DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 13, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track is pleased to confirm that Mobile View will serve as the Official Jumbotron of Progressive AFT for an eighth consecutive season in 2023. For nearly a decade, Mobile View has brought Progressive AFT fans even closer to the action, offering vivid day-and-night imagery courtesy of its state-of-the-art LED video screen technology. With more than two decades of experience across venues and events, Mobile View and its large outdoor LED screens transform every vantage point into the best seat in the house. “Mobile View has played a central role in delivering our fans the most memorable, enjoyable experience possible,” said Gene Crouch, COO of AMA Pro Racing. “Progressive AFT’s athletes produce some incredible action and it’s vitally important we’re able to effectively showcase that action to spectators. Mobile View makes that a reality.” In addition to its role as the series’ Official Jumbotron, Mobile View will again support the sport by recognizing its rising stars by presenting the $7,500 Rookie of the Year award to the rookie rider who earns the most points in this upcoming season’s Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER class. “Mobile View is excited for another great year of Progressive American Flat Track racing,” said John Sweeney, CEO and Owner of Mobile View. “It is our pleasure and honor to continue to support the series, and we’re proud to play a role in helping the sport’s future stars achieve their dreams.” The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10. For more information on Mobile View visit https://www.MobileViewScreens.com. For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.

The Series takes center stage on Feb. 16-18 after the DIRTcar Late Models on Feb. 13-15

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 13, 2023 – When the calendar turned to February, the annual hunt for a Big Gator trophy began for the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models.  

The Series will make its second and final stop of the season at Volusia Speedway Park for the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Feb. 16-18, contending for a $187,000 overall purse.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, the World of Outlaws kick off the three-race weekend with a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win Feature, followed by a 40-lap, $12,000-to-win Feature on Friday, Feb. 17.

The week-long Big Gator chase finishes with a 50-lap, $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday, Feb. 18, along with the crowning of a new Big Gator champion.

Also, before the Series kicks off its portion of DIRTcar Nationals, the DIRTcar Late Models are in action Feb. 13-15. 

On Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 13-14, they’ll run a 25-lap Feature paying $7,000-to-win. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, the DIRTcar Late Model field will be split into three Features, each 20 laps paying $5,000 to win.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.

Here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on entering DIRTcar Nationals: 

Hunting for 3: Since the first Big Gator trophy was awarded in 2012, no driver has won the week-long chase more than twice.

Devin Moran, Brandon Sheppard, Shane Clanton and Josh Richards have each won two Big Gators, with Moran winning the last two.

The Dresden, OH driver has momentum entering DIRTcar Nationals, sweeping the opening weekend of World of Outlaws action at Volusia Speedway Park during Sunshine Nationals.

Brandon Sheppard has the most DIRTcar Nationals wins out of those four drivers, finding Victory Lane eight times.

Big Gator Champions
2022-Devin Moran
2021-Devin Moran
2020-Brandon Sheppard
2019-Brandon Sheppard
2018-Chris Madden
2017-Shane Clanton
2016-Josh Richards
2015-Shane Clanton
2014-Scott Bloomquist
2013-Josh Richards
2012-Dennis Erb Jr.

Madden Out Front: After the first two World of Outlaws CASE Late Model events, the season-long points chase is off to a “Smokey” start.

Chris Madden leads the standings entering DIRTcar Nationals on the strength of two top-five finishes—eight points ahead of Rookie of the Year contender Nick Hoffman and Brian Shirley.

Madden already has a Big Gator trophy to his credit, winning the week-long hunt in 2018. He also has two Feature victories at the track, coming in 2017 and 2022.

The Gray Court, SC driver hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in 13 straight races at Volusia.

A Thrilling Start: While Hoffman is only eight points behind Madden in the championship standings, his consistency at Sunshine Nationals vaulted him to the top of the Rookie of the Year chase.

The Mooresville, NC driver turned heads at Volusia in January, scoring two top 10s and leading six laps of a Feature. 

Hoffman has a 40-point lead in the chase for rookie of the year over Payton Freeman and is 48 points ahead of Johnny Scott.

He’s also no stranger to success at DIRTcar Nationals, collecting seven Big Gator trophies and 21 Feature wins in a DIRTcar UMP Modified. 

A Wide Variety: DIRTcar Nationals sports one of the most challenging fields of the season for dirt Late Model racing.

That was apparent last year, as six drivers found Victory Lane throughout the week.

Ricky Thornton, Jr., Ryan Gustin, Brandon Overton, Dale McDowell, defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr., and Madden each took home a gator last season.

For Gustin and Thornton, their DIRTcar Late Model Feature wins were their first at Volusia. 

Thornton, Gustin, and Overton enter the week with momentum as they’ve each found Victory Lane during Florida-Georgia Speedweeks.

Century Mark: Last season, Tanner English became the 99th driver to win a World of Outlaws CASE Late Models Feature, meaning history is on the line at DIRTcar Nationals.

The next driver to win a Feature for the first time will bring the Series to the century mark.

World of Outlaws regulars like Boom Briggs, Brent Larson, and Gordy Gundaker are searching for their elusive first checkered flag, along with names like Thornton, Hudson O’Neal, and 2021 Series Rookie of the Year Tyler Bruening. 

Those drivers are just the beginning of a substantial list of competitors searching for their first gator trophy and World of Outlaws win.

WHEN AND WHERE

Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL
TICKETS:  www.DIRTcarNationals.com  

ABOUT THE TRACK

Volusia Speedway Park is a 1/2-mile dirt oval

ONLINE
Volusia Speedway Park: www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com

TRACK RECORDS

Volusia Speedway Park: 
15.507 by Devin Moran on Jan. 19, 2023  

On the Internet
World of Outlaws CASE Late Models Series
Twitter – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels
Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

Around the Turn: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models travel to Smoky Mountain Speedway for the 10th annual Tennessee Tipoff March 3-4. For Tickets: CLICK HERE. 

Feature Winners: (1 Driver)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2

Heat Race Winners (7 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, NC-2
   Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-2
   Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2
2. Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-1
   Max Blair, Centerville, PA-1
   Ricky Thornton Jr, Adel, IA-1
   Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-1

Last Chance Showdown Winners (5 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1
   Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN-1
   Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, NC-1
   Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-1
   Tanner English, Benton, KY-1

Podium Finishes (4 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Podiums

1. Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2
   Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-2
2. Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-1
   Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, IA-1

Fox Factory Hard Charger (1 Driver)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.

1. Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1
   Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-1

Quick Times (1 Driver)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTs

1. Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-1
   Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-1

CASE Feature Lap Leaders (4 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Laps Led

1. Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-24
2. Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-19
3. Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, NC-6
4. Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, IA-1

2023 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & Winners

1. Thursday, Jan. 19 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Devin Moran (1)
2. Friday, Jan. 20/ Volusia Speedway Park/ Barberville, FL/ Devin Moran (2)

Feb 13, 2023 | Featured, Megan Meyer, Rachel Meyer

Megan Meyer will return to A/Fuel dragster competition to take part in the inaugural Nitro Chaos Championship Series with the Randy Meyer Racing Team. Megan will run the full four-race series, while sister Rachel will drive at two races and serve as Megan’s crew chief at the other two events. The team’s longtime partner, GUNK, has signed on as the sisters’ primary sponsor.

Last year, Megan drove one of the Randy Meyer Racing A/Fuel cars at the Nitro Chaos at Mo-Kan Dragway for the win. This year, she’ll defend her Mo-Kan A-field title while chasing wins – and the championship – at three additional races.

“After we won the Nitro Chaos last year at Mo-Kan, it planted a seed in my head that maybe I could come back and do more of it,” said Megan, who stepped away from full-time competition after winning back-to-back NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world championships in 2019-2020. “We had so much fun getting to race at one of my home tracks. Getting to run big cars on an eighth-mile track where we used to race Jr. Dragsters was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We just had so much fun with it and I want to do it again.”

“I miss everything about the alcohol cars,” added Rachel, who last drove the A/Fuel car when she won the 2021 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world championship. “From the atmosphere out at the races, to the adrenaline rush you get going down the track and between rounds, to interacting with the fans and spectators. It will be awesome to be close to home so my husband and some of his family will hopefully be able to come watch, along with friends who have never seen the alcohol cars before.”

The unique Nitro Chaos series, which has a rules-free format that only requires entries to burn a minimum of 80% nitromethane, will hold championship events at Edgewater Sports Park near Cincinnati on April 28-29, Eddyville Raceway Park on May 26-27, Mo-Kan Dragway on July 14-15, and Thunder Valley Raceway Park on Sept. 22-23. Rachel plans to compete at the Eddyville and Mo-Kan races. Eddyville is a joint race with the Funny Car Chaos series, so the team also plans to run its A/Fuel Funny Car driven by Julie Nataas at that event.

Both sisters will race with GUNK branding on the sides of their A/Fuel dragsters. GUNK, which was acquired by B’laster Holdings in May 2022, has been involved with Randy Meyer Racing for two decades. The company offers a range of cleaning products, including engine cleaners & degreasers, hand wipes, parts cleaners, surface cleaners, and other specialty cleaners.

“Ever since we ran Jr. Dragsters, we’ve always used GUNK,” Megan said. “It’s been the only brake cleaner and cleaning supplies that we’ve used on the cars ever since I can remember. We’re just really proud to now be big brand ambassadors for them. We always put priority on maintaining relationships with sponsors no matter how big or small they are. We want to treat them like family and make sure that we under-promise and over-deliver for them.”

“Randy Meyer Racing has been great to GUNK over the years,” said President & CEO, Randy Pindor. “It was time to take our sponsorship to the next level. Megan and Rachel are sure to make some waves in the Nitro Chaos series this year.”

Megan jumped at the chance to compete for another championship while also staying close to home.

“I know I’m going to be 100% committed to chasing points and trying to get a championship in a different series,” Megan said. “From my point of view, if I want to race, I want to do the best that I can and try to compete for a championship. The fact that there’s only four races is perfect for me and our family. At the same time, I’m trying not to get too serious about it, just have fun.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of tough competition and a lot more cars this year,” Megan continued. “It’s going to be tough. We don’t really know exactly what we’re going up against, whereas in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster you know every person, every car, what they can run, and what their strategies are. Now, it’s completely a different ballgame. I’m excited for this new challenge. I’m going to do the best that I can, and hopefully it works out in our favor.”

A schedule overlap at the beginning and end of the Nitro Chaos season will present a unique opportunity for the Meyer sisters. The Edgewater and Thunder Valley races are the same weekend as the NHRA events in Charlotte, where team owner and tuner Randy Meyer will field a pair of cars driven by Julie Nataas and Hunter Green. Rachel, an engineer by trade, will serve as Megan’s crew chief while Randy tunes over the phone.

“To be able to be a crew chief has always been one of my goals,” Rachel said. “Every time I’m at the track I try to find time to ask my dad as many questions as I can about how he tunes the cars and why he did what he did. We talk about the graph of how the car ran and what changes we can make to get the car run better. Being able to finally have one of my dreams come true is amazing. I’m thankful Megan trusts me enough to give it a shot, and it’s awesome that I am able to do it with my sister driving the car and my favorite crew members. Of course, I’ll be calling up Dad for advice here and there, but it’s nice to be given the chance and put what I know to the test.

“I’ve always thought how cool it would be if I would tune a car with Megan driving it and have an all-girl crew,” Rachel continued, “and although that is not exactly what is happening in Cincinnati, it’s one step closer.”

Drivers to Decide Big Gator Championship and Begin FL to PA Spring Showdown, March 5-6

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 12, 2023 – When the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Volusia Speedway Park in March for the Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown fans will see even more action than expected.

The remaining portion of the World of Outlaws DIRTcar Nationals finale — including the Toyota Dash and Big Gator Championship determining Feature, which was unable to be run due to rain — will be Sunday, March 5, before the originally scheduled program.

The 30-lap, $16,000-to-win/$1,250-to-start, race will conclude the Big Gator Championship points battle and award one driver the coveted Big Gator trophy.

The makeup program will be one of three Features at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile during Bike Week and serve as a prelude for the originally scheduled Low-E Insulation FL to PA Spring Showdown. The mini-series offers a $20,000 points fund to competitors who follow The Greatest Show on Dirt from Volusia (March 5-6) up to Port Royal Speedway (March 10-11), Williams Grove Speedway (March 17), and Lincoln Speedway (March 18).

BUY TICKETS HERE

After winning back-to-back races — within seven hours of each other on Friday — to open the 2023 campaign, David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports will return to Volusia atop the points for the World of Outlaws and the DIRTcar Nationals. He currently leads Logan Schuchart (12 points) and Carson Macedo (18 points) in the event points ahead of the makeup Feature.

If Gravel can run sixth or better in the DIRTcar Nationals Feature, he’ll automatically clinch a third Big Gator Championship. However, he’s slated to start ninth in the 30-lapper whereas Schuchart (P3) and Macedo (P5) will have a chance to race for the pole position in the Toyota Dash.

NOS Notebook (Volusia Speedway Park, 2/11/23)

Before the rain came during DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 11, Macedo became the third different driver of the DIRTcar Nationals weekend to top Low-E Insulation Qualifying, circling Volusia’s half-mile in 13.807 seconds, averaging 110 MPH. His 20th career QuickTime Award ranks as the fourth-most – behind Gravel (55), Sweet (32), and Haudenschild (21) – over his five-year tenure as a full-time World of Outlaws driver.

James McFadden (37th career) won CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat #1, while NOS Energy Drink Heats 2-4 went to Brian Brown (76th career), Logan Schuchart (109th career), and Spencer Bayston (14th career). Sheldon Haudenschild claimed the MicroLite Last Chance Showdown mere moments before the downpour began, which allowed the Feature lineup to be set and to be held in three weeks.

Racing for the pole position of the DIRTcar Nationals finale in the Toyota Dash will be Jacob Allen (P1), James McFadden (P2), Logan Schuchart (P3), Spencer Bayston (P4), Carson Macedo (P5), Brad Sweet (P6), Brian Brown (P7), and Donny Schatz (P8).

UP NEXT (March 5-6) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will enjoy a three-week break before returning to action at Volusia Speedway Park for a Bike Week special on Sunday & Monday, March 5-6. The already-established Low-E Insulation FL to PA Spring Showdown will now be accompanied by the $16,000-to-win DIRTcar Nationals finale, which has a Dash and Feature to be ran. For fans unable to attend, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

DIRTcar Nationals Points (4/5 Races) – 1. 2-David Gravel (574); 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-12); 3. 41-Carson Macedo (-18); 4. 11-Buddy Kofoid (-30); 5. 49-Brad Sweet (-34); 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-48); 7. 19-Brent Marks (-56); 8. 83-James McFadden (-76); 9. 13-Justin Peck (-78); 10. 39M-Anthony Macri (-88).

Series Championship Standings (2/87 Races) – 1. 2-David Gravel (300); 2. 11-Buddy Kofoid (-8); 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-16); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-26); 5. 41-Carson Macedo (-34); 6. 48-Danny Dietrich (-36); 7. 7S-Robbie Price (-38); 8. 19-Brent Marks (-38); 9. 49-Brad Sweet (-48); 83-James McFadden (-48).

Strickler clinches first career DIRTcar Nationals title, Lee wins Speedweeks points

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 11, 2023 – In the most grueling stretches of DIRTcar UMP Modified racing in the country, few will survive and even fewer thrive. Kyle Strickler and Lucas Lee were part of an exclusive group to do a lot of thriving in the past three weeks, and now wear the gold for their respective DIRTcar preseason accomplishments.

Kyle Strickler – 2023 DIRTcar Nationals Gator Points Champion

With three wins and no finishes outside the top-five in each of the five races he started at Volusia Speedway Park during the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Kyle Strickler clinched his first career Big Gator trophy as points champion of the UMP Modified division.

Strickler, the 39-year-old Modified/Late Model racer from Mooresville, NC, is the proud owner of three Big Gator trophies in his cabinet, but none were awarded for DIRTcar Nationals points championships. He garnered the golden, life-size figures by way of three career Gator Championship Feature wins (2018, 2019, 2023). By Friday night, he had still yet to win one on overall event points, awarded for Feature finishes throughout the week.

As of Saturday night, that has all changed. Holding onto a five-point lead in the final night of competition, a heavy rain shower descended over the track, canceling the night’s events and cementing the points standings as they were to start the night – with Strickler on top.

Diving into the history books, it’s Strickler and Melanie Motorsports’ first DIRTcar Nationals points championship as a driver-team duo. Car owners Charlie and Melanie Donaldson are one of Strickler’s longest supporters, having been there for him since he moved to North Carolina over 15 years ago.

“It’s awesome for us to get our first points gator together,” Strickler said “We’ve won a lot of big races together, and it’s awesome for me to finally accomplish that points deal. I’ve never really been a great points racer. Trying to put a whole week together with the format being a little different, it definitely changed things up.

“It definitely means a lot.”

Strickler came into the 2023 DIRTcar Nationals with nine Feature wins in the event and is leaving with 12. With wins on Monday, Wednesday and Friday night, plus finishes of second (Tuesday) and fifth (Thursday, run on Friday), it was, statistically, one of Strickler’s best weeks at Volusia.

“I think a lot of that is just preparation and having great people behind you, and Late Model racing,” Strickler said. “Late Model racing will make you grow up and become way more of a professional race team than what you could get away with for so many years with the Modified stuff.

“I think I’m a little smarter as far as mentally running a race, and how I operate. I’m not just on the gas and hammer-down all the time and tearing stuff up.”

Most importantly to him, he’s having fun. So often does Strickler talk about his enjoyment in the seat of the 800-horse, open-wheel cars – a lot of which was had by him and the crew this week.

“I still love driving the Modified,” Strickler said. “It’s just a blast to be able to come out here and hang out with all my Modified buddies, and be able to be successful and win as many races as we did. It definitely means a lot to me.”

Lucas Lee – 2023 UMP Modified Florida Speedweeks Champion

In one of the most dramatic points battles seen in Modified racing over the last several years, Lucas Lee sealed his second career Speedweeks points title by 26 points over 2020 champion Tyler Nicely and rising UMP Modified star Drake Troutman.

Saturday’s rainout was the final nail in the coffin for Lee’s two closest competitors. The three swapped points positions multiple times over the 12-race/15-day stretch, keeping the storylines fresh as they chased the $2,000 grand prize through three different tracks in three weeks.

Lee’s run to back-to-back Speedweeks titles began with a win on January 29 at North Florida Speedway in Lake City – a track he finished runner-up at on three separate occasions over the track’s four previous Winternationals events held. Then it was off to East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, where another two Feature wins greeted him, including the $5,000 Winternationals finale on Saturday night.

A fourth victory came in the opening night of DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia on Monday – four days before recording his best career finish in the Gator Championship Feature on Friday – a runner-up result for the Tennessean.

“My car was good the whole time,” Lee said. “I wanted to win all the finales, and we were close last night. Didn’t need lapped traffic.”

“All-in-all, I’m just here to race.”

Armed with two Elite Chassis, built by seven-time DIRTcar Nationals champion Nick Hoffman, Lee stayed out of trouble and put up three top-fives and four top-10s in five Feature starts to carry him past Troutman in the standings at road’s end.

“It is cool,” Lee said. “It just shows the equipment that we’ve got. If we wouldn’t have had that one mess-up there [on Tuesday night], I think we probably got us a Gator Championship or two.

“It’s probably one of the best times I’ve ever had here.”

Allgaier drives 19th-5th, Big Gator points champion to be decided Saturday night

BARBERVILLE, FL – Feb. 11, 2023 – Kyle Strickler entered Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals hoping to sweep the week. While he missed out on a couple potential wins, he found himself holding the biggest trophy of the week early Saturday morning.

Strickler won the coveted DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Championship Feature for the third time in his career at Volusia Speedway Park, claiming the $5,000 payday and the iconic life-size gator trophy.

“This is so awesome, I love this Modified week,” Strickler said in Victory Lane. “So much fun doing it, being able to get all the wins.”

The 30-lap Feature saw multi-time DIRTcar regional champion Michael Long and three-time NASCAR Truck Series champion Matt Crafton on the front row of the 33-car field. However, when the green flag dropped, Crafton dropped while Long pulled away with the lead.

Strickler, who started third, stole second from Crafton on the first lap and then began his hunt for Long. Maneuvering through the grip-loaded bumps in Turn 1, Strickler crept closer and closer to Long each lap.

On Lap 7, Strickler got a run under Long through Turns 1 and 2 and held it all the way down the backstretch before throwing his Longhorn Chassis #8 deep into Turn 3 to slide ahead of Long.

“I knew I had to make a move and try to get around Long as soon as I could,” Strickler said. “I saw the door open a little bit, held ‘er to the wood, and sent ‘er in there.”

Three laps later, the first caution of the night arose for two cars spun around in Turn 4. Under yellow, two of the biggest names in the race suffered issues that ended their night – Long and three-time winner this week, Ethan Dotson.

Dotson, the DIRTcar Nationals rookie from Bakersfield, CA, broke a driveshaft slip yoke on Lap 2, immediately sending him to the pits as the field stayed green. Long appeared to have a left-rear tire flat, but decided to head back to his pit stall, nose first.

When the race resumed, fourth-starting Drake Troutman decided to take advantage and dove under Strickler on the bottom through Turns 1-2. He stayed beside Strickler down the backstretch and nearly made the pass into Turn 3, but it was all for naught. His car appeared to suddenly lose power as he came by the flag stand and stopped on track in Turn 2, bringing out another caution and ending his night.

Lucas Lee soon found himself in second thanks to Troutman’s misfortune, and NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley rode third, looking for his fourth win of the week.

Lee gave Strickler the biggest challenge of the night when the race resumed, diving underneath him on the start and staying on his bumper the to the halfway point. And while Lee tried to give Strickler a fit, Haley began to close in.

On Lap 19, Lee got his best look at the lead, racing side-by-side with Strickler around the half-mile track, but Strickler had the better run around the high side and continued to pull ahead with the advantage as they approached the tail of the field.

Their battle reached a boiling point on Lap 21, where a gaggle of lapped cars appeared double-file right in front of Strickler and Lee as they raced out of Turn 2. Initially, they both committed to their first reaction and tried to go right through the middle of a slower Evan Taylor on the top and Travis Pastrana on the bottom, but Lee wisely backed out of it at the last second before disaster.

“I was just staying on the bottom, and then the lapped cars played a big factor there and kinda hurt me,” Lee said. “That’s where I was staying, so.”

Strickler shot the gap through the two lapped cars and got away safely in traffic. That move proved to be the deciding factor in the chase for the lead as Lee was unable to make the ground back up by the checkered flag.

“They were slipping and sliding around, and I came off the cushion and split through them,” Strickler said. “It allowed me to get a little bit of breathing room there.”

Strickler turned on the jets in the final laps, stretching his gap to Lee out to over two seconds as he crossed underneath the checkered flag to claim victory in the prestigious Speedweeks event.

Despite his best efforts to catch the leaders in the second half of the race, Haley came up two spots short of his first Big Gator trophy. Still, three Feature wins and his best career finish in the Gator Championship Feature say a lot about the young Indianan’s skill in a Modified for the few times per year his schedule allows him to put it on track.

“I just got caught-up in lapped traffic, and that’s really what cost us,” Haley said. “I think we were probably the best car. It’s kinda… bittersweet.”

Three-time winner this week Tyler Nicely crossed the line fourth, while 2021 Gator Championship winner Justin Allgaier made a great rebound from out of a Last Chance Showdown (19th on the starting grid) to complete the top-five.

UP NEXT

The final day of competition for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds at the 52nd annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals will settle the owner of the one remaining Big Gator trophy – awarded to the overall event points champion. One final program consisting of six Features, lined up by Qualifying, will cap-off the weekend and decide the division points champion.

RESULTS

Gator Championship Feature (30 Laps): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[3]; 2. 12L-Lucas Lee[8]; 3. 99-Justin Haley[5]; 4. 25-Tyler Nicely[6]; 5. 7A-Justin Allgaier[19]; 6. 95-Michael Altobelli[14]; 7. 09-Michael Leach[18]; 8. 77-George Dixon[16]; 9. 88-Matt Crafton[2]; 10. 21CZ-Benji LaCrosse[15]; 11. 5CS-Curt Spalding[28]; 12. 35-David Stremme[9]; 13. 13-Charlie Mefford[10]; 14. 8A-Austin Holcombe[23]; 15. 777-Trevor Neville[32]; 16. 145-Kyle Hammer[11]; 17. 22B-Austen Becerra[27]; 18. 60-Shannon Fisk[17]; 19. 43A-Mark Anderson[26]; 20. 7-Evan Taylor[22]; 21. 199-Travis Pastrana[33]; 22. 05-Dave Wietholder[30]; 23. 24-Zeke McKenzie[29]; 24. 99M-Mike Mullen[13]; 25. 21J-Clay Harris[20]; 26. 10Y-Trent Young[25]; 27. 5T-Drake Troutman[4]; 28. 4-Mike Learman[7]; 29. 18L-Michael Long[1]; 30. 1S-Brian Shaw[24]; 31. 49-Brian Ruhlman[21]; 32. 00B-Buzzie Reutimann[31]; 33. 00E-Ethan Dotson[12]

Gravel Leads Big Gator Championship Ahead of Saturday’s Finale

BARBERVILLE, FL – February 10, 2023 – In a span of less than seven hours, David Gravel won not one but two World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Features on Friday at Volusia Speedway Park.

Continuing his torrid tenure at the Barberville, FL 1/2-mile – three consecutive Series wins – Gravel backed up his season-opening victory at 6:08pm by delivering another checkered flag for the Big Game Motorsports #2 at 12:46am, which came after a lengthy rain delay followed by an exceptional recovery by the VSP track crew.

Starting from the inside of row two – adjacent to his fourth starting spot earlier in the day – Gravel took his time in the second outing. He ran third for the first half of the 30-lapper and finally moved past Cory Eliason to take P2 on Lap 14, but a caution on Lap 21 is what set the stage for another Victory Lane trip.

Capitalizing on Buddy Kofoid’s decision to brave the bumps into the bottom of turn one, Gravel throttled the Maxim Chassis powered by Morrison Racing Engines around the outside and promptly cleared the Crouch Motorsports #11 in one clean shot through turn two and down the backstretch. From there, he survived one more restart to seal the deal on a $16,000 payout with his fourth DIRTcar Nationals victory.

“It was weird,” Gravel recalled on his pass for the lead. “I felt like something suddenly changed because the bottom was the place to be on that long green flag run, but the top – which felt like crap before – was amazing on the restart. I don’t know if it was tire temperature or maybe even moisture from the fog, but it worked out great. I think that rough stuff was just enough to upset the car and it bit Buddy when he went to the bottom.”

Gravel’s 78th career World of Outlaws win was chalked full of notable numbers as he became the second driver to win three-straight events at Volusia, the sixth driver to win two races in one day, and the seventh driver to open the season with back-to-back wins.

He also expanded his lead in the DIRTcar Nationals standings to 12 points over Carson Macedo and 18 points over Logan Schuchart entering Saturday’s finale. If he can finish the week on top, it’ll mark back-to-back Big Gator Championships for the 30-year-old native of Watertown, CT.

“This place is so competitive, you just never know what can happen on any given night,” Gravel noted on their successes, especially after Qualifying 30th on Wednesday. “You slip up the tiniest bit and you give up so much against this field here. I mean these are probably the best 35-ish drivers in the country all here. Somtimes it’s so hard to just get that first win out of the way, so knocking two out right from the start feels like a huge confidence boost.”

While Graven won for the second time in one day, Buddy Kofoid also ran runner-up to Tod Quiring’s #2 for the second time in one day. The 21-year-old native of Penngrove, CA started on the outside pole and passed Cory Eliason for the lead on Lap 11, builting an advantage as large as 2.490 seconds on Lap 18, but the caution flew and negated his hard work. Gravel ultimately capitalized on the restart and forced Buddy to another second-place finish in the Crouch Motorsports #11.

“This one obviously stings a bit more having actually led the race, but overall this is a really great result,” Kofoid mentioned. “I have to keep reminding myself that I’m brand new to this place, our team is still relativiely young, and yet we’re competing for World of Outlaws wins. I hope we can get tomorrow in to have another shot at winning of those Gators.”

Closing out the podium was Logan Schuchart in the Shark Racing, DuraMAX Oil #1S – who wanted just a few more laps to see what he could’ve done with Kofoid and Gravel ahead of him.

“I started out bad, but got better and better as the race went on,” Schuchart said. “I thought we were the fastest car over the last five laps, honestly. You always say you wish you had three more laps, but man I can’t help but think of what would’ve happened. I felt like I had a different line than both of them and was catching then, so I thought it would’ve been interesting.”

Completing Friday’s top-10 was Cory Eliason (4th) in the Indy Race Parts #71, Justin Peck (5th) in the Buch Motorsports #13, Brad Sweet (6th) in the Kasey Kahne Racing #49, James McFadedn (7th) in the Roth Motorsports #83, Carson Macedo (8th) in the Jason Johnson Racing #41, Sheldon Haudenschild (9th) in the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17, and Tyler Courtney (10th) in the Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC.

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

David Gravel’s 78th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series triumph brings him one away from tying Brad Sweet for 11th on the All-Time Win List. His fourth DIRTcar Nationals Gator trophy ties him for ninth-most in event history. He also joined Steve Kinser (2010-11) as the second driver to win three consecutive Series Features at Volusia Speedway Park.

Gravel is the first driver since Donny Schatz – at Volusia during 2017 DIRTcar Nationals – to win two World of Outlaws Features in the same day, and the sixth in history to achieve that feat. He joins a rare club including Steve Kinser (4), Sammy Swindell (3), Donny Schatz (2), Jac Haudenschild (1), and Jeff Swindell (1).

He also became the seventh driver in Series history to win back-to-back races to start a season – joining Daryn Pittman (2019), Steve Kinser (2011, 1991), Andy Hillenburg (2001), Sammy Swindell (1997, 1986), Brad Doty (1987), and Doug Wolfgang (1981).

As the 36th and final qualifier, Logan Schuchart led Low-E Insulation Qualifying at 13.609 seconds – averaging 112 MPH around Volusia’s 1/2-mile. It’s his 32nd career QuickTime Award, which ranks seventh-most – behind Gravel (89), Sweet (64), Saldana (55), Schatz (37), K. Madsen (35), and Stewart (35) – over his decade span as a full-time World of Outlaws competitor.

For the second night in a row, Schuchart (108th career) also topped the opening CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One, while NOS Energy Drink Heats 2-4 were won by Carson Macedo (83rd career), Buddy Kofoid (4th career), and Brent Marks (28th career).

Cory Eliason won the Toyota Dash, earning his seventh career pole position with the World of Outlaws. Through two nights, only Schuchart, Marks, Kofoid & Gravel have qualified for 100% of the Toyota Dashes.

Parker Price-Miller joined Brock Zearfoss as the second winner of the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown. One of the most exciting battles of the night was for the final transfer, which went to Tyler Courtney by 0.040 seconds over Kraig Kinser. Courtney would ultimately go on to win the KSE Hard Charger Award, driving from 24th-to-10th in the Feature.

UP NEXT (Sat) – The 52nd annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals concludes on Saturday, February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL. The NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will race for a $16,000-to-win program as the Big Gator Championship is awarded. For fans unable to attend, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (30 Laps) – 1. 2-David Gravel[3]; 2. 11-Michael Kofoid[2]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7]; 4. 71-Cory Eliason[1]; 5. 13-Justin Peck[6]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet[14]; 7. 83-James McFadden[11]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 10. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[24]; 11. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[10]; 12. 19-Brent Marks[4]; 13. 7S-Robbie Price[9]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[26]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich[13]; 16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 17. 9-Kasey Kahne[18]; 18. 5T-Ryan Timms[16]; 19. 5-Spencer Bayston[25]; 20. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 21. 9P-Parker Price Miller[21]; 22. 21-Brian Brown[20]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser[27]; 24. 26-Zeb Wise[23]; 25. 20G-Noah Gass[19]; 26. 39M-Anthony Macri[22]; 27. 1A-Jacob Allen[8]; 28. 6-Bill Rose[28]. Lap Leader(s): Cory Eliason 1-10; Buddy Kofoid 11-21; David Gravel 22-30. KSE Hard Charger: Tyler Courtney +14.

NEW Championship Standings (2/87 Races) – 1. 2-David Gravel (300); 2. 11-Buddy Kofoid (-8); 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-16); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-26); 5. 41-Carson Macedo (-34); 6. 48-Danny Dietrich (-36); 7. 7S-Robbie Price (-38); 8. 19-Brent Marks (-38); 9. 49-Brad Sweet (-48); 83-James McFadden (-48).

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.