Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Checking in during busy June stretch
With Dale McDowell ($30,000) and Bobby Pierce ($25,000) the weekend's big winners, our roundtable digs into results in the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Weigh in on the Lucas Oil weekend at Smoky Mountain.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: Brandon Sheppard might have won Friday's opener — tying his Lucas Oil single-season career high of five victories (previously in 2018, '20 and '22) and moving within 20 points of leader Hudson O'Neal in the standings — but the weekend truly belonged to Dale McDowell. He finished second to B-Shepp and then captured Saturday's $30,000 top prize, which made him just the second driver to win a Lucas Oil or World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature after turning 60. The late Freddy Smith is the oldest Lucas Oil winner at 61, but his triumph in 2008 at North Alabama Speedway was effectively a final flourish of a Hall of Fame career, one that came with little indication that it might happen. It's far from the same scenario with McDowell, who seems stronger than ever as he's hit the big 6-0. Simply put, MacDaddy winning on a national level is no shocker.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: If you don't appreciate Dale McDowell, then what do you appreciate in life? At 60 years old, after battling cancer a few years ago, recently undergoing cataract surgery and still racing that 7-year-old Team Zero chassis brother Shane meticulously maintains on a limited schedule, the ageless wonder continues to find remarkable ways to beat the best in Dirt Late Model racing. As the competition gap between the sport's elite and everyone else continues to widen, the McDowells have become something of a unicorn, proving their wealth of experience, resolve and brotherhood can still overcome the youth, technology and bigger budgets on occasion. After that performance, I think they could do it again at the Topless 100 in Batesville later this year, like they did in 2023.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: I was most entertained by the crew chiefs racing the Crown Vic division cars. Lots of a fun, especially the witty commentary by Hudson O'Neal, Devin Moran and Brandon Overton. Shame it was so late many folks probably missed it (I watched the replay). If it's done again, I'd suggest an early-in-the-program spot and enduro-style with no cautions and bang-bang pacing. A big crowd would get a kick out of the drivers with mics and the banter among crews.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: I'll get my one gripe out of the way in saying that the feature started too late on both nights of the Mountain Moonshine Classic. I completely understand a track wanting to prep the surface properly, but the show felt drawn out and started later than it should've. Other than that, It's good to see a national tour on red clay. It's great to see a guy like Dale McDowell, who now has 13 career Smoky Mountain specials going back to 2008, grab another national touring victory. It's an area that fulfills a niche part of Dirt Late Model racing.
And the World of Outlaws action at 141 Speedway (or a preview of upcoming WoO events).
Turner: I'll just say I love this run through the Upper Midwest each season, capped by the Gopher State 50 weekend at Deer Creek. It's a race-loving region that doesn't get a lot of open-competition engine Late Model action, so the WoO's early-summer visit (and the later return to Cedar Lake for the USA Nationals) buoys the sport. (I do find it interesting, and perhaps disappointing, that the Lucas Oil Series cedes this entire region … there's not a single series event at a WISSOTA-area track).
McFadden: I'm with Todd in that WoO's Upper Midwest swing has become one of the fixtures on the Dirt Late Model calendar that I genuinely look forward to every year. I covered the Upper Midwest swing through in 2023, and the scenery is every bit as impressive as the racing. Tracks like I-94 Speedway and River Cities Speedway — some that I visited in '23 — are outstanding facilities that deserve national-tour events. Nodak Speedway seems like a bucket list track, too. Yes, the swing somewhat overshadows the Summer Nationals, but it's well worth it. And don't expect Bobby Pierce to mind as he's won nine of the 20 full-field WoO features contested on this Upper Midwest stretch since the start of 2023.
Clay: Focusing on this week's World of Outlaws action, Cody Overton is slated to make his series return Monday at Ogilvie (Minn.) Raceway. Not many times do race car drivers get a new lease on national touring life, but the younger Overton has secured a ride with James Trantina's Triple B Motorsports team. Overton started off the season intending to run the full WoO tour before engine failures derailed his efforts in the early going. He's made 28 feature starts this season with four total victories and most recently won in Scott Ward's Longhorn Chassis on June 7 at Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D.
Kovac: I apologize for jinxing the WoO tour with my comment in a Take Five offering last week where I marveled at how the circuit had lost only two scheduled races (both at Talladega Short Track) to rain this season. They immediately ended up having Friday's opener at 141 washed out by showers that hit early in the program and then fighting more lingering precipitation Saturday, though some perseverance allowed the 60-lap feature to run to its conclusion after a red-flag for rain just after the halfway point. Give Bobby Pierce credit for rolling on following the rain delay on a very different racetrack to post another victory. With a national tour win now for six straight weekends, his lead in the WoO standings growing to 51 points over Nick Hoffman and eight races over the next 13 days on Upper Midwest tracks very much to his liking, he's threatening to really separate himself in the championship (and Dirt Late Model Driver of the Year) competition.
What's a non-national touring moment, result or driver of note?
McFadden: I never understand the criticism of national stars racing regional events, namely Jonathan Davenport and Max Blair here of late. They don't owe anyone an explanation for racing where they want to race. Racing is how they make a living. If winning were as automatic as some suggest, every other driver would've packed up and handed him the trophy before the night begins. Instead, those regional drivers get a valuable chance to measure themselves against national talent — and in Davenport's case, one of the greats. Iron sharpens iron. It's also a boost for regional tracks who don't offer a national tour race and for the fans who rarely see drivers of Davenport's caliber. That's good for the sport, not something to complain about.
Clay: Like Kyle, I'm picking cherries with this response, but Jonathan Davenport reminded everyone what a national-level driver and team can do on the regional level this weekend at Salina (Okla.) Highbanks. Davenport led 50 of 60 total laps contested in securing the Midwest LateModel Racing Association Freedom Tour sweep, his second MLRA weekend sweep this season. Davenport collected more than $16,000 in capturing his 12th and 13th feature wins this year. It's not the conventional way of racking up wins and big paydays, but how can you hate a driver and team for chasing (nearly) guaranteed money at new venues?
Kovac: What Trever Feathers is doing around the Mid-Atlantic region deserves some extra attention. The 32-year-old from Winchester, Va., ended the 2025 season on a heater — winning four times, including Bedford's $20,000 Keystone Cup, en route to the Fall Clash title — and he's rolling again this year. With a $10,000 triumph in Saturday's Beckley USA 100 at Beckley (W.Va.) Motor Speedway, Feathers has six wins this season, including a first-ever Appalachian Mountain Speedweek score earlier this month at Clinton County. He's developing into a true regional power. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make some noise later this summer when the Lucas Oil Series visits Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, where he's won twice this season.
Turner: Some quick-hitters … Dale McDowell wasn't the only sixtysomething winning a special event as Ohio's R.J. Conley, 62, snagged an Iron-Man victory at Moler. … How about Jason Covert ending a nearly year-long hiatus from competition with a $3,000 victory at Hidden Valley? … Unofficially, DirtonDirt recorded more weekly events the June 19-20 weekend than any other since the pandemic with more than 140 races under that listing (that includes some small-tour events). That includes all Late Model-style divisions. … Kyle Hardy shook off a disappointing WVMS weekend with $5,200 and $6,091 paydays in specials at Elkins Speedway and Winchester Speedway.
Share some thoughts about the upcoming Firecracker weekend at Lernerville.
Kovac: For starters — please, no rain! I don't know if all three days will remain dry — they rarely ever do during the Firecracker — but it would be nice to see Lernerville get through its marquee show without having to deal with adverse weather, let alone drenching downpours. It's unfortunate that the World of Outlaws have conflicting dates this year to prevent a few of that tour's regulars from joining the Firecracker field, but it still has enough qualities (tradition, purse, facility, crowd, campers, atmosphere) to be considered a crown jewel event. I'm making my pick right here: Max Blair gets the biggest victory of his career and becomes the second driver from Pennsylvania — alongside Rick Eckert — to win the state's biggest Dirt Late Model race.
Clay: Lucas Oil regulars should be thankful Jonathan Davenport isn't competing this weekend, after he captured last year's $50,000 top prize at Lernerville. Looking beyond J.D.'s quirky schedule, this may be a great opportunity for Ricky Thornton Jr. to get back on track. Thornton won the 2023 and '24 editions of the Firecracker, along with last year's $30,000 Hillbilly Hundred at Lernerville and enters with four total victories this season, just two on the Lucas Oil circuit. Coming off an engine failure while running sixth Saturday at Smoky Mountain Speedway, this might be the perfect weekend for he and his Koehler Motorsports team to get back to their winning ways.
McFadden: I'm with Kevin that this truly could be Max Blair's year to breakthrough. First of all, he's been consistently in or around the top-five for the last few months now. Secondly, he knows Lernerville as well as anyone. And thirdly — and this one matters just as much as the first two — there's not really one driver setting the Lucas Oil circuit on quote-unquote fire at this moment. Maybe Brandon Sheppard is the driver to beat on the tour right now? Devin Moran is turning his program around, too. But the time is now for Blair to capitalize.
Turner: I'll agree it's time for another home-state winner (it's been a while since Rick Eckert's 2015 triumph). Quaker State racers have represented well with at least eight starters in every version of the event going back to the inaugural 2007 event. Kevin is spot-on with Max Blair as the likeliest home-state favorite, but Michael Norris (a last-lap winner in Friday's weekly feature at Lernerville), Gregg Satterlee and Mason Zeigler could throw their helmets in the mix, too.
Do you have creative ways tracks can incorporate America's 250th birthday into a Fourth of July weekend promotion?
Clay: The low-hanging fruit is a fireworks show, although that has become more popular and will only increase in regularity as we get closer to the Fourth of July. I may be outspoken, but isn't American circle-track racing patriotic enough? Our forefathers fought for the right for us to race counterclockwise (opposite from across the pond) and what better way to honor this country than letting the sound of thousands of American-made horsepower scream as race cars trade paint? I may be unleashing my inner redneck, but, for me, there's nothing more patriotic than attending a local short track race.
McFadden: If I were promoting a Fourth of July race this year, I'd build the entire night around the heartbeat of America. During the night, I'd recognize 25 local individuals who embody that spirit — veterans, farmers, mechanics, teachers, first responders, truck drivers and small-business owners are some to name. After all, those are the same people who fill our grandstands — and sometimes race — on race nights. Racing has always been a blue-collar sport, and America's 250th birthday is a great opportunity to celebrate the communities that have sustained it for generations.
Turner: Yes, I do! The first 250 fans get half-off admission … All concession items are $2.50. … No time trials or prelims, but each of five divisions compete in 50-lap features (that's 250 laps!). … Each winning purse includes $250 ($1,250-to-win, etc.). … Any driver running with an unfurled American flag attached to his car (without it flying away) receives an extra $250 if finishing in the top five.
Kovac: I can think of one very unique race if a promoter really wanted to go all-in on the 250th celebration: host a 250-lap Dirt Late Model feature with a $250,000 winner's prize (or at least a $250,000 total feature purse). Extra-long races are certainly not a thing for the Dirt Late Model division, but that's what would make it so completely different from what everyone is accustomed. Put a little strategy and endurance into the equation to mirror the qualities of the rebels who forged this nation in the American Revolution. Sell lap sponsorships for $76 to pump up the payoff with lap money. And I say the track promoter will have to appear in victory lane dressed as Declaration of Independence signer John Hancock to put their signature on the winner's check.
