championship against some of the world's best drivers.

The KAOS stunt bike team will also make an appearance and leave patrons speechless with their acrobatics high above the main arena.

The American theme will again be evident on January 1 when leading Late Model sedan drivers Kentucky's Steve Francis and Indiana's Steve Casebolt contest the International Trophy Series against prominent Australian drivers.

Francis, 46, has won some big events in America, including the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in Iowa, and is the current Australian Late Model Champion and finished runner-up for the US National Championship title.

Casebolt is a legitimate superstar who several years ago took out the famous "Dream 100" Late Model race at Ohio's Eldora Speedway and pocketed a cool $100,000.

Finally, on January, 4 the monster trucks take centre stage with a car-crunching performance that will be nothing short of sensational.

The flame-throwing jet car also will make an appearance with a car meltdown demonstration one of the highlights and there will be a massive fireworks display to cap off the night of family entertainment.

The emphasis then switches to Lismore with weekly racing throughout January.

Every night is a major attraction with the Monster Trucks (Jan 11), World Series Sprintcars Championship (Jan 18), Australian V8 Dirt Modified Championship (January 25-26) and the inaugural World Midget Car Championship (Jan 31-Feb 1) with leading Australian drivers against the best from the US and New Zealand.

Originally published as Demons of the dirt will be out in force at speedway