Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Racing highs lift Veloz past life's lows
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Logan Veloz (B.A Racing Photos by Branden Aeling)
Through life’s highs and lows, racing has always been there for young dirt racer Logan Veloz and his Colona, Ill., family.
Never more so than two years ago when the Veloz family home was destroyed in a fire that took virtually all their possessions and three beloved dogs, then a month later when devastating tornadoes struck the Quad Cities and brought destruction on the Veloz Motorsports & Tire Repair property, damaging the team’s hauler among other structures.
Undaunted by back-to-back tragedy, the family continued racing, and Logan Veloz says it was racing that helped the tight-knit family endure such trying times.
“When you’re at the racetrack, you’re not thinking about that,” Veloz said. “Racing isn’t just about racing for us. It’s a way of life. It’s all I’ve ever known for 21 years.”
While 2023’s fire and tornado was among the family’s lows, the 21-year-old Veloz in 2025 is experiencing one of the highs. A successful racer in various modified divisions as a youngster, including last season with more than 20 sport mod victories, Veloz added an IMCA Late Model to his arsenal for 2025.
He’s quickly found success, winning five of his first eight starts including a current streak of four in a row. Veloz pulled off a rare three-victory weekend May 17-19, winning at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway, Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway and East Moline (Ill.) Speedway for a remarkable hat trick that put him atop DirtonDirt’s Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends.
“It was an awesome weekend,” said Veloz, who added a same-night modified victory at East Moline.
While fathers often pass racing down to their sons, it came in a roundabout way for the Veloz family. It was Logan’s mother Carolyn who was such a big fan of racing that, when she was dating Milo, he’d join her at the racetrack to watch. Milo decided to give racing a whirl and eventually became a standout racer himself.
In his prime 15 years ago, Milo Veloz posted a pair of 20-victory weekends in the modified division, capturing several specials at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway and having a bounty placed on him at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway.
Logan Veloz remembers watching his dad’s success as a youngster and eventually followed his father’s tire tracks to become a successful racer himself. Balancing his sport mod and modified racing between his training and work as a heavy equipment technician, the younger Veloz was eager join the Late Model division his father dabbled in only briefly.
The team had a few Late Model hiccups initially. His 2022 Black Diamond Chassis equipped with a Crate engine was fast in his debut at Davenport, but he weighed in light at the scales after his heat race and had to start at the tail of the feature.
In the main event, he rallied to sixth but his car’s engine began overheating, forcing him to retire. His next April outing at Davenport, Veloz was running a strong second when again his the engine got too hot, ending his night.
The novice Late Model team soon found the culprit — the engine’s fan was installed backward, blowing the wrong direction.
Since making the fix, no more overheating — and lots of winning. Veloz won his next start at Davenport, finished second the next night at Maquoketa and won May 11 at East Moline ahead of his three-victory weekend.
Along with driving the Late Model owned by his father, which he plans to run at Davenport and East Moline along with other tracks, Veloz drives a modified for car owner Tim Wood at Davenport and East Moline while fielding another modified for Jeff Hundley at Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway. Primarily running IMCA modifieds, he hopes to add some DIRTcar modified and United States Modified Touring Series events.
In the Late Model, the team is working on getting an open-competition engine to perhaps run some late-season Super Late Model events. His goal in the IMCA Late Model division is Rookie of the Year honors (he’s third in rookie points in early May with Jake Morris leading) and knows that if he keeps winning he could be an overall IMCA title contender (“I don’t want to think about that,” Veloz said, not wanting to jinx his hot streak.)
Veloz is grateful for all the support he gets from his family, friends and his crew, particularly his young buddies Noah Van Damme, Jason Dean and Tylor “Toothpick” Clemman. He’s also grateful to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competitor Garrett Alberson and his team owner Ken Roberts, race shop neighbors who have helped usher Veloz toward the Late Model division.
“Whenever he speaks, I definitely listen,” Veloz said of Roberts, who has long been connected to the family’s racing.
This year’s springtime, with Logan's immediate Late Model success, is far better than the spring of 2023, when the Veloz family was reeling from the house fire and tornado damage at the shop. A faulty humidifier started the blaze in the one-story, 1,000-square-foot house. Thankfully family members were home, but it took the lives of dogs Shifter, Spindle and Hubbs, along with all but a number of possessions amid the rubble.
Among the items salvaged from the burned-out home was a framed photograph of young Logan with legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty, whose No. 43 has carried on with the Veloz family and Logan’s No. 43lz. A fitting reminder of the family’s avocation that carries on today.
“Racing held us together,” Logan Veloz said.
Weekly highlights
• Scoring back-to-back Super Late Model victories in his home state, Travis Stemler of Ionia, Mich., won May 16-17 at Auburn’s Tri-City Motor Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway.
• Former national touring star Eddie Carrier Jr., the Kentucky-turned-West Virginia racer who has been mostly idle for a dozen seasons, grabbed his first Super Late Model victory since 2013 on May 17 in a Steve Weigle-owned car at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va.
• Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, remained perfect in six starts at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park on May 16 with a nonstop 25-lap triumph.
• With Oakshade Raceway on May 17 opening its 50th anniversary season, five-time track champ Devin Shiels of Britton, Mich., raced to a flag-to-flag Super Late Model victory in Wauseon, Ohio.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Winning his first stateside feature, Craig Cardwell of Auckland, New Zealand, captured May 17’s Super Late Model feature at Midway Speedway in Crooksville, Ohio.
• Zach Stalker led all 25 laps May 17 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway for his first Crate Late Model feature victory.
• Winning May 17 at Elkins Raceway in Kerens, W.Va., Zolbe Zimbrew of Fairmont, W.Va., grabbed his first career Crate Late Model feature victory.
• Sykesville, Md., driver Ray Kable notched his first Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway Limited Late Model victory on May 17.
• Winning his first Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway feature, Blaise Baker of Clinton, Ill., topped May 17’s Crate Late Model feature at the quarter-mile oval.
• Kyle Courtney of Knoxville, Tenn., won May 17’s reopening Late Model event at Big South Fork Raceway, his first victory at the Huntsville, Tenn., track that had been shuttered since 2002.
Weekly news briefs
• Big Sky Speedway in Billings, Mont., has announced plans to improve the track’s aging grandstands. Stephenson Racing and Kincaid Family Racing are spearheading the Race to Rebuild Grandstand Project. More details will be announced.
• Merritt Speedway owner Mike Blackmer, who last season failed to cover payments for drivers at the Late City, Mich., track and Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, Mich., is asking drivers who didn't receive payments to reach out to him with a private message on the Merritt Speedway Facebook page.
• Longtime Potomac Speedway workers Doug and Holly Watson have stepped away from the Budds Creek, Md., track. Doug Watson was instrumental in reporting the track’s results and stories and spent 36 years playing a role at the track.
• Hoping to increase the single-digit car count, Shawano (Wis.) Speedway instituted Late Model rules that blend the track’s rules with that of the Wabam Dirt Kings Tour.
• At May 24’s event, 191 Speedway in Campton, Ky., will draw a winning lottery ticket for a spectator to get five laps around the track in a two-seater Late Model. Tickets are $10 apiece or two for $15.
Weekly points
IMCA (Limiteds): Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Iowa, has 402 points to lead Zach Meitner (304) and Kale Kosiski (283).
USRA (Limiteds): Cade Nelson of Hermantown, Minn., has 833 points to lead Lucas Peterson (786) and rookie Ryan Howe (739).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Tyler Peterson of Hickson, N.D., has 387 points to lead Chad Becker (365) and Shane Sabraski (359).
American All-Stars (Crates): Oscar McCown of Martin, Ky., has 242 points to lead Brandon Fouts (236) and Braeson Fulton (218).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Brett White of Kosciusko, Miss., has 445 points to lead Covy Parson (425) and Devin Whatley (384.
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss., has 420 points to lead Sid Scarbrough (416) and Ben Davis (415).
RUSH (Crates): Jeremy Wonderling of Wellsville, N.Y., has 196 points to lead Demetrios Drellos (188) and Austin Allen (186).
Ultimate (Crates): Chandi Currence of Clarksburg, W.Va., has 66 points to lead Noah Whited (63) with Braeden Dillinger and Garret Paugh at 35 points apiece.
(Weekly points for DIRTcar, POWRi and RUSH haven’t been released)
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (May 23): The Turk Burket 88 Tribute includes a pair of $2,500-to-win Super Late Model 20-lap features with three undercard divisions.
Hidden Valley Speedway, Clearfield, Pa. (May 23): The Shawn “Sheetz” McGarvey Memorial Day weekend special pays $3,000-to-win for Super Late Models with regular divisions in action (minus econo Lates).
Penton (Ala.) Raceway (May 23): The Larry Edge Memorial pays $1,500-to-win for 604 Crate Late Models with several divisions on the undercard, including 602 Crates.
Dead Horse Creek Speedway, Morden, Manitoba (May 23-24): The McNaught Cadillac Cup includes two complete programs for WISSOTA-sanctioned Late Models.
East Alabama Motor Speedway, Phenix City, Ala.: Super Late Models highlight the holiday weekend with a $10,000-to-win payday. Fireworks are part of the program.
All-Tech Raceway, Ellisville, Fla. (May 24): The Harvey Jones Memorial pays $10,000-to-win in the Crate Late Model division.
Revolution Park, Monroe, La. (May 24): The track plans a recently added $3,000-to-win Super Late Model events following the rules and format of the Arkansas-based Comp Cams Super Dirt Series,
Midway Speedway, Crooksville, Ohio (May 24): Super Late Models are part of the second annual Clay City Classic with a $3,000-to-win purse up for grabs.
Thunder Mountain Speedway, Corbin, Ky. (May 24): Crate Late Models chase a $2,500-to-win purse with four divisions on the undercard.
Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway (May 24): A $2,000-to-win Limited Late Model feature tops a five-division program that replaces a cancelled Vision Wheel Steel Block Bandits event.
Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway (May 24): The holiday weekend special has five divisions on the card including a $2,000-to-win event for Limited Late Models.
Merritt Speedway, Lake City, Mich. (May 24-25): Super Late Models are part of a two-day event with a $2,500-to-win Memorial Day weekend finale.
Eriez Speedway, Hammett, Pa. (May 25): The Andy Kania Memorial pays $7,600-to-win for Super Late Models with bonuses and contingencies up for grabs.
Potomac Speedway, Budds Creek, Md. (May 25): Sunday Funday at the 3/8-mile oval pays $3,500-to-win for the track’s first Super Late Model special of the season. Pre-race concert by Maryland Monroe.
Lake Cumberland Speedway, Burnside, Ky. (May 25): On First Responders Night (free entry for those folks), Crate Late Models battle for $2,500-to-win with four undercard divisions.
Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex, Markleysburg, Pa. (May 25): The Nick Dickson Benefit event pays $2,000-to-win for Super Late Models (the track also has a regular night of action on May 23).
