By Tom Skibinski

WEEDSPORT, NY -December 15, 2005- Only a handful of weeks have passed since the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast racing season came to a close. In just two more months the roar of the big-block powered DIRT Modifieds will be heard once again when open-wheel teams make their way down south for the 35th Annual Winter Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.

Appropriately representing the First State, Jamie Mills from Milford, Del. is the first driver to officially sign up for DIRT MotorSports' ninth consecutive year of competition at the popular Barberville speedplant. Of the 33 Advance Auto Parts Modified main events that DIRT has sanctioned in Florida since 1998, only open-wheel all-stars Brett Hearn (33), Danny Johnson (32) and J.R. Heffner (31) have qualified for more than Mills (29).

"Making the trip to Florida is something I look forward to every year, the weather is warm and it's even relaxing to race," said Mills, 35, who will be looking to make it two straight as he captured the 50-lap finale last February. "Pretty much the same group of guys haul down and the pressure is not as high. It's more of a Saturday night racing atmosphere and I think that makes it a lot more fun to be a part."

The traditional Advance Auto Parts Florida Tour begins Feb. 15 at Volusia with a 30-lap DIRT Modified feature headlining the program. The open-wheel action continues at the Barberville oval with 30-lap feature events on Thursday and Friday before a big $5,000-to-win 50-lapper brings the curtain down Sat., Feb. 18. An optional practice day has been set for Wed., Feb. 14.

DIRT officially completed the purchase of Volusia Speedway Park ---including a 1/2 mile semi-banked oval, 3/8 mile semi-banked asphalt oval and a 1/8 mile banked clay go-kart track--- on June 30. Located a half-hour from Daytona Beach, this famed facility has seating for nearly 10,000 fans.

In February the World of Outlaws Sprint Series (Feb. 9-10) and WoO Late Model Series (Feb. 16-18) will join the Advance Auto Parts Modifieds in kicking off their race season down south, with UMP Super Late Models (Feb. 13, 14, 15 & 17) and UMP Open-Wheel Modifieds (Feb. 7-14) ---also owned by DIRT--- adding to the 11-day DIRT MotorSports marathon. Independent National Late Model and All-Star Sprint specials open up the month before DIRT teams take center stage in the Sunshine State.

The 2006 Advance Auto Parts tour marks the 21st trip to Florida for Northeastern Modified teams since 1978. It will be DIRT's 15th visit to Volusia since staging its inaugural event in 1982. Mills has been a regular since the mini-series revival in 1998.

"We'll bring the same car back down and hopefully some of that success will carry over for another year," said Mills, who will once again be recognized aboard the potent Blue Hen Racing no. 30 I.G. Burton Car Dealership-ReMax Realtor-L&W Insurance/Bicknell entry owned by his father Eugene Mills. Since the Blue Hen Racing Team was formed in 1977 by a group of businessmen ---also college sports fans incorporating the official University of Delaware "Fighting Blue Hen" mascot--- Eugene has emerged as the lone survivor over the past quarter-century. "If you can do well early on it builds some momentum that can be taken up north when the regular season starts back home.

"This past year we had a good car almost every night out. We ended up with three wins (at Bridgeport) but could've easily won five or six, something always seemed to come up so I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully, we've got all the bad luck behind us and can turn things around with a new season to look forward to," added Mills, who finished fourth in Bridgeport's final '05 big-block point standings.

While his father utilized the driving talents of Delaware Int'l Speedway mainstays Bobby Wilkins, H.J. Bunting and Ricky Elliott, along with Pennsylvania legend Kenny Brightbill among many others, Jamie began his driving career in 1990. He earned rookie of the year accolades at both DIS and Georgetown in his first season and followed up with DIRT MotorSports NorthEast's own rookie award in 1994. Track point championships have been garnered at Bridgeport (1995), Delaware (1999) and Susquehanna (2002), with nearly 50 feature race triumphs registered along the way.

Mills finished fourth in the final '98 AAP Florida Tour points and improved one position the following winter. After scoring the opening round feature victory in 2000, DIRT NorthEast's all-time open-wheel winner Brett Hearn needed to win the next three just to edge runner-up Mills by two markers on the final points chart. This past February, Mills failed to make the opening night starting grid (burned piston in his back-up motor) but rebounded with a second-place finish and then a win on the last night to figure eighth in the four-race standings.

More than 30 DIRT NorthEast race teams are expected to join Mills for the popular AAP Florida mini-tour staged at Volusia. Any drivers wishing to update team information for the Advance Auto Parts Florida Tour pre-race roster, please contact DIRT NE Media Manager Tom Skibinski at the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) or through e-mail media@dirtmotorsports.com correspondence. Questions regarding rules can be directed to DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Chief of Technical Operations Bob Dini (shop 845/358-5049 or cell phone 405/623-1803).

Fans and race teams planning to attend the 35th Winter Nationals are encouraged to contact the public relations office at Volusia (386/985-4402) for area hotel/motel accomodations and overnight camping that is still available for travelers. Volusia Speedway Park is located 15 miles west of Daytona Beach on State Road 40 in Barberville, Fla. Mail is received at: 1500 E. Highway 40, DeLeon Springs, FL 32130.

The DIRT MotorSports™ Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Dynomax Performance Exhaust, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional Partners include Stacker 2®, AMB i.t., RACEceiver, Zippo Lighters and F.X. Caprara Car Companies and the contingency sponsors are DART Machinery, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.

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