Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: WoO's difficult (but correct) call at TST
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: I’m sure there are some folks who question Wednesday’s decision by officials from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Talladega Short Track to cancel this weekend’s scheduled doubleheader at the track in Eastaboga, Ala., with a forecast of widespread thunderstorms Friday night and into Saturday. I mean, there’s plenty of negative comments visible on social media. But the naysayers have to consider that the series and track found themselves facing one of the most difficult decisions. Yes, the weather outlook does seem to indicate that there’s a decent chance that Friday’s $12,000-to-win program could be completed before the rain arrives, but Saturday's forecast — the night of the $25,000-to-win finale — looks decidedly more dire. Is it worth it to bring all the far-flung WoO regulars and other entrants from across the Southeast to Talladega for potentially a single night of racing? Sunday wouldn’t seem to be an option as a rain date with the NASCAR Cup Series event going on across the highway at Talladega Superspeedway, and, with the country’s average price of diesel fuel at $5.40 and the WoO tour headed to Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway on Tuesday and then Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., on April 30-May 2, there’s little doubt that most race teams would agree with the early decision.
No. 2: Something notable about the cancellation of Talladega’s Alabama Gang 100 weekend: it’s the first lost race of the 2026 season for the WoO tour. Considering the rate of weather-related cancellations in the spring over the history of the series, it’s remarkable that the Outlaws went 16 straight events across eight tracks in six states before the first show was nixed.
No. 3: With back-to-back victories last weekend at Pennsylvania’s Selinsgrove and Port Royal speedways (and another victory and two seconds in his previous three starts at the tracks this season) Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa., is riding high. But can the 41-year-old extend his hot streak against higher-level during this weekend’s Lucas Oil Late Model Series tripleheader in his home region at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, BAPS Motor Speedway in Newberrytown, Pa., and Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway? He would appear to be set up pretty well for success. While Satterlee hasn’t won a Lucas Oil Series feature since 2022 at Port Royal, he has a strong track record at two of this weekend’s three stops, winning in all three of his career appearpances at BAPS (two unsanctioned races in 2020 and an Appalachian Mountain Speedweek show in ’24) and owning numerous triumphs at Hagerstown, including a last-lap Lucas Oil win over the late Scott Bloomquist in ’16.
No. 4: It’s the half-mile Georgetown oval where Satterlee hasn’t fared well in Lucas Oil Series action. He finished eighth in the tour’s first visit in August 2023, but he’s failed to make the feature field in the track’s April events in each of the last two years. Those DNQs topped off especially frustrating nights at Georgetown for Satterlee. In ’24 he missed hot laps because of an electrical problem that shut off his car, qualified poorly and never recovered; last year he went spinning in turn three during his heat after his car suddenly lost power with an apparent battery cable problem and was struck by Clay Harris and later fell one spot short of transferring in the B-main.
No. 5: Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., plans to sport a Dale Earnhardt Jr.-ish look during this weekend’s Lucas Oil Series foray to the Northeast. His social media accounts are plugging his special salute to Budweiser’s 150th anniversary that will feature tributes to Dale Jr.’s rookie NASCAR Cup Series season in 2000 when he drove a Budweiser No. 8. Overton, who has long boasted sponsorship from local Budweiser distributor Doug Varnadore, has a new driver’s suit that resembles Earnhardt Jr.’s and Polen Designs worked up a helmet for him that’s an interesting take on Junior’s open-face helmet from early in his career — painted onto Overton’s helmet underneath the visor is Earnhardt Jr.’s mouth and chin. Overton will also on Thursday unveil his new wrap for the weekend that is expected to have an Earnhardt Jr.-tinge to it.
