Eldora Speedway
Column: Butterflies stir for crews at World 100
The sheer magnitude of the World 100 at Eldora Speedway — the most prestigious event in Dirt Late Model racing — puts the emotional screws to every driver in the field. But don’t think for a moment that they’re alone in their anxiety.
All those crew members that are in the pit area working on their drivers’ cars? They certainly get caught up in the pomp, pageantry and pressure of the biggest race all season. | Complete World 100 coverage
“When they pull on the track for the World, it’s just as many butterflies for us as it is for them,” said Nick Hardie, a 40-year-old crewman for Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz. “Because we have going through our head, Did we do this? Did we do that? So it’s the same thing.”
The World 100, which will be contested this weekend for the 55th time in Rossburg, Ohio, with a record $72,000 first-place prize posted, simply casts an overwhelming spell on everyone who competes in it. Crew members find themselves in the middle of the whirlwind so they can’t escape the tension.
It seems that the only way to temper a crew member’s stress during the huge weekend is the passage of time. The more often a Dirt Late Model mechanic experiences the World 100, the more they’re able to handle the unique situation.
Consider Jason Durham, the crew chief for SSI Motorsports driver Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Indiana. At 52, Durham has been turning wrenches at the World 100 since 2006 when he made first working appearance with Ricky Arms Jr. of Moss, Tenn. He’s come with Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark., Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., and, most notably, Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who won three of his five World 100s (2019, ’21, ’22) alongside Durham.
All those trips to the World 100, plus the success, have had a calming effect on Durham.
“I used to get butterflies, not for the prestige of the race, but just worrying if I’d done my job right and everything’s good and the best we can do,” Durham said. “But I try not to do that so much anymore. I mean, I still get a little bit worked up every now and then, but for the most part I feel like we get there, we’ve done the best we can do to start, and it is what it is. You just take it one day at a time.
“I know the younger guys, drivers and crew guys and all that stuff, yeah, it’ll give you butterflies and get you worked up. I’m the old guy now, so I’ve kind of got over that.”
Austin Hargrove is another veteran crewman with plenty of World 100s on his resume. The 40-year-old has been the ace tire guy for the Rocket Chassis house car team since 2017, putting him with star drivers Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Hudson O’Neal, who won the 2023 World 100 in the Rocket1. But his World 100 visits began well before that, in the early 2000s with Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., and included subsequent attempts with Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., and Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, who captured the 2009 World 100 with Hargrove’s assistance.
“The more times you go, it’s not like the first time,” Hargrove said. “Like the first time you go there (for the World 100), you’re nervous. You don’t know what to expect. It’s all kind of different. There’s more people than at any other race you’ve seen.
“But, I mean, yeah, it’s exciting. You know what I mean? You just kind of want to do your best, because, like, more eyes are on that than anything. So you have to stay focused, but you have to stay nice to people, too, because fans are coming up and talking. But there’s also a lot going on and they’re there for the show and we’re there for business, so you’ve got to balance both.”
Hargrove admitted, though, that he hasn’t become immune to the electric World 100 atmosphere — and he never wants to.
“I always told myself that if my stomach didn’t hurt a little bit (from nervous anticipation) when we were racing then it’s time for me to quit,” Hargrove said. “So that’s always been my reason and it’s never left yet. I still feel like I belong.”
According to Davenport’s third-year crew chief Cory Fostvedt, crews must stay as even-keel as possible for the World 100. It’s no easy task amid such a super-charged atmosphere, but experience does help.
“We really don’t get nervous,” said the 41-year-old Fostvedt, who, before joining Davenport at Double L Motorsports, worked World 100s beginning in 2014 with Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., and Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., at Clint Bowyer Racing as well years with Heckenast and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. “For me, it’s once you make that sharp right-hand turn off that highway and you go up that hill and you see all the campers and stuff, that’s when it’s like … that still gives me a chill. You’re like, ‘Ah, it’s home. That’s how it should be.’
“You do get a little more intense. You’re definitely more focused, but I don’t think any of us really get nervous anymore, because, at the end of the day, we all put in 100 percent, and as long as you put in a hundred percent, and you know you did everything you can to make it as good as you can, what happens, happens.
“We’ve got very good notebook of what to do and what not to do,” he added. “So you just go through that notebook with a fine-tooth comb and make sure you don’t miss anything and just put it in (Davenport’s) hands. Just give him the best the best tool you can.”
The biggest challenge facing crews at the World 100 just might be the massive numbers of spectators that swarm the pit area. All those fans add to the electricity, but they also can threaten to distract teams from their work.
“Some years you’re like, ‘This is gonna suck because there’s so many people there,’ ” said 44-year-old Zach Frields, Thornton’s chief mechanic whose two decades of World 100 experience include trips with Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa (highlighted by a 2012 victory), Don O’Neal, Hudson O’Neal, Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., and Rick Eckert of York, Pa. “The amount of people and just the hype and everything else … I mean, everything’s grown over the years. Now, if something happens to (Thornton) in hot laps or something, there 100 people there with cell phones. Sometimes it’s a pain in the butt because there’s so many people, but then it’s also kind of cool, you know, to work for somebody that does get the exposure and everything else.
“I feel like it’s awesome to be around it. We’re blessed to be able to do this (for a job) and not have to go to a factory or something like that every day. We wake up every day and we love what we do. Some people don’’t have that luxury.”
Fostvedt noted the pit-area scene is “very busy, which is great. It’s great to see all the fans there and everybody out supporting you. But sometimes, you know, they can frustrate you a little bit. They don’t understand sometimes when it’s go-time and we all walk around looking like we're pissed off, but we’re not pissed off, we’re focused. and that’s maybe not the best time to approach. That’s just kind of when we put blinders on and you just go about it. You got a job to do, and you just have to do it.”
Davenport’s popularity does prepare his crew for the mass of humanity at Eldora.
“Working for Jonathan, you get used to, like, cameras and people being all over,” said Tyler Bragg, Davenport’s 26-year-old crewman who has also worked the World 100 with Thornton and Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark. “So even at Eldora, when all the fans and cameras are there, it don’t bother you because it happens all the time. I wouldn’t say it’s not a big deal — there’s way more fans there — but it’s like everywhere else we go gets you ready for that.”
Josh Davis, a 33-year-old who has been a crewman for veteran Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., since 2009, remarked that the big World 100 crowds add an extra burden for team members.
“You’re always super excited to get there, but you know a lot of times you’re gonna have to work your butt off, too,” Davis said. “And if you get in the wall or something, you ain’t got a lot of time to fix your car and stuff, and you know you’re going to deal with a lot of fans. I feel like it’s by far one of the hardest races to go to and stay focused on what you need to be focused on.
“When something happens, you know, the fans are right there on you, just to check everything out. It’s more pressure, just because you always got eyes on you. I think that's the biggest thing. Especially if you’re in the middle (the infield pit area). For the Dream (in June) we was outside (in the upper pit area). You don't have as many people there, but you also always feel like you’re behind when you’re up there. You’re not in the mix, you never know what’s going on. You come in, you’re straight back out.”
Rocket1 crew chief Danny White, who has been with the house car team since 2015 after spending the previous four seasons traveling nationally with Rick Eckert, reminds himself to be extra focused during Saturday’s final night of action when the intensity rises to its max.
“For me, it don’t change til Saturday,” said White, who enjoyed a World 100 win in 2023 with Hudson O’Neal. “When the heat races come out for Saturday, you’re like, it’s time to cowboy up and see what you got.
“The Thursday night (prelim), you’ll be busy, but not crazy, then, like Friday it picks up a little, and then all of a sudden, Saturday, it cranks up. With my maintenance routine, I end up in the engine compartment as the last thing I do. And that’s usually the busiest time, so that’s kind of like, I get caught in there, and it’s just a lot of people and they start asking questions, so you can’t get distracted.”
One factor that can help soothe crew members’ tension at the World 100: a cool, confident driver. If the team’s pilot shows agitation, nervousness or uncertainty, it can rub off on the crew.
“I mean, obviously, if he gets out and he’s not feeling right, you can sense everything,” Davis said. “If he gets one way, you kind of see yourself go in that direction, too. You can sense whenever he’s, you know, getting uproared a little bit, but Mikey, he usually stays pretty calm, so that helps.”
Hardie, who previously worked World 100s for Hudson O’Neal, Dean Bowen of Whiteville, N.C., and Michael Brown of Lancaster, S.C., see the importance of a driver who’s in control from being around Thornton.
“He’s probably the accomplished driver that I’ve ever worked with, and, like, you never see him get worked up about anything,” Hardie said. “He goes into every race like we’re going to kick their ass. Every day, he says, ‘We’re fixing to win, boys.’ That’s just the attitude that he has and it's a good one. I mean, that helps us as a crew too, because if you have a driver that don’t believe in themself, I believe that hurts you as a crew over time. He believes in himself 100 percent.”
Of course, the thrill of victory in the World 100 is what ultimately puts a crew member at ease.
“That’s when reality sets in,” said Durham, whose Eldora success with Davenport also includes a triumph in the 2022 Eldora Million. “When you win, that’s like a relief instantly. It’s still stress until the checker flag falls, but then it’s like a ton of bricks off your chest as soon as you go past that checkered flag — or I guess now anymore, as soon as you get across those scales.”
Frields celebrated a World 100 win with Birkhofer. Nothing in his mechanical career has matched that moment.
“It’s like the World Series or the Daytona 500 or the Super Bowl. Everybody wants to win it,” Frields said. “Luckily, I got to stand on that stage with Birkhofer in 2012, and there’s no feeling like it. I mean, that many people cheering and screaming and hollering, and just to know you had a little piece to do with it, it’s unbelievable.
“And after you win, everybody that you know, you know, like all your friends and everything, you just get rushed and everybody’s giving you a hug and a high five. It’s just cool, you know, because it’s it is the World 100, and there’s only a select few people that have won it and will win it.”
Hargrove asserted that winning the World 100 as a crew member is “a feeling you don’t register until (victory lane and postrace inspection is) over and you go back to your truck and half the trucks are gone, because, you know, it took so long to do everything. Then the only thing that’s really left around your truck is all these people waiting, you know what I mean? Which is a great feeling. It’s a feeling that's not like any other one.”
On two occasions Hargrove participated in a World 100 winner’s coronation, joining Hartman in ’09 and Hudson O’Neal in ’23. Both were memorable.
“Not in any way of a disrespect or level thing, but like with Bart, it was just like me and him traveling all over the country together that year,” Hargrove said. “And when he won that night, his earplug had fell down in his ear during the heat and he had a headache and he had to go to the ambulance. It was stuck in there and they had to pull it out.
“So he had this bad headache after that, and he told me, like, ‘The last three laps (of the heat) I couldn’t see what I was doing.’ He’s like laying in the truck the whole time (before the feature), and he’s like, ‘Man, I’m not racing.’ I said, ‘They always talk crap about you, how you’re no good here. You start third. Just make some laps and then pull in if you have to.’
“So he goes out there, and it was lap 40 or something and I was standing at the edge of the fence, and I just told him to pull in because I didn’t want him to feel bad. He just shook his head and drove off to win. I just thought, How awesome was that? You know, a guy wanted to give up, but he didn’t, you know?
“And then with this (Rocket1) team here, obviously, you know, like they were close (in the World 100) so many times, and then Davenport got the lead, and I’m like, ‘Man, when he gets the lead, he controls the race and it’s very hard to overcome that.’ But Hud got up on the wheel that night and he never checked her that last 10 laps and the rest was history.
“Both feelings were unbelievable,” he continued, savoring the memories. “And it’s something that doesn’t make me any better than anybody, but it’s something that some other people might never get to experience. Like, some people might travel to a country I’ve never been. Well, I got to stand on the stage at Eldora. It’s something to be proud of.”
Ten things worth mentioning
1. Last weekend’s Hillbilly Hundred doubleheader at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., was marred by the scary wreck involving track champion Michael Norris, the hometown driver who flipped off the wall-less turns three and four on lap of Friday’s 40-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature. Driving a Rocket Chassis No. 1N fielded by his brother-in-law Nico Dabecco rather than his familiar family-owned No. 72, Norris slid off the racing surface and gyrated wildly before coming to rest down the banking. He climbed out of the car with assistance from the safety crew and was observed inside his toterhome for an extended period of time afterward but did not require a hospital visit, though he did not feel up to talking about the accident and later reported he’d suffered a possible minor concussion.
2. Norris’s crash left Dabecco’s car with heavy damage — the left-front portion of the roll cage halo was pushed down from a blow it took during the series of flips — and the 33-year-old driver made a social media announcement on Saturday that his 2025 season was done as well. “I feel like I entered turn three like I’ve done 1 million times there and it just didn’t stick like it normally does,” Norris wrote of the incident. “I went over the edge and then I was just along for the ride. I’d like to thank Rocket Chassis, Victory Seats and Bell Helmets for keeping me safe during something that violent.” Norris also wrote that he felt “awful” about destroying his brother-in-law’s machine, which he also drove the previous weekend at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.
3. While Norris noted that sitting out the remainder of the season will give him “time to recover,” he also mentioned another reason: his wife, Jessi, is due to deliver the couple’s second child in early October — right around the time of Oct. 3-4’s Pittsburgher 100 at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, an event in which Norris has 12 starts in the finale since 2009 and a career-best finish of third in 2012.
4. Speaking of racing babies on the way, Lucas Oil Series regular Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, and his wife, Lakia, announced last week that they’re expected their first child. Lakia’s due date is March 12, which puts it just days after the Lucas Oil tour’s new-for-2026 Speedweeks schedule ends on March 7 Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga.
5. Missing from Lernerville’s Hillbilly Hundred field was Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., who was forced to bypass the weekend — the first time he’s missed a Lucas Oil Series event since becoming a regular in 2022 — reportedly because of recent engine troubles hitting the stockpile of his James Rattliff-owned team. Wilson was voted to receive hardship points for the two nights of racing and said he expects to be back in series action for Sept. 18-20’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals.
6. The 28-year-old Wilson said he won’t enter this weekend’s World 100 as he regroups his motor program, ending his three-year run as a participant in the event after he made his first start in the finale last year (he finished 17th). Wilson reported that his Rattliff Racing teammate Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., does plan to compete at Eldora; in fact, Jameson’s No. 12 will feature a throwback wrap resembling his father Willie’s red-and-gold car.
7. While Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., was struggling to a 16th-place finish in Saturday’s Hillbilly Hundred, his 61-year-old father, Don, returned to competition at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway driving a new redesigned MasterSbilt house car test entry carrying Don’s familiar yellow-and-red color scheme and No. 71. The Hall of Fame, who tested to prepare for Saturday’s program, started on the pole position in the feature after a heat win but a tight-handling race car contributed to him finishing seventh.
8. The main focus this weekend for Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., will be the World 100, but in the back of his mind will be a trip he has planned on Sunday. Blair is a diehard fan of the Miami Dolphins and the team will be opening its 2025 NFL schedule on Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts, giving him a golden opportunity to attend the game since he’ll be just 90 minutes away. Blair said he’s planning to head to the game with a pair of fellow Dolphins fans from the Dirt Late Model world: racer Jason Riggs and FloRacing announcer Dustin Jarrett.
9. I already know what special World 100 wrap is my favorite: the one on Tim McCreadie’s Briggs Transport car. The 2018 World 100 winner will enter Eldora’s action with his Longhorn Chassis boasting a look that closely resembles the iconic yellow-and-white No. 9 big-block modifieds driven by his late father Barefoot Bob McCreadie. When I saw the first photos of T-Mac’s car I was impressed by how much it looks like a Dirt Late Model version of a Barefoot Bob modified. There’s even one neat detail: the wrap includes a “rubrail” on the doors like big-block modifieds carry.
10. When I asked 70-year-old Hall of Famer Gary Stuhler of Greencastle, Pa., during Port Royal Speedway’s recent Rumble by the River weekend if he was planning to enter the World 100 like he had hinted earlier this year, he wasn’t quite sure. On Monday, though, a post on his Facebook page announced that he will indeed take a shot at the event thanks to the support of his car owner Mark Langenfelder. Stuhler, who finished fourth in Port Royal’s Fall Clash feature on Saturday, made five World 100 feature starts from 1987-96 with a best finish of third in ’89 (behind Donnie Moran and Freddy Smith) but he hasn’t entered the event since 1999.
