Persistence pays off: Ryan Gillmore invited to The Dome

7 straight campaign videos reward Ryan Gillmore with an invite to the Gateway Dirt Nationals

In downtown St. Louis sits The Dome at Americas Center. Inside that dome sits the greatest race track in the world. A 1/5-mile bullring dirt track will be ready to go, indoors and in the middle of winter.

However, the 2018 Gateway Dirt Nationals is an invite only event for Dirt Modified and Dirt Midget competitors. Ryan Gillmore wanted in there!

For the 2017 event, it was a 50/50 split. Half of the entries were regular entries. The other 50 came via invitation only. For 2018, there is no regular entry available for dirt modifieds or midgets. Dirt Late Models are the only class lacking invitations.

The rules state: “All Midget & Open Wheel Modified competitors may only compete in the event by invitation only.  Invitations are sent via social media, directly addressing each competitor being invited.  If an invited competitor accepts their invitation, they will be contacted directly by event management and sent a private registration form at that time.  All competitors are required to submit a registration form in order to compete in the event. Entry fees do apply.”

“The invitation process is not based on a specific format or set criteria. All invitations are made solely at the discretion of event management.”

This has created a social media campaign of sorts from several drivers. Most notably of these is Ryan Gillmore. He’s created several comical videos to promote his campaign.

The videos below include appearances by Scott Bloomquist, Bobby Pierce, Sammy Swindell, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and more. All of which featured voice overs from Ryan Gillmore.

Day 1

Ryan Gillmore: “I’m officially launching my #getgillmoretotheDOME campaign. Modified are invite only this year, and I’m trying to get my reservation! Help a brother out!”

Cody Sommer: “this is epic”

Day 2

Cody Sommer: “wow again…the part was a nice touch I must say”

Day 3

Cody Sommer: “best one yet.”

Day 4

Day 5

Cody Sommer: “The question I keep asking myself this morning while I have my coffee is… How many more videos does got up his sleeves?!?!”

Day 6

Ryan Gillmore: “Campaign funds are running low… Gillmore must go…..”

Day 7

Ryan Gillmore: “168 consecutive hours of refreshing Twitter….waiting….”

Day 8

He’s invited

Mission accomplished. Ryan Gillmore’s #33 A Mod will make an appearance inside The Dome.

Event promotor Cody Sommer tweeted: “Safe to say earned and deserves this invitation. Hopefully we can continue to see some new videos as they prepare for the Dome!”

Ryan Gillmore: “I think I’ll accept.”

Other dirt modified invites thus far: David Wietholder; Tim Hancock; Joe Duvall; Kyle Strickler; Jim Black; Nick Roberts; Levi Kissinger; Lucas Lee; Tyler Droste; Dean Hoffman; Jessie Hoskins; Todd Shute; Chris Arnold; Chad Sellers; Bobby Bittle; Allen Weisser; Tommy Sheppard Jr; Kyle Steffens; Tommie Seets Jr; Michael Long; Tyler Nicely; Clint Bowyer; Matt Cooper; Trent Young; Jeffrey Ledford; Kenny Wallace; Jeff Leka; Brent Mullins; Mike McKinney; Tanner Mullens; Mike Harrison; Ray Bollinger;

Ryan Gillmore #33
Ryan Gillmore #33

Previous race attempts

Gillmore did not run in the debut Gateway Dirt Nationals event in 2016. However, he did run last years event.

On Friday, December 14th, 2017, Gillmore saw the track for the first time from behind the wheel of his dirt modified. He qualified 35th of 53 in Group A. He then finished 4th in his heat race as Kenny Wallace took the win. That result sent him to the LCQ on December 15th where he finished 12th in LCQ #1. He missed the main event that night.

On Saturday, the final night of the 2017 show he had one chance to make it into the main event. Gillmore finished 13th in LCQ #6 that night. He missed a transfer spot to the A Main as Ray Bollinger took the win.

Links

Gateway Dirt Nationals | Ryan Gillmore

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