Muskingum County Speedway
Muskingum's unique Dirt Cup well received
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Devin Moran in front of Muskingum County's big crowd. (BW Media)
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (June 10) — The idea for what eventually became the Shale Crescent Dirt Cup was born five years before Wednesday's inaugural event when Tristin and Devin Moran began kicking around the concept while working in their race shop. | RaceWire
“Wouldn’t it be awesome to get all the national guys together and do like an invite-only event?” Tristin Moran recalled Wednesday at Muskingum County Speedway.
Then, the idea resurfaced last year as Tristin watched the Ryder Cup, golf's biennial team competition between the United States and Europe. Seeing two sides compete for bragging rights on an international stage rekindled the thought.
“Watching the U.S. get their butts kicked,” Moran said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘What if we did Outlaws vs. Lucas Oil?’ ”
From there, the brothers — with backing from Bruce Tague and the Ohio Natural Energy Institute — began piecing together a Ryder Cup-style format designed to pit the sport's two premier national tours directly against one another.
That vision became reality Wednesday as the top 12 drivers in points from the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series squared off in the inaugural Shale Crescent Dirt Cup, a showdown unlike anything Dirt Late Model racing had seen before.
Based on the packed grandstands and overwhelmingly positive reaction throughout the pit area from drivers and team members alike, the groundbreaking event was a success.
Every eligible driver competed except Brandon Overton, who was replaced by Dan Ebert on Team Lucas. Fans embraced the team-centered format, which featured a points-based scoring system for qualifying, heat races and a head-to-head King of the Hill challenge before culminating in a 50-lap feature won by Bobby Pierce.
“It was amazing. For a Wednesday night, we had no idea what the crowd would be like,” Devin Moran said. “It seemed like they had a good crowd. Everybody but Overton could come — he had a family vacation. I know when I was talking to him, he wishes he could be here. Huge thank you to all the drivers for coming and hanging out. Yeah, it was a really, really cool event.”
What ultimately lured virtually every top driver from both tours was the guaranteed appearance and starting money. Drivers received $5,000 simply for participating and another $2,000 to start the feature. Members of the winning team — Team Lucas, which prevailed 117-84 — also received a $1,000 bonus. In total, the event purse reached $230,750.
“It’s some good money. It’s very unique. You get to see the top quality drivers from both series, so that’s really cool,” said Pierce, who pocketed $25,000 between his winner’s share and showup money. “Very appreciative of the money they put up for us to be here and glad to support this thing. Tristin and the Morans have worked really hard for it. Hopefully they can make it bigger and bigger, and have it continue to grow.”
Much of the financial backing behind the Dirt Cup can be traced to Ohio's natural-gas industry and the relationships cultivated by Tague, the executive director of Ohio Natural Energy Institute.
“Nothing really happened for a couple years … then we got lucky and met with Bruce Tague,” Tristin Moran said of the Dirt Cup’s assembly. “He helped put this on and raised a lot of money for the event, with Ohio Natural Energy Foundation and all the companies that fall under Shale Crescent. We can’t thank those guys enough.”
Moran said roughly 30 sponsors helped fund the event's hefty purse, many with direct ties to the Shale Crescent region's energy sector. Through the Ohio Natural Energy Foundation, the charitable arm supporting the event, Tague helped bring together producers, pipeline companies, trade associations and other industry partners that viewed the race as an opportunity to highlight the economic impact of the Appalachian energy corridor while supporting educational and scholarship initiatives.
“We’ve always talked about, but as you see, the oil and gas companies that came out — Ohio National Energy Institute is the one that kind of stringed it all together,” Devin Moran said. “If it wasn’t for those companies, we wouldn’t have done it. They’re the ones that put the money up. Bruce tag did a heckuva job getting it all figured.”
Another distinctive element of the event was its all-access ticket policy. A single ticket, priced at $45 for adults and $25 for children, granted fans admission to both the grandstands and pit area throughout the day.
The format also included a sponsor-backed autograph session in which each driver was stationed beneath an individual tent outside their pit area. Every competitor was paired with an event sponsor, creating opportunities for fans to interact with both drivers and businesses supporting the event.
Among those impressed by the setup was Roberts Motorsports owner Ken Roberts, who fields Garrett Alberson’s No. 58 entry.
“It's a great concept,” Roberts said. “They put a lot of energy and effort into it. And it shows. I think the coolest thing is all the families. They’ve been out all afternoon with an all-access (ticket). It's such a great approach. A lot of the partners they brought in is kind of cool to build some relationships. You want to support something like that. They're thinking out of the box, and it's just good for the sport.”
The event's ability to attract dozens of sponsors and business partners, many of whom apparently don't attend Dirt Late Model races regularly, stood out to Ricky Thornton Jr.
“In the end, we’re all here to make it a big event and into the biggest event we can,” Ricky Thornton Jr. said before Wednesday’s on-track action. “There’s a lot of sponsors here, a lot of people you don’t normally see at a dirt track. Overall, it’s really cool. We’re all going to represent Lucas the best we can.”
Thornton said he felt it was important for drivers to support the Dirt Cup.
“Anytime someone wants to do an event of this magnitude, you always want to support it,” he said.
While the Dirt Cup was built around a head-to-head showdown between the Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws tours, drivers largely viewed the competition as a friendly one.
Brandon Sheppard, the most accomplished driver in World of Outlaws Late Model Series history with five titles and 89 tour victories, has experienced both sides of the rivalry, now following the Lucas Oil circuit with Rocket1 Racing.
“I don’t think us drivers see it that way, but the fans see it that way,” Sheppard said of the would-be rivalry. “It’s a fun, friendly competition among us drivers. There’s a lot of great people here putting up a lot of money for us tonight. ... Anytime we can be involved in something like this, have those people support the racing, that’s what it’s about for us.”
The concept also generated interest beyond Dirt Late Model racing.
Hoffman said several sprint car drivers reached out to him after hearing about the event and expressed interest in seeing a similar team-based showdown between the discipline’s two national tours — Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing and World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
“They’re hoping this comes to the sprint car side,” Hoffman said.
Pulling off an unsanctioned event of that magnitude required a substantial effort from Tristin Moran’s staff and volunteers, with much of the organizational burden falling on the Moran family.
Tristin Moran said his mother, Brenda; father, Donnie; sister, Savanna; and brothers, Devin, Wylie and Brodie all played key roles in helping coordinate the event, from securing drivers and sponsors to overseeing race-day operations.
“It’s a big family-oriented deal to make all this work,” Tristin said. “It’s very stressful. I don't think I’ve slept well the last week, but it’s fun. You have your Eldoras and tracks that are used to this, used to this stage. Honestly, even our (annual) Lucas (Oil) race (every July), they come in here and pretty much handle everything. Us being in charge of everything, from tech, to getting the drivers here, to making sure we have everything in place, it’s stressful, but it’s fun.”
The Morans view Wednesday's event as only the beginning of something larger.
While pleased with the turnout and reception to the inaugural Dirt Cup, there’s still plenty of room for growth. Eventually, Tristin Moran would like to establish the event as an annual fixture on the Dirt Late Model calendar, continue growing its profile within the sport.
“That’s the plan, it’s to carry this on into next year and turn it into an annual event,” Moran said. “Maybe down the line we can take over a weekend and get the series more involved, get Rick (Schwallie, Lucas Oil series director) and Steve (Francis, World of Outlaws series director), and everyone here. But first year, on a Wednesday, probably do midweek the first couple of years, I’d assume.
“But as this event grows, as it takes hopefully on (an event in stature) like the World 100 — I know it’ll never happen, I just love the World. But if we can start growing toward that and ask, how big can we get this?” Moran said of the list of the sport’s crown jewel events. “Right now, it’s at the bottom, but hopefully we can grow it even more.”
