Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Rash of recent first-time tour winners
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: The fact that Dillon McCowan of Urbana, Mo., won his first-ever Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature Friday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., without ever previously recording a top-five finish in 49 starts on the national tour is quite remarkable. With a sixth-place finish being his best before Friday’s $15,000 triumph, he had no heartbreaking “near-miss” instances leading to his breakthrough. But it wasn’t an entirely out-of-the-blue performance. If you’ve been paying attention, he’s been knocking around near the front of the field in some recent races. When I talked to the 22-year-old Lucas Oil rookie after he ran as high as second before settling for a sixth-place finish in a June 26 Firecracker 100 semifeature at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., he sounded like a young racer who was beginning to figure things out. He’s always outgoing and upbeat, but he also displayed a growing confidence — in fact, he thought he should have ended up on the podium that night. The circuit’s return to his home track for a doubleheader weekend came at a perfect time for the talented driver.
No. 2: It should also be pointed out that the driver whom McCowan passed for the lead in Friday’s Salute to Forrest Lucas and then led across the finish line was Josh Rice of Crittenden, Ky., who also happens to be a rookie on the Lucas Oil Series and a winner less two months ago of a Show-Me 100 preliminary feature at Lucas Oil Speedway. How often do national touring series rookies run 1-2 in a feature? Rately, but it certainly signals that the Lucas Oil Series has a superb rookie class this season.
No. 3: McCowan’s victory made him the third driver in less than a week to record a first-ever full-field win on the Lucas Oil or World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., also was triumphant for the first time on the Lucas Oil tour on July 4 at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, while Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., joined the WoO winners' list on July 8 at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y. The trio happen to be the only drivers to capture first-ever wins this season on the two national tours, which haven’t had many first-time victors in recent years. Last year the WoO circuit had three new winners (Garrett Alberson, Ethan Dotson and Drake Troutman) and Lucas Oil had two (Tyler Bruening and Nick Hoffman). In 2024 there were two Lucas Oil first-timers (Wilson and Alberson) and none for WoO, and in ’23 both series had two (Hudson O’Neal and Hoffman with WoO, Ashton Winger and Ryan Gustin with Lucas Oil).
No. 4: There aren’t too many racetracks that have a mascot to entertain the fans. And the ones that do probably don’t have one as tough as the green dragon-like character named Mudwagon who prowls the grounds at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, N.C. A video posted on the BumperJack’s Race Talk Facebook page from Friday’s program at Carolina showed Mudwagon stepping in to stop an apparent fight between fans in the grassy area in front of the grandstand. The mascot actually pushed one combatant backward and held him against the catch fence until security arrived to take over the situation. Carolina’s announcer later brought Mudwagon up to the tower and “interviewed” him about his moment policing the stands, drawing a big roar from the crowd.
No. 5: I can’t say I’ve ever seen a racetrack mascot physically stop a fight, but I would’ve loved if Flem Man — the character I grew up watching entertain the crowd at Flemington (N.J.) Speedway — had made a similar move. Flem Man, who wore a purple-and-white outfit that included tights, shorts, cape, gloves, goggles and an old-school aviator cap, was known for handing out candy to kids and “flying” around the track hanging from the boom of a tow truck, but I bet he could’ve quelled some emotional standoffs. He was, after all, dressed as a superhero.
