CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- St. Tammany Raceway in Hickory, LA has signed on for the 2013 season with the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division. Drivers in both Divisions will be eligible to compete for both National point funds and weekly point funds.

St. Tammany Raceway has operated under several different names through the years, and has been sanctioned by the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series in the past. The track returns to life under a new promoter for 2013, Mickey Phillips.

“We are pleased to be sanctioning with NeSmith for our Late Model Division and our Street Stock Division, and we feel it is the right thing to do for our track and all of our drivers,” Phillips said. “The weekly program for both Divisions really offers our competitors some great opportunities both financially, and with the exposure they will receive.”

Phillips is excited about building a lasting future for St. Tammany Raceway, as well as a race track that racers can be proud of and get a fair shake when they race there.

“We are in this for the long haul, unlike some of the past promoters,” Phillips said. “We want everyone to come race with us at St. Tammany Raceway, but we also want the competition to be fair for everyone. We are looking forward to a great 2013 season.”

Officials at St. Tammany Raceway are currently giving the track a facelift to be ready when the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series and the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division National points season begins on March 25 and runs through September 29.

Drivers in both Divisions at St. Tammany Raceway will compete for a National Championship against drivers at other sanctioned tracks through a weekly points system that will count their best 14 week point totals over the 27-week season.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series National Champion will receive $10,000 and the point fund will pay back through the top ten drivers in the point standings at the end of the season. The NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division point fund will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We are happy to have St. Tammany Raceway back in the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series family of tracks, and we’re looking forward to working with Mickey Phillips and his staff during the 2013 season,” NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series Director Roby Helm said. “There are a lot talented drivers in that area in both Divisions that are in need of a place to race on Saturday night. We are also looking forward to working with them and promoting their efforts on the track.”

The dirt late model race cars in the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series are powered by the economical Chevrolet Performance Crate Engines that are built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. There are two engines to choose from, the 400 horsepower aluminum-head 604 engine and the 350 horsepower steel-head 602 engine that gets a 100-pound weight break.

These engines are in stock and ready for free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast from NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA. The Chevrolet Performance 604 Crate Engine is on sale for $5,095 and the Chevrolet Performance 602 Crate Engine is on sale for $3,195 at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA. To place an order call Tim Bland at 1-877-497-3624.

The NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division is new for 2013, and St. Tammany Raceway joins Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS, Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS and Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS as member tracks.

The rules for the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division, which includes the engine option to use the Chevrolet Performance 602 Crate Engine, can be found at www.nesmithracing.com on the Weekly Racing Series web site.

St. Tammany Raceway is located at 32063 Highway 36 in Hickory, LA. For more information, call Mickey Phillips at 504-234-7098, or E-mail him at micvinyl@yahoo.com. St. Tammy Raceway has a Facebook page up and running, and track officials are currently developing a new web site that will be launched in the coming weeks.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing. Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month. You can follow us on Twitter @NeSmithRacing.