TAMPA, Fla. (February 10, 2023) – Hudson O’Neal went back-to-back for Rocket1 Racing by winning Friday night’s 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil at East Bay Raceway Park.  O’Neal, who also led every lap of Thursday night’s race went wire-to-wire to score his fourth career victory at the “Clay by the Bay” in a span of 24 hours. Daulton Wilson made a valiant charge in the final laps to finish second. Wilson had cut more than a second off O’Neal’s lead before getting into the fourth turn wall which took him out of contention for the victory. Ashton Winger, a first-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner on Tuesday night, came from ninth to finish in third. Devin Moran, who challenged O’Neal for the lead for several laps was fourth, and current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship point leader Ricky Thornton Jr. crossed the line in fifth. O’Neal jumped to lead with fellow front row starter Garrett Smith falling in line behind him. Smith stayed in second with Wednesday’s night winner Ryan Gustin holding down the third spot. Gustin moved past Smith for second right before Smith got sideways in turn two forcing a caution flag. O’Neal still held the top spot on a lap-19 restart as Moran started to flex his muscle overhauling Gustin for second. Moran then started to put the heat on O’Neal and by the halfway mark Moran could get a run on O’Neal but could not quite clear him for the lead.  After coming close to taking the lead, Moran fell to third after a lap 32 restart as Wilson picked up the spot. From there Wilson cut a second off O’Neal’s lead within a few laps but contact with the wall ended his bid for the win as he was forced to hold of Winger for second at the finish. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 20th time in his career, O’Neal became the third two-time winner on the series this year joining Thornton and Brandon Overton. “That was 50 laps of getting it on. The track was in great shape tonight. We were way more maneuverable tonight to get around those lapped cars. Hats off to the East Bay crew they got the track way better. We could race all over it. I could see Devin [Moran] several times underneath me there before the last caution. I knew I needed to get up on the wheel and go because I knew he was.” “Our confidence level is sky high right now no doubt,” O’Neal added. To be able to win like we did last night in a little bit slower conditions than we had tonight. You can have a bad fast track and still be able to hang on. We just must continue to qualify good and heat race good and stay up front and when you start on the front row of these features it makes everything easier.” Wilson survived a scrap with the wall to finish second. “I saw the number 1 car get bigger, second is great but when you get that close, I was giving it everything I had. I hadn’t been up there that high in four and I just overshot it. Hats to Hudson’s guys they have been working hard and they have a good race car. Thanks to my guys this is a brand-new car. My car owner said to bring it out and it’s pretty good.” Winger who scored his first ever Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win two nights earlier was pleased to be back on the Big River Steel podium. “It widened out about halfway and you could kind of move around on it. Man, those restarts are close. There are some guys that aren’t sure where they want to be, they kind of go swipe at you. I started ninth, heck I ended back in 13th at one point you get so bottled up.” The winner’s Rocket1 Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Gunter’s Honey, Petroff Towing, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra Racing Shocks, Performance Grading, and Rocket Pre-Owned Motors. Completing the top ten were Garrett Alberson, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Wil Herrington, and Logan Roberson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 5Friday, February 10, 2023East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Garrett Smith / 14.707 seconds Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal / 14.706 seconds (overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Garrett Smith[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 5. 130-Chase Osterhoff[7]; 6. 212-Josh Putnam[9]; 7. 83-Jensen Ford[4]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[10]; 9. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[11]; 10. 19M-Wil Herrington[8]; 11. (DNS) 21K-Kenneth Howell Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 4. 79-Ross Bailes[5]; 5. 111B-Max Blair[4]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[10]; 8. S21-Seth Daniels[6]; 9. 6B-Adam Boyd[8]; 10. 12D-Doug Drown[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 4. 89J-Mark Whitener[6]; 5. 89M-Mike Spatola[5]; 6. 81J-Jack Riggs[3]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[7]; 8. 7-Ross Robinson[9]; 9. D8-Dustin Mitchell[8]; 10. 4G-Carson Ferguson[10] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 18-Chase Junghans[6]; 6. 66C-Matt Cosner[5]; 7. 1Z-Logan Zarin[7]; 8. 187-David McCoy[8]; 9. 81-Jason Riggs[11]; 10. 29-Larry Grube[10]; 11. (DNS) 31-Tyler Millwood Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 96V-Tanner English[2]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 3. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 4. 25B-Mike Benedum[4]; 5. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[5]; 6. 20B-Todd Brennan[7]; 7. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[8]; 8. 91-Rusty Schlenk[9]; 9. 2X-John Henderson[6]; 10. KB-Kerry King[10] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 6. 1C-Kenny Collins[6]; 7. 11-Spencer Hughes[9]; 8. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[7]; 9. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 10. 5T-John Tweed[10] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 2. 79-Ross Bailes[2]; 3. 111B-Max Blair[4]; 4. 130-Chase Osterhoff[3]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 6. 19M-Wil Herrington[13]; 7. 212-Josh Putnam[5]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 9. 17SS-Brenden Smith[9]; 10. S21-Seth Daniels[10]; 11. 12D-Doug Drown[14]; 12. 6B-Adam Boyd[12]; 13. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[11]; 14. (DNS) 83-Jensen Ford; 15. (DNS) 21K-Kenneth Howell UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 89J-Mark Whitener[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 18-Chase Junghans[4]; 4. 89M-Mike Spatola[3]; 5. 89-Logan Roberson[7]; 6. 7-Ross Robinson[9]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[8]; 9. D8-Dustin Mitchell[11]; 10. 81-Jason Riggs[12]; 11. 29-Larry Grube[14]; 12. 187-David McCoy[10]; 13. 81J-Jack Riggs[5]; 14. 4G-Carson Ferguson[13]; 15. (DNS) 31-Tyler Millwood MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 3. 25B-Mike Benedum[1]; 4. 86-Kyle Beard[4]; 5. 91-Rusty Schlenk[9]; 6. 11-Spencer Hughes[8]; 7. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[10]; 8. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 9. 1C-Kenny Collins[6]; 10. 55-Benji Hicks[12]; 11. 5T-John Tweed[14]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[5]; 13. (DNS) 2X-John Henderson; 14. (DNS) KB-Kerry King 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 5 Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 62Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Garrett SmithLap Leaders: Hudson O’Neal (Laps 1-50)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 3.044 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Garrett Smith, Tanner English (Lap 12); Mark Whitener (Lap 16); Jimmy Owens, Kyle Bronson, Brian Shirley (Lap 19); Tyler Erb (Lap 32)Series Provisionals: Spencer Hughes; Ross RobinsonFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Max Blair; Tyler Bruening; Wil Herrington; Logan RobersonTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Daulton Wilson, Ashton WingerPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Daulton Wilson, Ashton Winger, Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton, Jr.Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Wil Herrington (Advanced 20 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Jonathan DavenportDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Brandon SheppardEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (50 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Lap 13 – 14.875 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Tyler Erb Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny White (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Hudson O’Neal (15.407 seconds)Time of Race: 30 minutes 22 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

By Matt SkipperBARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 10, 2023) – After rain postponed the final three Features of Thursday’s DIRTcar UMP Modified program at Volusia Speedway Park, drivers and teams returned Friday to complete the three postponed Features.

Todd Neiheiser, Clay Harris and Michael Long all earn a gator trophy to complete the Thursday night portion of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

Feature #4 – Todd Neiheiser

A familiar driver to weekly Volusia Speedway Park events, Neiheiser utilized his years of experience to lead all 15 laps of the DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature.

The start of Feature #4 involved a multi-car accident, including the #99G of Gavin Graham flipping three times across the front stretch before he landed on the back bumper of Tim Ward. All drivers walked away unharmed.

After the cleanup and the Feature got underway with racing, Neiheiser drove his #72X straight to the lead after starting on the front row with Dale Kelley.

Neiheiser, of Panama City, FL, used the fresh track to his advantage, winning by five seconds over second place Kelley. When Kelley received a challenge from third place Curtis King, Neiheiser drove away to earn his Gator Trophy.

Brandon Green and Zeke McKenzie completed the Feature’s top-five finishers.

Feature #5 – Clay Harris

Like Neiheiser, local Volusia Speedway Park driver Clay Harris earned his gator in hard-charging fashion after starting 12th.

The Jupiter, FL driver went straight to business, grabbing fifth place by the end of Lap 1. It did not take long after that to hold the top spot, passing Trent Young on Lap 7 en route to winning his second career gator trophy.

The #21J did not surrender his first place running from that point on, completing his hard-earned battle to win.

Young finished second but used up all the track to finish over third-place Trevor Neville.

2022 DIRTcar Deep South Regional Champion Seth Geary finished fourth, and Raymond Kable locked up the top five finishers.

Feature #6 – Michael Long

Winning his second gator trophy of the 2023 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in Feature #6 was Illinois’ Michael Long.

Starting from the outside of the front row, Long grabbed the lead early and lead until a caution for rain was thrown on Lap 14 of 15. The race was deemed official, handing Long his fourth career gator.

The driver of the #18L had elite company to hold off, including NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier and 2022 Emil & Dale Reutimann Champion Ethan Dotson. Allgaier and Dotson finished second and third respectively, giving Long a grueling battle for the win.

Kyle Hammer finished fourth, and the “High Side Tickler” Kyle Strickler completed the star-studded top five to wrap up the makeup races from Thursday night.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar UMP Modified action at Volusia Speedway Park will continue Friday night with the prestigious Gator Championship – the most coveted racing in DIRTcar UMP Modified racing.

Big Game Motorsports #2 Overtakes DIRTcar Nationals Point Lead

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 10, 2023 – David Gravel’s pursuit of the 2023 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship couldn’t have started any better than it did on Friday evening – in Victory Lane at Volusia Speedway Park.

Advancing from fourth to first, the Watertown, CT native quickly pounced during the make-up of Thursday’s postponed program. He drove the Big Game Motorsports, Huset’s Speedway #2 to the point on Lap 11 when he made the most of traffic hindering early leader Anthony Macri.

The final 15 laps were a breeze for the 30-year-old, who drove off into the Florida sun to collect his 77th career win with The Greatest Show on Dirt – currently ranking 12th on the All-Time Win List. The win was Gravel’s third at the Barberville, FL 1/2-mile and his second at the track in World of Outlaws competition.

“I really wanted to race last night after how good our car was in the Dash, but I obviously can’t complain now,” Gravel said in Victory Lane. “You never know when you race early in the day like this, so I was a bit anxious about how it would play out. It’s tough on the equipment being wide open like that, but Brian Morrison builds us a great engine. I was actually trying to save tear-offs as much as I could, that was one of my biggest concerns. Cody [Jacobs], Scott [Vogelsong], and Zach [Patterson] are firing on all cylinders right now. It’s awesome to start the year this way.”

With two DIRTcar Nationals Features remaining on Friday and Saturday night, Gravel now leads the overall points as he chases back-to-back Big Gator Championships. He currently leads Carson Macedo (-2 PTS), Logan Schuchart (-6 PTS), Brad Sweet (-22 PTS), and Buddy Kofoid (-26 PTS).

Making a late-race pass to secure runner-up honors on Friday evening was 21-year-old native of Penngrove, CA, Buddy Kofoid, who is making his first appearance at Volusia Speedway Park this week. It’s already his third podium through only 25 starts with the World of Outlaws.

“We’ve been decent and getting better and better as the week goes on,” Kofoid said. “Leighton [Crouch] has given Brad [Alexander], Stephen [Hamm-Reilly], Jakob [Weaver], and I the best operation we could ask for. These half-miles are hard, especially with the Outlaws, so this feels really good to land on the podium.”

After failing to qualify for Wednesday’s show with the All-Star Circuit of Champions, Danny Dietrich, of Gettysburg, PA completed an impressive turnaround by driving the Gary Kauffman Racing #48 to his 17th career podium with the World of Outlaws. He started from the outside pole and ran second for much of the 25-lapper, but ultimately slipped back to finish third in the closing stages.

“We chose a gear to get up on the top and get going, but I wasn’t able to turn off the curb and get the momentum I needed,” Dietrich noted. “I’m probably too fat to get around here as fast as David does, but this is nothing to complain about. My guys have worked their asses off all week long and after starting as bad as we did, this feels awesome.”

Sheldon Haudenschild in the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 and Logan Schuchart in the Shark Racing, DuraMAX Oil #1S rounded out the top five in Thursday’s make-up Feature.

Closing out the top-10 in the season opener was Canada’s Robbie Price in the Sides Motorsports #7S, Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks in the Murray-Marks #19, Indiana’s Zeb Wise in the Rudeen Racing #26, California’s Carson Macedo in the Jason Johnson Racing #41, and Texas’ Aaron Reutzel in the RSR #8.

NOS Notebook (Volusia Speedway Park, 2/10/23)

David Gravel’s 77th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory brings him only two away from tying Brad Sweet for 11th on the All-Time Win List. It’s his second Series win at Volusia Speedway Park, and third overall win at the DIRTcar Nationals.

The first Low-E Insulation Qualifying session of 2023 was topped by Anthony Macri, clocking a lap of 13.420 seconds around Volusia’s 1/2-mile. It’s his fifth career World of Outlaws QuickTime Award.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat 1 went to Logan Schuchart (107th career), while NOS Energy Drink Heats 2-4 were won by Brent Marks (27th career), Buddy Kofoid (3rd career), and David Gravel (209th career). Macri won the Toyota Dash, while Bayston won the MicroLite Last Chance Showdown.

After performing nearly flawlessly through preliminary programs, Anthony Macri led the opening 10 laps of the Feature before Gravel passed him on Lap 11. He held the runner-up spot until a mechanical issue forced him to the infield with a DNF on Lap 17.

Through three of five scheduled Features, the top contenders for the Big Gator Championship are David Gravel (424 PTS), Carson Macedo (-2 PTS), Logan Schuchart (-6 PTS), Brad Sweet (-22 PTS), and Buddy Kofoid (-26 PTS).

UP NEXT (Fri-Sat) – The 52nd annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals continues on Friday and Saturday at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL. The NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will race for a $16,000-to-win program both nights as the Big Gator Championship is concluded. For fans unable to attend, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (25 Laps) – 1. 2-David Gravel[4]; 2. 11-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich[2]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[6]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 6. 7S-Robbie Price[5]; 7. 19-Brent Marks[8]; 8. 26-Zeb Wise[10]; 9. 41-Carson Macedo[11]; 10. 8-Aaron Reutzel[9]; 11. 9-Kasey Kahne[12]; 12. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[19]; 13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[14]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz[17]; 15. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[16]; 16. 5-Spencer Bayston[21]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[13]; 18. 83-James McFadden[24]; 19. 49-Brad Sweet[20]; 20. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[26]; 21. 1A-Jacob Allen[23]; 22. 9P-Parker Price Miller[22]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser[27]; 24. 20G-Noah Gass[15]; 25. 39M-Anthony Macri[1]; 26. 17B-Bill Balog[18]; 27. 6-Bill Rose[25]; 28. 5D-Jacob Dykstra[28]. Lap Leader(s): Anthony Macri 1-10; David Gravel 11-25. KSE Hard Charger Award: Brock Zearfoss +7.

NEW Championship Standings (1/87 Races) – 1. 2-David Gravel (150); 2. 11-Buddy Kofoid (-4); 3. 48-Danny Dietrich (-6); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-8); 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-10); 6. 7S-Robbie Price (-12); 7. 19-Brent Marks (-14); 8. 26-Zeb Wise (-16); 9.

DU QUOIN, IL (Feb. 10, 2023) – The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota is poised for a massive sophomore season, starting with its debut at the Southern Illinois Center, March 10-11.

The Series will kick off its 35-race season at the indoor dirt track in Du Quoin, IL with the best Midget drivers and teams in the country.

Drivers will contend for a $4,000 payday on Friday and then a $5,000 top prize on Saturday.

Event Highlights:

DAUM’S TITLE DEFENSE: Zach Daum, the inaugural Xtreme Outlaw Midget champion, returns to defend his title, but this year with his own equipment. With sponsorship from Kiwi Landscaping and Rockwell Security, Daum will be his own boss and race in his own equipment – built right in his 5d Speed Shop in Greenville, IL.

His Xtreme Outlaw title last year was his first national championship since 2016. He picked up one win with the Series at Port City Raceway. He has five starts at the Southern Illinois Center with a career best finish of fourth.

WINNING WAYS: Jade Avedisian made history in two ways with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series last year, becoming the first female driver to take the checkered flag in a national dirt Midget race and becoming the Series’ winningest driver with two wins. Of those wins was the season finale at I-44 Riverside Speedway.

She’ll carry that momentum into the new season with a new team as she joins Keith Kunz Motorsports to chase the Xtreme Outlaw championship.

BEST OF THE BEST: The Southern Illinois Center has hosted more than 30 Midget events, attracting the biggest names in the division each time. Midget winners at the track include the likes of Justin Grant, Thomas Meseraull, Christopher Bell, Cannon McIntosh, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tyler Courtney.

Revised: Corrected Rocket1 Racing Engine Builder; Updated Championship Point Standings to Reflect Teams with Perfect Attendance. TAMPA, Fla. (February 9, 2023) – Hudson O’Neal scored his first win for Rocket1 Racing as the 22-year-old Indiana native went to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner’s circle on Thursday night during the 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil at East Bay Raceway Park.  Max Blair came home in second to equal his best career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finish. Dennis Erb Jr. was third with 12th place starter Garrett Smith coming home in fourth. Tim McCreadie completed the top five. O’Neal grabbed the lead at the start of the race with Dennis Erb Jr. in second followed by current Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP leader Ricky Thornton Jr. Thornton took second on lap three from Erb, then ran behind O’Neal until he broke coming off a lap 10 restart ending his night. Blair, who started fifth then moved into second place after Thornton left the race.  Blair kept pace with O’Neal until the final lap when he closed the gap ending up just 0.363 seconds behind his fellow third generation racer at the checkers. O’Neal in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 19th time in career breathed a sigh of relief to get his first win of 2023 for his new team. “I can’t begin to talk about it. The worst part is that I know we have had it in us the whole trip and just little things just didn’t fall our way. I was able to get the lead from the jump there and I knew it was the best place I could possibly be with the way the track was moving around. It’s just better to be up front. I knew if I could just maintain a gap and get ahead of them before I caught lapped traffic. With those lapped cars it was tense. I kept waiting for someone to blast around the outside.”  Blair, who was seeking to become the third straight first-time winner finished in the runner-up spot. “I just couldn’t believe I was racing with Hudson O’Neal for the win at East Bay. That’s awesome. It was a good night. We’ve had a good car all week and the driver just can’t put a good lap together until tonight. We put a whole night together tonight, hopefully we can put together two more nights like this.” Erb Jr. who was looking for his eighth career win at East Bay rounded out the Big River Steel Podium with a third-place finish. “Hopefully we can build some good momentum from this for the rest of the week. We ran well the first two nights. We qualified good tonight to start up front. We were a little tight tonight and we will work on that for tomorrow.” The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Gunter’s Honey, Petroff Towing, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra Racing Shocks, Performance Grading, and Rocket Pre-Owned Motors. Completing the top ten were Jimmy Owens, Shane Clanton, Tanner English, Garrett Alberson, and Tyler Erb. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 4Thursday, February 9, 2023East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brian Shirley / 14.924 seconds Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal / 14.903 seconds (overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 2. 79-Ross Bailes[4]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 4. 1C-Kenny Collins[6]; 5. 6-Blake Spencer[8]; 6. 20B-Todd Brennan[9]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[5]; 8. 89J-Mark Whitener[3]; 9. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[7]; 10. 47W-Tyler Riggs[10]; 11. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 2X-John Henderson[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 4. 29-Larry Grube[7]; 5. 76-Brandon Overton[11]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 7. KB-Kerry King[8]; 8. 81J-Jack Riggs[2]; 9. 212-Josh Putnam[9]; 10. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6]; 11. 4S-Danny Snyder[10] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 4. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 6. 89M-Mike Spatola[4]; 7. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 9. C4-Freddie Carpenter[7]; 10. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[10] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 3. 83-Jensen Ford[4]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 6. 11-Spencer Hughes[8]; 7. 31-Tyler Millwood[10]; 8. D8-Dustin Mitchell[7]; 9. 187-David McCoy[5]; 10. S21-Seth Daniels[9]; 11. 6B-Adam Boyd[11] Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 4. 96V-Tanner English[5]; 5. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 7. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 8. 19M-Wil Herrington[6]; 9. 12D-Doug Drown[9]; 10. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[8] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25C-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 10-Garrett Smith[2]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 4. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[5]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 7. 86-Kyle Beard[9]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[8]; 9. 21K-Kenneth Howell[10]; 10. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 2. 1C-Kenny Collins[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 4. 212-Josh Putnam[12]; 5. 29-Larry Grube[2]; 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk[14]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[7]; 8. 4S-Danny Snyder[15]; 9. KB-Kerry King[8]; 10. 20B-Todd Brennan[5]; 11. 6-Blake Spencer[3]; 12. (DNS) 89J-Mark Whitener; 13. (DNS) 81J-Jack Riggs; 14. (DNS) 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr; 15. (DNS) 47W-Tyler Riggs; 16. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 4. 89M-Mike Spatola[5]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[7]; 6. C4-Freddie Carpenter[11]; 7. S21-Seth Daniels[14]; 8. 6B-Adam Boyd[15]; 9. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 10. 11-Spencer Hughes[6]; 11. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 12. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[13]; 13. 31-Tyler Millwood[8]; 14. D8-Dustin Mitchell[10]; 15. (DNS) 187-David McCoy MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 96V-Tanner English[1]; 2. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard[8]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[6]; 5. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 6. 19M-Wil Herrington[9]; 7. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[3]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 9. 12D-Doug Drown[11]; 10. 21K-Kenneth Howell[12]; 11. 1Z-Logan Zarin[10]; 12. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 13. (DNS) 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr; 14. (DNS) 49-Jonathan Davenport 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 4 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 63Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Dennis Erb, Jr.Lap Leaders: Hudson O’Neal (40 Laps)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 0.363 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Kyle Bronson (Lap 2); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 10); Ross Bailes, Devin Moran (Lap 10 restart); John Henderson (Lap 21)Series Provisionals: Brandon Sheppard; Tyler ErbFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Spencer Hughes; Jonathan Davenport; Tyler Bruening; Wil HerringtonTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Dennis Erb, Jr.Penske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Dennis Erb, Jr., Garrett Smith, Tim McCreadieTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Tyler Erb (Advanced 16 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Finisher: Shane ClantonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Finisher: Kyle BronsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (40 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Lap 11 – 15.469 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Brandon Overton Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny White (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Wil Herrington (14.905 seconds)Time of Race: 21 minutes 25 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

ENNIS, TX (February 10, 2023) — Heading into 2023 Texas Motorplex will host the Funny Car Chaos season opener for the third year in a row. Recognized as the largest Funny Car event in the country, the excitement and anticipation for the Funny Car Chaos season has been building since the season finale during last year’s Stampede of Speed. The Funny Car Chaos Classic will happen March 16-18 at the famed track south of Dallas and early indications are this event will be record-setting. 

NHRA Top Fuel racer Buddy Hull will be competing in the Red Baron Funny Car at Texas Motorplex

“We are very excited to once again open our season at Texas Motorplex,” said Chris Graves, Funny Car Chaos promoter and race director. “I grew up a Motorplex kid, this is where my addiction to the sport was born, so it means a lot to me personally, aside from the luxuries and professionalism the Motorplex venue and staff bring to our racers and fans. The Motorplex continues to rise to the top and Funny Car Chaos is proud to be a part of that. We’re ready to put on a show, so you know what to do, be there!”

Additional information about the Funny Car Chaos Classic can be found here. This event will continue to be recognized as a major event for the Texas Motorplex. Fan enhancements will be a major focus as well as highlighting the historic impact of this event.

“We are thrilled to not just host another Funny Car Chaos event, but to continue to grow one the most popular and exciting drag racing series in the country,” said Christie Meyer Johnson, Texas Motorplex co-owner. “Over the past two years we have seen Chris and his team grow this event and build Funny Car Chaos into an impressive series that draw participants and fans from across the country. Last year we had over 60 Funny Cars and we think we can attract another amazing field in March.”

Tickets are on sale now for the Funny Car Chaos Classic and for more information and tickets visit www.texasmotorplex.com.

Friday doubleheader includes three remaining Features from Thursday

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 9, 2023 – After his first Hot Lap session in a DIRTcar UMP Modified Monday at Volusia Speedway Park, Travis Pastrana told DIRTVision cameras, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Three days later, he emerged a winner.

Pastrana claimed his first golden gator trophy in only his third race, during the fourth night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. The rallycross star from Annapolis, MD, joined Billy Green and Brian Shaw as the three Feature winners Thursday night before rain postponed the remainder of the program to Friday.

Read more: Friday DIRTcar Nationals To Feature Expanded Program, Big Gator Championships

Feature #1 – Travis Pastrana

For only having raced the car twice before Thursday night, Pastrana sped around the half-mile oval with veteran-like control. He took the green from inside Row #2 and advanced to second on the first lap, only leader Adam Nayler in front of him.

When Nayler bobbled on the cushion out of Turn 2, Pastrana was right on the doorstep to capitalize, racing into the lead down the backstretch on Lap 5. The caution flag flew one lap later, forcing Pastrana into his first defense of the lead via restart, but he and his Longhorn Chassis, Black Rifle Coffee #199 held strong.

After the restart, Pastrana jumped out to a sizeable lead but soon caught the rear of the field in the closing laps. During that time, 11th-starting John Clippinger had been making a surge through the field, advancing nine spots in eight laps and was running second at the halfway point. He reeled-in Pastrana from two whole seconds back in five laps and was hot on the #199’s trail as the laps wound down.

Clippinger came close, within a few car lengths by the checkered, but was unable to get close enough to make a move on the leader as Pastrana crossed the stripe to collect his first-ever gator trophy in his DIRTcar Nationals debut week.

“We just came down here, having a good time,” Pastrana said. “We got all the Black Rifle crew, so many friends and family. We’re getting ready for the [Daytona] 500, trying to qualify for that.

Read also – AN AWESOME TIME: Travis Pastrana’s Road to Daytona Starts With DIRTcar UMP Modifieds at DIRTcar Nationals

“I came to try and take some of Matt Crafton’s dollars, and he’s taking all of my dollars. We’ve been crashing a lot, but I definitely appreciate all you fans for coming out. We won a gator!”

Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 199-Travis Pastrana[3]; 2. 16C-John Clippinger[11]; 3. 07N-Adam Nayler[1]; 4. 59-Doug Stine[5]; 5. 5-Jonathan Taylor[15]; 6. 27-Jason Garver[12]; 7. 2C-Ronnie Chance[2]; 8. 2J-Joshua Kunstbeck[14]; 9. 7M-Steve Maughan[10]; 10. 40R-Shawn Reiss[8]; 11. 27C-Billy Cevaal[13]; 12. 100-Dylan Murray[7]; 13. 463-Daniel Sanchez[9]; 14. 99W-Wade Olmsted[6]; 15. 54-Zachary Hawk[4]

Feature #2 – Billy Green

After climbing into a UMP Modified for the first time and winning in his DIRTcar Nationals debut last year, Billy Green backed it up and made it two gator trophies in two years Thursday night in one of the most unconventional methods seen this week.

A multi-car incident on the first lap in Turns 1-2 sent several cars off on the hook and reshuffled the field for a second attempt at the initial start. After two restarts, Green was contending for a podium spot when Jesse Rupe made contact with Ken Mihalik directly in front of him in Turns 3-4, sending him around and collecting Green.

Race control sent Rupe to the rear as a result of the incident and gave the additional cars that spun to avoid their spots back. This lined Green up third for the restart, which he capitalized on immediately, taking the lead from Josh Sanford in Turn 1 on the restart and leading the rest of the distance unchallenged to win his second career gator trophy.

“That one definitely wasn’t easy,” Green said. “When we got in that collision down there, it broke something in the left-rear. But these racecars are just somehow quick enough to do without it.”

Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 49G-Billy Green[5]; 2. 3-Josh Sanford[4]; 3. 4S-Craig Shaw[10]; 4. 17T-Tyler Evans[14]; 5. 24D-Jesse Dill[13]; 6. 22J-John Baker[8]; 7. 21S-Kenny Shaw[12]; 8. 6B-Dave Baldwin[3]; 9. 91B-Chris Beaulieu[11]; 10. 22-Doug Carson[2]; 11. 33-Kenny Mihalik[1]; 12. 11-Jesse Rupe[6]; 13. 34X-Shane O’Connor[15]; 14. 00B-Buzzie Reutimann[7]; 15. 17C-Coleman Evans[9]

Feature #3 – Brian Shaw

Illinois regional Modified veteran Brian Shaw came to Volusia this week looking for his first gator and got it in the third Feature of Thursday night.

It was a flag-to-flag performance for the Robinson, IL-racer, who is also fielding a car for fellow Illinois regular Kyle Hammer. Shaw snuck past most of the top-5 on the bottom on the initial start and came out of Turn 4 with the lead, holding it the rest of the way to claim victory.

Feature 3 (15 Laps): 1. 1S-Brian Shaw[11]; 2. 130-Chase Allen[8]; 3. 17-Rob Pitcher[2]; 4. M20-Mike Potosky[1]; 5. 7D-T J DeHaven[4]; 6. 22B-Austen Becerra[5]; 7. 9PG-Percy Gendreau[10]; 8. 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[12]; 9. 1-Randy Giroux[16]; 10. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[15]; 11. 0H-Dylan Henkins[6]; 12. 57-Fletcher Mason[13]; 13. 29-Steve Shellenberger[9]; 14. 32-Chad Roush[3]; 15. 35W-Ethan Weber[7]; 16. 12-Robert Gast[14]

UP NEXT

The UMP Modified action at Volusia Speedway Park continues on day #5 of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – Friday, Feb. 10 – racing alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Hot Laps set for 5pm ET. Tickets are available at DIRTcarNationals.com or at the gate. If you can’t be in attendance, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

TAMPA, Fla. (February 9, 2023) – Hudson O’Neal scored his first win for Rocket1 Racing as the 22-year-old Indiana native went to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series winner’s circle on Thursday night during the 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil at East Bay Raceway Park.  Max Blair came home in second to equal his best career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finish. Dennis Erb Jr. was third with 12th place starter Garrett Smith coming home in fourth. Tim McCreadie completed the top five. O’Neal grabbed the lead at the start of the race with Dennis Erb Jr. in second followed by current Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP leader Ricky Thornton Jr. Thornton took second on lap three from Erb, then ran behind O’Neal until he broke coming off a lap 10 restart ending his night. Blair, who started fifth then moved into second place after Thornton left the race.  Blair kept pace with O’Neal until the final lap when he closed the gap ending up just 0.363 seconds behind his fellow third generation racer at the checkers. O’Neal in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 19th time in career breathed a sigh of relief to get his first win of 2023 for his new team. “I can’t begin to talk about it. The worst part is that I know we have had it in us the whole trip and just little things just didn’t fall our way. I was able to get the lead from the jump there and I knew it was the best place I could possibly be with the way the track was moving around. It’s just better to be up front. I knew if I could just maintain a gap and get ahead of them before I caught lapped traffic. With those lapped cars it was tense. I kept waiting for someone to blast around the outside.”  Blair, who was seeking to become the third straight first-time winner finished in the runner-up spot. “I just couldn’t believe I was racing with Hudson O’Neal for the win at East Bay. That’s awesome. It was a good night. We’ve had a good car all week and the driver just can’t put a good lap together until tonight. We put a whole night together tonight, hopefully we can put together two more nights like this.” Erb Jr. who was looking for his eighth career win at East Bay rounded out the Big River Steel Podium with a third-place finish. “Hopefully we can build some good momentum from this for the rest of the week. We ran well the first two nights. We qualified good tonight to start up front. We were a little tight tonight and we will work on that for tomorrow.” The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Gunter’s Honey, Petroff Towing, WR1 Sim Chassis, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Sunoco Race Fuels, Integra Racing Shocks, Performance Grading, and Rocket Pre-Owned Motors. Completing the top ten were Jimmy Owens, Shane Clanton, Tanner English, Garrett Alberson, and Tyler Erb. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 4Thursday, February 9, 2023East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brian Shirley / 14.924 seconds Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal / 14.903 seconds (overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 2. 79-Ross Bailes[4]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 4. 1C-Kenny Collins[6]; 5. 6-Blake Spencer[8]; 6. 20B-Todd Brennan[9]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[5]; 8. 89J-Mark Whitener[3]; 9. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[7]; 10. 47W-Tyler Riggs[10]; 11. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 2X-John Henderson[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 4. 29-Larry Grube[7]; 5. 76-Brandon Overton[11]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 7. KB-Kerry King[8]; 8. 81J-Jack Riggs[2]; 9. 212-Josh Putnam[9]; 10. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6]; 11. 4S-Danny Snyder[10] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 4. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 6. 89M-Mike Spatola[4]; 7. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 9. C4-Freddie Carpenter[7]; 10. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[10] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 3. 83-Jensen Ford[4]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 6. 11-Spencer Hughes[8]; 7. 31-Tyler Millwood[10]; 8. D8-Dustin Mitchell[7]; 9. 187-David McCoy[5]; 10. S21-Seth Daniels[9]; 11. 6B-Adam Boyd[11] Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 4. 96V-Tanner English[5]; 5. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 7. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 8. 19M-Wil Herrington[6]; 9. 12D-Doug Drown[9]; 10. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[8] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25C-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 10-Garrett Smith[2]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 4. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[5]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 7. 86-Kyle Beard[9]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[8]; 9. 21K-Kenneth Howell[10]; 10. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[4]; 2. 1C-Kenny Collins[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 4. 212-Josh Putnam[12]; 5. 29-Larry Grube[2]; 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk[14]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[7]; 8. 4S-Danny Snyder[15]; 9. KB-Kerry King[8]; 10. 20B-Todd Brennan[5]; 11. 6-Blake Spencer[3]; 12. (DNS) 89J-Mark Whitener; 13. (DNS) 81J-Jack Riggs; 14. (DNS) 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr; 15. (DNS) 47W-Tyler Riggs; 16. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 4. 89M-Mike Spatola[5]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[7]; 6. C4-Freddie Carpenter[11]; 7. S21-Seth Daniels[14]; 8. 6B-Adam Boyd[15]; 9. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 10. 11-Spencer Hughes[6]; 11. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 12. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[13]; 13. 31-Tyler Millwood[8]; 14. D8-Dustin Mitchell[10]; 15. (DNS) 187-David McCoy MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 96V-Tanner English[1]; 2. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard[8]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[6]; 5. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 6. 19M-Wil Herrington[9]; 7. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[3]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 9. 12D-Doug Drown[11]; 10. 21K-Kenneth Howell[12]; 11. 1Z-Logan Zarin[10]; 12. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 13. (DNS) 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr; 14. (DNS) 49-Jonathan Davenport 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas Oil – Night 4 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 63Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Dennis Erb, Jr.Lap Leaders: Hudson O’Neal (40 Laps)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 0.363 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Kyle Bronson (Lap 2); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 10); Ross Bailes, Devin Moran (Lap 10 restart); John Henderson (Lap 21)Series Provisionals: Brandon Sheppard; Tyler ErbFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Spencer Hughes; Jonathan Davenport; Tyler Bruening; Wil HerringtonTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Dennis Erb, Jr.Penske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Dennis Erb, Jr., Garrett Smith, Tim McCreadieTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Tyler Erb (Advanced 16 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Finisher: Shane ClantonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Finisher: Kyle BronsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (40 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Lap 11 – 15.469 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Brandon Overton Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny White (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Wil Herrington (14.905 seconds)Time of Race: 21 minutes 25 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 9, 2023) – Already an intricate part of the World of Outlaws and Super DIRTcar Series family, CASE Construction Equipment is expanding its involvement in 2023 with CASE No.1 Engine Oil™ joining as a new sponsor.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil™ will be the Official Engine Oil for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and Super DIRTcar Series, along with serving as the sponsor of Heat Race #1 across all three series.

“We’re excited to bring CASE No.1 Engine Oil to the World of Outlaws and Super DIRTcar Series, expanding our reach amongst the passionate fanbases and expanding our support of dirt racing,” said Eric Tharp, vice president of parts commercial & operations for CNH Industrial – parent company of the CASE brands. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase the wide variety of engine oil options that can benefit drivers and fans alike in their everyday lives.”

In addition to its main sponsorships with the three series, CASE No.1 Engine Oil™ will join the contingency program for all three series – giving drivers that have the company’s decal on their car the chance to win more money at the end of the night – and will become part of the DIRTcar HP Engine Builder Program.

The World of Outlaws and Super DIRTcar Series began its thriving partnership with CNH Industrial’s CASE brand in 2022 when CASE Construction Equipment became the title sponsor of the World of Outlaws Late Models and the Official Construction Equipment Company for all three series. That partnership also continues in 2023 with new and exciting initiatives.

To follow the 2023 World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model tours, CLICK HERE, and to follow the 2023 Super DIRTcar Series season, CLICK HERE.

To learn more about CASE No.1 Engine Oil, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

Signs on as Title Sponsor of Yamaha Senoia Short Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 9, 2023) – Progressive American Flat track is excited to confirm that Yamaha Motor Corp., USA will continue as an Official OEM Partner of Progressive AFT for the 2023 season. Yamaha had an extremely strong showing in 2022, scoring race wins and contending for championships up and down the class structure. Most notable was the incredible strides it made in the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle category. The Estenson Racing Yamaha’s terrific tandem of Dallas Daniels and JD Beach combined to secure six victories, 15 podiums, and 27 top fives. The duo finished a close third and fourth in the final standings after battling for the crown all season long in what was Yamaha’s greatest Championship showing since the days of Kenny Roberts in the mid-‘70s. Yamaha was a genuine powerhouse in Progressive AFT’s additional classes as well where it totaled eight victories among its 32 podiums, with seven different riders standing on the box at least once during the ‘22 campaign. Yamaha is poised to take another step forward in 2023 with Daniels and Beach once again spearheading the bLU cRU’s multi-class title assault. “We’re excited and looking forward to another year of racing and partnership with Progressive American Flat Track,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha Motorsports marketing manager. “The Estenson Yamaha Racing team is encouraged with the progress and resulting success in 2022, but remains motivated and focused on the goals of claiming the Mission SuperTwins championship and regaining the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles title.” As part of Yamaha’s impressive commitment to the series, it will also serve as the title sponsor of the Yamaha Senoia Short Track, which will take place on March 25 at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia, located just down the interstate from Yamaha’s US-based Headquarters in Marietta, Georgia. “We appreciate Yamaha’s continued support of Progressive American Flat Track,” said Gene Crouch, COO of AMA Pro Racing. “We’re looking forward to playing host for the Atlanta-based employees of Yamaha Motor Corp. USA and providing an exciting evening of flat track racing when the series heads to Senoia Raceway for Round 3 on March 25.” For more information about Yamaha visit https://www.yamahamotorsports.com. The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10. For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. How to Watch:FOX Sports and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of Progressive American Flat Track. For the 2023 season, all races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. FansChoice.tv provides livestreaming coverage of every Progressive AFT round at http://www.FansChoice.tv.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 9, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track is proud to present the broadcast schedule for the upcoming Progressive AFT season. All 18 rounds will once again premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots that are expected to deliver further viewership increases in 2023. The 2023 campaign marks the second year of the blockbuster multi-year agreement that has already served to expand the visibility of the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series. In 2022, FOX Sports provided a radically increased 150 hours of linear television coverage for the sport, which attracted nearly three million viewers across FS1 and FS2. That total was the highest linear television viewership for the series to date and represented a year-over-year increase of more than a million viewers. “FOX Sports helped us reach millions of fans and delivered incredible coverage of the racing action last season,” said Gene Crouch, Chief Operating Officer of AMA Pro Racing. “With a condensed schedule, the return of fan favorite venues, new teams and the rekindling of some great rivalries, the 2023 Progressive AFT season is shaping up to be one for the record books.” FOX Sports coverage will first air on FS1 the weekend following each round (two weekends later for the Sacramento Mile), followed by re-airings on FS2. The schedule also again strategically leverages FOX Sports’ powerhouse motorsports lineup to maximize viewership and introduce the sport to all-new audiences by regularly leading in and/or out of other highly rated motorsports programming. FOX Sports coverage of the 2023 Progressive AFT season will deliver captivating coverage from all 18 events, starting with the season opening doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway on March 9 and 10 and wrapping up with the Springfield Mile doubleheader on Labor Day weekend. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. 2023 Television Schedule for Progressive American Flat Track (all premieres on FS1):Saturday, March 18 – DAYTONA Short Track I – 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, March 19 – DAYTONA Short Track II – 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT)Saturday, April 1 – YamahaSenoia Short Track – 7:00 a.m. ET (4:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, April 9 – Arizona Super TT – 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, April 30 – Mission Dallas Half-Mile – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, May 13 – Ventura Short Track – 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT)Saturday, May 27 – Mission Sacramento Mile presented by Law Tigers – 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, June 4 – Red Mile – 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, June 25 – DuQuoin Mile – 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, July 2 – Lima Half-Mile – 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, July 8 – West Virginia Half-Mile – 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, July 16 – Orange County Half-Mile – 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, July 30 – Bridgeport Half-Mile – 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, August 6 – SC2Peoria TT presented by Country Saloon – 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, August 13 – Buffalo Chip TT – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, August 20 – CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers– 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, September 10 – Springfield Mile I – 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, September 10 – Springfield Mile II – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)How to Watch:FOX Sports and FansChoice.tv are home to Progressive American Flat Track programming. For the 2023 season, all races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. FansChoice.tv provides livestreaming coverage of every Progressive AFT round at http://www.FansChoice.tv.

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (Feb. 09, 2023) – John Force Racing will once again feature four full-time hot rods in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Driven by their returning roster of 2022 drivers, Brittany Force, Robert Hight, Austin Prock and John Force, the legendary team will be chasing the organization’s 23rd and 24th NHRA world championships. “The 2022 season was good to us. We all got wins, did the work for our sponsors,” said the founder and CEO of John Force Racing, John Force. “Brittany with the championship and Robert battled all the way to the end. Austin kind of surprised us all with the late surge and I held my own too. We’ll build on that success this year. We’ve promoted from within, made some changes and it makes me, all of us, excited for this season.” With the retirement of hall of fame crew chief Rahn Tobler off of Austin Prock’s Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, Chris Cunningham will move over from Robert Hight’s Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. Cunningham will be lead crew chief with Joe Barlam remaining as co-crew chief on Prock’s hot rod after leading the team to a third-place finish in 2023. Filling Cunningham’s spot on the three-time championship Funny Car team of Robert Hight will be Thomas Prock, son of lead crew chief Jimmy Prock, and Nathan Hildahl, promoted from car chief, as co-assistant crew chiefs. “We’ve worked hard to create an environment here at John Force Racing where our employees are able to learn and grow. It’s all part of our Next Generation Program, it’s not just for drivers,” Force said. “So, when it came time to fill roles, it only made sense to have our own move into the open positions. We have all the confidence that these moves will set our teams up to continue the high level of racing and competitiveness that everyone expects from John Force Racing.” David Grubnic will continue to make the tuning decisions on two-time and reigning world champion Brittany Force’s Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. Grubnic will be joined by Brandon Hazelton as car chief coming from John Force’s Funny Car team. Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS will continue to be led by crew chiefs Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi with Mac Savage coming from Brittany Force’s Top Fuel team to assist. John Force Racing is currently conducting pre-season testing at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida where they will return next month for the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Match 10-12.

Action continues Thursday night with six Features lined up by points accumulated

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 8, 2023 – The third night of competition for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds in the 52nd annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park featured three separate three-peat winners, a dominant force returning to form, and a Victory Lane celebration/interview from a rising teenage star that those watching won’t soon forget.

Wednesday’s events were also the last before the format changes for Thursday’s show, where the six Feature lineups are determined by each driver’s points accumulated over the first three nights. This balances the competition in each Feature and has, historically, created some of the most competitive races seen all week.

Feature #1 – Kyle Strickler

After settling for second Tuesday night, Kyle Strickler rebounded Wednesday to bag his second gator trophy of the week and 11th of his career at DIRTcar Nationals.

Strickler, the two-time Gator Championship Feature winner from Mooresville, NC, led flag-to-flag unchallenged, thanks to a big effort by his team to improve on the car setup from the night before.

“We got our car a lot better than yesterday,” Strickler said. “Yesterday, I thought we were absolutely terrible. We made a big swing at it tonight, and I finally got my nose down where I can steer, so now I feel like we can put some traction back in it.”

Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[1]; 2. 8A-Austin Holcombe[3]; 3. 4-Mike Learman[7]; 4. 43A-Mark Anderson[11]; 5. 11S-Jared Spalding[12]; 6. 24D-Jesse Dill[8]; 7. 00B-Buzzie Reutimann[15]; 8. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[14]; 9. 2C-Ronnie Chance[13]; 10. 9-Ken Schrader[5]; 11. 22B-Austen Becerra[2]; 12. 54-Zachary Hawk[6]; 13. 22K-Dale Kelley[10]; 14. 97-Mitch Thomas[4]; 15. 17C-Coleman Evans[9]

Feature #2 – Charlie Mefford

In what will likely be remembered as one of the most iconic Victory Lane moments in modern DIRTcar Nationals history, 16-year-old Charlie Mefford jumped – literally, jumped – on the roof of his Elite Chassis #13 after winning his first career gator trophy in only his third start, leading the 20-lapper wire-to-wire.

With tears in his eyes and raw emotion aplenty his voice, Mefford gave the Volusia crowd and the DIRTVision cameras one of the most memorable Victory Lane interviews.

“This is a dream, man. Everything me, my mom and dad has ever worked for. We never even thought about coming down here and racing, and here we are in Victory Lane.”

Looking back, it’s been a memory-filled past three months for the Belton, KY-driver, who first rose to prominence in the Modified world for his signature “You can’t park there!” chant coined at the Gateway Dirt Nationals event in St. Louis last December. Ever since that big moment on the microphone, Mefford has had the attention, and gave fans another reason to listen Wednesday night.

“This is a dream come true,” Mefford said. “I’m a 16-year-old kid from Kentucky… I don’t even have my intermediate license yet; I just got my permit. I’m out here racing with grown adults and running like this.”

Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 13-Charlie Mefford[1]; 2. 145-Kyle Hammer[2]; 3. 7-Evan Taylor[5]; 4. 90R-Raymond Kable[7]; 5. 9PG-Percy Gendreau[9]; 6. 07-Curtis King[12]; 7. 29-Steve Shellenberger[10]; 8. 0H-Dylan Henkins[13]; 9. 35W-Ethan Weber[3]; 10. 21J-Clay Harris[8]; 11. 59-Doug Stine[11]; 12. 40R-Shawn Reiss[15]; 13. 25W-Allen Weisser[4]; 14. 99G-Gavin Graham[6]; 15. 77B-Ray Bollinger[14]

Feature #3 – Michael Long

It had been three whole years since his last trip to Volusia Victory Lane, but Michael Long finally made it back Wednesday night to collect his third career DIRTcar Nationals victory.

Leading all 20 laps, Long proved he’s more than a Missouri-Illinois regional champion of the weekly DIRTcar Racing scene. Accustomed to racing mostly shorter, high-banked bullrings in the Midwest, Long showed his versatility, putting on a clinic and crossing the finish line nearly two full seconds over runner-up Zeke McKenzie.

“We’ve been gradually getting better,” Long said. “Car was a ton better tonight; just been working on getting it to steer around here. We’ve just been off, compared to what we run in the Midwest.”

Feature 3 (20 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[1]; 2. 24-Zeke McKenzie[4]; 3. 21CZ-Benji LaCrosse[7]; 4. 21C-Taylor Cook[2]; 5. 22TW-Tim Ward[5]; 6. 7G-Seth Geary[6]; 7. 21S-Kenny Shaw[10]; 8. 3-Josh Sanford[12]; 9. 0-Glenn Styres[8]; 10. 11-Jesse Rupe[15]; 11. 22-Doug Carson[14]; 12. 22J-John Baker[11]; 13. 09-Michael Leach[3]; 14. 49G-Billy Green[9]; 15. 1S-Brian Shaw[13]

Feature #4 – Ethan Dotson

Coming in as one of three drivers with their gator win streak still in-tact, Ethan Dotson kept the streak alive with yet another dominating performance for his third career gator trophy earned in as many starts.

Monday’s margin of victory was 4.869 seconds. On Tuesday, 2.350 was the gap to second. Wednesday marked Dotson’s largest lead of the week – a whole 6.725 seconds ahead at the finish. Now, he prepares for his toughest test of the week on Thursday.

Features will then be lined up by points totals accumulated throughout the week, which will put Dotson in a sea of drivers more at his speed for more 20 laps and another gator trophy up for grabs. Dotson said he’s eager to see exactly where he stacks-up.

“We’re pretty excited just to see how we are,” Dotson said. “Spreading the fast guys out just makes it tough to see if you’re really fast. We can check lap times, but they’re on a different racetrack than you, so you just never really know. But I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Feature 4 (20 Laps): 1. 00E-Ethan Dotson[1]; 2. 77-George Dixon[3]; 3. 95-Michael Altobelli[2]; 4. 00EH-Steve Arpin[6]; 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman[4]; 6. 88-Matt Crafton[5]; 7. 60-Shannon Fisk[8]; 8. 2A-Matt Altiers[7]; 9. 33-Kenny Mihalik[13]; 10. M20-Mike Potosky[11]; 11. 77S-Jim Shipman[14]; 12. 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[12]; 13. 91B-Chris Beaulieu[10]; 14. 72X-Todd Neiheiser[9]; 15. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[15]

Feature #5 – Justin Haley

Justin Haley became the second driver to win three-in-a-row Wednesday night, in control the entire distance once again as he netted his fourth career DIRTcar Nationals victory.

Haley needed a good takeoff on the initial start and got it, taking the opportunity for the lead away from Monday night winner Lucas Lee on the opening lap and holding him off the rest of the way to capture the checkered.

“Another great night for us – three in-a-row down here at Volusia,” Haley said. “Awesome team effort by everyone here at Darkhorse Racecars. Matt Smith [crew chief], my brother Quentin, Rich Dawson.

“It’s been a team effort, and it’s pretty cool to come down here. We were a little tight tonight, so we’ll figure out tomorrow with a little different format, and hopefully keep going.”

Feature 5 (20 Laps): 1. 99-Justin Haley[1]; 2. 12L-Lucas Lee[3]; 3. 5CS-Curt Spalding[5]; 4. 51-Dalton Lanich[7]; 5. 51G-Brandon Green[2]; 6. 114-Clayton Bryant[6]; 7. 99M-Mike Mullen[9]; 8. 05-Dave Wietholder[4]; 9. 463-Daniel Sanchez[14]; 10. 12-Robert Gast[13]; 11. 1-Randy Giroux[12]; 12. 32-Chad Roush[8]; 13. 57-Fletcher Mason[10]; 14. 34X-Shane O’Connor[11]; 15. 99W-Wade Olmsted[15]

Feature #6 – Tyler Nicely

Running away from the field for the third night in-a-row, Tyler Nicely shelved his seventh career gator trophy Wednesday night and locked himself into the top Feature event for Thursday.

“It’s gonna be fun to stack-up against all the big guys in one Feature,” Nicely said. “Tomorrow will give us a good judge for Saturday’s $5,000-to-win Feature.”

Nicely, of Owensboro, KY, broke out a brand-new Elite Chassis for this week and is making it count, having won each of the three nights he’s put it on track.

“We’ve just been running the same thing every night,” Nicely said. “Nick Hoffman over at Elite Chassis – this thing’s really balanced, so we’re just taking them as we can get them right now.”

Feature 6 (20 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[1]; 2. 7A-Justin Allgaier[8]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[6]; 4. 5T-Drake Troutman[2]; 5. 90-Jason Beaulieu[5]; 6. 130-Chase Allen[14]; 7. 10Y-Trent Young[4]; 8. 4S-Craig Shaw[7]; 9. 17T-Tyler Evans[9]; 10. 7M-Steve Maughan[15]; 11. 17-Rob Pitcher[10]; 12. 7D-T J DeHaven[13]; 13. 6B-Dave Baldwin[11]; 14. 100-Dylan Murray[12]; 15. 35-David Stremme[3]

UP NEXT

The UMP Modified action at Volusia Speedway Park continues on day #4 of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – Thursday, Feb. 9 – racing alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Hot Laps set for 5:30pm ET. Tickets are available at DIRTcarNationals.com or at the gate. If you can’t be in attendance, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

TAMPA, Fla. (February 8, 2023) – For the second night in a row, a new winner emerged with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as Ryan Gustin picked up his first career series victory. The 32-year-old Iowa native scored the win in the 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil at East Bay Raceway Park. Gustin’s win followed that of Ashton Winger’s on Tuesday night as first-time victors with the series. Tyler Erb, who won Monday night’s race finished in second followed by Kyle Bronson. Brandon Sheppard was fourth with Jonathan Davenport rounding out the top five drivers. Gustin grabbed the lead at the start of the 40-lap A-Main with Bronson and Tyler Erb in tow. After a lap six restart, Gustin still held the point with Erb and Bronson keeping him within their sights. Erb yielded the second spot to Bronson on the eighth lap as Gustin was starting to pull away. A timely caution flew on lap 15 as Gustin was about to pick up the tail end of the field.  On the restart Gustin still led Bronson and Erb at the halfway mark of the race as another caution came out with 21 laps scored. The restart would see Bronson slide underneath Gustin for the lead but exiting turn two on the 23rd lap Gustin powered back around Bronson on the outside to regain the top spot. The trio of drivers then caught traffic as Erb would gain the second spot on lap 36. The final caution with two laps to go allowed both Erb and Bronson to have one last shot at Gustin, but he held his line to pick-up his first ever Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory. Gustin’s win makes him the 88th different winner in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series history and the seventh different winner in nine races thus far in 2023. “This is awesome. Once Kyle [Bronson] got underneath me there man I thought I just messed this up. Luckily, we had a good enough car under us to roll through the middle and got back by him. We got to the lapped cars and I felt like it started to cleanup and those cars were dirtying it up so I had to get back down to the bottom.” “I just wanted to win this for my guys they have been working their tails off,” Gustin added. The only reason we are standing here tonight is because of them. Our car is really, really good when you can roll the middle like that just like that B-Main the other night everybody was circling around the bottom and we were just able to move out and run through there better. I think we have a team that can contend every night. We’ve got a great race car, a great owner, and a great crew chief. I am just the lucky one who gets to drive it. I love East Bay.” Erb who finished second 1.330 seconds behind Gustin at the finish had one last shot at the end as a caution flag set up a green-white-checkered finish. “He [Gustin] was pretty good. He got me on the start. I just stayed out there on the top of three and four for a long time trying to make something happen. It was fun. We qualified good and everybody’s working hard so we needed to be a little bit better to beat Ryan there. If we would have stayed in traffic I might have had a better chance at him. It was awesome and another good run for us and now must get ready for tomorrow.” Bronson, who led one lap during the race came home in third for his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series podium finish of the season. “Our car has been good here. The first day we kind of missed it on the feature set-up and last night I felt like we had a winning car and tonight we passed for the lead. It kind of streaked up through the middle there and he [Gustin] got back by me.” The winner’s David Steine, Tri-Star Promotions-owned, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Mahle Pistons, Tri-Star Engines and Transmissions, Penske Racing Shocks, and VP Fuels. Completing the top ten were Brandon Overton, Tanner English, Spencer Hughes, Devin Moran, and Earl Pearson Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals Presented by Lucas OilWednesday, February 8, 2023East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Jensen Ford / 15.001 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Blair Nothdurft / 15.204 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 79-Ross Bailes[4]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 5. 83-Jensen Ford[1]; 6. 18-Chase Junghans[6]; 7. 1C-Kenny Collins[8]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[10]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[11]; 10. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 11. 12D-Doug Drown[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 4. 19M-Wil Herrington[5]; 5. C4-Freddie Carpenter[7]; 6. 31-Tyler Millwood[9]; 7. 89M-Mike Spatola[4]; 8. S21-Seth Daniels[8]; 9. 47W-Tyler Riggs[10]; 10. 2X-John Henderson[6]; 11. 14W-Dustin Walker[11] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 6. 18D-Daulton Wilson[7]; 7. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[6]; 8. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[10]; 9. 29-Larry Grube[9]; 10. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[11]; 11. (DNS) 22*-Payton Freeman AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[4]; 3. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 5. 111B-Max Blair[5]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 7. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[6]; 8. 21K-Kenneth Howell[10]; 9. D8-Dustin Mitchell[8]; 10. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[9]; 11. (DNS) 1Z-Logan Zarin Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Garrett Smith[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 6. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 8. 187-David McCoy[10]; 9. 75-Daniel Adam[9]; 10. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[6]; 11. (DNS) 5T-John Tweed Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 89-Logan Roberson[2]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard[3]; 4. 91-Rusty Schlenk[5]; 5. 212-Josh Putnam[4]; 6. 89J-Mark Whitener[7]; 7. 6-Blake Spencer[8]; 8. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 9. 25B-Mike Benedum[6]; 10. 4S-Danny Snyder[9] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 19M-Wil Herrington[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 81-Jason Riggs[9]; 4. 1C-Kenny Collins[7]; 5. 31-Tyler Millwood[6]; 6. S21-Seth Daniels[10]; 7. 89M-Mike Spatola[8]; 8. 14W-Dustin Walker[16]; 9. 17SS-Brenden Smith[13]; 10. 18-Chase Junghans[5]; 11. 12D-Doug Drown[15]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[11]; 13. 83-Jensen Ford[3]; 14. C4-Freddie Carpenter[4]; 15. 47W-Tyler Riggs[12]; 16. (DNS) 2X-John Henderson UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 12-Ashton Winger[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs[2]; 4. 111B-Max Blair[4]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 6. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[7]; 7. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[9]; 8. 29-Larry Grube[11]; 9. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[14]; 10. 21K-Kenneth Howell[10]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 12. D8-Dustin Mitchell[12]; 13. 3B-Billy Boyd Sr[13]; 14. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[8]; 15. (DNS) 22*-Payton Freeman; 16. (DNS) 1Z-Logan Zarin MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 2. 55-Benji Hicks[5]; 3. 89J-Mark Whitener[6]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 5. 91-Rusty Schlenk[2]; 6. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 7. 187-David McCoy[9]; 8. 75-Daniel Adam[11]; 9. 6-Blake Spencer[8]; 10. 4S-Danny Snyder[14]; 11. 25B-Mike Benedum[12]; 12. 212-Josh Putnam[4]; 13. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 14. (DNS) 1H-Hudson O’Neal; 15. (DNS) 5T-John Tweed Wieland Winternationals Night 3 Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 65Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Ryan GustinLap Leaders: Ryan Gustin (Laps 1-40)Wieland Feature Winner: Ryan GustinArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 1.330 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Benji Hicks (Lap 6); Ross Bailes (Lap 15); Logan Roberson (Lap 21); Tyler Bruening, Wil Herrington (Lap 38)Series Provisionals: n/aWieland Fast Time Provisionals: Mike Spatola, Ross RobinsonSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ryan Gustin, Tyler Erb, Kyle BronsonPenske Shocks Top 5: Ryan Gustin, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan DavenportTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Advanced 12 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Finisher: Tanner EnglishDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Finisher: Garrett SmithEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ryan Gustin (40 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Tyler Erb       Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Ryan Gustin (Lap 26 – 16.256 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Jensen FordOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Taylon Center (Ryan Gustin)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Brandon Overton (14.453 seconds)Time of Race: 23 minutes 20 seconds

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2023, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 56 events across 16 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package streamed live via MAVTV on FloRacing, with select broadcasts on MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

Sent on behalf of Fastrack Racing Fastrack Racing is proud to announce its all-new Mission SuperTwins effort featuring Bronson Bauman aboard KTM 890 Duke-based racebikes for the 2023 Progressive American Flat Trackseason. Owned by Arney and Amy Wick, Fastrack Racing has worked in tight collaboration with Latus Motors Racing in recent seasons, contributing to both James Rispoli’s 2020 Mission Production Twins championship and Kody Kopp’s 2021 Rookie of the Year campaign. Fastrack Racing now steps up to front its own premier-class squad in ‘23 with one of the category’s leading stars in Bauman. During his career, Bronson has twice ranked inside the Mission SuperTwins championship top five, including a breakout third-place campaign in 2019, in which he scored his maiden victory at the Laconia Short Track. In all, the native Californian and Illinois resident has tallied up nine premier-class podiums, the most recent of which coming last season with Latus Motors Racing and Fastrack Racing. The team will field KTMs in ‘23 after the Duke platform flashed immense promise in limited action during the 2022 campaign. Matt Krsul will serve as Crew Chief while Dave Bush will work as Technical Support. Bronson Bauman #37: “To be honest, this is one of the most exciting seasons in years. I am surrounded by people who truly believe in me and my capabilities and only want success for me and the team. I got to work with Arney, Amy and Matt during the ’22 season so we all are very familiar with one another and know how each other operates. Everyone involved is aware it will be a bit of a learning curve with these bikes, but we are up for the challenge. We have seen the great success of this motorcycle and plan to add to that success during the 2023 season.” Team Owner Arney Wick: “We are looking forward to the opportunity and challenges that lie ahead,” said Arney Wick. “We have tremendous support from many industry-leading companies and first-class key individuals like Matt Krsul and Dave Bush who continue to spend countless hours in the shop during the preparation and testing phase of the season. As a team, we also want to acknowledge the fact that none of this would be possible if not for the opportunities and equipment provided to us by George Latus of Latus Motors Racing.” Team Owner Amy Wick: “We are incredibly excited to support such a talented rider such as Bronson Bauman and are looking forward to a great season. The KTM 890 provides us a new opportunity to build on the success that multiple teams have seen in the past year.” Crew Chief Matt Krsul: “What an honor it is to be able to work with Bronson and Fastrack Racing. The opportunity to be involved with setting up the new KTM race bikes and to work with a top shelf rider like Bronson is exciting. I have been fortunate to be involved in the motorcycle world my entire life. and the flat track community is one of the best parts of the motorcycle world. Challenges are many but with the dedication of the team and support staff we have assembled that seems to grow daily, we will achieve great results.”

MOORESVILLE, NC (February 8, 2023) — Heading into the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season reigning Rookie of the Year Camrie Caruso announced today the renewal of her marketing relationship with Powerbuilt Tools. The marketing program will include primary branding on Caruso’s KB Titan Racing powered Chevrolet Camaro for five national events during the season beginning with the NHRA Winternationals as well as the Arizona Nationals, the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals and the In-N-Out Burgers NHRA Finals in Pomona to close out the season. Powerbuilt Tools will be featured as a major associate the remaining 13 NHRA national events.

“I am excited to continue to grow this marketing program with Powerbuilt Tools,” said Caruso. “I believe these are the best tools in the industry and I have a lot of confidence knowing my race car is being serviced with Powerbuilt Tools. I have been fortunate to talk with so many fans about Powerbuilt Tools and I can’t wait to get the season started.” 

During her successful rookie season Caruso qualified for every NHRA national event, was the No. 1 qualifier at the Spring Nationals in Houston and raced to a runner-up finish at the same event. The 24-year-old driver finished the regular season in the Top Ten and qualified for the NHRA Countdown playoffs. Caruso began driving in the NHRA Jr. Dragster League before attending Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and earning her Super Comp license.  She has continued to move up through the NHRA competition classes for over a decade. After three years of competing in the 8.90 index class, she went back to Frank Hawley and obtained her Top Dragster license, successfully competing in both PDRA and NHRA for a couple years before her jump into Top Alcohol Dragster with Randy Meyer Racing where she won her first Wally in only her second start in the class.

“We have enjoyed our relationship with Camrie and the Caruso Racing family over the last two years,” said Greg Livingston, President and CEO of Alltrade Tools. “Being a part of Camrie’s rookie season and her success as 2022 Rookie of the Year. Powerbuilt is excited to be a part of the 2023 season and we wish Camrie the best this year. She has our full support from the entire Powerbuilt team.

Headquartered in Cypress, California, Powerbuilt Tools are recognized for their high quality, innovative and durable tools. They offer best in class tools and equipment that deliver quality, innovation and durability to automotive professionals and enthusiasts. For 40 years they’ve produced consistent quality, performance and value to earn the trust of tool users. 

As a third generation drag racer, Caruso the daughter of former Pro Modified racer Marc Caruso and granddaughter of “Papa Joe” Caruso, who raced in Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Pro Mod, showed in 2022 that she brings much more to the competitive table than just a great racing pedigree. Throughout the season she continued to improve as a driver and NHRA ambassador.

The NHRA Gatornationals will start the NHRA’s season in sunny Gainesville, Florida, on Friday, March 10, the quickest sixteen Pro Stock cars will race on Sunday with the event being televised on FS1 and FOX nationally.

CONCORD, NC – Feb. 8, 2023 – Jade Avedisian became the winningest driver in Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota history and the first female driver to take the checkered flag in a national Midget race in 2022. This year, she’s poised to make more history, chasing the Series title with one of Midget racing’s most decorated teams.

Avedisian has joined Keith Kunz Motorsports and will run all 35 races on the Xtreme Outlaw Midget schedule in pursuit of her first national championship. Piloting a Bullet by Spike Chassis with Toyota Racing power by Speedway Engine Development, the young Californian will drive KKM’s iconic #71 with sponsorship from Mobil 1 on the full-time Xtreme Midget roster.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” Avedisian said. “Keith and Pete [Willoughby, team co-owner] are giving me a shot, and to have Mobil 1 on this year is going to be really cool.

“There’s a lot of pressure obviously, because I want to win, and everyone wants to win. So, I’m going to give it all I’ve got and see what happens.”

At 16 years old, Avedisian has already begun breaking ground in the Midget world. She became the first female driver to claim the checkered flag in a national Midget race last June, leading the Xtreme Outlaw Feature at Jacksonville Speedway flag-to-flag to bank the $5,000 prize on the historic Sunday night in Illinois.

She backed that win up in October with her second Xtreme Outlaw victory of the year, becoming the current winningest driver in Series history. She beat POWRi National Midget champion Bryant Wiedeman to the line in a near photo-finish to win the season finale at I-44 Riverside Speedway.

Both of her record victories came in cars fielded by team owner Chad Boat, who she drove for in her first full-time Midget season last year. Avedisian first partnered with Boat in 2021 for her rookie Midget campaign on a part-time schedule after several years competing and winning in the Micro Sprint ranks, which she said all has prepared her for her next Midget venture at KKM.

“My year last year with Chad and everyone at [Chad Boat Industries] was really great,” Avedisian said. “I think that really helped me learn and progress into this year to have this opportunity with Mobil 1, Toyota Racing and Keith Kunz Motorsports.”

Kunz has kept a close eye on Avedisian’s racing career for the past several years, watching her rise from Jr. Sprints through the Micro Sprint ranks and into the national Midget scene. After her record-setting season in 2022 and her A-Main appearance as a rookie at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January, Kunz knew Avedisian was going to make a strong addition to his team in 2023.

“She was at the top of Toyota’s and our radar,” Kunz said. “We just eventually gravitated toward each other as her career’s moved along. She was able to get a couple wins last year with Chad Boat and had really solidified herself as a strong competitor.

“We’re all looking to take her to the next level and win more races and chase an Xtreme championship this year.”

In the midst of a remarkable wave of youthful talent sweeping through the national Midget ranks in the past five years came a variety of skilled female racers as well – several of which Kunz has fielded cars for and made defining moments in Midget racing.

From the days of Sarah McCune’s starts in KKM cars in the early 2000s, to Holly Shelton’s multi-season tenure with the team in the 2010s, to Kaylee Bryson’s groundbreaking achievement in becoming the first woman to start the Chili Bowl A-Main last year, Kunz has developed some of the best female racing talent in Midget history and looks to drivers like Avedisian to carry the torch for other female racers into the future.

“For us, it’s been really cool to see that progression and be a part of it,” Kunz said. “I think there’s going to be a day that comes when there’s just as many girls winning races as guys.”

Kunz’s experience, his mechanics’ knowledge and Avedisian’s skill behind the wheel will combine to form what is poised to be one of the most competitive Midget teams in the country.

“That’s what it’s going to take to win the championship – she’s going to have to be a consistent competitor for the win every night,” Kunz said. “I think we can put her in that position. We’re really looking forward to it.”

“I honestly feel like we have a really good chance to win the championship,” Avedisian said. “It’s one of my goals to win the championship, and hopefully, win some races as well.”

Don’t miss Avedisian take on the entire Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota schedule in her first season with Keith Kunz Motorsports. For tickets to events, visit XtremeOutlawSeries.com or stream every lap live on your device with the DIRTVision app.

The four-time Series champion is searching for his third Big Gator Championship

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 8, 2023 – Brandon Sheppard, the four-time World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model champion, is taking a new path to try and win his fifth title in 2023.

The New Berlin, IL driver announced a switch to Longhorn Chassis in the offseason after more than a decade driving a Rocket.

That change is coming with growing pains, as the driver with the most wins in World of Outlaws CASE Late Models history has yet to find Victory Lane in 16 races. Despite struggling, he said he thinks the team is going in the right direction.

“I think we’re starting to turn a curve,” Sheppard said. “We’ve gotten a lot better here the last few days, and everything is starting to click pretty good. It’s a learning curve, and the way we’re going about everything is a lot different than what I’m used to. 

“I’m just getting used to everything again and getting back into the swing of things has been the biggest challenge.”

Those challenges included the season’s opening weekend at Volusia Speedway Park during Sunshine Nationals.

Despite scoring two top 10s, he struggled during Qualifying—a part of his night he said was getting better with more laps during Florida Speedweeks. 

“We’re starting to get our beginning of the nights better,” Sheppard said. “We’ve been racing pretty good but Qualifying has been our struggle so far. We’re starting to get that better. We just have to continue it and get some consistency going. 

“Consistency leads into good runs, and hopefully, we’ll be stringing off some good runs in a row and keep the ball rolling. That’s the hardest part.”

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Volusia on Feb. 16-18, for the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. 

Sheppard has found success at the event, winning eight times and taking home the Big Gator trophy in 2019 and 2020. 

He said he feels more prepared for what to expect each night after the two Sunshine Nationals Features.

“It’ll be good just being there and having an idea,” Sheppard said. “Just having that little bit of notebook is going to help us going into next week, and like I said, it’s all about taking good notes and remembering the changes we’re going through throughout the nights and getting everything figured out and dialed in.”

While he’s eyeing a fifth World of Outlaws championship in November, his eyes are still on leaving Volusia with another Big Gator title. If he wins the week-long chase, he’d be the first driver to take home three trophies.

“It would mean the world to me, my team, my family, and everyone involved,” Sheppard said. “A lot of stuff has changed for me over the past few months, so the good runs feel really good. So, in order to win that Big Gator, we’re going to have to be consistent and have good runs.”

Sheppard and the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models make their final stop at Volusia Speedway Park of 2023 for the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Feb. 16-18—including a $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday, Feb. 18. FOR TICKETS: CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision – either at DIRTVision.com or by downloading the DIRTVision App.

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 7, 2023 – Ninety-five DIRTcar UMP Modifieds answered the bell for Round #2 of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park Tuesday night and brought three repeat winners from Monday back to Victory Lane, while three first-time winners headlined the second half of the program.

Feature #1 – Justin Haley

Less than 24 hours after scoring his second career DIRTcar Nationals gator trophy, Justin Haley bagged his third with a flag-to-flag victory in Tuesday’s opening UMP Modified Feature.

This one was slightly less dramatic than Monday’s, as Haley came in with a full night’s rest after going around 48 hours straight without sleeping on Sunday-Monday due to his NASCAR obligations in Los Angeles. Though the start to his day was different, the on-track results were the same, as Haley set Quick Time in Qualifying for the second-straight night and went unchallenged for the Feature win.

“Hats off to the whole #99 Darkhorse Racing team, it’s really been fun to come down here,” Haley said. “Matt Smith is crew chief-ing this thing this week. He’s been with me for a few years now. We’ve always come down here trying to win, and they just keep getting easier.”

Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 99-Justin Haley[1]; 2. 145-Kyle Hammer[2]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[5]; 4. 21CZ-Benji LaCrosse[3]; 5. 51-Dalton Lanich[9]; 6. 0-Glenn Styres[11]; 7. 57-Fletcher Mason[10]; 8. 05-Dave Wietholder[8]; 9. 777-Trevor Neville[4]; 10. 00-Dylan Henkins[14]; 11. 130-Chase Allen[6]; 12. 8X-Cody Brightwell[7]; 13. 9PG-Percy Gendreau[12]; 14. 40R-Shawn Reiss[15]; 15. 463-Daniel Sanchez[13]; 16. 59-Doug Stine[16]

Feature #2 – Tyler Nicely

Tyler Nicely once again showed his prowess around the half-mile of Volusia with his second consecutive flag-to-flag victory in two days. But this one had a bit of extra meaning behind it.

Two of Monday’s Feature winners ended up in his Feature, making it an interesting first half of the race as Nicely tried to run away from fellow frontrunners Lucas Lee and Kyle Strickler. He did so successfully, but not without a hefty challenge from Lee for the lead around the halfway point.

Lee eventually slipped up in traffic and tangled with a lapped car, sending them both around and into the outside wall. Lee was towed back to the pits with front-end damage, while Strickler was unable to catch Nicely in the end and settled for second.

“I knew that tonight, whenever we drew, that Group A was pretty stacked,” Nicely said. “All six Feature winners [from Monday night] were in Group A, and we ended up with three Feature winners from last night in ours.

“I just knew I couldn’t go out there and mess up; they were on my heels. Lucas was right there.”

Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[1]; 2. 8-Kyle Strickler[3]; 3. 95-Michael Altobelli[4]; 4. 11S-Jared Spalding[6]; 5. 43A-Mark Anderson[7]; 6. 90R-Raymond Kable[9]; 7. 22K-Dale Kelley[10]; 8. 7D-T J DeHaven[5]; 9. 29-Steve Shellenberger[11]; 10. 2A-Matt Altiers[8]; 11. 1-Randy Giroux[15]; 12. 77S-Jim Shipman[13]; 13. 3-Josh Sanford[16]; 14. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[12]; 15. 12L-Lucas Lee[2]; 16. 24D-Jesse Dill[14]

Feature #3 – Ethan Dotson

Another day, another runaway victory for Ethan Dotson.

Dotson, the Longhorn Chassis UMP Modified house car driver from Bakersfield, CA, bagged his second career gator trophy by way of domination, leading every lap unchallenged and crossing the finish line with a two-second gap over runner-up David Stremme.

“I haven’t gotten into lapped traffic either night, and I’d like to get in just to see if I can move around,” Dotson said. “Hopefully, maybe tomorrow night we can, and we’ll go from there.”

Feature 3 (20 Laps): 1. 00E-Ethan Dotson[1]; 2. 35-David Stremme[2]; 3. 7-Evan Taylor[5]; 4. 5CS-Curt Spalding[3]; 5. 22TW-Tim Ward[8]; 6. 09-Michael Leach[4]; 7. 1S-Brian Shaw[7]; 8. 99M-Mike Mullen[11]; 9. 07-Curtis King[6]; 10. 17-Rob Pitcher[9]; 11. 33-Kenny Mihalik[12]; 12. 4S-Craig Shaw[13]; 13. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[10]; 14. 7M-Steve Maughan[14]; 15. 4M-Tim Monroe[15]; 16. 21S-Kenny Shaw[16]

Feature #4 – George Dixon 

If there was an award given to the most enthusiastic roof dance of the week, George Dixon would certainly be in the running after his dominant performance in the fourth UMP Modified Feature.

Climbing atop his Lethal Chassis #77 in Volusia Victory Lane for the first time in his career, Dixon was ecstatic to claim his first gator trophy after making the long tow south from his home in Shirleysburg, PA. He did it in flag-to-flag style, holding off stout Florida local Clay Harris and 2021 Gator Championship winner Justin Allgaier.

“I just planned on coming down here and maybe running top-five in the Features, hopefully make it in the big show Saturday,” Dixon said. “To come down here, run second [on Monday], set fast time in my [Qualifying] group tonight and to win the Feature, it’s unbelievable for us.

“We’re just a small family team. We don’t have any big backing.”

Feature 4 (20 Laps): 1. 77-George Dixon[1]; 2. 21J-Clay Harris[2]; 3. 7A-Justin Allgaier[3]; 4. 13-Charlie Mefford[5]; 5. 114-Clayton Bryant[12]; 6. 10Y-Trent Young[8]; 7. 99G-Gavin Graham[4]; 8. 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[15]; 9. 34X-Shane O’Connor[13]; 10. 7B-Brad Deyoung[14]; 11. 22B-Austen Becerra[10]; 12. 51G-Brandon Green[6]; 13. 17T-Tyler Evans[7]; 14. 16C-John Clippinger[9]; 15. 25W-Allen Weisser[11]; 16. 99W-Wade Olmsted[16]

Feature #5 – Mitch Thomas

At 17 years old, Mitch Thomas is taking on a daunting task of racing against so many drivers with decades of experience at Volusia. But he rose to the occasion and put it in Victory Lane Tuesday night, passing two-time DIRTcar Nationals Feature winner Brian Ruhlman for the lead on Lap 14 and carrying the field across the line as one of three first-time event winners that night.

“It’s really exciting,” Thomas said. “We’ve tried down here for three years and we’ve struggled. There’s really good competition down here, so when you win a race here, it really means a lot.”

Thomas pilots a brand-new Elite Chassis, built by seven-time and reigning DIRTcar Nationals champion Nick Hoffman, who was working the stick signals for his Elite customers throughout the night.

“I tried getting up top, but I was driving way over my head,” Thomas said. “I was trying to tell myself to slow down and get to the bottom. I knew I would have a shot at winning it because this car is better at the bottom.”

“I was watching my [stick signal] guy, and he was telling me ‘get down, get down.’ I finally listened to him, and we reeled [Ruhlman] in and I really didn’t have a problem passing him.”

Feature 5 (20 Laps): 1. 97-Mitch Thomas[4]; 2. 7G-Seth Geary[5]; 3. 49-Brian Ruhlman[1]; 4. 9-Ken Schrader[6]; 5. 72X-Todd Neiheiser[8]; 6. 60-Shannon Fisk[7]; 7. 32-Chad Roush[13]; 8. 56-Chris Wilson[2]; 9. 24-Zeke McKenzie[10]; 10. 21C-Taylor Cook[16]; 11. 22-Doug Carson[14]; 12. 12-Robert Gast[12]; 13. 91B-Chris Beaulieu[3]; 14. 22J-John Baker[15]; 15. 00EH-Steve Arpin[9]; 16. 00B-Buzzie Reutimann[11]

Feature #6 – Drake Troutman

As one of two 17-year-olds to visit Victory Lane Tuesday night, Drake Troutman finally got himself a gator after a wire-to-wire victory in the final Feature of the night.

Troutman, of Hyndman, PA, drove the Jerry Foster Racing Longhorn Chassis #5 to meet his first career gator trophy in Volusia Victory Lane, two years after making his debut at the half-mile.

He settled for second on Monday night, coming in behind Ethan Dotson, whose gap at the checkers stretched nearly five seconds. Troutman took a page out of Dotson’s playbook for Tuesday, checking out in the Feature and crossing the stripe by over four seconds to bag the win.

“Ethan came over and gave us a hand today,” Trouman said. “I’ve definitely got a lot of respect for him and the help. It’s awesome to have him in my corner, and in this team’s corner.

“This car has been awesome. We really haven’t had to mess with it a whole lot; just small tweaks.”

Feature 6 (20 Laps): 1. 5T-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 88-Matt Crafton[4]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[2]; 4. 4-Mike Learman[5]; 5. 77B-Ray Bollinger[8]; 6. 199-Travis Pastrana[12]; 7. 90-Jason Beaulieu[3]; 8. 6B-Dave Baldwin[16]; 9. 17C-Coleman Evans[7]; 10. 11-Jesse Rupe[9]; 11. M20-Mike Potosky[14]; 12. 35W-Ethan Weber[10]; 13. 49G-Billy Green[6]; 14. 07N-Adam Nayler[13]; 15. 100-Dylan Murray[15]; 16. 54-Zachary Hawk[11]

UP NEXT 

The UMP Modified extravaganza at Volusia Speedway Park continues on day #3 of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals – Wednesday, Feb. 8 – racing alongside the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars.

Hot Laps set for 5:30pm ET. Tickets are available at DIRTcarNationals.com or at the gate. If you can’t be in attendance, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

TAMPA, Fla. (February 7, 2023) – Ashton Winger picked up his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory on Tuesday night during the 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil at East Bay Raceway Park. With the win Winger becomes the 87th different driver to win a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event in series history. The 23-year-old Georgia native went to the lead at the start of the 30-lap main event and other than a brief time when Kyle Bronson got by him in turn number two, he officially led every lap after getting back around Bronson at the scoring loop. For the second night in a row Hudson O’Neal finished in second with Brandon Sheppard coming home in third. The remainder of the top five were Brandon Overton and Dennis Erb Jr. Winger took the lead at the start with O’Neal moving into the second spot. Bronson was the car on the move early in the race. After starting in fifth Bronson moved past O’Neal for second on lap six. There were back-to-back cautions that cleared traffic for Winger after he was about to pick up the tail end of the field. After a lap eight restart Bronson kept the pressure on Winger and was able to take the lead briefly after Winger slipped in turn two. However, by the time the two drivers crossed the line Winger was still in front. Bronson continued to hold the second spot until Sheppard was able to get by him with ten laps to go. Bronson, while running third slowed coming off turn two on lap 24 forcing the final caution of the race. On the restart after Bronson had exited the race O’Neal and Sheppard would get Winger in their sightlines, but Winger was able to pull away in the waning laps to secure the victory. “It’s awesome to win in front of these people,” said Winger in Lucas Oil Victory Lane as he became the sixth different winner in eight races so far in 2023. “I felt like we’ve been really close this year. We were really close here last year. It’s hard not to get emotional. My mom and dad gave up everything for me to be here. I know it’s only $5,000 to win, but to beat these guys, Hudson and Sheppy are two of the best in country. I felt like when I got into a rhythm, I was pretty good there, but the track was treacherous and the longer and longer it went I don’t know what was going to happen. Like I said I got into a rhythm, and then on those restarts I messed up bad there that one time and Kyle [Bronson] got by me and going into three and four I pretty much held it to the floor to get the lead back” O’Neal in his first full season piloting the Rocket House car finished 1.833 seconds behind Winger at the finish line. “I gave it all I had. I drove my heart out, but I just couldn’t quite get to him [Winger]. There was one time there the last couple of laps I got around that bottom and I thought ok maybe if I could get to him one time, I could burn it and about that time I was driving back to him I got my tires hot and I just faded back from him.” Sheppard, who owns nine career wins at East Bay, finished in third after not making the feature on Monday night. “I really needed to get by Ashton [Winger] going down the back straightaway and get back to the bottom. The car was good tonight we were glad to be in the hunt and in the race tonight. It was a big turnaround from last night and I can’t thank my guys enough for working their tails off on this thing and not giving up after we missed the show last night.”  The winner’s Jeff Mathews Motorsports, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Recreational Vehicle Service, Keyser Manufacturing, Integra Racing Shocks, Super K Express, Wraptech, FK Rod Ends, Johnny Doan Plumbing, Credit Union Remarketing, and Angry Elephant Tattoos and Piercings. Completing the top ten were Garrett Smith, Ryan Gustin, Tim McCreadie, Mark Whitener, and Devin Moran. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 47th Annual Wieland Winternationals – Presented by Lucas OilTuesday, February 7, 2023East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Dennis Erb, Jr. / 14.797 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Hudson O’Neal / 14.860 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[6]; 7. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[8]; 8. 187-David McCoy[10]; 9. 25B-Mike Benedum[9]; 10. (DNS) 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Garrett Smith[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 66JR-Eddie Carrier Jr[4]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[6]; 5. 22*-Payton Freeman[7]; 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk[8]; 7. 1C-Kenny Collins[9]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[10]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[5]; 10. 111B-Max Blair[2] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 2. 89J-Mark Whitener[3]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[7]; 5. 81J-Jack Riggs[5]; 6. KB-Kerry King[6]; 7. D8-Dustin Mitchell[1]; 8. 4S-Danny Snyder[10]; 9. 6-Blake Spencer[8]; 10. 55-Benji Hicks[9] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 4. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[5]; 5. 81-Jason Riggs[4]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. S21-Seth Daniels[8]; 8. 29-Larry Grube[7]; 9. C4-Freddie Carpenter[9]; 10. 75-Daniel Adam[10] Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 19M-Wil Herrington[3]; 3. 79-Ross Bailes[2]; 4. 96V-Tanner English[5]; 5. 89M-Mike Spatola[4]; 6. 31-Tyler Millwood[6]; 7. 47W-Tyler Riggs[7]; 8. 21K-Jimmy Owens[9]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs[8]; 10. 22B-Perry Brown[10] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 2X-Brandon Overton[2]; 2. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[1]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 4. 89-Logan Roberson[4]; 5. 212-Josh Putnam[6]; 6. 83-Jensen Ford[5]; 7. 86-Kyle Beard[7]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[8]; 9. 5T-John Tweed[9]; 10. (DNS) 3B-Billy Boyd Sr Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 4. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6]; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 6. 22*-Payton Freeman[4]; 7. 1C-Kenny Collins[8]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[10]; 9. 187-David McCoy[9]; 10. 25B-Mike Benedum[11]; 11. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[12]; 13. (DNS) 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr; 14. (DNS) 111B-Max Blair UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 3. 29-Larry Grube[10]; 4. C4-Freddie Carpenter[12]; 5. S21-Seth Daniels[8]; 6. 75-Daniel Adam[14]; 7. 81J-Jack Riggs[3]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[4]; 9. 21M-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 10. (DNS) KB-Kerry King; 11. (DNS) D8-Dustin Mitchell; 12. (DNS) 4S-Danny Snyder; 13. (DNS) 6-Blake Spencer; 14. (DNS) 55-Benji Hicks MyRacePass B-Main Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 89-Logan Roberson[2]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[1]; 3. 212-Josh Putnam[4]; 4. 89M-Mike Spatola[3]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[8]; 6. 31-Tyler Millwood[5]; 7. 1Z-Logan Zarin[10]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[11]; 9. 5T-John Tweed[12]; 10. 21K-Jimmy Owens[9]; 11. 47W-Tyler Riggs[7]; 12. 83-Jensen Ford[6]; 13. (DNS) 22B-Perry Brown; 14. (DNS) 3B-Billy Boyd Sr Wieland Winternationals Night 2 Feature Finish (30 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 60Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Ashton WingerLap Leaders: Ashton Winger (Laps 1-30)Wieland Feature Winner: Ashton WingerArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 1.833 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Dustin Mitchell (Lap 8); Eddie Carrier, Jr. (Lap 21); Kyle Bronson (Lap 24)Series Provisionals: n/aWieland Fast Time Provisional: Dustin Mitchell, Jason RiggsSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ashton Winger, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon SheppardPenske Shocks Top 5: Ashton Winger, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Dennis Erb, Jr.Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Logan Roberson (Advanced 9 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Finisher: Ryan GustinDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Finisher: Brian ShirleyEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ashton Winger (30 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’Neal         Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Ashton Winger (Lap 13 – 15.355 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Kyle BronsonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Gary Winger (Ashton Winger)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Jensen Ford (14.893 seconds)Time of Race: 14 minutes 42 seconds