Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Pennsy talk with Show-Me on horizon
While inclement weather hampered national touring action, compelling storylines developed during a mid-May weekend as our roundtable checks in for our weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Pick a topic from recent World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt.com senior writer: The regional-racer victories by Logan Zarin and Mason Zeigler were certainly a refreshing development, but let me mention the wins delivered by two accomplished regulars in Bobby Pierce and Tim McCreadie. Pierce’s triumph at Georgetown was a milestone as he became just the fourth driver in WoO history to reach 50 wins — and what’s amazing about that is he did it so quickly since becoming a WoO regular in 2023. It took his 74 starts over 11 years to finally win his first WoO win in ’21 and he had a modest four victories before hitting the road with the tour in ’23, and now, amazingly, he sits fourth all-time on the win list. McCreadie, meanwhile, won at Selinsgrove just one day before the two-year anniversary of his legendary father Barefoot Bob’s passing, which was quite fitting since last year he scored an emotional win on that very day. T-Mac hasn’t matched the night-in, night-out strength of Pierce and Nick Hoffman, but he’s third in points and his second victory of the season signaled that perhaps he can get on a summer roll to dull the winning ways of the championship leaders.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: Home-state racers defending their Pennsylvania dirt has gotta be it, right? It was intriguing enough that WoO rookie Logan Zarin and Jared Miley scored home-state semifeature victories at Marion Center, but Mason Zeigler’s $20,000 Bedford victory capped it. Zeigler is clearly a capable driver, but he races far fewer times than national touring foes, so to watch him run so well all week, then strategically engineer a victory at Bedford, where he’s oh so good, was fun too watch.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: I’m aware this is extremely low-hanging fruit, but how about the championship battle brewing? Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce continue to trade the points lead, almost nightly, with Hoffman currently holding a 10-point edge over Pierce after Sunday’s Billy Winn Classic at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway. Hopefully the title battle remains tight all the way until the final laps at this fall's Dirt Track World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C.
Spence Smithback, WoO publicist: Who says regional teams don’t win national-touring races anymore? Between Mason Zeigler winning Bedford and Jared Miley earning a split-field win at Marion Center, the western Pennsylvania fans got plenty of chances to see the locals in victory lane. But neither of those drivers had anything on Logan Zarin’s celebration in the other half of Friday’s program, as the World of Outlaws rookie and former ULMS regular looked more excited than most crown-jewel winners after earning his first victory at the national level. Between those moments, Bobby Pierce reaching the 50-victory milestone with the World of Outlaws at Georgetown and an always popular Tim McCreadie win at Selinsgrove, there are certainly no lack of storylines during the five-race stretch.
And reflect on Lucas Oil’s rain-shortened Eagle weekend (or its upcoming Show-Me 100).
Turner: I think I pegged Eagle for answering some questions about the direction of the title campaign, but rain robbed us of that after a solid feature in Thursday’s opener. Perhaps we can find the same thing at Lucas Oil Speedway for the Show-Me 100, where non-series regular Jonathan Davenport comes in as a favorite after a pair of Midwest LateModel Racing Association victories in April at the Wheatland, Mo., oval. I’m sure Lucas Oil’s standouts would prefer Davenport or an interloping Bobby Pierce don’t add to their Show-Me success of recent seasons.
Clay: Eagle Raceway’s rough-and-tumble racing surface put on a hell of a show Thursday before Mother Nature stole the final two nights. Eagle’s third-mile size, high banks and treacherous cushion puts each driver in control of their own destiny and it’s a treat to watch. So often we hear drivers complain about motor-dependent tracks or “getting stuck in someone’s dirty air” at larger venues, but neither of those are a concern at Eagle. Sadly, weather didn’t play nice, but I think I speak for nearly everyone when I request more cowboy-up surfaces on tight, high-banked bullrings.
Smithback: The Show-Me has always been one of my favorites simply because it signals the start of the best part of the season. The period between the end of Speedweeks and this race is usually known for unpredictable scheduling because of fragile spring weather, but once we get to Memorial Day, you know you’ve got a crown jewel or other marquee event to look forward to seemingly every other week for the rest of the season. This weekend specifically should be intriguing thanks to the reconfigured turns three and four, which have produced impressive results at Wheatland’s early-season races.
Kovac: The Malvern Bank High Bank Heist was one of those nightmare scenarios for a national tour: travel all the way to Nebraska and absorb two rainouts in three nights, including the $50,000-to-win finale. It was a lost weekend for a series that’s been plagued by rain recently, losing four of 10 scheduled events over the past four weekends. Rain is part of the game, of course, but it’s especially frustrating for everyone to put in so many highway miles — especially with diesel costs so high — and only get in one show. The Eagle cancellations send the Lucas Oil Series travelers to the Show-Me 100 in need of a break from Mother Nature. More lost nights would put both the teams and officials alike in a decidedly sour mood.
Detail another recent news item, non-national touring result or development.
Clay: Here's two examples of drivers exerting track dominance at the regional level: Sam Seawright notched his second career Southern All Stars victory — his first in nearly four years — Saturday at Duck River Raceway for his 11th career triumph at the Wheel, Tenn., quarter-mile going back to the fall of 2019, boosting his earnings to more than $61,500 over that span; Russell Erwin collected his third career Carolina Clash victory that same night at County Line Raceway, all of them coming at the Elm City, N.C., oval. Erwin added to his 10 other County Line specials since May of 2014, earning nearly $50,000 over that 12-year span.
Smithback: Obviously, no one wanted to see Saturday’s Connor Bobik Memorial finale rain out, but the rescheduled date of Wednesday, May 27, could end up shining a brighter spotlight on the growing event. At $30,000-to-win, it instantly becomes one of the highest-paying midweek races of the year. With no Lucas Oil action next weekend, many of their regulars already had plans to run the World of Outlaws races at Wayne County and Mansfield, so it should be interesting to see who makes a last-minute addition to their schedule.
Turner: Watching Terry Phillips fume over Tyler Kuykendall’s last-lap pass, rubbing underneath the leader in turns three and four, for a Heartland Dirt Late Model Tour victory in West Plains, Mo., was compelling. TP would have to admit he’d have done the same thing — at least in his younger days — but the Hall of Famer clearly took exception to the 18-year-old’s aggressive move. Keep an eye on Kuykendall. His results are uneven, but he could make a Show-Me 100 splash. I’ll also heap praise on a few multitime weekend winners: Bo Slay of Milton, Fla., grabbed a Southern All Star victory at Alabama’s Buckshot Speedway, then added a couple of weekend Crate Late Model victories. Luke Morey won for the first time on the Ultimate Southeast tour at Princeton (W.Va.) Speedway, then stayed in West Virginia for a regular-season victory at Beckley the next night.
Kovac: Good to see new Mansfield Speedway owner Matt Tifft present a seemingly successful grand reopening of the Ohio track on Friday. The former NASCAR driver acknowledged some first-night shortcomings — long concession stand lines, a three-division program that ran longer than he would have liked — but long lines mean there was a good crowd and there was a solid competitor turnout (including 28 Super Late Models). Most notably, while the track surface needs some work after its feel real test following a cold winter and wet spring, all indications point to the new clay Tifft applied being pretty good stuff that will make for nice conditions once it’s ironed out. Mansfield’s next action is a big one — a World of Outlaws Late Model Series weekend May 29-30 topped by a $57,000-to-win feature — so hopefully the surface will be ready for the high-profile stage.
Do you have any too-soon thoughts about next month’s Dream at Eldora?
Smithback: There are a handful of solid picks if we’re looking for a first-time Eldora crown-jewel winner. It feels like it’s only a matter of time until Devin Moran gets it done on the big stage at the Big E, and now that he’s got his first Lucas Oil championship out of the way, that has to be the next thing on his checklist. If not Moran, Nick Hoffman appears poised to win a crown jewel sooner or later, and Eldora might be his best shot. Don’t forget, Hoffman was the only driver to podium at both the Dream and the World 100 last year.
Clay: It’s never too early to discuss the likeliness of Jonathan Davenport’s continued dominance at Eldora Speedway, is it? The Blairsville, Ga., driver, running a pick-and-choose (critics would say cherry picking) schedule this year, will enter with four career Dirt Late Model Dream victories, including the last three (2015, ’23-’25). Add to that Davenport’s five World 100 globe trophies (2015, ’17, ’19, ’21-’22), his Intercontinental Classic triumph (2020) and 2022’s Eldora Million payday and I’d be hard pressed to come up with another driver with a better chance of winning next month’s $100,000 Dream finale.
Kovac: Right now I’m wondering if this could finally be the year for Chris Madden to get his Eldora crown jewel victory. He’s been a big up-and-down this season with his Infinity Race Cars house car effort, but when he’s been on, he’s been pretty darn good. There are three wins on his ’26 ledger, most recently a $20,000 score on April 17 at Volunteer Speedway. You know Madden is already focused on the Dream, and after two decades of trying at Eldora the racing gods have to ready to shine on him, right?
Turner: I have a suspicion that we’ll be talking a lot about Nick Hoffman. I think Jonathan Davenport comes to Eldora as the driver to beat, with Bobby Pierce in the conversation as well, but Hoffman was so consistent at Eldora last season that he’s one tweak away from dominating a big race there. Also, Mason Zeigler doesn’t list the Dream on his schedule, but as well as he’s running, he’ll be tempted to see if he can stir up some magic at a place where he’s been in the mix a number of times.
What are the characteristics of the ideal dirt track promoter?
Turner: Leadership. Organization. Communication. Delegation. And perhaps most importantly, a thick skin. It’s often a difficult and thankless job (not to mention the potential financial difficulties) and we’ve all probably seen it done wrong more than we’ve seen it done right. Flamboyance (like Batesville’s Mooney Starr) can work, as can behind-the scenes efficiency (like Hall of Famer Bob Sargent), but the prime traits are those I mentioned above. Folks must believe in you and trust you and you can’t get easily bent out of a shape. If it was easy, as they say, everyone would do it.
Smithback: They’ve got to be plugged into how the sport is evolving and what works in the modern era. If a promoter isn’t a fan of things like social media and streaming, that’s fine, but we can all agree that they’re here to stay. Therefore, the successful ones in the coming years aren’t going to be the ones who ignore or push back against the direction the world is heading, but the ones who figure out a way to take advantage of it. This isn’t to say no one over the age of 60 should be allowed to run a dirt track — I’ve encountered plenty of promoters in their 70s who make the modernization of their facility a top priority, and several in their 30s who would rather get teeth pulled than update their website.
Clay: The ideal promoter puts the racer’s and fan’s experience at the forefront before focusing on anything else. Track preparation should be a top priority with the expectation of hosting good, side-by-side racing, nightly. A good promoter always values an efficiently run program over making money at the back gate and promotes their events in multiple ways, including social media and local over-the-air radio. (Speaking of social media, can we get consistent updates on race nights and well-prepared event fliers without the use of artificial intelligence?) Only a small percentage of promoters would fit this mold and are the backbone of successful dirt tracks across the country.
Kovac: There has to be a little bit of a gambler in a promoter; every race is a roll of the dice with so many factors involved (weather being No. 1), and putting up big money for a major event isn’t for the feint of heart. A promoter better be a good leader, too, someone who is forceful enough to call the shots but also has the vision to put together a quality staff and understand they must be allowed to do their jobs. They need to adaptable — to changing trends, to situations that happen during a race night — and forward-thinking. They need to be sociable so they can talk to sponsors, racers and fans alike. And while being hands-on with track prep and other manual tasks is certainly wonderful, I think it’s even more important that they know how to put the right people in place for those positions. Considering how difficult promoting a racetrack is, it’s no surprise that only the best have lengthy tenures.
