MARYVILLE, Tenn. (June 20) — Dale McDowell told DirtonDirt's Kevin Kovac last week that cataract surgery had given him newfound clarity behind the wheel at 60 years old. As it turned out Saturday at Smoky Mountain Speedway, the Chickamauga, Ga., veteran put that restored vision to full use.
Navigating two rounds of lapped traffic, avoiding a spinning lapped car in the closing laps and fending off Brandon Sheppard early before holding off Devin Moran late, the seemingly ageless McDowell returned to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory lane at the Maryville, Tenn., oval for the first time since 2016.
"I didn't know where he was going, so thank goodness I got my doggone cataract surgery," McDowell said with a laugh, recalling the spinning lapped car of Cory Lawler that nearly collected the leaders with 20 laps remaining. "But I didn't know exactly if he was going to spin down or up. So when he got in the fuel and started up, I kinda squeezed out and held my breath. It all worked out. The stars just lined up for us tonight. So it's awful fun when that happens."
The circumstances indeed aligned in McDowell's favor, but he made sure to capitalize. He actually lost the lead to Sheppard on the initial start after failing to get the drive he needed around the outside from the front row. But an opening-lap pileup involving five cars wiped the start away, giving McDowell another chance. On the restart, he made it count, powering around Sheppard entering turn one and leading the rest of the way.
"Yeah, things fell our way," a grateful McDowell said. "First off, thanks to the good Lord above for giving us a safe race. Shoot, he's given me health and family, and everybody."
Once McDowell established control, he was at his best. From the race's second start until the caution on lap 40, he kept his nose clean through a lengthy green-flag run while steadily building his advantage. By lap 29, he had stretched his lead over Sheppard to 2.5 seconds. Even with slower traffic filling the racetrack, McDowell never found himself in too much trouble.
"I picked my way through 'em, and was just fortunate," McDowell said. "You never know when they're gonna change lanes, and they were racing each other. So I was just hoping and praying. And when I got there, the car was just good enough. (Brother) Shane had made it balanced. He made a few changes from last night and had it balanced really good. I was able to kind of enter up and come back across. Credit to him. I had to guide it without hitting too much stuff."
While McDowell enjoyed a comfortable cushion for much of the first 40 laps, the final third of the race tested him. The caution for Lawler's spin on lap 40 erased his sizable advantage, and another yellow moments later for the slowing Ricky Thornton Jr., whose engine expired while running sixth, bunched the field up again. That allowed Moran to slip past Sheppard for second and take one final shot at the leader.
McDowell got the launch he needed on the ensuing restart, stretching his advantage to roughly 1.5 seconds with 10 laps remaining. But one lap later, he caught the tail end of lapped traffic, allowing Moran to quickly erase the deficit.
Moran sliced the margin to a second with seven laps to go, then closed to within a couple of car lengths one lap later as McDowell worked through slower cars. Surely, Moran thought, he had McDowell right where he wanted. Until he supposedly pushed his Double Down Motorsports machine just a little too hard. McDowell then put three lapped cars between Moran over the final five laps, effectively sealing the victory.
“Dale McDowell is Dale McDowell for a reason, man. I’m ready for that old man retire,” Moran said jokingly. “We could’ve gotten ourselves one. Yeah, he got to that lapped traffic and got slowed up. I felt like I got a really good run. I was going really, really hard. I think I just overheated my right-rear tire there once I got to him.
“Slid him once and that killed me. All in all, started seventh and coming second — wanted to keep the money for (car owner and Smoky Mountain owner) Roger (Sellers) at the house, but we’ll take a second.”
The victory carried extra significance for McDowell, whose 7-year-old Team Zero Race Car — prepared by brother Shane — continues to hold its own against newer equipment. Just as importantly, the chassis still bears the imprint of its late creator, Scott Bloomquist.
"We still got that Scott guy hanging out at the racetrack. That's pretty awesome, too," McDowell said, drawing an ovation from the Smoky Mountain crowd as he remembered the late Mooresburg, Tenn., legend. "Yeah, y'all give him a hand. He put a lot of work in this thing, so that's pretty cool.”
McDowell also made sure to acknowledge it’s Father’s Day weekend.
"Grandfather's Day for me," McDowell said with a laugh. "But Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Couldn't be a better weekend to get this done."
Sheppard, meanwhile, came up short in his bid for a weekend sweep after winning Friday's 40-lap, $10,000-to-win opener. He knew the race was decided on the second start, when McDowell surged around the outside entering turn one after the opening-lap caution erased the initial start.
"The first initial start there is what lost the race, for sure, no doubt about that," Sheppard said. "I seen Dale was rolling out there a little bit. I was waiting, and then I got lifted up a little bit from behind. I couldn't take off as good as I needed to, then Dale got me there. You gotta bide your time there and hope something happens in lapped traffic."
Sheppard had one final opportunity after the lap-44 restart, but said he got "too good of a restart" entering turn one, causing the nose of his car to lose “the air” as he lost his momentum.
"Devin got by me there," Sheppard said. "All in all, really phenomenal weekend."
Notes: Jake O’Neil of Tucson, Ariz., finished fourth for his his career-best result on the Lucas Oil tour. … Lucas Oil points leader Hudson O'Neal relinquished his fourth starting spot after pulling into the hot pit during the pace laps. FloRacing pit reporter Chris Moore speculated the issue was related to the car's fuel pickup, though nothing was confirmed. O'Neal returned to the hot pit under the opening-lap caution before rejoining the field before finishing 12th. … Ricky Thornton Jr.’s feature ended prematurely on lap 44 as he slowed running sixth to draw the race’s third caution. FloRacing’s Chris Moore reported engine troubles forced Thornton’s exit. … An opening-lap pileup involving Garrett Alberson, Dan Ebert, Daniel Hilsabeck, Mike Marlar and Michael Page brought early drama to the 60-lap feature. The incident began when contact between Dillon McCowan and Page sent Page spinning in front of the field. Thornton Jr. clipped Page as his car slid down the track, but escaped with only minor damage and continued before retiring on lap 44. Marlar didn’t continue because of a hole in the radiator of his brand-new No. 157 XR2 Rocket Chassis. Page also didn’t continue. … Alberson finished 24th after scratching from time trials after resorting to a backup car following hot laps. The Las Cruces, N.M., driver retired from the feature on lap 11. … Jimmy Owens scratched for the night after time trials aboard the McCarter Family No. 20 MasterSbilt Race Car.
Feature lineup
(60 laps)
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Dale McDowell
Row 2: Kyle Bronson, Hudson O'Neal
Row 3: Chris Madden, Jake O'Neil
Row 4: Devin Moran, Michael Page
Row 5: Chris Ferguson, Carson Ferguson
Row 6: Dillon McCowan, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 7: Donald McIntosh, Brenden Smith
Row 8: Sam Seawright, Dan Ebert
Row 9: Clay Harris, Mike Marlar
Row 10: Daniel Hilsabeck, Brandon Overton
Row 11: Max Blair, Noah Phillips
Row 12: Garrett Alberson, Brian Shirley
Row 13: Josh Rice, Cory Lawler
Consolation race results
(10 laps; top three transfer)
First consolation: Clay Harris, Daniel Hilsabeck, Max Blair, Todd Morrow, Ben Watkins, Garrett Alberson, Justin Smith, Heath Hindman, Donovan Jackson, J.T. Seawright, Jack Franklin.
Second consolation: Mike Marlar, Brandon Overton, Noah Phillips, Casey Roberts, Josh Rice, Brian Shirley, Cory Lawler, Gray Parton, Dylan Barrow. Scratched: Jimmy Owens.
Heat race results
(Eight laps; top four transfer)
First heat: Brandon Sheppard, Chris Madden, Chris Ferguson, Donald McIntosh, Todd Morrow, Ben Watkins, Heath Hindman, Justin Smith, J.T. Seawright.
Second heat: Kyle Bronson, Devin Moran, Dillon McCowan, Sam Seawright, Clay Harris, Daniel Hilsabeck, Max Blair, Donovan Jackson, Garrett Alberson, Jack Franklin.
Third heat: Dale McDowell, Jake O'Neil, Carson Ferguson, Brenden Smith, Mike Marlar, Noah Phillips, Josh Rice, Brian Shirley. Scratched: Jimmy Owens.
Fourth heat: Hudson O'Neal, Michael Page, Ricky Thornton Jr., Dan Ebert, Brandon Overton, Casey Roberts, Dylan Barrow, Gray Parton, Cory Lawler.
Time trials
Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 14.284
2. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 14.368
3. Chris Madden (44m), Gray Court, S.C., 14.566
4. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 14.580
5. Donald McIntosh (7m), Dawsonville, Ga., 14.620
6. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 14.630
7. Todd Morrow (T1), Penton, Ala., 14.824
8. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 14.850
9. Justin Smith (7s), Barbourville, Ky., 14.873
10. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 14.874
11. Chris Ferguson (22F), Mount Holly, N.C., 14.893
12. Donovan Jackson (93J), Hope Mills, N.C., 14.909
13. Ben Watkins (16w), Rock Hill, S.C., 14.986
14. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 15.061
15. Heath Hindman (91), Signal Mountain, Tenn., 15.164
16. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 15.194
17. J.T. Seawright (1x), Fort Payne, Ala., 15.245
18. Jack Franklin (12), Murfreesboro, Tenn., 15.622
19. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., no time
Group B
1. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., 14.419
2. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 14.601
3. Jake O’Neil (0), Tucson, Ariz., 14.710
4. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 14.753
5. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 14.765
6. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 14.855
7. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 14.857
8. Michael Page (18x), Douglasville, Ga., 14.905
9. Brenden Smith (17ss), Dade City, Fla., 14.919
10. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.008
11. Noah Phillips (15), Sevierville, Tenn., 15.023
12. Dylan Barrow (17au), Morristown, Tenn., 15.079
13. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 15.097
14. Casey Roberts (101), Toccoa, Ga., 15.174
15. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.187
16. Gray Parton (18p), Rutherfordton, N.C., 15.270
17. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., 15.449
18. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 15.952
Saturday’s schedule
(All times local)
Noon - All gates open
3:15 p.m. - Tech and registration open
3:30 p.m. - Church outreach service
5:30 p.m. - Driver autograph session
6:15 p.m. - Tech and registration close
6:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
7 p.m. - On-track activity
- Street stock group qualifying
- Late Model hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Sportsman group qualifying
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Crown Vic hot laps
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Street stocks (20 laps)
- Late Models (60 laps)
- Sportsman (20 laps)
- Crown Vics (15 laps)
