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: Hot off a career-best Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway finish of second in Wednesday’s 50-lap FloRacing Night in America feature, Josh Rice of Crittenden, Ky., appeared destined for a transfer spot to Saturday’s Prairie Dirt Classic finale as he battled inside the top four of Friday’s first 25-lap semifeature. With three laps remaining, however, the 28-year-old slid sideways into an inside tire in turn four after a scrape with Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., caused him to lose control while running fourth. “He had a good run on that top and he said he thought he had me cleared, but he just come to the bottom and I didn’t have time to do nothing,” Rice said. “It knocked the wheel out of my hand … bloodied my damn hand. I hit something (inside the car). I didn't even know it was bleeding until I got back here (to the pits). He apologized, but I’m pretty pissed about it. I mean, we’ve been buddies for a little while now, but it's like, Damn, dude. At what point does a friendship come in where you just don't crash? I don’t know.” Rice paused. Thinking back to his run-in during Wednesday’s feature with Tyler Erb that sent the Texan spinning out of second place — and prompted Erb to note that he now owes Rice one — Rice quipped of Bronson, “I guess the IOU card gets to be used over here now.”

No. 2: With Rice scheduled to start 18th in a Saturday B-main that only transfers the top two finishers, he’s opted to scratch from this evening’s action. But Rice’s JRR Motorsports team is still at the track as spectators because, with haulers parked so tightly in the Fairbury pit area, they couldn’t wiggle their rig out of their parking spot. They’ll have to wait until the end of Saturday’s finale before heading back to Campbellsville, Ky., to start their preparation for their next action: Aug. 6-8’s North-South 100 at Rice’s home track, Florence Speedway in Union, Ky.

No. 3: Tanner English of Benton, Ky., was another notable driver who decided to withdraw from further PDC competition (and was actually able to back up his hauler and leave the pit area). The 2026 DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion departed Fairbury with a sour taste in his mouth after a lap-nine tangle with Caden McWhorter of Fairbury, Ill., caused him to spin out of fourth place in turn one. While English was able to complete a 360-degree twirl and continue on, he restarted 14th and could only climb to an 11th-place finish. English and McWhorter were called into the WoO hauler after for a discussion with series director Steve Francis and Fairbury promoter Matt Curl about the incident and previous run-ins between the two, but no penalties were assessed.

No. 4: After Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., lost the lead to WoO rookie Trey Mills of St. Augustine, Fla., on lap 17 of Friday’s fourth PDC semifeature and watched the teenager capture the $5,000 first-place prize, the 51-year-old veteran spoke wistfully of Mills’s young age. “I wish I could be doing this when I was 18,” Clanton said with a smile. “With the money that they’re paying and all that, I wish I was in my prime right now. I’m about hung it up. I’ve had one too many birthdays.” Clanton wasn’t exactly thrilled by the slider across his car’s nose that Mills pulled to assume command, but the Capital Race Cars co-owner acknowledged that Mills “had the better car running around the top last couple laps there” and praised the 18-year-old’s burgeoning talent. “He got his feet wet last year (running the Summer Nationals). He made lot of improvements,” said Clanton, who finished second in the semi to crack the PDC starting field for the ninth time in his career but first time since 2023. “He’s been racing pretty good while, don’t get me wrong, but to learn as much he has the past two years, I think he’s learned how to take care of his equipment. And that’s a big key. Eighteen years old and to do as good as he is, by the time he’s 22 or 23, he’ll probably be real good.”

No. 5: Camping, of course, is a big part of the PDC experience. Many fans also go all out decorating their campsites. The neatest one I saw was an elaborate “Beer Blitz” display that featured an interactive game for all who wanted to play. The gist: the campers constructed what looks like an oversized slot machine with three windows. Visitors to the site put up $1 to “spin” the machine, which has people in each opening who twirl their arms for a few seconds before holding up one of the four different cans of beer they have hidden from participants’ view. If all three people hold up the same beer brand, the player hits the jackpot and wins $10. From what I heard from one of the campers on Friday, though, they might have made the odds too good for the players with just four beer brands because one run of jackpots was, well, putting them behind financially.