Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Intriguing race at sprint-car stronghold
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: Friday’s Northern Allstars Late Model Series-sanctioned Marvin O’Neal Memorial at Paragon (Ind.) Speedway was already shaping up to be an intriguing event with several national touring regulars — Hudson O’Neal (grandson of the race’s honoree), Tyler Erb, Josh Rice — confirmed as entrants. Now it’s looking even more attractive following the washout of this weekend’s MARS Championship Series tripleheader at Iowa’s Cedar County Raceway and 34 Raceway. Several drivers who had the MARS on their schedules abruptly announced new plans to head for the $10,071-to-win show in the Hoosier State, including Brandon Sheppard and Ryan Gustin. MARS racer Ryan Unzicker is another who posted on social media that he was considering the trip. Most of Paragon’s competitors will also likely hit Saturday’s Northern Allstars John Gill Classic at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway, though Erb has indicated that he expects to run the a Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
No. 2: A notable entrant in Paragon’s event will be Don O’Neal, the 59-year-old Hall of Famer from Martinsville, Ind. A race run in memory of O’Neal father, who began the family’s racing legacy in 1958, presents a clear opportunity for the Real Deal to make a rare appearance behind the wheel of the MasterSbilt house car that boasts his familiar yellow colors and No. 71. Don’s last action came last year on Oct. 4 when he finished third in a Super Late Model feature at Brownstown.
No. 3: Paragon is a highly-regarded sprint car haven that hosts infrequent Dirt Late Model events, but the full-fender shows there typically are very entertaining. Last year’s inaugural Marvin O’Neal Memorial — reported to be just the fifth Super Late Model event ever run at the 3/8-mile oval about 30 miles south of Indianapolis — was a barnburner that saw Jason Jameson power past Hudson O’Neal on a late restart and hold on to win. Jameson will be back with his JRR Motorsports machine looking for a repeat.
No. 4: According to Skyline Motorsports crew chief Zeb Holkesvik, Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, is “ready to get back after it” after taking more than a month off from racing to recover from the sore neck and back that plagued him when he attempted to compete in March at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga., following a late-February wreck at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway. The 40-year-old Bruening wasn’t planning to run this weekend’s cancelled MARS events in his home state because it’s prom weekend for his daughter, so his next action looks to be World of Outlaws Late Model Series races on April 28 at Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway and April 30-May 2 at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis.
No. 5: Don O’Neal isn’t the only decorated Hall of Famer with plans to make a rare Dirt Late Model start this weekend. So is 61-year-old Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., who is scheduled to pilot a No. 00 that he’s prepared himself in Friday’s DIRTcar-sanctioned season opener at the Brownstown (Ill.) Bullring (formerly Fayette County Speedway). Korte, who for more than a decade has focused his racing efforts on his technical consulting business, came out of retirement last September with a fifth-place finish in the Pepsi Super Nationals at I-55 Federated Raceway Park in Pevely, Mo., and is expecting to run a limited number of events this season in the car owned by fellow racer Dane Dacus and carrying an engine provied by Alabama competitor Billy Franklin.
