Furqueron Representing Michigan in 8th Gateway Dirt Nationals

The field has officially been set for the DIRTcar UMP Modified portion of the 8th Running of the Gateway Dirt Nationals inside the Dome At America's Center in downtown St. Louis, MO. The event, which first began in 2016, has featured racing from DIRTcar UMP Late Models, Modifieds, and Midgets. In 2022, the event returned to only featuring Modifieds and Late Models and with the high demand to race in the event, Modified drivers are hand-selected by the event organizers. Fans played a role in selecting drivers who would race in 2024, with options to submit votes for who they'd like to see go wheel-to-wheel December 5th through the 7th.

Thanks to his efforts on the track and via his social media in 2024, Concord, MI teenager, Manix Furqueron and his No.74M team are headed for St. Louis in just seven weeks to race against some of the best Modified drivers in the country at one of the toughest bullrings ever built. A regular competitor at Butler Motor Speedway, Furqueron is wrapping up his third season behind the wheel of Modifieds, graduating to the "big car" after several seasons racing Go-Karts around the tri-state area.

In 2024, Furqueron Motorsports took its program on the road to showcase its capabilities against competition outside of Butler's regular crowd. A top ten finish at Kankakee County Speedway to wrap up May gave them confidence to challenge the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour two weeks later at Peoria Speedway; Furqueron set fast time, won his heat race, and led several laps in the feature holding off Mike McKinney through several restarts before fading to fifth by the checkered flag. Furqueron also made the show at Fairbury Speedway in his first attempt, posted another top 10 at Macon Speedway, and finished 13th in a return trip to Farmer City Raceway.

The 17-year-old is on the cusp of his first career Modified feature win. Two times this season Furqueron has finished runner-up at his home track of Butler. The first came on a night when passing was at a premium and Furqueron, who started on the outside pole, finished behind polesitter George Zieman who took the win. The second instance came during a special event that featured the American Late Model Iron-Man Series. Furqueron came from 8th to challenge Dillon Nusbaum for the win but couldn't complete the pass before the end of 20 laps.

All Invited Drivers for 2024:

Furqueron has gained quite a following on social media, using his TikTok account build his brand around the No.74M. Currently, Furqueron has over 11-thousand followers on the video sharing app, with several videos over 100-thousand views. Furqueron used his platform to garner votes in the Gateway portal where his fans were able to tell promoters they wanted to see the black and pink car race in December.

"It’s honestly unbelievable," Furqueron said on being selected to race at Gateway. "This race is one I look forward to watching on Flo every year. Having such a loyal and powerful fanbase is something special that I will forever be grateful for. Not everyone gets opportunities like this and I’m incredibly excited to make the most of it."

The 8th Running of the Gateway Dirt Nationals will put Furqueron up against drivers like Kenny Wallace, Ricky Thorton, Jr, Jimmy Owens, Drake Troutman, Mike Harrison and many others who have made a career out of dirt track racing. Tickets are available online at GatewayDirt.com. Fans can stream every lap of action live on FloRacing December 5-7.

Story - Zach Hiser

Photo - Summer Nationals