The annual UBB Miners Memorial race will now feature the 604 late models of the Dirt2Media American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products. Beckley Motor Speedway in West Virginia hosts the event. The 2023 edition offers the largest-ever purse in the event’s history, paying $20,000 to the winner.
UBB Miners Memorial race organizer Keith Bowling started it in 2010 at the now-closed Princeton Speedway in West Virginia. The event honors those lost in an explosion in the Upper Big Branch (UBB) Coal Mine on April 5, 2010. A total of 29 of the 31 miners within the mine perished.
“I thought [the event] would be something to do for [the miners’] families,” said Bowling, 58, of Beckley, West Virginia. “And, it just kept going.”
Beckley Motor Speedway is situated about an hour away from the site of the disaster. The coal mining industry still plays a vital role in the area, and the race pays tribute to those in that line of work.
“Miners and ex-miners come into the body shop,” Bowling, who works for Ken Williams Body Shop in Beckley, said. “The area needs coal miners; it needs coal mines. I continue to support them.”
Lewis Automotive, which owns Lewis Nissan in Beckley, West Virginia, will sponsor the UBB Miners Memorial race. The event, to be held on May 19-20, 2023, as part of the American All-Stars 2022 schedule, looks to become one of the signature events of the newly revitalized Beckley Motor Speedway. (For more on the track, read “Beckley Motor Speedway Under New Ownership”.)
With $20,000 on the line, expect the crème de la crème to compete at what’s shaping up to become one of the marquee events of not only Beckley Motor Speedway and the American All-Star Series, but also of 604 late model racing.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
