IMPERIAL, PA (September 30, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. survived a back-and-forth battle between himself and Jonathan Davenport to earn his second career Pittsburgher win in the last three years on Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Thornton took home $30,000 of the $100,000 feature purse held before a large crowd of spectators for first-year promoter Blair Kress Jr. Devin Moran rallied from seventh in the closing laps to secure the fourth spot and final spot in the Big River Steel Chase to the Championship Presented by ARP. Tim McCreadie came from eighth to finish in third. Hudson O’Neal earned the Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race finishing in fourth after starting 16th on the grid. Earl Pearson Jr. rounded out the top five drivers. Michael Norris grabbed the lead at the start of the 75-lap main event and would lead the first 13 circuits until the front gate leading to and from the grandstands to the pit area was clipped by Norris. The incident would bring out the first caution of the race. After the race restart Thornton would grab the lead for the first time in the race on lap 14.  Thornton would hold the point until lap 37 when Davenport passed him for the race lead. Davenport was opening up his lead until a caution appeared with 47 laps scored. Thornton was slowly reeling in Davenport as the two raced through heavy traffic. The two would then go back-and-forth for the lead in a thrilling race for the top spot until Davenport clipped the wall in turn two damaging the right rear of his car. Davenport, who seeking his first career win in the Pittsburgher would fade to eighth at the finish despite leading a race-high 34 laps. After getting by Davenport, Moran would run in the second spot for the final three laps of the race – trailing Thornton by 2.215 seconds at the finish. Thornton’s win was his 23rd this year on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour and his 34th overall victory of 2023. “He [Davenport] was way better than I was. On the restarts I had to get back by Brandon [Overton] and I pretty much held it on the floor after that. I have got to thank Clements for building an awesome motor here it held up for the final 60 laps flat on the floor. I guess I wanted it a little bit more. He [Davenport] was starting to get tight on entry and I just started to move my line around a little bit. That was the first time I think I have ever gotten a 10 to go signal so I thought it was a five to go. I drove a lot harder after that, but this team never gives up. It was definitely some hard racing,” said the winner who collected his seventh series win in nine starts in September. Moran battled with McCreadie to the very end to lock up the fourth spot heading to Eldora. Brandon Overton would slow with mechanical issues on lap 54 yielding the fourth spot after running as high as second in the race. “This is always such a long race, because it’s a big track,” said the runner-up whose father Donnie won the race twice during his career. “The top got really, really good on both ends. It was definitely not the way we wanted to make it there at the end with Brandon breaking, he was really good too. We put ourselves in position and my crew just worked their tails off all year, and especially in the last two months, kudos to them for preparing me such a great racecar and coming up with these podium finishes.”  McCreadie, the two-time and defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “I got the car a little too tight in the center where I couldn’t rotate good enough which I haven’t been able to do most of the season. It was probably the wrong time to do it. We should have kept it in the same vicinity as we were in the heat. We feel a lot better than we did a few months ago. Now we can concentrate on winning at Eldora in a few weeks.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Coltman Farms, Hoker Trucking, Dyno One, Inc., Sub-Surface of Indiana, West Side Tractor Sales Company, D&E Outside Services, Certified Inspection Service Company, Inc., Midwest Sheet Metal, Excel Floor Covering, Murty Farms, Sunoco Race Fuels, and Bilstein Shocks. Completing the top ten were Max Blair, Alex Ferree, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, and Mason Zeigler. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 35th Annual Pittsburgher Presented by Big River SteelSaturday, September 30, 2023Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway | Imperial, PA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Michael Norris | 19.388 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 19.259 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 10M-Michael Norris[1]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 3. 11H-Keith Jackson[2]; 4. 2T-Kyle Lee[3]; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[8]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[4]; 7. 1Z-Logan Zarin[6]; 8. 58-Garrett Alberson[7]; 9. 01-Ron Hall[9]; 10. 94-AJ Campbell[10] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 10-Garrett Smith[4]; 4. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 6. 89-Logan Roberson[3]; 7. 66-Justin Kann[8]; 8. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[7]; 9. 27T-Tony White[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[4]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[3]; 4. 1C-Alex Ferree[2]; 5. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[6]; 6. 4-Gary Stuhler[7]; 7. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 8. 32J-Shaun Jones[8]; 9. 55C-Chris Schneider[9] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 4. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 5. 111B-Max Blair[5]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs[7]; 7. J4-John Garvin Jr[3]; 8. 21-Chad Myers[8]; 9. EZ1-Ron Fink[9] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[7]; 3. 48-Colton Flinner[3]; 4. 66-Justin Kann[6]; 5. 8S-Tommy Schirnhofer Jr[8]; 6. 1Z-Logan Zarin[5]; 7. 89-Logan Roberson[4]; 8. 27T-Tony White[10]; 9. 01-Ron Hall[9]; 10. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 11. 94-AJ Campbell[11] UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[2]; 2. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 3. 4-Gary Stuhler[3]; 4. J4-John Garvin Jr[6]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[4]; 6. 32J-Shaun Jones[7]; 7. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[1]; 8. 21-Chad Myers[8]; 9. EZ1-Ron Fink[10]; 10. 55C-Chris Schneider[9] 35th Annual Pittsburgher Presented by Big River Steel Feature Finish (75 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 37Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Michael NorrisLap Leaders: Michael Norris (Laps 1-13); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 14-36); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 37-69); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 70); Jonathan Davenport (Lap 71); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 72-75)Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 2.215 seconds Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Gary Stuhler, Matt Cosner, Boom Briggs (Initial Start); Front Gate Opens (Lap 13); Tyler Erb (Lap 37); Max Blair (Lap 41); Max Blair (Lap 42); Debris (Lap 47); Front Gate Opens (Lap 47); Brandon Overton (Lap 54); Debris (Lap 72)Series Provisionals: Ross Robinson; Boom BriggsFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran, Tim McCreadiePenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran, Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal, Earl Pearson, Jr.Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 12 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Alex FerreeDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Keith JacksonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (34 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max Blair Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Michael Norris (Lap 2 – 18.920 seconds) MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Jonathan DavenportOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (19.695 seconds)Time of Race: 63 minutes 22 seconds  The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

The Myerstown, PA native becomes the 13th driver with multiple National Open wins as Pittman settles for sixth runner-up

MECHANICSBURG, PA (September 30, 2023) – Chalk up the 61st Champion Racing Oil National Open to the Pennsylvania Posse.

Brent Marks is a native of Myerstown, PA, cut his teeth in the Sprint Car hotbed before embarking on a national schedule for a few seasons, and has refocused a majority of his racing on the region in recent years. On Saturday night at Williams Grove Speedway, Marks made his home state fans proud by topping the 2023 National Open for the Posse.

Marks started on the pole of the 40-lap Feature and slipped back to third early before rallying to snatch the top in the second half of the main event on his way to victory in the final leg of Sprint Car racing’s Triple Crown and a huge $75,000 paycheck.

The grandstands erupted as the “Myerstown Missile” took the checkered flag. In Victory Lane, the roars thundered even louder as he rose atop the wing of the Murray-Marks #19. One of PA’s own had taken down the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars at the state’s premier event.

“It feels awesome. To be standing up here in front of this crowd is just absolutely amazing,” Marks said. “The support in Pennsylvania is second to none. I can’t thank all of the fans for coming out tonight enough and supporting this event and supporting us. Got a win for the PA Posse.”

Adding to his 2019 National Open triumph, Marks became the 13th driver in history to top the crown jewel multiple times. The win also served as his 13th with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Four of those have occurred at Williams Grove. The Posse now own back-to-back National Open titles after Lance Dewease notched his fifth “Natty O” in 2022.

While Marks began the main event from the front courtesy of winning the Toyota Racing Dash, the route to victory was no walk in the park. The 32-year-old led the opening circuit, but Justin Peck threw a successful slide job on the second lap to take over the lead. In the next set of corners, sixth-starting Daryn Pittman rolled by Marks on the bottom to snatch second.

Peck maintained roughly a one second advantage over Pittman for the next handful of laps. But as the leaders approached traffic, Pittman began to close in on the Buch Motorsports #13. On the 12th lap, Peck slipped up exiting Turn 2 allowing Pittman to power into the lead behind the wheel of the Kreitz Racing #69K.

World of Outlaws and Posse fans united in their joy as Pittman moved into the top spot. The 2013 World of Outlaws champion and former regular in Pennsylvania entered the weekend with five National Open runner-ups on his résumé but no wins. The semi-retired racer has only competed a handful of times this year but made sure to climb aboard a potent ride for the race that had long eluded him.

Marks lurked close behind as Pittman claimed the lead. Only three laps after Pittman passed Peck, Marks also moved ahead of him to grab second and set his sights on Pittman.

A pair of restarts bunched the field together as the Feature neared the halfway point, but Pittman aced both of them in his pursuit of National Open glory and pulled ahead. While Pittman initially gapped Marks on the second restart, Marks began to mount a charge as he got the #19 rolling on the top.

The race reached the 20-lap halfway mark, and it became clear was Marks was closing. The margin visibly shrank lap after lap as Pittman stayed glued to the bottom while Marks remained committed to the cushion. On Lap 22, Marks got a huge run out of Turn 4 and powered alongside Pittman down the front straightaway before sliding him in Turns 1 and 2. Pittman looked under Marks exiting the second corner but couldn’t nose back ahead. 

“Our care is just a long run car. We always struggle a little bit at the beginning of a race with a full fuel load,” Marks explained. “We just need laps. That’s all it took tonight, just getting laps. The top started to clean off a little bit more and come in more than it was, and Daryn was running around the bottom down there.”

Even after getting passed, Pittman continued to put up a fight as he didn’t let Marks pull away at first. The Owasso, OK native kept the powder blue machine a few car lengths behind Marks lap after lap in search of his first National Open.

Eventually, Marks began to inch away from Pittman as the lead duo made their way through traffic, the margin extending beyond a second and a half at one point. One last glimmer of hope gleamed on the 32nd circuit when Pittman slashed Mark’s advantage from 1.1 seconds to nearly half a second in traffic. 

But ultimately, Pittman also found himself slightly held up by the same cars, allowing Marks to again grow the gap. Marks expertly worked his way through lapped cars on his way to a comfortable 2.4 second lead when the checkered flag flew.

“To get my second National Open title is really special,” Marks said. “We had a shot to win this back in 2021, and I hit a lapped car and spun out while leading and last year we finished second. This kind of felt like a little bit of redemption for me. Just hats off to this whole team. The Murray-Marks Motorsports team is just awesome.”

Pittman crossed the finish line in second for his sixth National Open runner-up in a fifth different car as Kreitz Racing came up a spot short of two consecutive National Open victories. The effort was worth a $25,000 payday. Driving from sixth to first and leading 11 laps but ultimately coming up short again left Pittman with a tough pill to swallow.

“Second still sucks. I’ve just been so close,” Pittman said. “That one’s hard to swallow. Honestly, I just feel like I let these guys down. At the end of the day, this car is amazing, and I’m disappointed. Man, if we would’ve pulled that off, I can guarantee they were going to have to find a driver to start and park that second Feature because you weren’t ever going to see me here again. I would’ve gladly walked away with a National Open win and hung up my career at Williams Grove.”

Rounding out the top three was the night’s Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award winner – Rico Abreu. The St. Helena, CA native pocketed $10,000 for the third place run as he notched his 15th World of Outlaws podium of the year.

“It’s amazing to race in front of such a big crowd here at Williams Grove Speedway,” Abreu commented. “Those guys just had a little bit faster pace than us. The more I moved around the more I felt kind of numb leaving the corners, and I just needed to be up top.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Brad Sweet completed the top five.

Sweet’s fifth coupled with his win in the second Feature of the night allowed him to extend his points lead up to 90 markers.

Danny Dietrich scored KSE Racing Hard Charger honors with a drive from 27th to 9th.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Rico Abreu. NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were topped by Justin Peck, Brad Sweet, and Brent Marks. 

Buddy Kofoid won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Port Royal Speedway for the two-day Nittany Showdown, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 6-7. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 19-Brent Marks[1]; 2. 69K-Daryn Pittman[6]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[7]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet[3]; 6. 13-Justin Peck[2]; 7. 2-David Gravel[5]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz[17]; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich[27]; 10. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 11. 5-Spencer Bayston[15]; 12. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[22]; 13. 11-Cory Eliason[10]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 15. 9-Kasey Kahne[9]; 16. 8E-Freddie Rahmer[26]; 17. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[21]; 18. 99-Skylar Gee[18]; 19. 41-Carson Macedo[12]; 20. 21-Brian Brown[16]; 21. 83-James McFadden[14]; 22. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 23. 71-Anthony Macri[19]; 24. 26-Zeb Wise[24]; 25. 39M-Lance Dewease[13]; 26. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[20]; 27. 8-Aaron Reutzel[23]

FULL CIRCLE: Brad Sweet Scores Second Williams Grove Win of 2023 Season

Sweet won the first Williams Grove race of the 2023 World of Outlaws season in May and the last on Saturday night

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ 2023 journey to Williams Grove Speedway ended the same way it started – with Brad Sweet in Victory Lane.

Less than 30 minutes after finishing fifth in the 61st Champion Racing Oil National Open, “The Big Cat” found another gear and won the 25-lap Feature – that was postponed from Friday – for his second Williams Grove triumph of the year. His first came in May.

“Really had a great race car right there,” Sweet said. “Wish we had that for the National Open. But it is hard to win these races. Everyone is always trying things and it’s in a small window.

“My guys have been giving me good race cars. Not only here, but everywhere lately. We’ve been in contention to win; it seems like night in and night out.”

Sweet started outside pole, alongside Toyota Dash winner Tyler Courtney. When the Feature commenced, “Sunshine” got the early jump and pulled ahead. However, the NAPA Auto Parts #49 kept the pressure on every corner.

Sweet dove under Courtney going into Turn 3 on Lap 2, but the NOS Energy Drink #7BC propelled ahead from the momentum gained on the top lane.

Their battle was interrupted with a caution on Lap 5 for a slowed Chase Randall. Upon the race’s resumption, Sweet took another shot at a Turn 3 slider. This time, success.

New leader, Brad Sweet, on Lap 6.

Three laps later, he was already ahead by nearly two seconds.

Courtney was left to try and fend of Carson Macedo for second, but a new hope emerged at the halfway point. While Sweet dealt with slower traffic, Courtney cut his lead in half.

With nine laps to go, Courtney closed within a second. With four to go, under half a second.

A potential July scenario was playing out again for Sweet where he got passed on the last corner by Logan Schuchart for the win.

However, Courtney lost his charge, getting passed by Macedo and David Gravel in the final two laps.

The four-time and reigning World of Outlaws champion went on to visit Victory Lane for the 10th time this season with the Series, extend his points lead – now 90 over Gravel – and score multiple wins at Williams Grove in a season for the first time in his career.

“We finally got the win with (my daughter) Savannah with me – she got to go on the wing – and my wife,” Sweet said. “My wife has spent a lot of miserable nights here at Williams Grove, (with us) having to take provisionals and stuff, so it is cool to see it come full circle and us get a win.”

After blowing a motor on the final lap of the National Open, Macedo and his Jason Johnson Racing crew thrashed in under 30 minutes to get a new motor in the car and have it ready for another 25 laps. Their resilience was rewarded with a second-place run.

“This JJR 41 team did an incredible job,” Macedo said. “That was about as quick as you can change a motor and try to make adjustments… I’m really proud of them. You work so hard and turn around and come back and get a runner up finish. I felt like we were pretty strong there at the end. I could get through (Turns 1 and 2) better than most guys.”

Gravel finished third for his 30th podium finish of the season – a Series high.

“I wish we could get to lap traffic there and dice it up a little bit more but just ran out of laps and got to third there on the last lap,” Gravel said.

“Overall, a solid weekend, but Brad (Sweet) beat us both nights and that’s not what you want. We’re going to keep working hard and digging and Port Royal (Speedway) is a pretty good track for us, so I’m really excited for [the Nittany Showdown, Oct. 6-7].”

Before the rain fell and postponed Friday’s Feature to Saturday, Gravel had a strong start to the event, scoring the Simpson Quick Time Award and winning the CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat #1.

Courtney finished fourth and, after winning his second National Open title, Brent Marks finished fifth. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz won the KSE Hard Charger Award, making his way from 27th to 13th.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Port Royal Speedway for the two-day Nittany Showdown, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 6-7. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 2. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 3. 2-David Gravel[6]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 5. 19-Brent Marks[13]; 6. 39M-Lance Dewease[7]; 7. 8E-Freddie Rahmer[8]; 8. 13-Justin Peck[9]; 9. 69K-Daryn Pittman[15]; 10. 11T-TJ Stutts[14]; 11. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[10]; 12. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[19]; 13. 15-Donny Schatz[27]; 14. 21-Brian Brown[5]; 15. 8-Aaron Reutzel[12]; 16. 27-Troy Wagaman Jr[20]; 17. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[29]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 19. 48-Danny Dietrich[24]; 20. 5-Spencer Bayston[30]; 21. 39T-Kyle Moody[26]; 22. 44-Dylan Norris[28]; 23. 1S-Logan Schuchart[25]; 24. 1X-Chad Trout[18]; 25. (DNF) 9-Kasey Kahne[23]; 26. (DNF) 58-Chase Randall[17]; 27. (DNS) 26-Zeb Wise; 28. (DNS) 83-James McFadden; 29. (DNS) 71-Anthony Macri; 30. (DNS) 24-Rico Abreu

The Oakwood, IL driver increases his points lead to 146 with seven races remaining

CHILLICOTHE, OH – September 30, 2023 – Wasting time wasn’t an option for Bobby Pierce at Atomic Speedway Saturday night.

With his experience at the track, he knew how quickly its surface could change and how quickly he needed to pass Chris Madden if he wanted to win. The Oakwood, IL driver seized his opportunity, sliding by Madden on Lap 32 to earn his 12th World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series win of 2023.

Madden, the pole sitter, stormed to the lead on Lap 1 while Pierce and Brian Shirley battled for second. Shirley snuck under Pierce to take the position and became Madden’s first challenger for the lead as the two approached traffic. 

After chasing Madden for a few laps, the Chatham, IL driver dove underneath him in Turn 4, nosing his #3S ahead of Madden to lead Lap 13. That was the only lap Shirley would lead, though, as Madden’s momentum allowed him to reclaim the position the next time around.

While the top two battled in traffic, Pierce lurked behind them on the outside lane. 

It wasn’t long before Pierce found an opportunity to get by Shirley. The “Smooth Operator” found a burst of speed down the backstretch and slid his Longhorn chassis ahead of Shirley in Turn 3 to grab second on Lap 23. 

As Madden dealt with traffic, Pierce closed in on the #44, hoping to find an opportunity. His first chance came on Lap 30. With a lap car on the top of the racetrack, Pierce moved under Madden, pulling even in Turns 1 and 2. But at that point, Madden was better, keeping his momentum in the middle. However, it wouldn’t be long until Pierce got another chance—one he wouldn’t waste.

On Lap 32, Pierce thundered down the backstretch, again pulling even with Madden’s Longhorn. And with the same move he used to pass Shirley, Pierce slid in front of Madden to take the lead in Turn 3. 

From there, Pierce outdueled Madden through traffic to earn the $15,000 win—his 32nd overall triumph of the 2023 season. 

Pierce said he thought the track might take rubber late in the race and knew he had to pass Madden before that happened.

“It was getting really clean in Turn 3,” Pierce said. “I wanted to be patient because I knew we were pretty good, and staying green was really helping my situation. I knew how clean it was getting, and this track can rubber up. It never really did. It almost did there at the very end, but you never know. I wanted to get by [Madden], and traffic was really hairy. It was a lot of fun, though, slicing and dicing around.”

Another critical factor in Pierce’s win was his ability to maneuver through traffic. In the last 10 laps, Kyle Bronson and Dustin Walker were side-by-side, with Pierce behind them, trying to find a way by. Like his pass on Madden, Pierce took advantage when he saw a chance, splitting the two drivers in Turn 3 en route to the win.

“Sometimes you have to pull a move like that because you get stuck behind somebody, and you don’t realize how much your lap times dropped off,” Pierce said. “That guy in second place is right there on you again. So, I kind of had to pull it, and I’m glad I did because it worked out.”

Pierce also extended his points lead for the second straight night over Madden. He leads by 146 points entering next weekend’s Hoosier Dirt Classic at Brownstown Speedway.

Madden crossed the line second after leading 30 laps of the Feature that went green-to-checkered. The absence of a yellow flag wasn’t something he expected, and he said he felt things may have played out differently.

“I went with a different tire combination than he did,” Madden said. “He’s got a little but more experience here than I have. I didn’t see us running 50 green flag laps, either. Maybe a couple of cautions might’ve saved me right there, but we got free toward the end. 

“We were still really good. We just put the wrong tire on.”

Shirley finished third, bouncing back from a 15th-place finish on Friday. He said he was happy with his finish but wasn’t satisfied.

“We leave here tonight with a third, and that’s definitely respectable and lets us walk out of here with our heads held high,” Shirley said. “I felt like our car, it wasn’t really a bad car, but it needs to be better. And we should’ve done a couple of little things better. That’s why you go race. To build a notebook and try and get better the next time.”

Defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard rounded out the top five.

Mike Marlar, Saturday’s Fox Factory Hard Charger, finished sixth after starting 19th.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models make their final trip to the Midwest with a trip to Brownstown Speedway for the Hoosier Dirt Classic on Friday, Oct. 6. Then, the Series returns to Fairbury Speedway for the FALS Frenzy on Saturday, Oct. 7.

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

CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 5. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[19]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[9]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 10. 68-Adam Stricker[18]; 11. 96V-Tanner English[12]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 13. 71C-RJ Conley[5]; 14. 55-Jesse Wisecarver[17]; 15. 40B-Kyle Bronson[13]; 16. 25-Shane Clanton[23]; 17. 14W-Dustin Walker[11]; 18. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 19. 71R-Rod Conley[20]; 20. 30-Todd Cooney[21]; 21. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 22. 1-Shane Bailey[24]; 23. 29C-Clint Keenan[22]; 24. 17-Zack Dohm[16] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Mike Marlar [+13].

******Updated with correct qualifying position for John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS: No. 4****** MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2023) – Points leaders Robert Hight and the AAA / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS team battled through qualifying at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway to ultimately jump from No. 18 to No. 8 on Saturday. John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS are in the No. 4 spot while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team are No. 10 and Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team are No. 11. Without a clean run on Friday night, Robert Hight and the AAA team struggled Saturday afternoon. Tire smoke early forced Hight to shut off the Chevy Camaro and coast to 5.851 seconds at 117.21 shifting down to the No. 18 spot. Entering the final session not yet qualified, Hight held on for a 3.953-second run at 323.89 mph that got the AAA team securely in the show at No. 8. The jump in performance puts Hight and the AAA Camaro up against Cruz Pedregon in the first round. “You never want to be in that position, not being qualified with one run left. Especially in a fuel car, you never know what could happen. You could drop a cylinder, anything could happen. You have to believe in everybody, our crew chiefs, the crew guys, and me as the driver, and work together. We did that and we got AAA qualified,” Hight said. “That would have been a bummer for the points leader not to be in. I think the way it was set up, Jimmy had it so that it would go down a dirt road. I didn’t think it would be in the top half but all that matters is that we are racing tomorrow. It’s a new day, it’s race day and anything can happen.”  John Force and the PEAK team struggled off the starting line on Saturday. Force would have to shut the PEAK Chevy off early and settle for a 5.385-second run at 135.55 mph in the first session of the day.  Wrapping up qualifying, Force would again have to shut the PEAK car off early for a 4.303 at 211.66. He finished qualifying in the No. 4 spot and has a match-up against Terry Haddock in round one. “Not as good of a day as we could have had. We knew that though, with the conditions, the warmer weather, and the hot race track. That’s why it was important to get it done Friday night. Now we have some information going into race day, similar conditions, maybe a little cooler,” Force said. “Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they’ll take what they learned and put it to good use tomorrow. We’ll just see how it goes but I’m looking forward to it.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand team had a big improvement from their Friday night run. Prock handled the Montana Brand dragster to a clean 3.870-second pass at 316.60 mph in the heat of the day. In the final session, Prock again improved with a 3.770 pass at 318.62 to earn him the No. 10 spot and a first-round race against Clay Millican. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team made progress each qualifying session this weekend. I’m happy with how the car is reacting to the crew chief’s decision, I think they are too,” Prock said. “We are in a great place to have a strong race day Sunday tomorrow. I’m looking forward to going some rounds.” After not making it down the racetrack in Friday night’s session, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team started the day in the No. 16 spot. The Monster Energy team did improve but struggled at about 300 feet and shut off to go only 5.817 seconds at 111.43 mph. When Force pulled the Monster Energy dragster up to the team’s final qualifying try, they had been bumped out of the top 16. With race day on the line, the David Grubnic and Brandon Hazleton-led team breathed a sigh of relief as the Monster Energy dragster laid down a 3.791 at 330.72. They finished qualifying in the No. 11 spot and will run Tony Schumacher in the first round. “It was a dramatic final qualifying session for our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team as we had one shot to get in the show after being bumped out. This team hasn’t been in such a tight position before, but we pulled it off and moved up to the 11th position after a 3.79 at 330,” Force said. “Good job to Dave Grubnic and this Monster Energy team for stepping it up under such enormous pressure. I’m looking forward to race day tomorrow.” The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway continues with qualifying sessions Saturday at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will continue on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 28, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:10th; 3.770-seconds; 318.62 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 37, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:11th; 3.791-seconds; 330.72 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:4th; 3.914-seconds; 325.06 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest Q1) ROBERT HIGHT, 54, Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:8th; 3.953-seconds; 323.89 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2023) – Points leaders Robert Hight and the AAA / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS team battled through qualifying at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway to ultimately jump from No. 18 to No. 8 on Saturday. John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS held onto their No. 3 spot while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team are No. 10 and Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team are No. 11. Without a clean run on Friday night, Robert Hight and the AAA team struggled Saturday afternoon. Tire smoke early forced Hight to shut off the Chevy Camaro and coast to 5.851 seconds at 117.21 shifting down to the No. 18 spot. Entering the final session not yet qualified, Hight held on for a 3.953-second run at 323.89 mph that got the AAA team securely in the show at No. 8. The jump in performance puts Hight and the AAA Camaro up against Cruz Pedregon in the first round. “You never want to be in that position, not being qualified with one run left. Especially in a fuel car, you never know what could happen. You could drop a cylinder, anything could happen. You have to believe in everybody, our crew chiefs, the crew guys, and me as the driver, and work together.  We did that and we got AAA qualified,” Hight said. “That would have been a bummer for the points leader not to be in. I think the way it was set up, Jimmy had it so that it would go down a dirt road. I didn’t think it would be in the top half but all that matters is that we are racing tomorrow. It’s a new day, it’s race day and anything can happen.”  John Force and the PEAK team, already in the No. 3 spot from their Friday night run of 3.914, struggled off the starting line. Force would have to shut the PEAK Chevy off early and settle for a 5.385-second run at 135.55 mph. Wrapping up qualifying, Force would again have to shut the PEAK car off early for a 4.303 at 211.66. He finished qualifying in the No. 3 spot and has a match-up against Terry Haddock in round one. “Not as good of a day as we could have had. We knew that though, with the conditions, the warmer weather, and the hot race track. That’s why it was important to get it done Friday night. Now we have some information going into race day, similar conditions, maybe a little cooler,” Force said. “Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they’ll take what they learned and put it to good use tomorrow. We’ll just see how it goes but I’m looking forward to it.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand team had a big improvement from their Friday night run. Prock handled the Montana Brand dragster to a clean 3.870-second pass at 316.60 mph in the heat of the day. In the final session, Prock again improved with a 3.770 pass at 318.62 to earn him the No. 10 spot and a first-round race against Clay Millican. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team made progress each qualifying session this weekend. I’m happy with how the car is reacting to the crew chief’s decision, I think they are too,” Prock said. “We are in a great place to have a strong race day Sunday tomorrow. I’m looking forward to going some rounds.” After not making it down the racetrack in Friday night’s session, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team started the day in the No. 16 spot. The Monster Energy team did improve but struggled at about 300 feet and shut off to go only 5.817 seconds at 111.43 mph. When Force pulled the Monster Energy dragster up to the team’s final qualifying try, they had been bumped out of the top 16. With race day on the line, the David Grubnic and Brandon Hazleton-led team breathed a sigh of relief as the Monster Energy dragster laid down a 3.791 at 330.72. They finished qualifying in the No. 11 spot and will run Tony Schumacher in the first round. “It was a dramatic final qualifying session for our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team as we had one shot to get in the show after being bumped out. This team hasn’t been in such a tight position before, but we pulled it off and moved up to the 11th position after a 3.79 at 330,” Force said. “Good job to Dave Grubnic and this Monster Energy team for stepping it up under such enormous pressure. I’m looking forward to race day tomorrow.” The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway continues with qualifying sessions Saturday at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will continue on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 28, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:10th; 3.770-seconds; 318.62 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 37, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:11th; 3.791-seconds; 330.72 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.914-seconds; 325.06 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest Q1) ROBERT HIGHT, 54, Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:8th; 3.953-seconds; 323.89 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

 

September 30, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang are set to start 21st in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Burton took that spot with a lap at 180.244 miles per hour in single-car qualifying on Saturday afternoon. There was no practice prior to qualifying.

Sunday’s 188-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern Time) with Stage breaks planned for Laps 60 and 120. 

NBC will carry the TV broadcast of the race.

 

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 30, 2023) – For the first time this season, Mark Pawuk and his Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak raced to the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Pawuk picked up his fourth career No. 1 qualifying spot off the efforts of his Friday qualifying pass of 7.712 seconds at 179.40 mph. On Saturday, Pawuk and his Drag Pak struggled to get down the race track for passes at 14.862 and 14.708 seconds as they looked for consistency heading into eliminations.

Mark Pawuk, Midwest Nationals Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifier, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

“We have a really fast hot rod. We just have to make consistent runs and unfortunately, we haven’t this weekend. We have been moving forward as the weekend has gone on. I think I would have had a good run in that last qualifying session if we wouldn’t have done that big wheel stand and I had to shut it off,” Pawuk said. “We are making good progress, and I am very happy with the performance of the car. Anything can happen on race day. I have to thank my sponsors Ohio CAT, Summit Racing, Red Line Oil, E3 and the whole group of them. They are with us at every race and of course, I want to thank Flexjet for being the series sponsor.”

With the No. 1 spot comes a first-round matchup against Conner Statler and his Janac Brothers Racing COPO Camaro for Pawuk, who is looking for his first win of the 2023 season.

Saturday brought around some serious improvement for the Flexjet Factory Showdown class. Stephen Bell and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevy COPO, the Norwalk, Ohio winners, jumped from No. 13 to No. 2 improving on his 8.156-second pass to a 7.719 run in the second session. Point leader Aaron Stanfield started the day No. 9 then made a move to No. 7 with a 7.781 before laying down a 7.726-second pass to move into No. 3.

“We changed motors and it took a couple runs for that one to wake up. It’s definitely awake now. That was a good run. We were expecting it to run 7.74 or 7.75, so 7.72 surprised us in a good way. That is what we were looking for, what we needed,” Stanfield said. “That run sets us up really well for eliminations and we are trying to hold on to this point lead for these last three races. There are a lot of tough cars out here and we just want to keep the pressure on them. I feel really good about how we ran that last session.”

Stanfield will also be racing with a bullseye on his Camaro as the Flexjet bounty holder following his win at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals two weeks ago at Maple Grove Raceway.

Competition for the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown class in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway continues with eliminations Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and continue Sunday with round two at 1:00 p.m. Winners are slated to be crowned Sunday at 4:20 p.m.
 
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown First Round Matchups
No. 1 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 22 Conner Statler
No. 2 Stephen Bell vs. No. 21 Nick Shirley
No. 3 Aaron Stanfield vs. No. 20 Michael Lloyd
No. 4 David Janac vs. No. 19 Richard Ingram
No. 5 AJ Berge vs. No. 18 Kim Shirley
No. 6 Lenny Lottig vs. No. 17 Del Holbrook
No. 7 Ricky Hord vs. No. 16 Judson Holt
No. 8 Anthony Troyer vs. No. 15 David Davies
No. 9 Doug Hamp vs. No. 14 David Barton
No. 10 Jesse Alexandra vs. No. 13 Chris Hall
No. 11 Lee Hartman vs. No. 12 Scott Libersher
 
About Flexjet
If maintaining performance vehicles is your passion – translate those skills into becoming a Flexjet aircraft maintenance technician (AMT). Explore a career with the world-class Flexjet Maintenance group today.
 
Flexjet, Inc., a global leader in subscription-based private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 24 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Red Label by Flexjet, a market differentiator, which features the most modern fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the
Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500, Bombardier Challenger 350, the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division sells fractional, lease, and on-demand charter access to its fleet of owned, operated and maintained Sikorsky S-76 helicopters which boast 55,000 hours of safe flying certified by Wyvern and ARG/US and serving locations throughout the northeastern United States, United Kingdom, and southern Florida. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Instagram @FlexjetInc.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY YELLAWOOD 500 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

LARSON, BYRON TO START IN THE TOP-10 AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

LINCOLN, Ala. (Sept. 30, 2023) – The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) hit the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for the first time this weekend for a single-car qualifying session to setup the starting lineup for tomorrow’s YellaWood 500 – the second race of the Round of 12. With no practice session on superspeedway-style tracks this season, the series’ drivers and teams got their first glance at where they stand on the speed chart during the first round of qualifying. Team Chevy playoff drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron posted a top-10 qualifying effort in the first round of qualifying for an opportunity to compete for the pole position.  Hitting the track first in the final round of qualifying, Byron clocked-in a fastest lap of 52.926 seconds, at 180.932 mph, in his No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 to take the eighth position in the starting lineup for the 500-mile event. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson recorded the fourth-fastest lap in the final round – driving his No. 5 Valvoline / HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to a lap of 52.746 seconds at 181.549 mph.   The YellaWood 500 will take the green flag tomorrow, September 30, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 500-mile race can be found on the NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER4th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline / HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL18th      William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL114th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL120th    Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1  KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 X WORLD WALLET CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Press conference quotes in advance of tomorrow’s YellaWood 500 – race two of the Round of 12.  With where you are in points and this type of wildcard race, does it change anything? Obviously I know you’ve won here, so you know you can do it again, but how do you approach this weekend? Does it change because of your positioning? “No, it doesn’t change. I think you come in here with your stress-meter pegged, regardless of whether you’re 30-points to the good or 30-behind. We obviously know in our situation that we’re further behind, so you have to race. I think it’s been more sought out to just race these races; run them normal and not hangout in the back and try to wait for something to happen. With these cars and the way the race plays out, it’s so hard to make moves, make passes and get yourself track position whenever you want it. You can’t, so you’ve got to hold it when you’ve got it. If you don’t have it, then you have to figure out how to fuel save and short-pit guys and jump them on pit road. So there’s so many variables – you just have to race it out and don’t worry about it. What happens, happens.” You had three wins so quickly in your transition to Richard Childress Racing. Have the other teams caught up? When you were that good to start out with, we just expected it to continue. What do you need to keep putting up something in the ‘W’ column? “Trust me, I see it too. I think when we’ve had really good cars, I’ve just over-tried. In 2017, 2018, whatever when we were super-fast all the time – I always think back to the golden days.. you could drive from the back of the field to the front of the field. You could make something happen and I still feel like I can do that – I can drive from the back of the field to the front of the field. But in reality, with this car, equipment, talent and everything being so equal.. SMT data, everybody seeing it and being so equal – it’s tougher than ever to pass the guy in front of you. So I guess that’s kind of been a bit of my demise, which is I don’t feel like I can do as much as I want to be able to do. Me overtrying has sort of hurt my race craft, if you will.. where I haven’t been finishing, frankly.  With me and this Next Gen car, look at how many times I’ve spun out and crashed, you know what I mean. It’s just stupid compared to what it has been over time. I still have some work to do on figuring that out. But also I’m a very non-patient person and you have to show some patience in these races. They’re long races. Last week in the first stage, pushing and literally then just telling myself – OK, forget it, back up.. let’s finish this stage, and then swapping ends. I just finished telling myself to just make it to the end of the stage and I’m backwards. I don’t know exactly, but we’ve got to fix it.. I’ve got to fix it.” ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 How does this race feel different than the spring Talladega Superspeedway race? “It doesn’t for me. Honestly, I come prepared the best that I can. I don’t want to stall it like I think I just heard somebody do leaving pit road. Do those little things right, on and off pit road. Last week, got super fortunate to come back after a throttle issue. If I would have been more aware earlier in the race, I would have never stalled it in the first place. For our Worldwide Express Chevy, it’s minimizing those little mistakes and just doing what I can do – whether it’s the next lap, taking it for what it’s worth if we get shuffled to the back. And just breathing.. I forget to breathe sometimes, physically and mentally. It doesn’t feel much different, I just need to try minimizing my mistakes.”  WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1Byron on how he feels going into this weekend after picking up the win at Texas Motor Speedway and moving onto the next round, not having to worry about the outcome here: “Yeah, it feels good, but we still try to show up to win every race. It definitely seems like we’re still in the same mindset when we get to the track. During the week, we’re a little bit more relaxed and maybe a little bit more relaxed in the hauler. But when we come out here on the grid, we’re focused on what we need to do. It’s the same objective and the same details.”

DALLAS (September 30, 2023) — Buddy Hull will be rolling with new wheels from Race Star Wheels beginning at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, September 30-October 1. The business owner from Dallas who owns and drives the Methanol Moonshine/Renegade Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster will be sporting the latest Top Fuel front and rear wheels from Kansas City-based Race Star Wheels, part of Race Star Industries.  The high-performance alloy wheels have been in development for several years, but Hull will be the first Top Fuel driver to introduce them in competition.

Buddy Hull with Race Star Wheel, photo by Buddy Hull Racing

 
“I am excited to see what these Race Star Wheels can do for our Methanol Moonshine/Renegade Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster in St. Louis,” said Hull. “We’ll be running a special HULL’K car design for the race and with new front and rear Pro Forged Wheels we are looking to improve our performance and turn some heads. The guys at Race Star Wheels have been great to work with and once they explained the positive attributes of these wheels I was all in and ready to get them on our race car.”
 
The Race Star Wheels team has been working for two years to bring these wheels to market and they feel the design and structure of these Top Fuel wheels is superior to any product on the market. The quality of the metal and the construction should minimize metal fatigue and allow for much longer wear in competition. Buddy Hull connected to Race Star Wheels by a lifelong friend Rod Brogdon, who connected Hull with Mike Kent, one of the lead engineers at Race Star Wheels. Hull, Kent and Race Star Industries owner LB Davis quickly realized they would work well together and get the Pro Forged Wheels on track at the Midwest Nationals. 

Race Star Wheel at NHRA Midwest Nationals, photo by Buddy Hull Racing

 
“We feel this is the safest wheel in Top Fuel racing and we can’t wait to see the Pro Forged Wheel roll into the winner’s circle,” said LB Davies, owner of Star Racing Industries. “Our design team led by Mike Kent has put a lot of hours into this design and we are looking forward to seeing it on track. The quality of this wheel will avoid immediate metal fatigue and allow for a longevity the tire industry hasn’t seen before.”
 
Hull and the HULL’K designed Top Fuel dragster had one qualifying run last night. The team will have two qualifying runs on Saturday to earn one of the coveted 16 qualifier spots for the Midwest Nationals. The race will be broadcast nationally on FS1.
 

WINNERS CONTINUE TO COME FROM COAST-TO-COAST 
FOR DRAG RACE BRACKET BONANZA

DALLAS (September 30, 2023) — After two Countdown races in the NHRA playoff series ten different fans from across the country have taken home one-of-a-kind Drag Race Bracket Bonanza(DRBB) winner plaques. Drag Race Bracket Bonanza, the first dynamic bracket competition for drag racing fans, will open the brackets tonight following qualifying at the NHRA Midwest Nationals from World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis.
 
Following the rain delayed Reading Nationals overall winner Payton P. of Castle Rock, Wash., took the overall win with the most combined points from Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Scott W. of Mogadore, Ohio, won Top Fuel, David L., of Marlton, New Jersey won Funny Car and Dave D. of Elgin, Texas, and Abe H. of Cleveland, Ohio, took Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle honors respectively. Last weekend at the Carolina Nationals Dujeanna B. of Valdosta, Ga., won the overall title with Mike H. of West Hills, Calif., and Zhen B. from Tuscaloosa, Ala., winning in Top Fuel and Funny Car. Mike C. from Mooresville, NC won Pro Stock and Cori M. from Elkhart, Ind. Won Pro Stock Motorcycle.  
 
Throughout the current Midwest Nationals fans have had the opportunity to sign up for Drag Race Bracket Bonanza online, in table topper located in the World Wide Technology Raceway suites and in the Budweiser Pavilion.
 
“It is very exciting to see winners coming from all over the country,” said Elon Werner, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza creator. “We have seen our numbers grow race over race and we expect to really see our momentum take off after the Midwest Nationals over the final three Countdown races. The biggest issue we have run into is people remembering to make their picks. This is a brand-new game so people are still getting used to working it into their routine. We are encouraging fans to set an alarm or calendar hold as a reminder. Tomorrow we will start at noon ET so fans will have about 18 hours to make their picks after qualifying ends today in St. Louis.”
 
One of the goals of DRBB is to drive fan interest online through social media posts and encourage fans to watch the NHRA broadcasts on FOX and FS1. Several Twitter and Facebook posts have shown that people are engaging and watching to see how their bracket turn out. Fans can follow Drag Race Bracket Bonanza social media for stats, updates, and info on Twitter/X at @dragracebb or Instagram and Facebook, @DragRaceBracketBonanza.
 
For additional information and to sign up anytime fans can visit www.dragracebracketbonanza.com.
 

LINCOLN, IL (Sept. 29, 2023) – DIRTcar’s brightest weekly racing stars came out for opening night of the 28th annual DIRTcar Fall Nationals and put on four great shows Friday night, featuring two past winners in Victory Lane again and two new faces to the Fall Nationals winner’s circle at Lincoln Speedway.

A total of 110 cars in four of DIRTcar’s weekly racing divisions filled the pit area surrounding the 1/4-mile bullring, racing for national and regional points in the final weekend of the 2023 regular season. In the end, Jason Feger, Mike McKinney, Deece Schwartz and Jeff Leka all emerged victorious in the year-end special event.

Late Models – Jason Feger

Crafting one of the most memorable drives to the lead seen all season from the tail of the field, Jason Feger completed an epic comeback for the win after blowing a tire on Lap 2 and restarting nearly dead-last.

Feger, the newly crowned 2023 DIRTcar Late Model national champion from Bloomington, IL, took the green from outside of the front row and looked strong, but cut a tire down the second time by, bringing out the race’s first caution flag. After a stop in the work area for a tire change, Feger brought it to the end of the line for the restart.

“It was just… a lot of patience with the field of cars we had tonight,” he said. “My main focus was just to not tear my car up; take doors when they’d open.”

From that point forward, Feger was all business. He became a passing machine, advancing all the way back into the top five by Lap 15. By the time the five-to-go signal was given, he had taken second but was still over a second-and-a-half behind leader Ryan Unzicker.

“I looked over at the scoreboard and saw it said 22, so I was just giving it everything I had,” Feger said. “I think we would have caught him. I don’t know if we would’ve passed him; it would’ve been really close. But then the yellow came out, and I was able to drive by him.”

With three laps left, the yellow was thrown again for debris in Turn 4, giving Feger the opportunity he needed. On the ensuing restart, he got a great run on the top side of Turn 2 and rocketed by Unzicker into the lead down the backstretch, sealing the pass out of Turn 4 and leading the field the rest of the way home to collect his 15th DIRTcar Feature win of the season.

“It’s the second year in a Longhorn car, and it just fits me really well,” Feger said. “We’ve had really good balance; we’ve got a good notebook. Pretty much everywhere we go, we unload pretty fast. We’re just making good decisions, we know what to do, and it just comes from working hard.”

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3]; 3. 5S-Steve Sheppard[7]; 4. 99-Mckay Wenger[1]; 5. 6P-Jose Parga[10]; 6. 27-Colby Sheppard[4]; 7. 6-Dakota Ewing[5]; 8. B12-Kevin Weaver[6]; 9. 98-Cole Swibold[8]; 10. 33H-Roben Huffman[18]; 11. 3-Joey Smith[16]; 12. 1-Tom Thoennes[21]; 13. 11M-Ryan Miller[22]; 14. 19-Chad Osterhoff[13]; 15. 32T-Tony Thoennes[23]; 16. 10J-Jordan Bauer[9]; 17. 32M-Cody Maguire[14]; 18. 28-Justin Durbin[24]; 19. 1ST-Justin Reed[12]; 20. 4D-Doug Tye[19]; 21. 9-Lyle Zanker[15]; 22. 130-Chase Osterhoff[20]; 23. 10-Blake Damery[11]; 24. 5B-Brandon Sweitzer[17]

UMP Modifieds – Mike McKinney

The DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature was an epic bout between two of the division’s most competitive racers – Lucas Lee and Mike McKinney.

Lee, of Paris, TN, jumped out to the early lead and was the first to dive into lapped traffic with McKinney right behind him. Inside-and-outside Lee weaved through packs of slower cars while McKinney fought to keep the gap close.

For 16 of the 20 scheduled laps, Lee held strong out front. However, McKinney found the top side to his liking late and muscled his way around the outside of Lee to take the lead on Lap 17.

“I felt like I was able to pace Lucas there on the bottom; he was kinda rolling out in the middle and I felt like whether his guys moved him down or whatever, he came down to run the bottom,” McKinney said. “Once we got to that lapped traffic, I had to do something to try and win. I moved up to the top in Turns 1-2, and it was really good up there.”

From there, McKinney ran away with the lead, pacing the field back around to the checkers to grace DIRTcar Fall Nationals Victory Lane for the second time in his career at Lincoln.

His 19th Feature win of the year was both a special and prestigious one.

“We’ve had a really good racecar; it’s been a hell of a year,” McKinney said. “That’ll lock-up second in national points, which is what we were trying to do.”

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 2. 12LL-Lucas Lee[2]; 3. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[5]; 4. J24-Jeremy Nichols[7]; 5. 777-Trevor Neville[8]; 6. 37L-Michael Ledford[4]; 7. 10K-Kelly Kovski[6]; 8. 3-Mike Brooks[1]; 9. 43-Jared Thomas[9]; 10. 35-Brandon Roberts[11]; 11. 99-Tim Luttrell[13]; 12. 14-Brian Lynn[19]; 13. 99T-Tyler Loughmiller[12]; 14. 72A-Austin Lynn[15]; 15. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[20]; 16. 121-Deece Schwartz[18]; 17. 24T-Trevor Ringle[17]; 18. 3F-Rob Fuqua[21]; 19. 21D-Danny Schwartz[10]; 20. 11B-Kyle Byerline[14]; 21. 8R-Bryce Rives[24]; 22. 14M-Caden McWhorter[16]; 23. 12L-Bryan Leach[23]; 24. 87C-Alan Crowder[22]

Pro Modifieds – Deece Schwartz

Two national championships under his belt, and now, a DIRTcar Fall Nationals trophy to go with it.

Deece Schwartz sealed his second consecutive DIRTcar Pro Modified national championship prior to the weekend and made the trip to Lincoln to celebrate and cap his 20-plus-win season. From inside the second row on the starting grid, the third-generation racer made quick work of his opponents, advancing to second and then into the lead with a pass on the outside of 2022 Fall Nationals winner, Guy Taylor.

As the field was coming around to collect the white flag, the caution flag was displayed for Brandon Bollinger stopped in Turn 2. This put Schwartz up front for not one but two green-white-checkered restarts, which he handled with ease and crossed the finish line for his first Fall Nationals trophy.

“You’ve gotta make sure you keep your head on and you’re not overdriving,” Schwartz said. “A lot of these guys, when they see it’s green-white-checkered, they over-drive and screw themselves up. I was just trying my hardest to keep a consistent race all race long.”

Now a two-time national champion, the 20-year-old from Ashmore, IL, has continued carrying on his family’s Modified racing legacy in Illinois, following in the footsteps of grandfather, Denny, and father, Danny.

“It’s great because I’ve always wanted to do something my dad and grandpa have never done,” Schwartz said. “My grandpa’s won a [UMP] Modified national championship, so it’s kinda hard to beat. But, it’s something that he hasn’t done, something that dad hasn’t been able to do. It’s something I could only dream of doing my whole career.”

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 121-Deece Schwartz[3]; 2. 4T-Guy Taylor[1]; 3. 3W-BJ Deal[4]; 4. 44-Gabe Menser[11]; 5. 2-Brayden Doyle[19]; 6. 25X-Kyle Helmick[12]; 7. 33B-Tommy Sheppard Jr[7]; 8. Z24-Zach Taylor[9]; 9. 52-Billy Knebel Jr[2]; 10. 71-Joel Ortberg[6]; 11. 62-Troy Medley[8]; 12. 29H-Cale Hartnagel[10]; 13. 87-Collin Shain[14]; 14. 73-Mark Rhoades[13]; 15. 52JR-Cole Knebel[17]; 16. 215-Jake Montgomery[15]; 17. 78-Maxx Emerson[20]; 18. 15C-Kevin Crowder[16]; 19. 10-Adam Rhoades[18]; 20. 21JR-Drew Schwartz[23]; 21. A59-Karson Evans[24]; 22. 12B-Brandon Bollinger[5]; 23. 9-Andrew Depper[22]; 24. 324-Brady Reed[21]

Stock Cars – Jeff Leka

For the second-straight year, Jeff Leka is king of the Stock Cars at Fall Nationals. The 2008 DIRTcar UMP Modified national champion once again piloted the Zaragoza Racing #67 and brought home a second Fall Nationals trophy in as many tries.

“I’ve gotta thank Rudy [Zaragoza] and Jeremy Nichols,” Leka said. “It’s Rudy’s car and they just let me drive it. It’s something I can come and do once or twice a year – that’s all I want to do, and just have a little fun.”

Leka, of Buffalo, IL, grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and held the field off for all 15 circuits – a group that included national championship contenders Jerrad Krick, who finished sixth, and Bobby Beiler, who finished second.

“They ain’t no slouches in that class; they’ve got some good cars,” Leka said. “I knew they were right there with me, that’s why I had to get to the top side and get going.”

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 67R-Jeff Leka[2]; 2. 17-Bobby Beiler[5]; 3. K67JR-Braiden Keller[3]; 4. 42-Jesse Simmons[1]; 5. 55-Zane Reitz[4]; 6. 99K-Jerrad Krick[7]; 7. 78B-Brad Peters[6]; 8. 21-Jaret Duff[11]; 9. 24-Justin Crowell[13]; 10. G51-Tyler Gilmour[8]; 11. 16JR-Carson Reed[9]; 12. 44J-Jeremy Madsen[12]; 13. 45M-Morgan McMahon[15]; 14. 96X-Kole Jackson[10]; 15. 187-Korey Bailey[14]; 16. 8-Sam Flowers[16]; 17. E21-Eric Boomer[17]

UP NEXT

The 28th DIRTcar Fall Nationals concludes Saturday, Sept. 30 at Lincoln Speedway with more Super Late Model, UMP Modified and Pro Modified action, plus the addition of the Pro Late Models to the program.

Tickets will be on sale at the gate. If you can’t be there, follow along on DIRTcar’s social media channels for updates throughout the event – Facebook @DIRTcar, X (formerly known as Twitter) @DIRTcarRacing, and Instagram @dirtcar_official.

LINCOLN, IL (Sept. 29, 2023) – DIRTcar’s brightest weekly racing stars came out for opening night of the 28th annual DIRTcar Fall Nationals and put on four great shows Friday night, featuring two past winners in Victory Lane again and two new faces to the Fall Nationals winner’s circle at Lincoln Speedway.

A total of 110 cars in four of DIRTcar’s weekly racing divisions filled the pit area surrounding the 1/4-mile bullring, racing for national and regional points in the final weekend of the 2023 regular season. In the end, Jason Feger, Mike McKinney, Deece Schwartz and Jeff Leka all emerged victorious in the year-end special event.

Late Models – Jason Feger

Crafting one of the most memorable drives to the lead seen all season from the tail of the field, Jason Feger completed an epic comeback for the win after blowing a tire on Lap 2 and restarting nearly dead-last.

Feger, the newly crowned 2023 DIRTcar Late Model national champion from Bloomington, IL, took the green from outside of the front row and looked strong, but cut a tire down the second time by, bringing out the race’s first caution flag. After a stop in the work area for a tire change, Feger brought it to the end of the line for the restart.

“It was just… a lot of patience with the field of cars we had tonight,” he said. “My main focus was just to not tear my car up; take doors when they’d open.”

From that point forward, Feger was all business. He became a passing machine, advancing all the way back into the top five by Lap 15. By the time the five-to-go signal was given, he had taken second but was still over a second-and-a-half behind leader Ryan Unzicker.

“I looked over at the scoreboard and saw it said 22, so I was just giving it everything I had,” Feger said. “I think we would have caught him. I don’t know if we would’ve passed him; it would’ve been really close. But then the yellow came out, and I was able to drive by him.”

With three laps left, the yellow was thrown again for debris in Turn 4, giving Feger the opportunity he needed. On the ensuing restart, he got a great run on the top side of Turn 2 and rocketed by Unzicker into the lead down the backstretch, sealing the pass out of Turn 4 and leading the field the rest of the way home to collect his 15th DIRTcar Feature win of the season.

“It’s the second year in a Longhorn car, and it just fits me really well,” Feger said. “We’ve had really good balance; we’ve got a good notebook. Pretty much everywhere we go, we unload pretty fast. We’re just making good decisions, we know what to do, and it just comes from working hard.”

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3]; 3. 5S-Steve Sheppard[7]; 4. 99-Mckay Wenger[1]; 5. 6P-Jose Parga[10]; 6. 27-Colby Sheppard[4]; 7. 6-Dakota Ewing[5]; 8. B12-Kevin Weaver[6]; 9. 98-Cole Swibold[8]; 10. 33H-Roben Huffman[18]; 11. 3-Joey Smith[16]; 12. 1-Tom Thoennes[21]; 13. 11M-Ryan Miller[22]; 14. 19-Chad Osterhoff[13]; 15. 32T-Tony Thoennes[23]; 16. 10J-Jordan Bauer[9]; 17. 32M-Cody Maguire[14]; 18. 28-Justin Durbin[24]; 19. 1ST-Justin Reed[12]; 20. 4D-Doug Tye[19]; 21. 9-Lyle Zanker[15]; 22. 130-Chase Osterhoff[20]; 23. 10-Blake Damery[11]; 24. 5B-Brandon Sweitzer[17]

UMP Modifieds – Mike McKinney

The DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature was an epic bout between two of the division’s most competitive racers – Lucas Lee and Mike McKinney.

Lee, of Paris, TN, jumped out to the early lead and was the first to dive into lapped traffic with McKinney right behind him. Inside-and-outside Lee weaved through packs of slower cars while McKinney fought to keep the gap close.

For 16 of the 20 scheduled laps, Lee held strong out front. However, McKinney found the top side to his liking late and muscled his way around the outside of Lee to take the lead on Lap 17.

“I felt like I was able to pace Lucas there on the bottom; he was kinda rolling out in the middle and I felt like whether his guys moved him down or whatever, he came down to run the bottom,” McKinney said. “Once we got to that lapped traffic, I had to do something to try and win. I moved up to the top in Turns 1-2, and it was really good up there.”

From there, McKinney ran away with the lead, pacing the field back around to the checkers to grace DIRTcar Fall Nationals Victory Lane for the second time in his career at Lincoln.

His 19th Feature win of the year was both a special and prestigious one.

“We’ve had a really good racecar; it’s been a hell of a year,” McKinney said. “That’ll lock-up second in national points, which is what we were trying to do.”

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 2. 12LL-Lucas Lee[2]; 3. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[5]; 4. J24-Jeremy Nichols[7]; 5. 777-Trevor Neville[8]; 6. 37L-Michael Ledford[4]; 7. 10K-Kelly Kovski[6]; 8. 3-Mike Brooks[1]; 9. 43-Jared Thomas[9]; 10. 35-Brandon Roberts[11]; 11. 99-Tim Luttrell[13]; 12. 14-Brian Lynn[19]; 13. 99T-Tyler Loughmiller[12]; 14. 72A-Austin Lynn[15]; 15. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[20]; 16. 121-Deece Schwartz[18]; 17. 24T-Trevor Ringle[17]; 18. 3F-Rob Fuqua[21]; 19. 21D-Danny Schwartz[10]; 20. 11B-Kyle Byerline[14]; 21. 8R-Bryce Rives[24]; 22. 14M-Caden McWhorter[16]; 23. 12L-Bryan Leach[23]; 24. 87C-Alan Crowder[22]

Pro Modifieds – Deece Schwartz

Two national championships under his belt, and now, a DIRTcar Fall Nationals trophy to go with it.

Deece Schwartz sealed his second consecutive DIRTcar Pro Modified national championship prior to the weekend and made the trip to Lincoln to celebrate and cap his 20-plus-win season. From inside the second row on the starting grid, the third-generation racer made quick work of his opponents, advancing to second and then into the lead with a pass on the outside of 2022 Fall Nationals winner, Guy Taylor.

As the field was coming around to collect the white flag, the caution flag was displayed for Brandon Bollinger stopped in Turn 2. This put Schwartz up front for not one but two green-white-checkered restarts, which he handled with ease and crossed the finish line for his first Fall Nationals trophy.

“You’ve gotta make sure you keep your head on and you’re not overdriving,” Schwartz said. “A lot of these guys, when they see it’s green-white-checkered, they over-drive and screw themselves up. I was just trying my hardest to keep a consistent race all race long.”

Now a two-time national champion, the 20-year-old from Ashmore, IL, has continued carrying on his family’s Modified racing legacy in Illinois, following in the footsteps of grandfather, Denny, and father, Danny.

“It’s great because I’ve always wanted to do something my dad and grandpa have never done,” Schwartz said. “My grandpa’s won a [UMP] Modified national championship, so it’s kinda hard to beat. But, it’s something that he hasn’t done, something that dad hasn’t been able to do. It’s something I could only dream of doing my whole career.”

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 121-Deece Schwartz[3]; 2. 4T-Guy Taylor[1]; 3. 3W-BJ Deal[4]; 4. 44-Gabe Menser[11]; 5. 2-Brayden Doyle[19]; 6. 25X-Kyle Helmick[12]; 7. 33B-Tommy Sheppard Jr[7]; 8. Z24-Zach Taylor[9]; 9. 52-Billy Knebel Jr[2]; 10. 71-Joel Ortberg[6]; 11. 62-Troy Medley[8]; 12. 29H-Cale Hartnagel[10]; 13. 87-Collin Shain[14]; 14. 73-Mark Rhoades[13]; 15. 52JR-Cole Knebel[17]; 16. 215-Jake Montgomery[15]; 17. 78-Maxx Emerson[20]; 18. 15C-Kevin Crowder[16]; 19. 10-Adam Rhoades[18]; 20. 21JR-Drew Schwartz[23]; 21. A59-Karson Evans[24]; 22. 12B-Brandon Bollinger[5]; 23. 9-Andrew Depper[22]; 24. 324-Brady Reed[21]

Stock Cars – Jeff Leka

For the second-straight year, Jeff Leka is king of the Stock Cars at Fall Nationals. The 2008 DIRTcar UMP Modified national champion once again piloted the Zaragoza Racing #67 and brought home a second Fall Nationals trophy in as many tries.

“I’ve gotta thank Rudy [Zaragoza] and Jeremy Nichols,” Leka said. “It’s Rudy’s car and they just let me drive it. It’s something I can come and do once or twice a year – that’s all I want to do, and just have a little fun.”

Leka, of Buffalo, IL, grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and held the field off for all 15 circuits – a group that included national championship contenders Jerrad Krick, who finished sixth, and Bobby Beiler, who finished second.

“They ain’t no slouches in that class; they’ve got some good cars,” Leka said. “I knew they were right there with me, that’s why I had to get to the top side and get going.”

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 67R-Jeff Leka[2]; 2. 17-Bobby Beiler[5]; 3. K67JR-Braiden Keller[3]; 4. 42-Jesse Simmons[1]; 5. 55-Zane Reitz[4]; 6. 99K-Jerrad Krick[7]; 7. 78B-Brad Peters[6]; 8. 21-Jaret Duff[11]; 9. 24-Justin Crowell[13]; 10. G51-Tyler Gilmour[8]; 11. 16JR-Carson Reed[9]; 12. 44J-Jeremy Madsen[12]; 13. 45M-Morgan McMahon[15]; 14. 96X-Kole Jackson[10]; 15. 187-Korey Bailey[14]; 16. 8-Sam Flowers[16]; 17. E21-Eric Boomer[17]

UP NEXT

The 28th DIRTcar Fall Nationals concludes Saturday, Sept. 30 at Lincoln Speedway with more Super Late Model, UMP Modified and Pro Modified action, plus the addition of the Pro Late Models to the program.

Tickets will be on sale at the gate. If you can’t be there, follow along on DIRTcar’s social media channels for updates throughout the event – Facebook @DIRTcar, X (formerly known as Twitter) @DIRTcarRacing, and Instagram @dirtcar_official.

CONNEAUT, OH (September 29, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. led wire-to-wire in Friday night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series “Great Lakes 50” at Raceway 7. Thornton earned $12,000 for his 22nd series win of the season. Devin Moran finished in second followed by Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, and Daulton Wilson. Thornton rolled from his outside front starting spot to take the lead at the drop of the green. After a multi-car accident before a lap was complete resulted in a complete restart, Thornton again would take the lead. Garrett Alberson gave chase in the second spot for the first 17 laps of the race until Hudson O’Neal was able to get by him the on the 18th circuit. As O’Neal ran in the runner-up position, he was several car lengths back of Thornton, when Logan Roberson, who was running eighth slowed on lap 38 drawing a caution flag. O’Neal would bring out the last caution of the race with a left rear flat tire while running in third. Moran had just passed O’Neal for second when misfortune struck as he pitted for a new tire. O’Neal would then come back through the field to finish in seventh in the final rundown. Moran could not stay with Thornton in the last 12 laps as Thornton dominated the rest of the way pulling out to a 4.196 seconds advantage at the checkers. It was Thornton’s second ever appearance at the Northeast Ohio venue, scoring his 27th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win. “It’s pretty cool to come up here in the stands and see everybody. On that one restart I was more worried about Hud [O’Neal]. I saw him back there on the board. My crew guys were letting me know he was closing in before that yellow came out. It stinks that he got that flat, it ruined his night. Overall, it was a good night for us. I felt like we qualified as good as we were going to. For us to be able to win the heat and start on the front row of the feature, it shows how good my guys work, we had a good car all night,” said the Martinsville, Indiana resident who just celebrated his 33rd birthday on Thursday. “The car was real good through traffic; I think we got stuck once behind somebody. I felt like I was really good. These long straightaways here are so different, by the time you get to the corner you really have to slow down more down the straightaway than the corner, so I had to figure that out a little bit. The racetrack was really good. I have only been here once before and that was a few years ago. I finished like sixth or seventh so to come out and win it tonight is pretty awesome. We look forward to tomorrow at Pittsburgh.” Moran, with his second-place finish closes to within 15 points of Brandon Overton for the fourth position in the championship standings heading into the Pittsburgher Saturday night. “The pressure is on I love it. I didn’t know how I was going to run tonight. I have been here a couple of times and not done so good. I have never really been that good here. Obviously, I wasn’t that good compared to Ricky tonight, but we just squeezed out that second, so we have given ourselves a shot to get in the final four.” Davenport rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third as he maintains third place in the championship standings. “It wasn’t too bad tonight. It was a lot better than we have been running here lately. You know we have just been off a little bit this year. We have been working and getting a little better. We still aren’t as good as the 20RT car yet. We just kind of picked our way up through there tonight. We didn’t get a good start there in the heat race and it put us behind. We just capitalized on people’s mistakes when they would make one tonight to come out of here with a top three is good.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Dyno One Inc., West Side Tractor Sales Company, D&E Outside Services, Certified Inspection Services, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Midwest Sheet Metal, Excel Floor Covering and Murty Farms. Completing the top ten were Garrett Alberson, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Spencer Hughes, and Boom Briggs. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Great Lakes 50Friday, September 29, 2023Raceway 7 – Monroe Center, OH Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time: Hudson O’Neal | 16.955 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 2. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[2]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 7. 99*-Logan Jaquay[7]; 8. 9S-Kevin Santee[8] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 89-Logan Roberson[4]; 4. 111L-Matthew Lux[3]; 5. B22-Bump Hedman[6]; 6. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 7. 76-Brandon Overton[8]; 8. 19-Bob Dorman[7] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 5. 111B-Max Blair[5]; 6. 22B-Darrell Bossard[6]; 7. 9-Breyton Santee[7]; 8. (DNS) 24-Dylan Yoder Great Lakes 50 Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 24Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Garrett AlbersonLap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-50)Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 4.196 secondsGorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Hudson O’Neal, Logan Roberson, Daulton Wilson (Initial Lap); Drake Troutman (Lap 3); Logan Roberson (Lap 38); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 39) Fast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, Daulton WilsonTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Max Blair (Advanced 7 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’NealDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (50 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 1 – 17.760 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Hudson O’NealOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (16.820 seconds)Time of Race: 30 minutes 35 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

Bobby Pierce finishes fourth, increasing his points lead to 142 over Chris Madden

CHILLICOTHE, OH – September 30, 2023 – A driver rarely wants to see yellow flags when he’s leading a race. But it’s precisely what Mike Marlar hoped for on Friday at Atomic Speedway.

The Winfield, TN driver aced four restarts in the final 20 laps, staying out of lap traffic to earn his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models Feature win of 2023.

Germfree Rookie of the Year leader Nick Hoffman jumped to the early lead, fending off challenges from the Marlar, the 2018 Series champion. However, that only lasted eight laps as Marlar got a burst of speed in Turn 2, pulling even with Hoffman. Then, Marlar saw his opportunity, sliding in front of the Mooresville, NC driver to grab the lead. 

As Marlar pulled away and reached lap traffic, Hoffman and Bobby Pierce were in a battle behind them for second. But as the two tried to get the upper hand in traffic, Jimmy Owens took advantage, sneaking them to take over second.

The Newport, TN driver quickly closed on the back of the #157, trying to take the position away on the inside. But just as Owens had his best shot, a yellow flag came out for Brandon Sheppard’s right rear flat tire, giving Marlar a clean track.

On the restart, Marlar pulled away as Owens held off Hoffman before three cautions in the next five laps kept the top three in their positions.

From there, one more caution for debris on Lap 38 kept traffic out of Marlar’s way, allowing him to earn the $10,000 victory on night one of the Outlaw Invasion.

“I didn’t mind seeing those [yellow flags] whatsoever,” Marlar said. “They were two and three wide. A lot of the Ohio-type racetracks have a little dust that comes off the back of the cars, so they were dirtying it up, so I couldn’t do any better than they could. They were three-wide in front of me and two-wide. I didn’t mind seeing those cautions for sure.”

The win is Marlar’s third World of Outlaws CASE Late Models win of the season, and 16th of his career. It’s also his third win on a 3/8-mile track in 2023—one where he needed to find a way past Hoffman to earn the victory.

But it’s a win that didn’t come easy, as he said passing Hoffman was a challenge.

“[Hoffman’s] hard to pass because he’s fast,” Marlar said. “He slid me down there in Turn 1 and got the lead, and he just had me where I needed to be for the lead. And then, a little while later, I caught him and was looking under him for a few laps until I really got a good run off of two and just had a ton of momentum down the backstretch. Then, I was just able to slide in there and get the lead. It was definitely a good race with him for sure.”

Fellow Tennessee driver Jimmy Owens finished second after starting eighth. “The O-Show,” who earned his first World of Outlaws top five of the season, said he was happy with how the car ran on the bottom.

“Everybody was a little all over the track,” Owens said. “The track was good tonight. When I jumped to the bottom, the car had a really good dig down there with that moisture. But then, as it dried out, I felt like we still had a pretty good car, too. 

“We’ll make some fine tunes on it tomorrow, and maybe we’ll be a whole lot better.”

Hoffman settled for third—his third podium of the season coming at a track he says fits his style.

“The racetrack was in great condition,” Hoffman said. “I was able to move all over it. I mean, [Owens] started eighth and ran second, so that says a lot right there. Our race car was pretty good. I felt like watching Marlar go around there; his car was a lot tighter than mine was. And I felt like my only downfall was that I was probably a tick too loose.”

While those three drivers stayed in podium positions for most of the race, that wasn’t the case for the drivers behind them. Tanner English and Cade Dillard waged war for fourth in the final few laps before the two made contact in Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 39, costing both a top-five run. 

On the next lap, they had more contact in Turn 2, dropping English to 10th and Dillard to 16th.

As a result of that contact, Pierce and Brent Larson found themselves in the top five, with Pierce getting the upper hand. The Oakwood, IL driver’s 22nd top five of the season moved him one step closer to the championship, extending his points lead to 142 over Chris Madden, who finished sixth.

Larson earned his first top-five of the season, giving him back-to-back World of Outlaws top 10s at the track.

“I was kind of in the right place at the right time,” Larson said. “There were things going on out there in front of me, and I just kind of picked a lane and stuck to it. And that’s where I got most of my spots after the last caution.”

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Atomic Speedway for night two of the Outlaw Invasion. Drivers will battle in a 50-lap Feature paying $15,000-to-win. For Tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Feature (40 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 5. B1-Brent Larson[9]; 6. 44-Chris Madden[21]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[11]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[19]; 9. 10-Garrett Smith[17]; 10. 96V-Tanner English[10]; 11. 25-Shane Clanton[15]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker[16]; 13. 71R-Rod Conley[25]; 14. B5-Brandon Sheppard[12]; 15. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 16. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 17. 30-Todd Cooney[23]; 18. 68-Adam Stricker[13]; 19. 55-Jesse Wisecarver[18]; 20. 00-Justin Cooper[22]; 21. S21-Seth Daniels[20]; 22. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 23. 21-Kirk Phillips[14]; 24. C4-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 25. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Chris Madden [+15]

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 29, 2023) – John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS team landed in the provisional No. 3 spot Friday night at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. Robert Hight in the AAA / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS sit No. 13 with Austin Prock in the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster No. 14 and Brittany Force in the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster is No. 16 with two qualifying attempts left. John Force and the PEAK team came out of the box with a solid first pass at World Wide Technology Raceway. Force handled his Chevy Camaro to a 3.914-second run at 325.06 mph but ended the run with an engine fire at the top end.  to land him in the No. 3 spot for the night. “We’re two races into the Countdown so if we’re going to make that move we got to make that move now, you know what I’m saying? Crew chiefs Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi made a good run out there because they knew we needed to qualify and they knew tomorrow was going to be hot. We wanted into the top half and that time should stay based on the weather tomorrow,” Force said. “It was fast, it got a little fire at the other end. Nothing serious, just a spark plug. In the dark, it looks more serious than it really is. It was a good night for this PEAK Chevy team. We’re ok to get ready for tomorrow and race day.” Coming from a runner-up finish, Hight and the AAA Chevy drove into tire shake early in their Friday night run. Hight would coast to a 5.445-second pass at 131.48 mph to end up No. 13. Austin Prock and the Montana Brand team, like many of the dragsters in the left lane, ran into tire smoke and had to shut off early for only 5.936 seconds and 110.86 mph putting them No. 14. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team, also in the left lane, didn’t make it down World Wide Technology Raceway running into tire smoke to coast to a 6.651-second run at 88.33 mph. They’ll start day two from the No. 16 spot. The NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway continues with qualifying sessions Saturday at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will continue on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 28, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:14th; 5.936-seconds; 110.86 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 37, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:16th; 6.651-seconds; 88.33 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.914-seconds; 325.06 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest Q1) ROBERT HIGHT, 54, Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:13th; 5.445-seconds; 131.48 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

Chevrolet pledges to donate $350 per caution lap paced by pink Camaro ZL1 at three NASCAR Cup Series races

DETROIT – Chevrolet will continue its fight against breast cancer with the return of the specially-themed pink ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ Camaro ZL1 as the official pace car for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.  Featuring the American Cancer Society logo, the pink Camaro ZL1 pace car will raise both money and awareness as it serves as the pace car at each of the three events during the month of October. For every caution lap the pink Camaro ZL1 completes, Chevrolet will make a donation of $350 (up to $50,000) to the American Cancer Society to honor the ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative. Chevrolet will also host a group of breast cancer survivors at each race with the experience including special appearances by Team Chevy NASCAR Cup Series drivers, rides in the pink Camaro ZL1 pace car and more. This marks the 13th consecutive year Chevrolet has partnered with the American Cancer Society and its ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative. In 2022, 108 caution laps were completed among the three participating races, generating a $37,800 donation to the American Cancer Society. “Chevrolet is proud to continue our commitment to the American Cancer Society’s ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative,” said Alyssa Haba, Motorsports Strategic Planning and Operations Manager for Chevrolet. “It is always an honor to carry the ACS logo on our pink Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pace car during the month of October and we look forward to the opportunity to bring awareness for this important cause to the track again this year.” NASCAR will support Chevrolet’s continued efforts in the fight against breast cancer by partnering with the manufacturer to add an additional market to the program for this year’s campaign. Together, NASCAR and Chevrolet will host the third event at one of its original tracks, Martinsville Speedway, as the sanctioning body celebrates its 75th anniversary.  “We applaud our great partners at Chevrolet for all the tremendous work they do to bring significant visibility to breast cancer awareness and the American Cancer Society,” said Michelle Byron, NASCAR senior vice president of partnership marketing. “NASCAR is honored to provide a platform for this initiative and play a role in the fight against a disease that directly impacts so many people across the globe.” The pink Camaro ZL1 will make its first on-track appearance of the season this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, serving as the pace car for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500.

Racing begins Friday; gates open at 4pm, Hot Laps at 6pm

LINCOLN, IL (Sept. 28, 2023) – A warm Thursday evening at Lincoln Speedway provided a strong playground for 40 of DIRTcar’s most dedicated weekly racers looking for a tune-up session before the final points weekend of the year in the 28th annual DIRTcar Fall Nationals.

After several rounds of Hot Laps, Super Late Model racer McKay Wenger, of Fairbury, IL, topped the charts with a best lap of 12.639 around the 1/4-mile oval. The 2020 Fairbury Speedway track champion – a regular pilot of his self-owned, neon-yellow #42 Rocket Chassis – was instead behind the wheel of a #99 Longhorn Chassis for Moline, IL-based Curless Motorsports.

A regular racer of Rocket Chassis, Wenger said he was looking to give a Longhorn a try. He had positive things to say, and his chart-topping results backed it up.

“The main thing is getting comfortable,” Wenger said. “It’s a completely different deal. I’ve been in my own car for 30 races or so this year, so to hop in something completely different takes me a little bit to get used to. It’s definitely a completely different feel.”

Wenger has long been a keeper of his own equipment, but said he encountered the opportunity to come and drive for team owner Doug Curless through mutual connections in the industry and couldn’t pass it up. He and the team spent several hours in the shop earlier this week preparing for their first Fall Nationals together, and they’re ready to chase a trophy.

“It came together last-minute, but these guys have been super helpful,” Wenger said. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for me to run with these guys and the equipment they have. I’m very thankful right now.”

Defending DIRTcar Pro Late Model national champion Jose Parga, of New Berlin, IL, will celebrate his fourth career national championship in his final points race of the year Saturday night. After several laps in practice, he topped his division’s rankings with a best lap of 13.598.

A winner of 19 Features in the 21 races he entered this year, Parga said he’s looking forward to wrapping his epic season up at Lincoln – a track local to him.

“This place is 40 minutes from home, and I’ve got a bunch of family and friends that get to come out and enjoy the whole weekend,” Parga said. “It’s cool to do it at home for, per se, the last race of the year. We don’t get to race here much, so to end the year here – hopefully with a win – you can’t ask for anything more.”

Last year, Parga claimed his first Fall Nationals trophy in the Pro Late Model main event Friday night before watching noted rival Aaron Heck celebrate in Victory Lane on Saturday. This time around, he’s looking to come out on top as the two meet again to compete for year-end bragging rights.

“A lot of people have me and Aaron a little mixed-up – our relationship’s real good,” Parga said. “We race hard and that’s all it is, really. End of the day, we’ll have a beer together.

“I look forward to when he comes. If you can beat Aaron Heck or even Devon… Devon McClean is starting to make a name for himself. If you can beat Aaron, you know you did something right.”

In the midst of a strong fight for the DIRTcar Stock Car national championship, Bobby Beiler partook in the practice sessions Thursday night, looking for any bit of speed to gain before he takes on back-to-back nights of racing in pursuit of his first career national title.

Beiler, of Blue Mound, IL, is competing for national points this year for the first time in his career and remains 15 points behind Jerrad Krick with only two races left. He’ll take on Lincoln Friday night before heading to Charleston Speedway Saturday night, and knows he has to win to have a shot at the title.

“We’re gonna give it all we got tomorrow night and hopefully pick one off, then take that momentum and run to Charleston,” Beiler said. “Hopefully, [we’ll have] a good weekend and see where we end up. Can’t hang our head on the season we’ve had, no doubt.”

Krick is a member of one of the toughest DIRTcar Stock Car teams in the nation, driving for Indiana team owner Mike Alsop. Beiler has been able to keep pace with Krick this year, however, matching his win total of 12, and knows it may take a win or two more to snatch the points lead and the title away over Friday and Saturday.

“They’re the toughest team out there in the [Stock Car] division, no doubt,” Beiler said. “We’ve won 12 Features at seven or eight different tracks this year.

The 28th annual DIRTcar Fall Nationals begins racing competition Friday, Sept. 29, with the first night of action for the Super Late Models, UMP Modifieds, Stock Cars and Pro Modifieds. Tickets will be available at the front gate.

If you can’t make it to the track, follow along on DIRTcar’s social media channels, (X aka Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) for updates throughout the program.

CONCORD, NC (Sept. 28, 2023) – Every division in racing has its “Super Bowl.” But for weekly and regional racers – most with day jobs – the World Short Track Championship is a unique opportunity to be on the biggest stage of their racing career.

More than 200 drivers from around the country will gather at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Oct. 26-28, to compete in one of 10 divisions throughout the three-day event.

Along with racing at one of the most prominent tracks in the country, some divisions will see drivers competing against the superstars of the sport, as well. Former NASCAR star and World Short Track winner David Stremme is already entered to compete in the DIRTcar UMP Modified division.

The DIRTcar Sportsman division will also see the return of World Series Formula V8 driver Nelson Mason.

RELATED: Full entry list on My Race Pass

Same as last year, Thursday night’s action will be highlighted by Championship Features – featuring 2023 track champions – for the DIRTcar Pro (604) Late Models, UMP Modifieds, DIRTcar Sportsman and DIRTcar Pro Stocks. Friday will be comprised of Heat Races, Last Chance Showdown and the first round of Hornet Features. Then, Saturday will host the remaining Last Chance Showdowns and Feature for all 10 divisions. For the full schedule, click here.

DIVISIONS:
FOX Factory Mid-East Pro (604) Late Models
Chevrolet Performance Mid-East 602 Late Models
Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
Hoosier Racing Tire Mid-East Pro Modifieds
VP Racing DIRTcar Sportsman
MSD DIRTcar Pro Stocks
COMP Cams (MMSA) Mini Stocks
DIRTVision DIRTcar Hornets
SRI Performance Monster Thunder Bombers
Mid-East Street Stocks

REGISTER: CLICK HERE 
Pre-registration is open for all divisions through Wednesday, Oct. 25. Every driver who pre-registers, regardless of division, will receive one additional entry into the drawing for a brand-new Chevy Performance 604 Crate engine at Saturday’s (Oct. 28) drivers meeting.

TICKETS: CLICK HERE

2022 WINNERS:
Thursday, Oct. 27
Pro (604) Late Model Championship Feature: Stephen Pedulla
DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature: Ethan Dotson
DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Feature: David Rogers
DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship Feature: Pete Stefanski

Friday, Oct. 28
Hornets Feature #1: Zack Slone
Hornets Feature #2: Newman Presnell
Hornets Feature #3: John Windham

Saturday, Oct. 29
Pro (604) Late Model Feature: Trent Ivey
602 Late Model Feature: Gavin Cowan
DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature: Taylor Cook
DIRTcar Sportsman Feature: Kevin Ridley
DIRTcar Pro Stock Feature: Josh Coonradt
Pro Modified Feature: Ty Norder
Street Stocks: Devon Morgan
Monster Mini-Stocks: Matt Gilbert
Thunder Bombers: Rod Tucker
Hornets Feature #1: John Windham
Hornets Feature #2: Newman Presnell
Hornets Feature #3: Dan Benson

HOW TO WATCH: If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap of the World Short Track Championship live on DIRTVision with a monthly or annual subscription.

The Jason Johnson Racing car chief aims to end 2023 with a title before launching carbon fiber business MECHANICSBURG, PA (Septeber 28, 2023) – Next year will look much different for Clyde Knipp. After seven years traveling the country in Sprint Car racing, the 25-year-old is stepping off the road.The last decade of his life has been spent crossing state lines in pursuit of racing; Competing on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car tour as a teenager; Filling a role on the Buch Motorsports crew in 2019; And then back to The Greatest Show on Dirt for the past four years as a Jason Johnson Racing team member.But next year, the travel will slow for Knipp. Last July, he and his girlfriend – Taylor – welcomed their daughter Briella to the family. At the time, Knipp knew he’d need to settle into a more at home lifestyle in the future. So, he began to lay the foundations to pursue another passion within the sport – manufacturing carbon fiber parts.“I found out about the process of carbon fiber back in 2019 whenever I was living in Pennsylvania,” Knipp recalled. “I just didn’t know how I would go about it. There’s a guy there that took me under his wing. His name is Bill Smith. He owns 717 Innovations. I just kept hounding him. I’d say ‘Hey, can you teach me how to do this? Can you teach me how to do this?’ because he’s really good at it. “I kind of gave up on the idea whenever I got the job at JJR,” Knipp continued. “But in the back of my mind, I knew if I was to go into the manufacturing side that I wanted it to be composites. So, with my girlfriend and I having a baby last year, it forced me to sort of take another approach on what my future was going to consist of. I knew I wanted to stay in Sprint Car racing, but I knew that the traveling life was going to come to a close because I needed to be there as a father and a boyfriend. That’s when I started thinking about my exit as a crew member. I got ahold of Bill, and I said, ‘Hey, can you teach me how to do this stuff because this is something I’d like to go into business for myself?’ He started training me last year.”Knipp’s new business will be located near where he lives in Missouri, meaning he’ll be able to be home more often. Since Smith began training him, Knipp has also been putting more pieces in place to make for a smooth transition.“I have a business partner involved. His name is Doug Hetrick, and he’s the co-owner and founder of C&D Rigging,” Knipp said. “Him and I started Prime Composite Innovations. With the help of Bill Smith getting me started and Doug, we’re going to be in full production come November 10. So, a week after the World Finals will be our first day in production. I’ve been getting our building ready and getting material ordered and training off and on when I can.”And while the new endeavor will allow him to stay within the sport and be home throughout the year, the transition will be bittersweet. Racing on the road is the only life Knipp has known throughout his adult life.“The thing that I’ll miss the most is the racing,” Knipp said. “Watching the World of Outlaws night in and night out, you can’t put a dollar amount on that. I’m extremely blessed to do what I do and to do it as long as I have. I know I’m still young at 25 years old, but I’ve been in 45 different states racing these things and Canada. It’s just provided a really cool life.”Knipp has also built a strong bond with his JJR crew – Carson Macedo, Philip Dietz, and Nate Repetz – and the team will miss the effort and charisma he brings.“Over the course of the last three years, Clyde has become one of my best buddies,” Macedo said. “He’s a really good dude who obviously brings light to everybody’s life. He’s always lively and just a great person to be around, fun guy, always funny, always looking to lift the mood, and just an extremely hard worker… I know he’ll do a great job. Clyde’s got an incredible work ethic. He’s driven. I think he’ll be success and knock it out of the park.“I’m happy for him, but it is bittersweet. I feel like I’m losing not only a crew guy but my buddy full-time. But at the same time, I’m very happy for him. I’m happy to see him move on and pursue something that’s a dream of his.”But before Knipp goes anywhere, he and his team have the unified goal of a championship on their minds. Macedo sits third in points with 11 races to go. David Gravel sits 18 markers ahead in second while Brad Sweet is still within striking distance – 98 points in front of Macedo.What better way to leave the World of Outlaws tour than going out on top?“To win the championship and go out on top would be the icing on the cake,” Knipp said. “That would be tremendous. And ultimately that’s why I wanted to do another year on the road with these guys. I knew the potential of being a championship team was there. I know if we show up night in and night out then the rest will take care of itself.”Knipp and the rest of the Jason Johnson Racing team continue their championship pursuit at this weekend’s Champion Racing Oil National Open at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA (Sept. 29-30). For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

BATAVIA, Ohio (September 28, 2023) – This Saturday’s 35th Annual Pittsburgher will serve as the final bonus round in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP. The top four drivers in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – Presented by ARP following Saturday’s A-Main at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway will make up the Big River Steel Big Four – each earning a cash bonus. Ricky Thornton Jr. and Hudson O’Neal have secured their spots in the Big River Steel Big Four. Jonathan Davenport is currently third – while a tight battle ensues for the fourth and final spot in the Chase for the Championship. Brandon Overton, Devin Moran, and Tim McCreadie are separated by a mere 80 points in the current championship standings. The Big River Steel Big Four locks in the top four drivers that will battle for the title of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion at Eldora Speedway on October 21. The series champion will receive $200,000, with the top four drivers in the final series point standings earning a minimum of $100,000. Big River Steel Big Four Bonus Payout: 1. $10,000, 2. $2,000, 3. $2,000, 4. $2,000 = Total $16,000 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Point Fund: 1. $200,000, 2. $150,000, 3. $125,000, 4. $100,000, 5. $75,000, 6. $60,000, 7. $50,000, 8. $45,000, 9. $40,000, 10. $35,000, 11. $30,000, 12. $25,000, 13. $20,000, 14. $15,000 Chase Bonuses: $66,000Point Fund: $970,000Total: $1,036,000 For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com.

DEX Imaging Team Looking Forward To Talladega 

February 28, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are headed to Talladega Speedway, one of their best tracks and one of the best for Ford Motor Company.

At Talladega in April, Burton led 11 laps, and he led 14 this season at Talladega’s sister track, Daytona International Speedway. Ford has long been strong at Talladega, with 10 wins in the past 16 races, and nine in the fall race since NASCAR adopted the Playoff format. And the Wood Brothers have five wins on the giant, 2.66-mile track.

Crew chief Jeremy Bullins said he’s optimistic as he and the DEX Imaging crew prepare for Sunday’s YellaWood500.

“I’m really looking forward to taking our Wood Brothers Ford Mustang to Talladega, a track where all the Fords have been competitive over the years,” Bullins said. “Roush Yates Engines puts a lot of work into continued improvements and finding more power.”

But Bullins knows that despite all the preparation that goes into a Talladega or Daytona weekend and the strategy decisions made once the green flag flies, a key factor is avoiding the “Big One” multi-car crashes that often occur in the tight racing at those tracks.

“We all go into the speedway races knowing there could be some big wrecks and things beyond our control,” he said. “But we will focus on the things we can control and try to be there at the end.

“Anyone can win this week, and we will try to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Per NASCAR policy, there will be no practice at Talladega. Qualifying is set for 3:30 p.m. Central Time (4:30 Eastern) on Saturday.

Sunday’s 188-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Eastern Time) with Stage breaks planned for Laps 60 and 120.

NBC will carry the broadcast of the race, while USA Network will cover qualifying.