The Gateway Dirt Nationals have released the first round of Modified invites for the December 14-16 event held at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, MO. 

The first eight invitees are led off by none other than current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader and last year’s Gateway Dirt Nationals Modified winner Ricky Thornton Jr.  One of the hottest drivers in Dirt Late Model racing in 2023, “RTJ” has 30 wins on the year, among those including the Firecracker 100, Prairie Dirt Classic, and just this past weekend at the Knoxville Late Model Nationals.

Last year’s Saturday night runner-up Mike McKinney looks for redemption after finishing second to Thornton.  The Illinois driver just won four races at four different tracks in one week, and he will be looking for his first Gateway win after four previous runner-up finishes.

Former Renegades of Dirt Modified champion Drake Troutman returns to Gateway after his win in the opening night Modified feature last year.  The Pennsylvania driver has two Late Model wins this year as well, coming with the MARS Racing Series and at Brushcreek Motorsports Complex.

VIDEO: Go for a ride around "The Dome" with last year's Modified winner Ricky Thornton, Jr. 

Modified and USAC Silver Crown racer Kyle Steffens has been invited to Gateway after a fourth-place result on Saturday night last year.  He has MARS Modified wins at Charleston Speedway and Adams County Speedway this season.

Finishing just behind Steffens in 2022, Mississippi driver Chase Holland returns to Gateway for the second time.  Nebraska’s Jordan Grabouski, Iowa’s Tim Ward and Illinois’ Tim Luttrell have also received invites.

The Gateway Dirt Nationals moves to Thursday-Saturday, December 14-16 at The Dome At America’s Center in downtown St. Louis, MO.  The Comp Cams Super Late Models and Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds will battle it out over three days for $30,000 for Late Models and $10,000 to win for Modifieds.

More invites will be released as it gets closer to race weekend.

All three days of the Gateway Dirt Nationals will be streamed live on FloRacing. If you're not a FloRacing subscriber, click here to sign up today.