A unique format and a ton of money on the line has made this weekend’s 50^th running of the Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway into one of the biggest and highly anticipated 410 Sprint Car races of the 2022 season.

The festivities kick off Thursday night at the 3/8-mile oval in Burlington, Washington with qualifying, heat races, a C-Main, B-Main, and the 30-lap A-Main. Drivers will receive points for qualifying, with the fastest driver receiving 200 points, and then each following position decreasing by two points.

The heat races will feature an invert of eight, which will make each heat very entertaining to watch. The top 20 drivers in points following the heat races are locked into the night’s A-Main with the top 16 drivers being inverted.

Those who fall into the night’s C-Main have a chance to transfer to the B-Main by finishing in the top-four positions. The top-four finishers in the B-Main will transfer to the back of the A-Main.

Friday’s format is the same, but the feature is extended by 10 laps for a total of 40-laps with the top 20 starting positions being inverted.

After all of that is complete, the top 18 in cumulative points from both nights will be locked into the 26-car field for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win, 50-lap feature. The rest of the field will go to the 20-lap B-Main.

Saturday night is when things really start to get fun as the top-six starting positions will be decided by the always-entertaining Pole Shuffle.

The final eight starting positions will be decided with three different methods. Positions 19-24 will go to the top-six finishers in Saturday’s B-Main. The final two positions will be decided by a fan vote and a promoter’s choice.

From there, it’s 50-laps of 900-horsepower 410 Sprint Car fun, but there’s still an added twist too. A competition caution will be thrown with 40 laps on the board for a fuel and tire stop, which will set up a 10-lap dash for the win.

While all of that is sure to make this weekend’s 50^th Dirt Cup one to remember, did we mention the big payday that’s on the line?

While the $50,000 purse alone makes the Dirt Cup an upper echelon Sprint Car event, there’s an additional $50,000 in lap money that is available. Each lap will pay $1,000 to the leader. Meaning, if a driver manages to lead all 50 laps, they will head home with a nice $100,000 check in their pocket.

The money on the line Saturday night trails only a handful of 410 Sprint Car events, including the $175,000-to-win Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, the $150,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway (which also pays an additional $1,000 per lap), the $100,000-to-win Historical Big 1 at Eldora, $100,000-to-win High Bank Nationals at Huset’s Speedway, and the $75,000-to-win National Open at Williams Grove Speedway.

With big money on the line, this week’s event has attracted some of the biggest stars in Sprint Car racing. In addition to west coast stars like Dominic Scelzi and Shane Golobic, the event has caught the attention of national stars such as defending Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions champion, Tyler Courtney.

All Star Circuit of Champions stars Zeb Wise and Cory Eliason will join in on the fun as Rudeen Racing teammates for this event. Past Kings royal winner Kerry Madsen has also made the trip to Washington to compete in the Dirt Cup.

Five former Dirt Cup champions have entered the race: Dominic Scelzi, Jonathan Allard, Seth Bergman, Jason Solwold, and Brock Lemley.

Racing kicks off Thursday night with the full qualifying program leading into the night’s 30-lap feature event.

Race fans unable to make it to Skagit Speedway will be able to watch all three nights live on FloRacing. If you’re not already a subscriber, click here to subscribe today.