Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Dad stories and more at Hendry County
In a new feature appearing regularly on DirtonDirt, senior writer Kevin Kovac will offer readers five things worth mentioning from around the Dirt Late Model landscape (index to previous Take Fives):
No. 1: This weekend’s inaugural World of Outlaws Late Model Series-sanctioned Swamp Cabbage 100 at Hendry County Motorsports Park in Clewiston, Fla., provided a golden opportunity to Vinny Guliani, the veteran Dirt Late Model engineer and crewman who now offers technical assistance to clients campaigning Longhorn Chassis and Bilstein Shocks through his VG Performance business. The third-mile oval is the closest track to the Naples, Fla., home of Guliani’s father Greg, so Guliani, who lives in Southside, Ark., made sure to include the doubleheader on his Georgia-Florida Speedweeks schedule. “It’s nice to spend time with Dad,” remarked Guliani, whose customers racing at Hendry County include WoO regulars Drake Troutman, Logan Zarin, Trey Mills and Eli Johnson.
No. 2: Guliani said visiting Hendry County brought back some memories for him and his father, specifically a race they attended there together some 18 years ago when Vinny was working for the Red Bull Racing NASCAR Cup Series team and was in Naples to see his parents. They made the 90-minute trip to Hendry County to “check it out” and found a track that had a Dirt Late Model field numbering four cars and “just some wooden planks for bleachers.” According to Vinny, his father recalled one particular moment from that night at Hendry County: “He said he remembered that I was looking at a guy’s car and he kinda got s----- about me looking at his suspension. Dad said, ‘If he only knew he was talking to an engineer with a thorough dirt background and a current Cup engineer.’ He was telling Daulton Wilson that story last night and I was like, ‘That’s a story a dad would tell,’ and we got a kick out of that.”
No. 3: After Bobby Pierce captured Friday’s 40-lap opener at Hendry County, DIRTVision pit reporter Ashton Smythe reminded him that he had said if were to win he’d drink a cup of swamp cabbage soup. Smythe didn’t have any available at that moment, but Pierce reluctantly conceded, “God, I guess I’m gonna have to do it.” And what exactly is the local delicacy? A quick Google search notes that “swamp cabbage soup is a traditional Florida Cracker dish featuring the tender, nutty heart of the native Sabal palm tree (the state tree of Florida), simmered with bacon, sausage and tomatoes. It is a hearty, savory and slightly smoky dish often served over white rice.” We’ll anxiously await Pierce’s food review.
No. 4: A notable spectator in Hendry County’s pit area on Friday was Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., the three-time WoO champion who ranks third on the national tour’s all-time win list. The 55-year-old Lanigan, who last ran a WoO event in 2022, was in the area for the week hanging out with his buddy Boom Briggs and also participated with Briggs and other WoO travelers in Wednesday’s Swamp Cabbage 100 bass-fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee.
No. 5: Have you seen the uniform that third-year Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series driver Clay Harris of Jupiter, Fla., has been wearing during this week’s tour action at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla.? The 24-year-old stood on the podium after his runner-up finish in Friday’s 50-lap feature rocking an outfit that had shelled peanuts covering its bottom half. His No. 6 car also boasts peanuts prominently displayed in its wrap as part of his new sponsorship affiliation with the Florida Peanut Federation, a non-profit organization that represents the state’s peanut farmers with education, promotion and marketing of Florida peanuts. In a social media video, Harris called his unique uniform “the nut suit.”
