Racers and fans are getting fired up for the 25th Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, at the state-of-the-art Vado Speedway Park in Vado, New Mexico.

USRA Modifieds will headline the action with USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and INEX Legends Cars joining the stellar lineup that also serves as the official 2023 season opener.

Modified and B-Mod racers already have several nights under their belts as those classes were part of the Wild West Shootout this past January. Nonetheless, a pair of open practices prior to the Winter Meltdown will allow competitors to knock the rust off and clean out the cobwebs.

This Saturday, March 4, will see open practice with gates opening at noon and practice from 2-5 p.m. Then on the eve of the Winter Meltdown, another practice takes place Thursday, March 9, with pit gates opening at 5 p.m. and practice from 6-9 p.m. Pit passes will be $25 and grandstands will be closed both nights.

The decibels rise and the action gets hot on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, with Rancho Milagro USRA Modifieds, Extreme Landscaping USRA Stock Cars, Hacienda Carpet & Tile USRA B-Mods and INEX Legends in action both nights. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstands will open at 5 with the first green flag slated to wave at 7:30.

Tickets for adults are $20 for general admission or $23 for reserved seating. Members of the military, seniors and students are $17 or $20 reserved and youth ages 6-11 are $7 or $10 reserved. Get your tickets in advance at Tix.com. Kids ages 5 and under get in for free both nights.

Pit passes each night at $40 or $20 for youth ages 3-15. Kids ages 2 and under are free.

Last year’s Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown saw four-time USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, sweep the weekend, collecting $2,000 and $3,000, respectively, for his pair of victories. Once again, USRA Modified competitors will be racing for a possible $5,000 to sweep both nights in 2023.

USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods will battle for $500 to win on Friday with a top prize of $1,000 to the winner’s on Saturday.

The Rancho Milagro Winter Meltdown, which started in 1995 with Don Veal triumphing in the inaugural race, enters it’s 25th year in 2023. The event has seen some incredible racing during its long history.

Other past champions include Eddie Martin (1996), Danny Bradford (1997), Monte Bolton (1998), Ron Jones (1999-2001, 2003 and 2007), Terry Tipton (2002), George White (2004), Jason Hughes (2005, 2008 and 2010), Johnny Scott (2006), Terry Phillips (2009, 2011-2013), Stormy Scott (2014), Ryan Gustin (2015), Ricky Thornton Jr. (2016), Bumper Jones (2021) and Rodney Sanders (2022).

The event was not held from 2017-2020.

Attention Racers: Both nights of the Winter Meltdown count towards the 2023 season points championship. You still have the option to drop a race finish anytime during the year. Legends Car drivers must have your current INEX license to receive points. Proof of license or registration will be good.

The Vado Speedway Park is a state-of-the-art, semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located just off I-10 at exit 155, then 0.2 mile north to 15900 Stern Dr, Vado, NM 88072. For more information, call (575) 524-7913 and visit VadoSpeedwayPark.com. You can also follow Vado Speedway Park on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For fans not able to attend in person, the event will also be streaming live at WatchFYE.tv.