Performance Racing Industry Trade Show
PRI-touring English finds himself on hunt for ride
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Tanner English (joshjamesartwork.com)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 11) — With the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show only four hours from Tanner English’s home, it’s easy enough to make a trip to the Indianapolis Convention Center to shake hands and connect with his supporters.
This year, however, the 32-year-old Kentuckian arrived with a slightly different motivation. In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement that he and Coltman Farms Racing were parting ways, English’s visit to the Racing Capital of the World had him on the job hunt.
“I’m not trying to jump into nothing that’s the wrong deal,” said English, who navigates free agency after a year-and-a-half tenure with Georgia-based Coltman Farms Racing. “I got some time to take my time and do things right. I mainly wanted to come here and see people that help me through the year and see if they want to go even further.”
English didn’t foresee leaving the Coltman Farms team anytime soon, but a difference in operational direction forced the two sides separate ways.
When he finished building his race shop in Benton, Ill., last September — not to be confused with his native hometown of Benton, Ky., that’s 90 minutes south — the four-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series winner had plans to make that his long-term headquarters.
But for 2026, the two-car Coltman Farms team will operate from its home base in Maysville, Ga., leaving English to make a decision.
“They kind of knew the deal before I started with them, that that’s what I wanted to do was race out of there,” English said. “I built that shop to invest back in myself, that way I have a base for somebody and to be attractive to a race team, basically. It’s fully operational and has (an apartment with) bedrooms for crew members and the whole deal.
“I have that there and the rest of my family there, and I just didn’t need to uproot that.”
For English, he’s searching for his fourth full-time effort in five years as deals with Riggs Motorsports, Viper Motorsports and now the Coltman Farms team have dissolved since 2022. He doesn’t have eye-popping victory totals to woo prospective car owners, but he does have multiple five-figure paydays every season since 2021.
He’s also one of nine drivers to win a full-field national touring event with multiple car owners since 2022, joining Ryan Gustin, Mike Marlar, Tim McCreadie, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Overton, Brandon Sheppard and Ricky Thornton Jr. in that category.
Since joining Coltman Farms Racing full time last April 19 in the WoO-sanctioned Alabama Gang 100 weekend at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., English tallied six victories with the team in 124 feature starts, including five paydays of $10,000-plus.
English delivered Coltman Farms Racing’s first national touring victory in World of Outlaws action Aug. 13 at Highland (Ill.) Speedway during a season where he finished ninth in the tour’s standings, producing seven top-fives and 14 top-10s in 42 starts.
As a free agent, English will keep his options open, but with the 2026 WoO season beginning with Jan. 22-24’s Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., an event he’d like to race, he’ll need to act quickly.
“I’m open to anything, basically is what it boils down to. I have showup money, pit passes and a provisional for the Volusia deal,” English said, touting his WoO Platinum Member status. “It’d be kinda hard to pass that up, you know what I mean? I don’t want to leave it on the table. If I can put something together for that, just to try and take advantage of that and stay in the loop. You know how this deal is. If you don’t race for a week, everyone is like, ‘Who is that?’ It’s about who you are right now. That’s the name of the game.
“Like I said, I feel like my shop, knowing I‘m committed to something that would be attractive to somebody. I just want to get that out there as much as possible, you know what I mean? And let people know I’m serious about racing as they are.”
At the very least, English has his family-owned 2016 Rocket Chassis, a 10-year-old engine and an open trailer his disposal, but that likely can’t get him far. The two-time MARS champion is open to reverting to a regional schedule in racing-rich Illinois, which comes with pros and cons.
“Really, I feel like we can make more money with all the races around home there, like the MARS tour and the (DIRTcar) Summer Nationals, stuff like that,” English said. “I feel like we can make more money. But you always wanna race the best to stay the best. It’s hard. You go back and do that MARS deal or Summer Nationals deal, then you come back and try to do the World of Outlaw the next year; well then, you’re that further behind. It’s just a tough deal.”
