Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: McCowan's stunning sweep and more
After a weekend of Dillon McCowan’s stunning home-track sweep on the Lucas Oil Series and Bobby Pierce starting another streak with the World of Outlaws, our roundtable checks in for weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Put into perspective the unlikelihood of Dillon McCowan’s Lucas Oil Series sweep at Wheatland.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: In a couple Take Fives over the weekend, I pointed out the relative rarity of first-time national touring winners in recent years and a driver following up a first-ever series victory with another in the tour’s next event. McCowan accomplished both — and without giving any real indication that he was on the verge of breaking through in such a sway. He didn’t even have a top-five finish in his previous 49 Lucas Oil Series starts, let alone a near-miss brush with victory. But recall how, during the 2023 Show-Me 100 at his home track while having fewer than two-dozen Super Late Models on his ledger, he gained attention by winning a heat and finishing sixth in a prelim feature and the finale. There was obviously something there in the then 19-year-old kid, and, halfway his rookie Lucas Oil season, he showed how good he can be. He has more struggles ahead of him, but this is a driver with the talent for the long haul.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: I’m certain had I used this space or the Dirt Reporters podcast to announce Dillon McCowan was going back-to-back on the Lucas Oil Series, I’d have been laughed out of the virtual room. The most likely venue for the Missourian to do it? Undoubtedly. But that the 22-year-old won so convincingly was remarkable. First-time national touring winners are rare, but McCowan has been successful regionally and shown consistency in DIRTcar Summer Nationals stints. He’s got good equipment and good support … my gut this is a driver coming into his own instead of a flash in the pan.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: If there was ever a place for Dillon McCowan to pull off a breakthrough like this, it was Wheatland. Lucas Oil Speedway is his home track, and the signs had been there for years. People may forget that during the 2023 Show-Me 100 weekend — with only about 20 Super Late Model starts to his name — he finished sixth in a prelim feature and sixth in the 100-lap finale against one of the toughest fields of the year. Still, sweeping a Lucas Oil weekend is almost impossible to script. This season alone, only three other drivers had managed to win back-to-back Lucas Oil races: Hudson O'Neal at Ocala, Jonathan Davenport at Golden Isles and Devin Moran at Golden Isles and Brownstown. And only one — Davenport — had won consecutive nights on the tour. That’s the kind of company McCowan suddenly finds himself in after one unforgettable weekend.
Bryan Ault, contributing DirtonDirt reporter: It’s all-too-rare to see first-time winners on the national tours lately, so to see McCowan win Friday was surprising. Saturday's second win was shocking. His finishes at Wheatland in 2026 were two DNFs, two 12ths, and one seventh-place run at his home track. He has just three top-10 finishes overall since April 24th’s Lucas Oil event at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, so it’s not like he was riding in with a swing of momentum. McCowan brought out the broom, though, and shocked his competitors, and even himself. It was great to see him pick up his first Lucas Oil win in front of his home crowd. I’m anxious to see if he carries that momentum throughout the rest of the summer, starting Tuesday at Adams County.
If World of Outlaws points leader Bobby Pierce was running the Lucas Oil circuit, would his success be similar?
Turner: The points leader and winningest driver? Yes. The exact same stats? No. He’s won on the Lucas Oil Series five times each of the past three seasons as a part-time racer — including mopping up at Florence Speedway during the last three Sunoco North-South 100 weekends — so he’s got the bona fides. The tours aren’t an apples to apples comparison. I’d say the top 10 in points on the Lucas Oil circuit are harder to outrun than the top 10 in WoO, but Lucas drivers would often have their tongues hanging out chasing the No. 32 just like the Outlaws are now.
McFadden: I think he’d have about a dozen Lucas Oil victories instead of the 17 he's scored with WoO, and that has more to do with the schedule than the competition. The Lucas Oil Series has run 29 full-field events this season compared to 37 for the Outlaws, so there’d simply be fewer opportunities. Plus, Pierce's scorching stretch of six straight wins from June 20-30, followed by another victory Saturday at Sharon, would never materialize because several of those races would've conflicted with Lucas Oil events. The Lucas schedule also features fewer black-dirt tracks, which have been a sweet spot for Pierce throughout this run. Even so, I still think he'd be leading the points comfortably. The Lucas Oil title race has lacked a truly convincing driver this season. Brandon Sheppard has been the steadiest, Hudson O'Neal was excellent early and Devin Moran has picked it up lately, but none have sustained anything remotely close to Pierce's level. And it's not as though Pierce hasn't already proven he can beat the Lucas crowd — he won both the Show-Me 100 and the Dream this season. He'd still be the benchmark.
Ault: My wife asked me that very question Saturday while watching Lucas Oil’s streamed event. My answer was yes, and here’s why: Pierce has consistently won against the sport’s best when both tours come together for big events. He won this year’s Show-Me 100 as well as Eldora Speedway’s Dream. He’s also taken home checkered flags at familiar tracks such as Georgetown and Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. Additionally, he’s won the past two Dirt Track World Championships, another event where all the stars converge.
Kovac: Pierce probably wouldn’t 17 wins in Lucas Oil competition this year like he’s scored on the WoO tour to date. For starters, he’d have had fewer opportunities (he’d have 29 feature starts right now with Lucas Oil vs. the 38 he’s made with WoO) and Lucas Oil doesn’t have an extended swing at Upper Midwest tracks that are entirely in Pierce’s wheelhouse like the WoO just completed (and where Pierce ripped off six straight wins). Also, while Pierce is racing a top-five driver in Nick Hoffman in WoO action, on the Lucas Oil side, Pierce would have to deal with three more top-five guys in Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal and Devin Moran, so that would add a degree of difficulty. But Pierce is simply an otherworldly talent. He’d still be racking up plenty of victories. He’s already won Lucas Oil’s highest-paying race this year with the Show-Me 100, so I’d say the Lucas teams are glad he’s WoO’s problem on a regular basis.
Make another point (or two) about national touring action.
McFadden: More than ever, it feels like the setup window in Dirt Late Model racing is razor thin. The difference between a car that's capable of winning and one that's merely good enough to finish third or fifth can be incredibly small, and finding that sweet spot is harder than it's ever been. I think that's why we've seen even the best endure head-scratching winless droughts or bouts of inconsistency. On the flip side, when a driver and crew do uncover something that works, they can ride it for weeks. It's like basketball — a game of runs. Bobby Pierce has been the clearest example, and now Dillon McCowan has caught lightning in a bottle. When you're hot, you're hot. When you're not, you're searching for that one adjustment that gets you back. I also think that's why drivers like Nick Hoffman and Hudson O'Neal have piled up podium finishes without winning since May. They're clearly close, but there's likely a recurring characteristic in their package that's keeping them from taking that final step. Dominant runs and droughts have always been part of racing, but the swings seem more pronounced today because the margin between exceptional and merely competitive has become so incredibly fine.
Ault: I can’t get over the struggles of Ricky Thornton Jr., a driver who has looked so dominant on the Lucas Oil tour for the past two years yet currently sits sixth in the points. He holds just two full-field tour victories and has finished outside the top 10 on the Lucas Oil tour seven times since Speedweeks. Normally we’re used to seeing the No. 20rt running up front and dominating by big margins, but that hasn’t been the case for Koehler Motorsports this season.
Turner: Beyond McCowan’s sweep — every time I keyboard that I don’t think we’re really wrapping our heads around what an outlier it was — the weekend hinted at chinks in the armor of the Lucas Oil tour’s best teams. Not counting Speedweeks (when points weren’t awarded in the same way as the regular season), Wheatland marked the first back-to-back Lucas Oil events where the top-five finishers included fewer than two of the top five in series points. Two series rookies — McCowan and the trending Josh Rice — were the lone two drivers in the top five both nights.
Kovac: Everyone is well aware of Nick Hoffman’s superb development as a Dirt Late Model driver. But how much more attention would he be receiving right now if Bobby Pierce wasn’t racing on such a high level? As Kyle noted in Saturday’s After the Checkers from Sharon Speedway, since winning June 3’s FloRacing Night in America feature at Eldora, Hoffman has finished on the podium nine times in 13 races, including five runner-up finishes to Pierce. Overall this season Hoffman has finished second to Pierce eight times. He has to be sick of seeing the rear spoiler of that No. 32, and I’m sure it’s motivating him every day to find that extra speed to change that.
And discuss something regarding our sport's regional or weekly level.
Ault: Frank Heckenast Jr. took home three checkered flags in nine days on the Summer Nationals tour, winning at Red Hill, Montpelier and capping it off with a $10,000 victory at Oakshade. Heckenast has a fast car, especially when he gets a lead. After his win at Montpelier, he told me his win in the Hoosier State was special since it was the first time where he’s had his family on hand to witness it. He could be a driver to watch over the next couple of weeks tackling national events in the Silver Dollar Nationals and Fairbury’s Prairie Dirt Classic, along with FloRacing tour events at Lincoln and Fairbury.
Turner: Please indulge my quick-hitters. … C.J. Field has won seven Super Late Model features in a row at Ontario’s Buxton Speedway. … Biscuit Williams is my new favorite racer name (and he’s won twice recently). … Whenever the DIRTcar Summer Nationals prunes its schedule to a perfect stretch of 22 consecutive nights of racing, an easy place to start is the venues where top teams start-and-park because conditions aren’t worthy. … Dirt cars on asphalt tracks? Yawn. … I’m pulling for a MARS title showdown among Unzicker, Feger and English. … Ashton Winger’s victory lane interviews are always compelling.
McFadden: I'll give a nod to Sunday's DIRTcar Summer Nationals finale at Wayne County, because the podium was a reminder of what makes the regional level so compelling. Tyler Carpenter earned his first Hell Tour victory by surviving a rough-and-tumble racing surface that caused several drivers to start and park — or load up altogether. Those kinds of conditions play right into Carpenter's hands, though, and now he has 11 victories this season. Runner-up Eric Wilson was an equally cool story. The part-time regional racer had just one previous Super victory to his name, yet suddenly found himself on the pole of a Summer Nationals feature with an open-trailer operation and a Warrior Chassis. Then there was J.R. Gentry, who rebounded from a violent flip during time trials to finish third in the very same car he turned over earlier in the day! You have to appreciate the regional guys grinding out nights and making the absolute most of what they have.
Kovac: Can I just mention that the best race of the past weekend had to be Saturday’s Richard Craven Memorial 40-lapper at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway that wasn’t part of any touring series? Just a weekly FALS Cup event, albeit one that paid well at $5,012-to-win. It was an absolute barnburner with three official leaders (Mike Spatola, McKay Wenger and winner Jason Feger) and incredible action up front. There was one stretch late in the distance where Kyle Hammer was also in the mix for the lead and there was three-wide moments within the four-car battle. Feger finally took the lead with five to go, but Spatola nearly beat him to the finish line with a crossover exiting turn four. It was just spectacular weekly racing on a bullring, and it sets the stage for next week’s Prairie Dirt Classic.
Name something specific that inspires confidence in Dirt Late Model racing’s future, and something that’s potentially ominous.
Kovac: More eyes than ever before are on Dirt Late Model racing thanks to live streaming, and that’s exposing the sport to more people and has certainly played a role in growing attendance at major events. There’s no doubt that the biggest shows are monsters, and the money posted for the teams has risen and made it possible for drivers to realize amazing financial rewards if they’re successful. But as strong as Dirt Late Model racing’s top level is, can weekly racing survive to give the division the base it needs? The economics for weekly tracks and racers is difficult, and frankly, the product oftentimes isn’t attractive enough when compared to major events that fans can watch from home or save their money to attend.
McFadden: The sport genuinely feels like it's growing. Despite concerns that streaming would hurt attendance, I've seen some of the largest crowds I've ever witnessed over the past few years. Streaming has also made the stars of our sport more recognizable beyond the dirt racing bubble, giving fans easier access to follow drivers and storylines week after week. Those are healthy signs for the future. The concern, though, is impossible to ignore: the economics. The cost of putting a competitive Dirt Late Model on the track has reached a point that's squeezing out the independent, mom-and-pop owners who have always been the backbone of the sport. Someone told me Sunday at Wayne County that it now costs roughly $4,000 to $5,000 just to race for a night, depending on travel. When many weekly and regional races pay about that much to win, the math simply doesn't work. While we've seen marquee events continue to increase their purses, the rest of the payout structure hasn't kept pace with rising costs. That's what worries me most. Ten years from now, I don't want Super Late Model racing to become a discipline where it’s only exclusive to national touring teams. The regional teams are the lifeblood of this sport. If the economics continue pushing those teams out, then I fear for the sport’s future.
Turner: On the plus side, there's no shortage of talented, young drivers in the sport who aren’t looking at dirt racing as a steppingstone to NASCAR. Negatively, outside forces of economic and environmental issues are always a concern, but the sport’s self-inflicted oversaturation of unneeded tours and a never-ending splintering of Late Model-style divisions contributes more to the sport’s demise rather than enhancing its future. You gotta pull one direction.
Ault: The national touring scene is as solid as it’s ever been. The racing is great, and while they occasionally go astray and bend a few fenders every once in a while, drivers race like the professionals they are. All the sport’s big shows provide plenty of entertainment value. What’s ominous is seeing tracks shut down. While traveling for my day job Saturday, someone who knows about my little role at DoD approached me for a quick conversation and mentioned how a nearby track is making plans to close the gates. I went to a race this season that had just 12 Dirt Late Models show up, mostly due to high costs of tires and fuel. Unless our sport’s big wigs come together and find ways to lower costs and bring more fans into the seats, more tracks could be closing sooner rather than later.
