Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Recapping Charlotte's World Finals
With the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series concluding its season with Bobby Pierce as champ and Jonathan Davenport topping Charlotte’s World Finals, our roundtable checks in for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
What’s your biggest Charlotte takeaway?
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: In simple terms, the World Finals continues to be a juggernaut in the dirt racing industry. The throng of fans and scores of race teams it continues to draw is simply astounding. And something to remember is that the championships were essentially decided in all three divisions entering the weekend, so title drama isn’t needed to attract the crowd. If there happens to be a close championship battle, it’s gravy. That has to be heartening to the racing purists who argue against the points-resetting, Chase-type formats of the Lucas Oil Series and NASCAR.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: That Jonathan Davenport might be less likely to dazzle us compared to throttle-stomping drivers who display daring slide jobs, cushion-running charges and the like, but that it’s never a surprise when he ends up in victory lane. He dominated Friday’s prelim and had to work harder in Saturday's $25,000 finale — the back and forth with Hudson O’Neal was entertaining — to come out as the weekend’s top driver and, now, the winningest World Finals driver.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: It was the best overall experience I’ve had in my six years of going to World Finals. From the spectacular weather (I was in shorts and a T-shirt for most of Saturday), the commendable racing racing surface (no intermissions for track prep and it never rubbered down), healthy car counts and entertaining racing product, this year’s World Finals checked all the boxes. On the track, it was tough sledding for three of the top-four drivers in our sport as Ricky Thornton Jr. couldn’t overcome car issues Friday and Saturday while Devin Moran missed all three features and Bobby Pierce seemingly couldn’t stay on the lead lap. Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal and Drake Troutman were most impressive.
Josh James, contributing DirtonDirt photographer: I admire the track crews ability to overcome the previous week’s rough surface witnessed during the World Short Track Championship. The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s track preparation crews put in countless hours repairing the treacherous red clay surface that mother nature dealt them the previous week and we were all treated to four nights of smooth racetracks that was conducive for great competition. Even with the rain overnight Friday the track still stood up to the challenge of hosting 163 entries of Late Models, sprint car and big-block modifieds, which can easily wear out a racing surface.
Put a wrap on Bobby Pierce’s second WoO title.
Turner: Pierce is undoubtedly among the sport’s top racers, and a 30-win season is inarguably successful, but he didn’t win the title going away. And while it would’ve taken a massive collapse to fumble the championship to Nick Hoffman at Charlotte, we all know that 12th-, 16th- and 23rd-place finishes weren't the way Pierce wanted to end his season. He’s got a single victory in his last 19 starts (admittedly, that lone Dirt Track World Championship victory paid $100,000), the longest stretch with a single victory since April 11-May 31, 2023 when he had a single victory among 20 races. It proves he’s human, but the real question is whether it’s a blip amid continued success or the end of a remarkable three-year run that will go down as the best of his career.
McFadden: You could say it was the revenge tour for Pierce, who as we know, had a chip on his shoulder this year after last year’s major tire infraction kept him from winning the 2024 WoO title. Pierce has this rhythm, steadiness and, when he’s at his peak, dominance about him that’s made him virtually unbeatable in the recent seasons. His years have gone like this since 2023: slow-moving during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, heating up in the spring, peaking in the summer, and carrying enough of that momentum into autumn and the end of the season. I suspect next year will be tougher for Pierce on the WoO tour next year because Nick Hoffman is only getting better and better. Plus some high-profile names could join the WoO tour.
James: Bobby Pierce’s championship has to be a measure of redemption from a challenging 2024 season marred by an early season penalty which contributed to him coming up 38 points shy of champ Brandon Sheppard. Pierce and his self-owned team made strides in many areas this year winning on red clay tracks such as Smoky Mountain, Swainsboro and Talladega which weren’t in Pierce’s wheelhouse. Pierce’s progression into national touring competition over the past several seasons turned him into a versatile threat at any track no matter the conditions.
Kovac: What’s very nearly three straight WoO crowns for Pierce — in his mind it always will be considering his dispute with last year’s tire penalty that ultimately cost him the championship — cements the fact that he’s one of the best drivers in the country. Becoming a full-fledged national touring driver since 2023 (his only other year on a national circuit was in 2018 with Dunn Benson Racing on the Lucas Oil Series) has only elevated his game, making him better because he’s seeing so many different tracks and regions. He’s put together another million-dollar season and, as long as he maintains focus as he approaches the age of 30 (he turns 29 on Nov. 24), he’ll continue ringing up national titles.
Who else impressed you at the World Finals?
McFadden: Drake Troutman is the most obvious choice. Finishing on the podium all three nights, mixing it up with Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal in the Kevin Rumley-owned No. 6 and Brandon Sheppard’s Rocket1 team is a confidence-boosting conclusion to an up-and-down season for the 20-year-old. Troutman showed much promise this season, even picking off his first WoO victory and scoring the fourth-most top-fives on tour. But inconsistency held him back. I believe he can crack that top-three in points by the end of next year should he clean up the miscues. Weeks like these are no doubt a step forward.
Turner: I’ll also discuss Drake Troutman, whose WoO Rookie of the Year campaign started strong but lagged in the second half of the season (heading to Charlotte, he had only two top-five finishes in 31 starts since July 11). But in a reversal of Pierce limping to the WoO finish line, Troutman ended the year with a Charlotte flourish, scoring two third-place finishes and a runner-up (technically one position better than Hudson O’Neal over three nights). Is it possible that if the 20-year-old altered his race-anywhere-and-everywhere approach he’d be that much better?
James: Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing team had an overall great weekend at Charlotte. In Wednesday’s time trials, he showed speed in the newly developed Rocket XR2. Sheppard led most of Thursday’s feature, coming up short with Hudson O’Neal’s last-lap pass. Friday’s third-place finish and Saturday’s fourth0place finish capped off a solid weekend that will have Mark Richards and crew hungry to return to the track and go to work on putting the Rocket house car back in victory lane.
Kovac: I’ll offer quick hits on several names, including Jonathan Davenport, who used all his savvy and talent to become the winningest driver in World Finals history … Hudson O’Neal, who on Thursday became just the second driver in World Finals history to pull off a last-lap pass for a victory with his move by Brandon Sheppard (Darrell Lanigan did the same over Chris Madden in 2014) … Drake Troutman and team owner G.R. Smith pulled back a bit in recent weeks to regroup from a long season and three podium finishes against the high-level World Finals competition bodes well for greater success in 2026. … Southeast regional racer Ben Watkins made all three features, no small accomplishment during a weekend that saw Lucas Oil Series champ Devin Moran absorb three DNQs … and how about Beckham Malone? The 13-year-old made his first WoO feature Friday and finished ninth, good enough to lock him into Saturday’s finale as well.
Who are your too-soon picks to capture next season’s Lucas Oil and WoO championships?
Kovac: “Too soon” is definitely an appropriate description for any picks made right now, considering murmurs that there may be some drivers contemplating new directions in 2026, including Jonathan Davenport, who said Friday he and his team “pretty much know what we’re going to do” but wouldn’t detail if that means a return to the Lucas Oil Series. Nevertheless, it appears Bobby Pierce will be back for another round with the WoO, so I’ll make him my tentative choice as champion. On the Lucas Oil side, I’ll go with Brandon Sheppard, whose uptick in performance late in the season gives me the feeling that he’ll be back at a championship level with the Rocket1 team in ’26.
McFadden: As of now, Devin Moran is my pick to go back-to-back on the Lucas Oil tour. He gets better and better each season, and as long as he retains his Chuck Kimble-led crew, there’s no question that he’ll improve even more on the national tour in 2026. Over on the WoO side, this might not even pan out should he elect to remain on the Lucas Oil tour, but I’ll make a pretty bold prediction and predict Ricky Thornton Jr. as the 2026 WoO champion. He already has a Lucas Oil title, now why not add a WoO championship to his ever-growing resume?
James: With the assumption drivers will remain in their perspective tours, I believe you’re looking at a tight battle for the WoO title with the edge going to whoever masters the new venues on the 2026 schedule such as Hendry County, Mansfield and West Virginia Motor Speedway. I think Pierce earns his third WoO championship. On the Lucas Oil side, the championship chase provides parity at season’s end, but I believe Jonathan Davenport and company tops the Chase point format for the first time for his fourth Lucas Oil crown.
Turner: Not creative nor daring, I realize, but on first blush I’ll say titles will be defended: Devin Moran will be back on top of the Lucas Oil heap and Bobby Pierce will be looking at a third WoO championship. They’re in their prime, in extremely secure team situations and are only emboldened by their previous success. They’re also — an important point amid chatter in the pits — virtually guaranteed to stick on their tours, while the makeup of the touring rosters could be fluid in 2026. Get back to me mid-winter and my answer might more creative, more daring.
Discuss a recent piece of news (or something potentially developing).
James: Close to home for me, but the first thing that comes to mind is this past weekend’s final race at the closing Clarksville Speedway. The longtime Tennessee oval was a fixture on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and hosted specials including the Tuckassee Toilet Bowl Classic. It was announced in July the city was acquiring the property at year’s end for recreational and infrastructure needs. It is sad to see any racetrack become a memory. It will no doubt leave a void for many racers and race fans in the area, but I'm thankful for many great nights of racing there brought to us by speedway owner William Scogin.
McFadden: Silly Season has been relatively slow, but there are some ride situations to monitor. Joseph Joiner recently announced he’s not returning to the JCM No. 19 seat next year, a team expected to make a Lucas Oil run. That potentially leaves a nationally touring ride open for 2026. Daulton Wilson is still a free agent. Could we see those two pair up? Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year Donald McIntosh is still searching for a ride, too. As far as rookie classes go for both national tours, Logan Zarin has declared his intentions to follow the Lucas Oil Series while Josh Rice and JRR Motorsports will campaign on Lucas or WoO. Thirteen-year-old Beckham Malone also told me at World Finals he’s leaning toward following the WoO tour next year.
Kovac: How about engine builder and Dirt Late Model driver Vic Hill deciding to really go all out in his third role as track promoter with a huge four-night event in April 2026 at his Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.? Hill announced that his Gauntlet affair will run April 14-18 (Tuesday through Saturday with Thursday an off night) and feature races paying $7,500-, $10,000-, $20,000- and $30,000-to-win with a $100,000 Bulls Gap Jackpot Bonus posted if the winner of the finale is also the winner of a prelim. That’s an ambitious stretch of racing, especially without an affiliation with a national series (it appears the event will be unsanctioned). Will four nights at Bulls Gap in the middle of April work? I guess we’ll see.
Turner: I’ll give a shoutout to Kevin’s column last week about a North Dakota Late Model racer Laine Schwehr’s remarkable recovery after breaking his neck in a rollover wreck in late September. The initial and grim prognosis that he may not walk again was devastating, but his treatment and hard work in rehab already has him back on his feet. There’s a long way to go, but WISSOTA territory got its feel-good story of the year.
