Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: The WWS return to Arizona
Happy New Year and happy new season as we turn toward an upcoming busy winter schedule with our weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
What does a return to Arizona at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway mean for the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout after four years in Vado, N.M.?
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: Vado proved more than worthy as a WWS host — it’s a superb facility and the racing was consistently excellent — but it simply had one glaring negative: its location. The WWS is at its core an Arizona event, and Vado is simply too far east, and its elevation too high to ensure comfortable January weather, to serve as permanent home of the miniseries. The improvements made to the Central Arizona Raceway in recent years opened the door for WWS head man Chris Kearns to bring the show back where it belongs.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: A return to the home state of the miniseries and, perhaps more important than anything else, a climate where January's average high temperature is 10 degrees warmer. Vado produced solid racing and was a more than worthy venue, but cold weather, high winds and eventually last year’s snowout at the higher elevation was just too much. Central Arizona was never my favorite Arizona track, but it’s definitely been upgraded and the Chris Kearns-led promotional team has consistently produced successful events wherever the miniseries has roamed.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: It’s where the miniseries started in 2001, so it’s a meaningful return home for the Southwestern miniseries. While Vado Speedway Park produced some of the best racing the event, and arguably the sport, has seen, its location made it difficult to consistently draw fans. Weather there was often hit-and-miss, too. Central Arizona Raceway sits between Phoenix and Tucson, presenting a larger population base, easier travel access and warmer weather. Based on car count and driver support alone, this is shaping to be one of the most anticipated Wild West Shootouts we’ve seen.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: For an Arizona resident like myself, it means the Wild West Shootout is returning home, to the state and track where it all began. Of course Vado Speedway Park is a state-of-the-art facility that provided some excellent racing over the last few years, but it just feels “right” for this event to return to its roots. Obviously there’s no guarantee the racing will be better, or that car count will be greater, but I think early-season racing belongs in Arizona. I'm excited to see how the newly-renovated facility does in hosting this six-race miniseries and even more excited to see the on-track product.
What drivers have the best chance to halt Bobby Pierce’s stranglehold on the miniseries the past two seasons?
Turner: My top choices are Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard and Ricky Thornton Jr. (provided he dials in the Adam Family Motorsports ride to make it his own). What intrigues me is that most drivers will be making their first Late Model laps at the 3/8-mile oval with only a few expected entrants (Don Shaw, Garrett Alberson and Jimmy Whisler) among those competing the last time the miniseries was in Casa Grande in 2013. Other talented drivers expected including Pierce, Tyler Erb, Brandon Overton, Chris Simpson, Mike Marlar and Cade Dillard won’t have any problems quickly adapting, but it does add a twist.
McFadden: Jonathan Davenport has never lost a miniseries title in the three years he’s competed in 2023, ’21 and ’16, so you have to start there. Davenport’s also won at least three miniseries events over those years, too. Though he’s making a one-off appearance in an Adam family-owned ride, home-state native Ricky Thornton Jr. has experience at the Casa Grande oval and should, of course, be a threat. Hudson O’Neal and Kevin Rumley have struck up a pretty potent partnership as the two won three of their 12 races together last year, so I’d say they’re good for at least one miniseries victory. Garrett Alberson (second in WWS points last year), Tyler Erb (5.3 average finish at WWS since 2024) and Brandon Sheppard (won WWS titles in Arizona in 2019-20).
Clay: Jonathan Davenport. He's has never lost the overall points championship in the three years he has competed in the six-race miniseries (2016, ’21, ’23), amassing nine feature victories over those three years. Hometown racer Ricky Thornton Jr. is another driver with the experience to compete for wins, but he will be behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car, piloting a Longhorn Chassis fielded by Adam Family Motorsports. Bobby Pierce enters as the event favorite with those two close behind.
Kovac: Just looking at the stats mentioned in Kyle's piece on 10 drivers to watch at the WWS, it’s quite clear that Jonathan Davenport is the man who can cool off Pierce. Davenport has competed in the miniseries three times — 2016, ’21 and ’23 — and on each trip he’s produced three victories and a points title. Notable also is that his three WWS attempts have come at three tracks (Tucson’s USA Raceway, Arizona Speedway and Vado) and he’s never finished worse than sixth in 18 combined feature starts, so I don’t think he’ll have any problem figuring out another new oval in Central Arizona.
Discuss another aspect of the Wild West Shootout.
McFadden: Former Fairbury Speedway track worker Chad Bauman and his crew don’t get enough credit for raising the standard of the Wild West Shootout. The DirtonDirt Races of the Year at Vado Speedway Park in 2022 and ’23, along with countless other thrilling features, are direct results of expertise and tireless work from Bauman and his crew. Track prep is one of the most thankless jobs in dirt racing, which makes the consistent, high-quality surfaces his team delivers year after year all the more impressive.
Kovac: I like the lap-leader bonus money program for the two $25,000-to-win shows that’s been added this year courtesy of title sponsor Rio Grande Waste Services. I’ve always thought more races should have lap money, especially long-distance events where fans and sponsors can get involved by contributing smaller sums that can add up to some nice extra income for drivers (and some consolation for those who spent time in front but suffer heartbreak). The big $500-per-lap bonus for the first and last features of the WWS is a nice extra carrot that will create more incentive for drivers to battle for the lead.
Clay: One thing the Wild West Shootout hasn’t had to worry about since its 2022 transition to Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park was consistent prolonged sunshine creating dry track conditions; however, with the event returning to Arizona, I’ll be interested to see if officials stay on top of the ever-changing track conditions and how easily moisture may be kept in the racing surface. Based on races I’ve seen at the newly-renovated 3/8-mile facility, I expect the track surface to retain moisture, creating fast, hammer-down conditions with the fast line through a treacherous cushion lining the outside retaining wall, added in recent seasons.
Turner: The miniseries hasn’t let the sport’s trend of more lucrative purses pass it by. WWS competitors competed for mere $3,000-to-win purses 13 years ago at Casa Grande, but this year’s tour not only includes $25,000-to-win programs bookending four $10,000-to-win programs, but title sponsor Rio Grande Waste Services added lap-leader bonuses of $500, meaning flag-to-flag winners of the opener and finale could collect as much as $50,000. A tour that formerly promised mostly a chance for offseason racing than cash has, over the years, become a place to cash big paychecks, too, with its boosted purses and bonus programs over the years.
How do you view Lucas Oil’s lucrative 2026 bonus program that will spice its late-season events?
McFadden: I like it. Sure, in a way, The Chase and playoff dynamic remains with a $100,000 bonus, among other incentives, still on the line for championship-contending drivers. I know the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series staff have put a lot of thought and effort into how they can maximize its schedule and generate more exposure for its series partners. The extra bonuses at the end of the season raises the stakes for the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, Jackson 100, Pittsburgher, the doubleheader at Eldora and DTWC, making those events much-watch races while still preserving the traditional, season-long points format.
Clay: First off, I’m a big fan of a “standard” full-season points system determining the series champion, rather than a one, or multiple-race playoff system calling for a points reset. I think that is the most legitimate way of crowning a champion and removes any speculation as to whether the rightful driver won. However, it seems the Lucas Oil Series remains concerned about attracting viewership and interest during its late-season stretch, prompting the recently announced bonus program. I don’t have any issues with the bonus program itself, but I'm surprised series officials seem to feel like a financial bonus or playoff system may be needed to keep fans interested and watching.
Kovac: I like it. I’m very pleased to see the Lucas Oil Series return to a traditional season-long points format to determine the champion after using the four-driver playoff system for the past three years, and this miniseries-within-a-series — offering separate points over the final five Saturday-night races for the top-five drivers, as well as those from sixth on back, in the overall standings entering the stretch — is a great way to add a little extra intrigue in case there isn’t title-chase drama. It’s essentially a blown-out version of the Crown Jewel Cup points that the series has offered. With the significant bonus money that’s been posted (including $100,000-to-win the miniseries), it’s much more than an afterthought and gives the late-season races more cachet.
Turner: Huge fan of more big bucks for the drivers. Less enthused that the return to a “traditional points season” is sort of morphed into a traditional-playoff hybrid. Teams will no doubt appreciate more cash, but the change is esoteric for the average fan (not to mention that explaining it gets in the weeds). I understand the desire to pump up the late-season events, but really the only way that happens organically is something you can’t necessarily control: a dazzling points chase with multiple drivers in contention for the season-long championship.
What other news (or results) springing up during our holiday break caught your eye?
McFadden: Outside of Anthony Burroughs reuniting with Ricky Thornton Jr., Josh Rice’s Ratliff Motorsports team landing top crew chief Randall Edwards is among the most significant silly season moves heading into the new season. With the backing of JRR Motorsports and Edwards showing him the way on the wrenches, Rice should have everything he needs to produce a successful first season on the road as a full-time touring racer.
Clay: I'll highlight Sam Seawright, who thoroughly dominated Saturday’s 35th annual Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track, leading all 50 laps for the $7,500 payday. The only thing more impressive than Seawright’s on-track performance was the fact he did it in the Mach X house car that he and his brother J.T. Seawright have continued developing after purchasing Category 5 Race Cars from Stormy Scott. Obviously the sample size was small in the Ice Bowl’s 33-car (mostly regional) field, but I’m interested to see how the Seawrights develop that chassis and if the on-track success can continue.
Turner: I’ll do a little DirtonDirt log-rolling. If you didn’t visit the site much over the holidays, you might’ve missed some of our Best of the Quarter Century coverage. Along with our usual year-end recaps, we looked at Dirt Late Model racing over the past 25 years, ranking drivers, trends, young racers and more. It’s worth checking out if it’s going to be a few more weeks (or months) until your next race.
Kovac: I was saddened to learn of former I-55 Federated Raceway Park co-owner and promoter Ray Marler’s passing on Dec. 26 at the age of 87. The longtime partner of Ken Schrader in the operation of the Pevely, Mo., track was always a friendly figure when I visited his speedway or crossed paths with him at other tracks, including during the Speedweeks action at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park. He was one of the nicest people in dirt track racing and his love of the sport was immense. He’ll be missed by many in the industry.
Correction: Fixes the Seawright connection to the Mach 5 operation.
