After the Checkers
Instant reaction, analysis from Indiana Icebreaker
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Max Blair (111) battles for second. (heathlawsonphotos.com)
BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (March 28) — Instant reaction and analysis from Saturday’s 29th annual Indiana Icebreaker at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway, a $25,000-to-win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event won by Devin Moran (RaceWire):
BLAIR ON RISE: Don’t sleep on Max Blair’s superb stretch of consistency and late-race strength. Saturday’s podium is his fifth straight top-five on the Lucas Oil tour and his 13th top-10 finish in 18 starts this year. While Devin Moran was virtually flawless in Saturday’s 50-lap feature at Brownstown, the Centerville, Pa., driver not only hung with the reigning Lucas Oil champ, but reeled him in over the closing laps and had a legitimate shot at the victory had Moran slipped up. If you look back through the winners list at Brownstown, just about every winner has carved out a Dirt Late Model legacy. It seldom produces fluke or offbeat winners, meaning that to win at the quarter-mile, you need smooth driving and a car capable of navigating its tricky corners. Blair has that right now and is looking more like the polished driver he showed himself to be during his years starring in the northeastern Dirt Late Model scene. That elusive first full-field Lucas Oil Series victory feels right around the corner.
NOT LOST: What happened to Brandon Sheppard on Saturday? The Rocket1 machine looked convincing in clean air over the opening 14 laps before fading to Devin Moran’s prowess around the quarter-mile. Turns out, Sheppard shared he never had the traction he was searching for throughout the night — especially on restarts — leaning on his team’s sheer speed as much as he could. In the end, he simply couldn’t keep pace with the top three of Moran, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Max Blair. Sheppard, admittedly, isn’t at his best at Brownstown. He hasn’t won there since 2021 and has an average finish of 10.2 in 13 races at the track since that last victory. Sure, no driver feels fulfilled after a race they fail to capitalize on, but Sheppard isn’t leaving empty-handed. Rather, he’s encouraged. After all, he heads to Atomic on Sunday, where he won on the tour last July.
HARD EARNED: Other than winner Devin Moran, no Brownstown driver seemed happier than Freddie Carpenter, particularly after his heat race, when the Fastest Ponytail in Dirt Racing qualified for his first Lucas Oil feature of the season without needing to race through a B-main or use a provisional. The pure elation from the 55-year-old when he climbed out of his car — throwing both hands in the air while proudly looking toward his friends and family on his crew, who applauded him in return — even made me smile a little. “No B-main! No B-main!” Carpenter’s supporters shouted toward him as soon as the Parkersburg, W.Va., racer landed back in the pits. He could only finish 16th from the 14th-starting spot, but after one gut punch after another during a rocky Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, it’s nights like these that remind Carpenter why it’s worth making the substantial sacrifice to follow the Lucas Oil Series this season.
HOME STRUGGLES: Hudson O’Neal is in a bit of an odd slump at his home track. His sixth-place finish isn’t bad, but considering the start he’s had to the season — and how much he loves Brownstown — it’s pedestrian for the Martinsville, Ind., native, who lost the Lucas Oil points lead Saturday. He had a chance to win his heat race and start third in the feature, but a slipup while going for the lead shuffled him back to fifth. He never recovered. The sixth-place run is, however, his best finish at Brownstown since a fifth-place run in the 2024 Jackson 100. In between, he posted finishes of 17th (incident while running fourth), 22nd (incident while running third), 25th (engine woes while running second) and 13th.
DAMAGE CONTROL: Saturday’s 13th-place finish for Clay Harris might be a sign that his dazzling start to the season is beginning to wane. But maybe it’s not. The third-year touring driver from Jupiter, Fla., who greatly impressed during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks — vaulting him to fourth in the series standings — seemingly picked up where he left off in Florida, running inside the top five nine circuits into the 50-lap feature. But right when things looked ever so promising, the backslide began. Harris quickly tumbled down the leaderboard — from fifth on lap nine to outside the top 10 by the lap-17 caution, when he pitted because he didn’t like the feel of his car. Turns out, Harris shared after the feature that Brownstown is among the four tracks he likes least (along with Farmer City, Hagerstown and, well, Atomic, where the series races Sunday). While Harris would’ve loved to flip the narrative Saturday, he seemed to accept that he’ll have nights like these — where he’s focused more on surviving than thriving. I’d have to imagine a top-10 Sunday at Atomic would keep plenty of wind in his sails.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Devin Moran didn’t win his first national touring feature at Brownstown until 2024’s Indiana Icebreaker, but since then, he’s yet to lose the quarter-mile’s March date with the Lucas Oil Series. His record at the Jackson County Fairgrounds is spectacular: in 23 career national tour starts, he has three victories, 14 podiums and 22 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 5.0. In fact, the only time Moran didn’t finish inside the top 10 came when terminal engine issues forced him to retire at the drop of the green in September 2022’s Jackson 100 prelim. Oh, and we should definitely mention that Moran is 1-for-1 as a father with his victory coming two weeks after wife Lakia delivered their first child, daughter Poppy Jane.
