DirtonDirt Dispatches
Dispatches: Jackson in daze after Batesville win
Tony Jackson Jr. (Sam Rogers Photography)
Among the latest notes and quotes from around Dirt Late Model racing the second weekend in May, including Schaeffer's Spring Nationals and Comp Cams Super Dirt Series action (look elsewhere for most Lucas Oil Series coverage). Also find a listing of live-streaming video from specials around the country:
Speechless in Batesville
Tony Jackson Jr. seemed almost in a daze while standing in victory lane after capturing Saturday night’s 68-lap Bad Boy 98 finale at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark.
When the 43-year-old veteran from Lebanon, Mo., tried to explain how he led every circuit and beat Hall of Famer Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., by 1.314 seconds in the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series event, his thought just kept trailing off.
“Man, I don’t know what to say,” Jackson said, shrugging his shoulders in a sense of bewilderment. “I knew I needed to pace the race, but I also needed to save my tires, so I didn’t know … I didn’t know what the hell to do, to be honest with you.”
As for the four late-race cautions that slowed the A-main, Jackson said he “didn’t wanna see” them because he had built himself a “good lead,” but again his analysis stopped there.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never even won a heat race here, so this is awesome.”
Indeed, Jackson was simply amazed to earn a $12,000 prize for his first-ever victory at the 3/8-mile oval — and outrun Moyer, the 67-year-old legend, at his home track. He’s never had much success at Batesville; in fact, he’s only made one start (finishing 25th in 2019) in the track’s marquee Topless 100, a crown jewel that Moyer has won four times.
Jackson didn’t even really want to make the trip to Batesville’s Bad Boy 98 weekend, but he had a fresh motor ready from Jack Cornett and VG Performance’s Vinny Guliani gently pushed him to give the event a shot.
“Vinny talked me into coming,” Jackson said of Guliani, the technical consultant who helps drivers like Jackson who run Longhorn Chassis on Bilstein Shocks. “He did whatever he wanted to do tonight and I just drove it, so I was the lucky one. I did the easy part.”
Jackson’s triumph was his first in 18 starts this season and just his fourth top-five finish. It came one night after he finished a then season-best second to Tyler Stevens of Searcy, Ark., in Friday’s 30-lap preliminary feature.
Moyer said Jackson “done a good job” and expressed satisfaction with his runner-up finish, which matched his season-high result achieved in March 15’s Comp Cams stop at Springfield (Mo.) Raceway. He enjoyed a solid weekend with a third-place run on Friday, leaving him as the Comp Cams points leader through four events.
When asked if perhaps he’ll continue chasing the Comp Cams schedule with car owner Keith Lawson in search of his first touring series championship since 2013 when he captured the National Dirt Racing League title, Moyer was noncommittal.
“Well, it, I don't even know what we’re doing, if we’re following all or not, or even what the points pay,” Moyer said. “We just kind of go on race-by-race. It’s good to be leading the deal. I guess when you come to these (series races) you know you always got provisionals, which is a good thing nowadays.”
Owens ends skid
Never in his 23-year Dirt Late Model career had Jimmy Owens gone more than a year without a victory — until 2025. Entering the current campaign without a feature victory since February 2024, the Newport, Tenn., driver's skid stretched 15 months heading into May.
But the 53-year-old veteran, who owns more than 100 career national touring victories, ended the dry spell dramatically on Saturday at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Ky.
Making a third-to-first move on the 36th lap, Owens took command and led the rest of the 53-lap Johnny Wheeler Memorial for his fifth career Schaeffer's Spring Nationals victory.
The victory marked his fourth consecutive podium finish.
“This Koehler Motorsports Rocket has been really, really good to us the last few weekends,” Owens said in victory lane. “We missed (the setup) real bad qualifying. We just made some adjustments, kept adjusting, and got it dialed in. It was really, really sporty during the feature there.
“I’ve just gotta thank Bobby Koehler and my crew and all the fans who believe in us. It's good to be back in victory lane.”
In a race that ran caution-free, Owens cruised in the second half of the main event, taking the checkers 2.5 seconds ahead of Garrett Smith.
"The car was really good (and) the track was really, really great tonight,” said Owens, whose previous victory came Feb. 8, 2024, at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla. "It's the best I've seen this place since I've been coming, I believe. I mean we were all over it. We could run high, low. I know we were three-wide two or three times down the backstretch — and that's a narrow place back yonder. But we was able to capitalize on it.” — Staff reports
Close to home
A weekend in the Northeast is coming for the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series. No member of this year’s roster knows their way around the tracks in the area quite like Max Blair.
Thirteen races into his second season as a full-time Outlaw and three years removed from his 2022 rookie campaign that saw him earn two wins and a third-place finish in the standings, the native of Centerville, Pa., is hopeful that visiting tracks in his backyard — Raceway 7 in Conneaut, Ohio (May 15), Marion Center (Pa.) Speedway (May 16-17) and Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (May 18) — will get him back in rhythm.
Blair’s comeback to the WoO trail this season started with four top 10s in five starts at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., between the DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, but his pace slowed down following Georgia-Florida Speedweeks. His ninth-place run last month at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway is his lone top-10 in the eight races since Volusia.
“We suck,” Blair said. “We ran really good in Florida, but man, we’ve been terrible since. Got to qualify better. You can’t start in the back half of the field every night and think you’re going to run well against these guys.”
Luckily for Blair, the next four WoO shows take place at tracks he’s become very familiar with throughout his two-decade Dirt Late Model career.
Raceway 7, for instance, is a track where Blair won three-straight Crate Late Model track championships from 2010-2012. His experience at the 7/16-mile oval makes him aware that track position is typically at a premium.
“Same deal — you better qualify well,” Blair said. “Nowadays, I think that’s just the biggest part almost no matter where you’re at. We’re trying. We’ll see if we can’t get better and hopefully put on a good show when we get back around the house there.”
Following the Thursday stop at Raceway 7, the tour will 2-and-a-half hours southeast to Marion Center for the Connor Bobik Memorial. The event will reach new heights in 2025 as it becomes a two-day affair for the first time and pay a record $30,000 to Saturday’s winner.
As a two-time United Late Model Series winner at Marion Center, Blair knows how to find speed around the quarter-mile oval. Some misfortune in his first two WoO starts at the track prevented him from putting that on full display on the national stage, but he’s optimistic that the third time will be the charm.
“Need some stuff to fall our way,” Blair said. “One year we were pretty good, good enough to run well inside the top five when we ended up getting wrecked and going to the back. We came back and I think we ran ninth that time, so we’ll just see what happens.”
The swing wraps up with the first Sunday night showdown of the season: the Billy Winn Classic at Bedford. One of the largest tracks in Dirt Late Model racing, the 5/8-mile requires a unique skill set, one that Blair plans on putting to good use as he chases his first WoO win in three years.
“That place is definitely different,” Blair said. “It’s kind of uphill one way, downhill the other, and each corner is different. We have raced there a decent amount over the last few years, so I’m hoping experience will play in my favor.”
Blair plans to tune up for the WoO events by spending this weekend racing on familiar turf as well. He departed Illinois Speedweek following Wednesday’s FloRacing Night in America event at Spoon River Speedway so he could enter local action this Friday-Sunday at Tri-City Raceway Park in Franklin, Pa., Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. — Spence Smithback
Streaming schedule
Among upcoming Dirt Late Model special and sanctioned events available via live streaming:
Friday, May 9
• Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (FloRacing)
• Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals at Rockcastle Speedway in Mount Vernon, Ky. (FloRacing)
• Comp Cams Super Dirt Series at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. (ArrowVision Live)
• Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn. (Dirt Race Central TV)
• American Crate All-Star Series at Golden Mountain Speedway in Sparta, Tenn. (Dirt Rich TV)
• Malvern Bank West Series at Stuart (Iowa) International Speedway (IMCA TV)
• American Crate Late Model Series at Hunt County Raceway in Greenville, Texas (RaceON TV)
• United Rebel Late Model Series at Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kan. (RacinDirt)
Saturday, May 10
• Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway (FloRacing)
• Comp Cams Super Dirt Series at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, Ark. (ArrowVision Live)
• Schaeffer’s Spring Nationals at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Ky. (FloRacing)
• American Crate Late Model Series at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. (Dirt Rich TV)
• Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series at Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minn. (Dirt Race Central TV)
• Gulf South Crate Racing Association at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, La. (RaceON TV)
• American Crate Late Model Series at RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas (RaceON TV)
• 4 State Dirt Late Model Series at Springfield (Mo.) Raceway (Springfield Raceway TV)
Sunday, May 11
• Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series at Granite City Motor Park in Sauk Rapids, Minn. (Dirt Race Central TV)
