Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Praising Harris in Speedweeks reset
After five Florida races split between Lucas Oil Series action at All-Tech and World of Outlaws action at Hendry County, our roundtable checks in for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Give us a key takeaway or two from Lucas Oil’s three races at All-Tech Raceway.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: One weekend at a single track does not represent what’s in store on a series for an entire season, but All-Tech certainly offered some signals that the Lucas Oil tour has the potential for some serious parity in 2026. Three winners in three races indicate that no one dominated. Ricky Thornton Jr., the driver who has been so good at All-Tech (and the tour's biggest winner) in recent years, wasn’t so good with a top finish of just seventh. Brandon Sheppard and Brandon Overton looked to be back in vintage form. Clay Harris and Carson Ferguson appeared to be stepping up their games. It’s early, but the tour’s competition level this season seems bright.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: All three nights offered something a little different. Thursday’s feature was the best of the week, with multiple leaders and Brandon Sheppard showing Rocket1’s early-season prowess. Friday was The Devin Moran Show, another reminder that Double Down Motorsports is back and better than ever. And Saturday, Hudson O’Neal capped a strong week by adding a victory to third- and fifth-place runs. There’s no clear-cut favorite out of the 2026 gate, which adds intrigue approaching the back half of Speedweeks.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: While Ricky Thornton Jr.’s 14th-, seventh- and 18th-place finishes certainly fall short of expectations, it wasn’t as bad as those results show. Thornton ran as high as seventh Thursday before slipping to finish 14th with right-front nose damage after a restart stackup, then backed that up by charging from 18th-to-seventh in Friday’s second round. Saturday’s finale offered the biggest challenge as he resorted to a backup car after a spin in time trials then drove from 23rd-to-12th before eventually fading to 18th. Thornton and team are still searching for outright speed, but they certainly wouldn’t mind a little luck as they overcome a slow start to the season.
Mike Ruefer, contributing DirtonDirt photographer: It was an exciting start that I think will be an indicator of the early season with Sheppard, Moran and O’Neal all getting wins. It felt a little strange not having Jonathan Davenport in the mix with him electing for an independent schedule in 2026. When a longstanding stalwart champion is missing it gets noticed. I expected Ricky Thornton Jr. to get things rolling even amid his struggles. The later February date basically gave the kick off near picture perfect weather and the crowd responded on Saturday with a packed house. Overall it was everything you could imagine to get things started in the new era of the Lucas Oil tour.
And check in on the World of Outlaws action at Hendry County Motorsports Park.
McFadden: I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hendry County’s Speedweeks debut, especially since I was immersed at All-Tech for four days. But from the highlights I caught, the racing looked entertaining and worthy of a Speedweeks date. The third-mile oval (a sizing that appears to be generous) gave off Summer Nationals vibes. Fans were treated to a slugfest between the tour’s top two heavyweights, Bobby Pierce and Nick Hoffman, which is about all you can ask for in a debut weekend.
Ruefer: It sure looked unique from the clips I saw. At first I was disappointed it conflicted with All-Tech, but now from seeing the race and community support they received it appears to be a future venue in years to come. The track size and surface conditions might not be for everyone and there is a sandy dust for sure. At the end of the day it looked successful and the drivers sounded like they embraced it. With Pierce and Hoffman winning it appears to be setting up a knockout drag out for the championship run this year.
Clay: While still in the early stages of a long schedule, it seems we’re in for a season-long battle between Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce. Hoffman narrowly held off Pierce to win Saturday’s $20,000 Swamp Cabbage finale, a night after Pierce dominated Friday’s $12,000 opener. It feels like Pierce is still trying to hit his stride, but I’m hopeful we’ll continue to see Hoffman give Pierce all he can handle in defending his World of Outlaws title from last year. It would be much more challenging to identify a third contender in that series as Hoffman and Pierce are the obvious frontrunners.
Kovac: By all accounts, the inaugural WoO weekend at the country’s southernmost dirt track exceeded expectations. The crowds both nights were great, of course, but the racing on the bullring was entertaining with Bobby Pierce using the top to win Friday’s feature and Nick Hoffman outdueling Pierce to win Saturday’s finale. The track surface definitely is sandy — probably the biggest concern expressed by the teams going in — but it nevertheless raced better than anyone might have thought. The track passed its first test on the Speedweeks stage.
Pros and cons of conflicting national touring events in Florida.
Clay: I’m not sure Hendry County Motorsports Park would’ve been in a position to host the lone Speedweeks race in any given week, at least not this first year, so it made sense that it was held in conjunction with another event. The biggest downside is that drivers and teams were tasked with choosing their allegiance to a national touring series much earlier in the season that we’ve seen in past years. One of the unique quirks about the traditional Speedweeks schedule was that drivers could often focus on starting their season strong before eventually committing to a full national touring schedule a month or two down the road.
Ruefer: It’s good to see that the sport is healthy enough to support two competing shows against each other during Speedweeks as both were successful. In a perfect world when all eyes are on Florida nationwide having conflicting races doesn’t make sense. The dilution in today’s age isn’t about attending fan support necessarily but about the national streaming audience to sell your brand. You want and need maximum exposure. On the other hand with the split it gave more drivers the opportunity to win and earn money, which is good, and with the relative distance between the tracks, local fans saw good shows.
Kovac: I see the idea that the tours going head-to-head immediately during Speedweeks forces teams to pledge their series allegiances rather than draw them out, but really, true contenders rarely end up leaving the tour they planned to run from the start. Running simultaneously does provide feature paychecks to more drivers who traveled to Florida, but at the same time, it waters down the fields of both events for the fans. Speedweeks would seem to be when non-conflicting races make the most sense in order to draw the strongest fields and most spectators and viewers, but with the stretch of racing now longer than ever rather than the previous tighter scheduling, scheduling norms for the tours have been reset.
McFadden: The hallmark of Speedweeks has always been that a single event could command everyone’s attention and draw a crown jewel–level field. From afar, it looked like the World of Outlaws had a successful debut weekend at Hendry County. But the overlap still dampened Speedweeks, as attention and investment among observers were split. Both All-Tech and Hendry County were solid events, yet neither felt truly special. Hopefully, moving forward, both series can avoid conflicting dates during Speedweeks so the sport can fully benefit from a unified spotlight.
With the Lucas Oil Series heading to Ocala, who needs a pick-me-up?
Ruefer: We’ve already mentioned Ricky Thornton Jr’s struggles, but he needs to get going and Ocala should be a prime place for that considering his success there. Fortune to misfortune and back again can change on a dime. Ricky and Koehler Motorsports are just too good to not to get this thing figured out and compete for wins. I’m sensing an ever increasing parity in the top teams. Winning is hard to do with equivalent cars and experience. The difference many nights falls into the hands of the driver. Ricky is one of the best drivers in the sport. He’s too good to be down long.
Clay: Ricky Thornton Jr. is the obvious answer as he's expected to run up front and compete for victories nearly every time he straps into a race car. Beyond Thornton, I’d say Josh Rice is the next Lucas Oil regular who could use a strong run. I think we all knew it would take some time for Rice to become acclimated and comfortable in his new JRR Longhorn entry. Rice will enter Tuesday with one top-five finish this year — a fourth place effort in a Feb. 11 Volusia semifeature — to go along with four other top 10s through 10 features starts.
McFadden: Among Lucas Oil regulars, older-than-usual rookie Freddie Carpenter needs something to go his way. He missed all three features at All-Tech, and just as his No. C4 Kryptonite Race Car showed promise — running inside a transfer spot in Saturday’s heat — he found the outside fence, ending his night with a tow back to the pits. Missing three straight features is deflating enough. Tearing up equipment with two busy weeks ahead only compounds it. The West Virginian needs a turnaround soon to make staying on tour worthwhile.
Kovac: It’s difficult to mention anyone here but Ricky Thornton Jr., who hasn’t finished better than fifth in 12 Speedweeks start dating back to last month’s Sunshine Nationals at Volusia. Seeing him struggle through the weekend at All-Tech — a seventh on Friday was his lone single-digit finish — was especially surprising. But remember that while he won five times during last year’s Speedweeks, the stretch went anything but smooth for him. He even assembled a new car in the pit area at the start of the week at Ocala after smashing one up at All-Tech. Thornton certainly needs a positive turn in his fortunes, but his experience with the ups-and-downs of Speedweeks will likely lead him to a turnaround this week.
Most likely first-time Speedweeks winner over the next two weeks?
McFadden: It’s gotta be Clay Harris, right? If not, who would be? After contending for victory all three nights at All-Tech, he looks next in line for a maiden Speedweeks win. As I wrote Sunday morning in my After the Checkers, Harris has emerged as a way-too-early Most Improved Driver favorite, making a massive leap from backmarker to contender. Even after going for broke Thursday and suffering a DNF, Harris made it clear that wouldn’t be the last admirable effort. He’s been right. With six engines at his disposal this year, he’s racing on the offensive attack, which may lead to that breakthrough win at Ocala.
Kovac: How can you not put Clay Harris at the top of this list? He’s already turned heads with a paid of podiums (and nearly another runner-up finish) at All-Tech, and now he heads to Ocala, where just two years ago he made waves with a runner-up finish in a Lucas Oil feature. Beyond Harris, though, I have a feeling about Brian Shirley. Almost unbelievably, the 44-year-old has never won a Speedweeks feature despite competing in plenty of them over the past two decades. One of these days the stars have to align for him — and after his Speedweeks got off to such a rough start with back-to-back engine failures, he’s due to enjoy some good fortune and nab a win at Ocala or Golden Isles.
Ruefer: Staying with the them, I’ll go with Clay Harris, too. Granted it was a home Florida track for his green peanut machine, but his runs were impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised for him to carry over that momentum into Ocala. His crash out on night one while running second was followed by second- and third-place finishes to erase any doubt he’s a contender. At least among drivers who haven’t won (or competed) at Speedweeks this season, Jonathan Davenport could sneak for an Ocala victory. Don't forget J.D. won two last year and was fifth or better in three other starts.
Clay: Clay Harris was going to be my immediate answer, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see Carson Ferguson break through aboard Donald Bradsher’s No. 93 Paylor Motorsports entry. With a full Lucas Oil season already under his belt, Ferguson seems poised for a breakout year as he becomes more familiar with the venues and competition. The Lincolnton, N.C., driver is also fresh off competing for Ram’s Race for the Seat where he nearly earned a full-time NASCAR Truck Series ride with Kaulig Motorsports and will still make at least one start for them later this year. Ferguson's confidence should only continue to grow as the season unfolds.
