By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

The second night is the big payout.

But the first night just might be the most important.

That's why every driver in the United Rebel Sprint Series 305 sprint car class will be going full bore Saturday night at RPM Speedway in Hays.

That's when the first of back-to-back nights in the second annual Wheatshocker Rebel Nationals will take center stage. And the two-night classic caps off Sunday night with a $2,000 payout. Races begin at 7 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

"Last year, I locked in, and that's a tough thing to do with good guys coming in from all the regions," said driver Taylor Milton. "There were 30-some cars there, and I was happy to get locked in."

This Saturday, Milton hopes to be in the top 10 in the feature. That automatically will qualify him for Sunday's feature and a chance at the large payout.

Milton finished seventh a year ago in the Wheatshocker finale, and this year he's hoping to improve on that.

"I had a good time at it last year," the young Oklahoma driver said. "The track is real tough and competitive. Then you have $2,000 to win, and it will be good."

The northwest-Kansas born series is in its fourth year, thanks to promoter Rick Salem of Oberlin. His crown jewel so far in the early stages of the series was last year's nationals in Hays, one that saw nearly 40 cars pass through the gate to compete for the largest payout in URSS history.

It was one of the largest sprint car shows in western Kansas in a number of years, and Salem is hoping to duplicate those results this weekend.

"I really hope so," Salem said. "I know the guys are looking forward to it, and it should be a good race. The economy is down this year, and everything is down, but hopefully we'll have a good turnout."

Quinter's C.J. Johnson won both nights last summer, pocketing the coveted check. He won all four races at RPM Speedway in 2008 and started the 2009 season off right with a win in early May in Hays.

He knows the key is that first night.

"You have to run in the top 10 the first night to get locked in," he said. "If I can get locked in and Jason (Martin) does, too, we'll both probably be in the fifth row. If you have to run a B (feature), that's just a lot more racing you have to do."

Johnson is coming off a win Saturday night at Dodge City Raceway Park, but he's not expecting a cakewalk by any means this year. He hasn't necessary ran away from the rest of the field like he did at times last year.

Instead, the URSS has become even more competitive this year -- even though car counts have been lower at some tracks in 2009.

Drivers such as Liberal's Martin, Milton, Kinsley's Darren Bowman, Utica's Jon Johnson and Dodge City's Brian Herbert -- last year's URSS national champ -- have all graced victory lane this year. Martin's latest win came Sunday night at his hometown track in Liberal, where C.J. Johnson finished fourth.

"We won Saturday night, but Jason pretty much just spanked us all Sunday night," he said.

Sunday's feature will showcase the top 10 from Saturday night in the first five rows. But those rows will be determined by point averages for the season. So the better a racer has done and the more races he's won will put him farther back in the first five rows.

The remaining rows for the 30-lap shootout will be determined by another qualifying race Sunday.

Salem credits that inverted starting lineup for a reason the series has gained throngs of fans throughout its inception.

"I care about the fans," he said. "If you don't please the fans, then you don't have nothing. ... The drivers understand the lineup procedure, and they take it and run with it."

It also keeps drivers from laying back and finishing in one of the final qualifying spots the previous night in hopes of starting on the pole for the main feature.

Many drivers, including Johnson and Martin, have proven you can win a race from just about any starting spot. Milton is another one of those drivers.

In the race earlier this season at RPM, Milton was light on the scales after winning his heat race. That forced him to start in the back of the pack for one of the two B-mains.

He had no trouble making his way to the front to win his qualifying feature and earn a spot in the A-main.

Then in the A-main, Milton started inside the sixth row and worked his way through traffic, eventually finishing fifth in a competitive field.

And, he's one of the drivers who has beaten Johnson and Martin in the past, giving him an optimistic outlook for a title this weekend.

"I can't say I don't (have a chance)," the 2008 URSS national rookie of the year said. "I have as good of a chance as everybody else does. I can't say I've seen a bad driver in the URSS."