Despite worries from racers and promoters, the great tire shortage of 2022 has yet to slow down Dirt Late Model racing anymore than a cautionary speedbump in the parking lot of an abandoned shopping mall. There have been some minor blips, but there’s been no widespread cancellation of events.

Two years ago I went 55 races. Last season I did 49. Right now I’m on track to get to 75 events this season. That’s a 50 percent increase, which is pretty big. That’s doesn’t seem like a slow down MORE

Social media is such a huge part of everything we do. It’s unfortunately so ingrained in our lives in a way that I doubt there will ever be a reversal. We may move on from what we now know, but I don’t think we’ll move backwards.

Could you imagine banishing the radio in the late 1940s, right in the middle of the medium’s Golden Age? What if they decided to take the television away when Gunsmoke and Leave It to Beaver were at their peaks? There’d be anarchy. It’s pretty much the same MORE

Usually each time my brother Jim Gray and I leave the track after racing, I have some sort of reaction to the night’s events. On the ride home, sometimes talk about things we could have done better that may have given us another position on the track. Occasionally we’ll discuss other drivers and cars, whether good or bad, fast or slow.

We may talk about a missed opportunity or about catching a bad break, like getting caught in the wrong grove for a double-file restart. There are the obvious MORE

A few weeks ago in a Fast Talk segment on DirtonDirt.com, each member of the editorial staff suggested a walk-up song for a specific driver. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the stick and ball sports, a walk-up song is the music played over the PA system when a batter is making his way from the on-deck circle to home plate for his at-bat. Most walk-up songs are chosen by the batter. That’s one reason you hear such horrible music at high school games. Most young kids today, my son included, MORE

For the record, I love racing. I love going to the track and competing. I love going to the track and just hanging out in the pit area. I even enjoy the drive to the track when we are pulling a car, whether it be a half hour or several hours. It’s all part of the experience for me.

I’ve admitted before that I’m a Late Model snob. I enjoy Late Models and not much else, probably because that’s what my stepdad drove, so that’s all I knew growing up. I will rarely take the time now to stop MORE