DirtonDirt exclusive
Prolific Iowa youngster making Late Model noise
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
Dallon Murty at Huset's Speedway. (photosbyboyd.smugmug.com)
Dallon Murty of Chelsea, Iowa, is accustomed to racking up big victory totals.
At just 20 years old, the two-time IMCA stock car champ has piled up more than 150 dirt racing triumphs overall, including an incredible 47-victory season in 2021.
The youngster knew expectations would be a little different in stepping up to the competitive Late Model division as a rookie on the Malvern Bank East Series.
“I don't even know if we expected to win one race, you know? I think one was our goal going into it,” Murty said in a phone interview. “And so, I mean, our expectations were not to go win 20 Late Model races this year at all. We just kinda were prepared to maybe not get as many wins, but to just have fun and try to do our best. And I'd say we're doing just all right so far.”
Just all right?
Murty laughs at the understatement, then adds that “we've exceeded our expectations for sure.”
The leading Malvern Bank East rookie, the second-generation racer of the No. 99x stands third in the overall standings with two series victories and four Late Model feature wins overall. His season highlight came during the Silver Dollar Nationals weekend at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., when he turned back a last-lap challenge to capture a $6,053 Malvern West victory that came along with a $2,200 bonus from Skyline Materials for winning from the sixth starting spot.
“It’s been a great year so far for us,” he said.
Murty’s list of accomplishments for his age is staggering. Nearing 100 victories in IMCA stock cars, he’s twice won the division’s points title and twice captured the prestigious IMCA Super Nationals event at Boone (Iowa) Speedway. While winning at more than 25 tracks around the country, among highlights are a $5,000 stock car victory at a dirt-covered Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and career-richest $10,000 Land of 10,000 Lakes special event at Granite City Motor Park in Rauk Rapids, Minn.
After adding modifieds to his stock car stable in recent years, Murty and longtime sponsor Shannon Van Rees during the offseason decided to make the jump to Late Models for 2025, with Van Rees buying out much of former Malvern East champ Chad Holladay’s equipment and Longhorn Chassis.
Running a mix of Malvern Bank tour, independent and Karl Chevrolet Pro Late Model Tour events, Murty was fast out of the box, posting two victories and finishing in the top five in each of his first seven starts.
Van Rees, a 54-year-old from Victor, Iowa, who co-owns a transport refrigeration repair business, has been a supporter of Murty since meeting him as a 16-year-old. He’d never owned a race car before, but Murty’s promise behind the wheel impressed him into making the investment.
“What I see different from Dallon from some others is, in my mind, he's able to see things before others and react to them before anybody else even knows what the hell is going on. He was able to take advantage of those situations,” Van Rees said, adding that skill “was one of the things that I think that he brings to the table that a lot of others don't have, is that ability to predict things that are gonna happen in front of him. And then he pounces on it. That's where he excels.”
Murty quickly adjusted to the division’s aerodynamics, larger body and technological challenges, in part thanks to crew chief Mike Dieckman (a “huge supporter”) and assistance from Longhorn Chassis.
“It's definitely one of the most competitive levels I've ever raced at and just the technology behind everything. I didn't know if we would grasp on all the stuff that was going on or not, if we'd struggle there. There was a lot of unknowns going into it,” Murty said. “The biggest thing to learn was the air for sure. Just knowing where to put yourself, not to get air tight or just to give yourself clean air. Everything I've raced beforehand, dirty air has never really been a thing.
“Late Models, the noses are so huge, if you don't have air on it, you just get tight, or get free when you get no air on the spoiler. That's definitely the biggest challenge. Like when you're in clean air, you feel like you’ve got the best car at the racetrack.”
He’d heard national touring drivers talk about aerodynamics during streams of major races, but “there’s no way to really describe it until you feel it in the car,” Murty said.
Driving a car more than a foot wider than his stock car required some adaptation, too.
“I’ve had a hard time, just how big these cars are,” he said. “You forget where your right-rear quarterpanel and spoiler are at. I've put a couple of new wraps on the right-rear quarterpanel and I can't keep that thing clean at all. … It’s just a lot wider and you're going twice as fast.”
After a few tune-ups under the more limited engine Pro Tour rules in his first Late Model starts, Murty settled into his comfort zone in early Malvern East Series competition.
A 10th-to-third run in the series opener at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., "kind of calmed the nerves down a little bit,” and in the next series race he started seventh and won at Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway.
“It was pretty surreal because the two nights before we ran third, we kind of had to start a little farther back because we didn't qualify very good,” Murty said. “And then that night was able to qualify good in our group and kind of got to start up front and stay up front and it was just a really cool moment. And it happened a lot faster I think than any of us expected.”
Murty continues to compete in the stock car owned by his father, Damon, also a successful racer (all the Murtys have names starting with “Da” with parents Damon and Dawn and children Dallon and 13-year-old daughter, Dayna). Murty sold his modified, but he's been competing occasionally in that division in a Darin Duffy-owned car. No matter what, the Late Model takes priority.
Murty’s Late Model season highlight in Malvern Bank West competition on July 17 came with a little controversy. Rallying from his third row starting spot, he overtook reigning series champion Bill Leighton Jr. on the 26th of 30 laps. Leighton took a final stab at Murty with a last-lap slide job in turns one and two, but Murty kept rolling in his high groove and contact between the two sent Leighton’s car spinning while Murty completed the $8,253 victory.
Leighton wasn’t happy, briefly blocking Murty’s path to the scales.
“Unfortunately, me and second place kind of got into it a little bit. I mean, I don't know if you can really blame one of us entirely for it,” Murty said. “But we had a good race going and I had to start sixth, and that place is not wide at all. And you've got this huge car out there trying to weave through traffic. I feel like I made some really good moves in that race to put us in a position to win that race.”
On the last lap, “I caught the wall and was kind of committed to getting out of that and then all of a sudden I look over and he's like right there,” Murty said. “I mean, I couldn’t even react fast enough. I don't know if he thought in the car that I spun him with my nose, but where we hit, his spoiler hit me right in my number on the door. I mean, it is what it was.”
A memorable night for Murty in a rookie season that’s had its ups and downs.
“There's been some nights where we I've made mistakes as a driver and put us behind,” Murty said, “and then we've had some nights that we can't do nothing wrong and it all just falls your way.”
Van Rees is tickled with the team’s success, driver and equipment so much that he fears discussing it — “I don’t want to jinx this,” he says — but hopes his investment carries Murty to higher levels.
“I could see his talent and I wanted to make it be known because he's got huge abilities and I want that to be seen by others so that he can go onwards,” Van Rees said. “I believe he's that good.”
