National notebook
Notes: Florence standout ends career with a bang
The Landrums in victory lane at Florence. (Steve Alcorn)
Steve Landrum of Erlanger, Ky., couldn’t have scripted his racing career coming to an end in a more fitting way. After deciding that the Oct. 7 weekly event at Florence Speedway in Union Ky., would be his final race, the 54-year-old Kentucky racer went out on top, winning the night’s Super Late Model feature, as his son, Trevor, clinched the 2017 Florence track title.
“It was like a script that was written,” Landrum said. “I was really more into my son, watching him and knowing he was that close to winning a championship. Then when I realized that he had got the championship clinched, I started driving a little harder. He was leading and I had to pass him for the win. It was pretty tough to pass your own kid. But I was figuring that he had a little more chances of winning features and stuff and that was my last win. I will never win again.”
Landrum has been racing since 1983, posting six track championships at Florence. A veteran at the northern Kentucky oval, Landrum has qualified for the North-South 100 multiple times in his career, winning the North-South Shootout back in the early 2000s. But with his son becoming more involved in racing, he decided it was time to step away.
“I’ve just been racing for quite a few years and just decided it was time to break and step away from racing and just kind of spend a little more time with my family,” Landrum said. “And my son’s been racing for almost three years now, and he’s raced a Late Model car for a couple years, so I just wanted to have time to help him also.
“I remember how I was years ago and how I was so dedicated to racing and that’s all. I ate and slept racing. Now I see him doing that same thing. That’s all he wants. I see how much he’s into it and dedicated to it. I just really want to be able to help him throughout his career.”
Fans and friends have joked with Landrum that he should have waited until 2018 to climb out of the drivers’ seat, as he’s piloted a No. 18 for many years. Despite knowing it was time to step away, they’re certain parts of racing that Landrum is going to always miss.
“Just meeting all the people, the fans, over the years and be able to have my family involved,” Landrum said. “It’s a great sport to be in.” — Alli Collis
New house car program
Veteran Dirt Late Model chassis guru and builder Ronnie Stuckey is entering a brave new world with the Black Diamond Race Cars house car program he will field on the 2018 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., behind the wheel, so he’s understandably a bit uncertain about what’s ahead.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little nervous,” Stuckey said in a press release announcing his new effort with the 45-year-old Pearson. “My biggest focus right now is to make sure that we have a good chemistry between our driver and our team so that we can hit the ground running. I know that there will be some bumps and hiccups along the way, but I couldn’t be more excited about the potential for greatness that this team already has. I think most of the nerves will go away when the tires finally hit the dirt and we officially get the 2018 season underway.”
That milestone will hopefully come next month for Stuckey and Pearson with a trip to the Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout at Arizona Speedway outside Phoenix, but there’s still plenty for Stuckey and Co. to do before Pearson fires up the motor for competition. Stuckey is not only overseeing the preparation of the house car team but also working to incorporate it seamlessly into his Shreveport, La.-based business so that his customers continue to receive the service they have come to expect from him.
In that vein, Stuckey has a plan for the house car’s operation.
“I will start the year on the road with the team to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible,” Stuckey said. “With the commitments we have in the race shop with customers, I will not travel the entire Lucas Oil schedule with the new team. Earl has vast experience traveling up and down the road for over 20 years, so when I’m not out there I know he will have things running smoothly.
“However, we are also actively seeking a team leader so that I can continue to travel to World of Outlaws (Craftsman Late Model Series) events and regional shows to provide Black Diamond customers with hands-on support at the track while not leaving Earl having to shoulder all of the responsibility.”
The house car, which Pearson steps into after leaving the Dunn-Benson Motorsports team, will serve as a tool to improve all Black Diamond machines, Stuckey said.
“We will be able to utilize the pull-down rig that that we have in place to perform extensive, race-simulation testing,” Stuckey commented. “This will allow us to build even faster cars while also providing our customers with more feedback.”
Stuckey also made it clear that he couldn’t have even considered this house car project with the assistance of many people.
“First, I’ve got to thank Earl for agreeing to drive for this new team,” said Stuckey, who is fielding the team with his wife Terri. “I also want to say a special thanks to (longtime car owner) Larry Moring; he’s always been a big supporter of everything I’ve done, and we are working on incorporating his team into our operation. Other folks that have been a huge help include Jason Rauen, Wayman McMillan, David Peterson, J.R. Haley, Randy Timms and Henry Cooper.
“Last but definitely not least, I would be severely remiss if I didn’t thank B.J. Robinson, J.C. Wright, Garrett Alberson, Chandler Petty, Danny Nelan and all of the guys at the shop. They all bust their tails to take care of all of our awesome clients and without their hard work there’s no way that we could be starting this team.” — Ben Shelton
Hanson retires as a champ
It was during ABC Raceway’s Red Clay Classic that Harry Hanson of Eveleth, Minn., was honored for his 45-year racing career. The track hosted a dash in Hanson’s honor, allowing the Late Model veteran to race alongside some of his favorite competitors, including Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., one last time.
“They had me pick seven drivers that I wanted to race against one more time,” Hanson said. ”We picked some pretty good cars, and the last one I picked was Jimmy Mars. I thought, ’I know the other guys are going to be disgusted because he’s probably going to whoop our you-know-what.’
“We hung with (Mars) for a few laps. He started on a pole and I drew the outside pole. He won it and I got second, and when the race was done, he handed me over the winner’s check and told me to go have fun at the dance. So we did. It was a pretty good honor to race against them guys, and especially to have Jimmy do something like that. He actually got me started going pretty good in the Late Models when I met him and (brother) Chris Mars. That was pretty cool.”
Hanson announced earlier this year that he would be stepping away from the Late Model division at the end of the season, planning to end his career in the 305 non-wing sprint car division. He wrapped up his 2017 season with a pair of track championships at Hibbing (Minn.) Speedway and Proctor (Minn.) Speedway.
“It was pretty good,” Hanson said of his 2017 season. ”We announced that we weren’t going to run Late Models anymore. We were going to semi-retire. We won some features. We won two championships, and a couple of the racetracks had some special races for me, which was pretty super. A good thing to send off. I got some gifts from the tracks, so I kind of felt like a NASCAR star.”
It’s hard for Hanson to pick just one favorite memory from his long-time racing career. But winning the 2000 edition of the WISSOTA 100 is a night he won’t ever forget.
“It came down to right at the end and I didn’t think we’d ever win it, but (Jimmy) Mars told me not to worry,” Hanson remembered. “I had one of his cars at the time and he told me, ’Just go out there and race it. It’s going to be fast.’ We ended up winning the race. We kind of partied with the Mars brothers the rest of the night.” — Alli Collis
Odds and ends
Long-time dirt racer and reigning Greenville (Miss.) Speedway Crate Late Model champion Greg Fore is changing surfaces. He plans to run asphalt Pro Late Models at Nashville, Tenn., Pensacola, Fla., and Mobile, Ala., starting in 2018 … Dog Hollow Speedway Crate Late Model runner-up Joe Moyer of Ashville, Pa., is recovering after undergoing open-heart surgery on Friday, according to the racetrack. … Senoia (Ga.) Raceway will make up its rained-out Showdown events on Dec. 2; the race programs includes a $2,500-to-win Limited Late Model feature (makeup) and a new program for Crate Late Models. Visit senoiaraceway.com for details.
