[Jackslash.com]

Tony Stewart and the boys put on a great show at last year's POWRI "Battle at the Center."

Less than 3 weeks away from the 4th annual!

Make sure you get to DuQuoin on Saturday, December 7th!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fuxjTagWTg

[Andrew S. Quinn]

Andrew Felker gunning for 1st victory in POWRi's Battle at the Center on Dec. 7

DU QUOIN, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2013)-Andrew Felker will be gunning for his first victory in the fourth annual Great Clips Battle at the Center presented by K & N Filters, a non-points, all-star event promoted by the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series on the one-sixth Mini Magic Mile at the Southern Illinois Center.

Felker is expected to be a serious contender to follow in the footsteps of previous winners Tony Stewart (2012), Bryan Clauson (2011) and Casey Schuman (2010) in the indoor event at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. Felker drove from 11th on the grid to finish second in the feature a year ago in an event that had 67 entries. It was the sixth top-10 in eight features at the track for the 21-year-old from Carl Junction, Mo.

"It's definitely a race I'd like to win and be on the winner's list," Felker said. "It's getting to be bigger and bigger and more guys are taking their Chili Bowl cars."

The week-long Lucas Oil Chili Bowl midget event, run in January on an indoor track in Tulsa, Okla., is regarded as the Super Bowl of short track racing with more than 250 entries. POWRi's Battle at the Center is a perfectly-timed trial run for new equipment for the Chili Bowl and attracts many top short-track drivers.

Felker is bringing out his best stuff for the Battle at the Center to get ready for the Chili Bowl. He's purchased a new Spike chassis and attached new parts to it and freshened his Fontana powerplant.

"I'm definitely looking forward to going back there (Du Quoin) and giving it another try," Felker said. "We had a car maybe to beat Tony last year. The previous couple of years I took my rental car (for another driver for the Chili Bowl) and this year I'll have my own car and my own equipment. I've had a Chevy and it's a good short track motor, but having my usual car and motor will make me more prepared for the Chili Bowl. We'll shake down the fresh parts and get things ready for it."

Felker finished eighth in the Battle at the Center in 2010 and didn't' advance to the feature in 2011, the only time he's missed a feature in nine career events at Du Quoin. He was fifth in 2011, sixth in 2012, seventh in 2009 and eighth in 2010 in regular-season POWRi events at the track.

"It definitely helps having laps there," Felker said. "We definitely have a little bit of experience to build upon."

Felker was champion of the 2012 POWRi National Midgets and finished second to Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Ill., in 2013. He won at Macon (Ill.) Speedway on June 8 and, in 30 features, had 14 top-fives and 24 top-10s. Felker advanced to every feature event, but didn't start in three from mechanical problems on the grid.

"We started off the season really hot and we had a rough patch in the middle and didn't run as well as we'd like at the end," Felker said. "I thought we put together a really good season. You can't take anything away from Zach. We had a strong season and he had a better season. Hopefully, we can come back and be stronger next year."

The Battle at the Center on Dec. 7 will feature a 40-lap feature and will be broadcast on MAVTV American Real on a date to be determined.

The Southern Illinois Center is located on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds. Front gates open at 3 p.m. CST, hot laps begin at 5 p.m. CST with racing immediately following. General admission tickets are $20 and children 12-and-under are free.


POWRi Racing Sponsors
Auto Meter - "The Official Instrumentation" of POWRi Racing
Afco - "The Official Shock" of POWRi Racing
Ford - "The Official EcoBoost Challenge" of POWRi Racing
Great Clips - "The Official Salon" of POWRi Racing
Hoosier Tire - "The Official Race Tire" of POWRi Racing
Impact Racing - "The Official Motorsports Safety Equipment" of POWRi Racing
K&N Filter - "The Official Filter" of POWRi Racing
Lucas Oil Products - "The Official Oil" of POWRi Racing
Speedway Motors - "The Official Performance Parts Store" of POWRi Racing


Team POWRi Racing
Advanced Racing Suspensions, Aggressive Graphics, Bell Helmets, BT Machine Inc., Butler Built Seats, Competition Suspension Inc., Edward Jones, Engler Machine & Tool Inc., Esslinger Engineering, Factor 1 Racing, Fontana Automotive, Hyper Racing, Kitchen Cooked, Leading Edge Composites, Millennium Components, MPD Racing, MoMo's Racing Engines, OSR Bikes & Motors, Purpose Wreckers, Race Bumpers.com, Racers for Christ, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers, Spike Chassis, Stanton Race Engines, SuperShox, The Engine Heater, Ti64, Total Power, TOYOTA, 600 Scene.com

For more information, go to www.POWRi.com.

[ronmil]

Really looking forward to this! Been to everyone of them.

[Charles Nungester]

Made last years, Loved it. Lots of good racing all over the pack. Gonna try, Might be weather dependent on this end. 5hrs each way.

[luckybuc97]

Originally Posted by ronmil Really looking forward to this! Been to everyone of them.

Haven't missed one yet & don't plan to miss this one.

[miledirt]

Haven't seen a lot of buzz about entries yet…. think we can expect similar as last year?

[bmemmer]

I would except alot more. First year there was around 40 second year around 53 54 last year 67 so its looking up. Even if there is snow on the ground I would say there would at least be 40 and that is plenty with the way power I runs this show with all the heats and then the qualifier races. Alot of racing for 20 dollars. Must guess tho on car count is 73

[BillJackson]

Stewart faced one final restart with four to go in the 40-lap feature and darted away from Felker to win by three car lengths.

[Ty]

Expect to see the 2013 ARDC champ there. Except his number will be "1K" and the car will be red & black.

[neiljohnston17]

Anyone know if there will be live PPV for this race? I would figure there is not since mavtv is videoing it to air later.