Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: For the love of the World 100 at Big E
After a thoroughly busy Labor Day weekend, our roundtable catches its collective breath in anticipation of the World 100 for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Before we discuss the World 100, provide a key takeaway or two from the holiday weekend.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: The 1-2 Hillbilly Hundred finish at Lernerville for Ricky Thornton Jr. and Jonathan Davenport proved they’re both operating at a very high level. That was an extremely slick, technical racetrack, one on which quick passes weren’t going to happen, and they were the drivers who mastered the conditions. It wasn’t an especially memorable race in terms of wild action (they ran in the top two spots for all but two laps), but it was intriguing to watch them continually massaging their lines to find the best one. One other thing: I found it quite notable that, on Friday, Lernerville and Bedford (Pa.) Speedway, which hosted a Fall Clash special, both drew 40-car fields. Quite impressive to have 80 Dirt Late Models racing at tracks just two hours apart.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: Ricky Thornton Jr. was clearly the big winner with the $30,000 Hillbilly Hundred, then taking on a Baltes Classic victory at Eldora. But lots of neat little stories out there with Vic Hill winning his first race in seven years with a Southern All Star triumph at Volunteer, Ross Robinson winning twice (including his career-richest payday at Selinsgrove’s Paul Long Memorial), Blair Nothdurft winning at Deer Creek for his richest victory and Kevin Eder winning his first Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series feature. If Labor Day celebrates the end of summer, Dirt Late Model racing certainly celebrated it in a big way with tons of racing.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: Garrett Alberson put himself back on track at the right time with Friday’s victory at Lernerville. When I talked with Alberson after last Saturday at Port Royal, he was a little disappointed he wasn’t running better with the World 100 near. From the Topless 100 incident with Cade Dillard to having feature wins slip through his grasp this summer, it’d been a challenging stretch for the fourth-year touring driver. Alberson has the speed and success on half-miles this year to make himself a worthy contender at this week’s World 100. More work is needed for him to stay up front later in races, but he’s definitely on the right path again.
Bryan Ault, DirtOnDirt contributor: I wasn’t a big Josh Richards fan growing up, but I did enjoy following his racing career in its early stages with him being just two years older than me. When rumors started swirling of him returning to the track, it certainly interested me. Watching him race at Lernerville this week was awesome and definitely nostalgic. I was hoping he would be coming back and be racing in this weekend’s World 100, but it looks like engine trouble means it wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully, the Hillbilly 100 isn’t the last we’ve seen of (the former) Kid Rocket.
What’s the likelihood of a Jonathan Davenport-Bobby Pierce battle royale at Eldora’s World 100?
Turner: A lead-swapping, paint-swapping thriller can’t be guaranteed, but the likelihood of these guys running 1-2 in one order of the other seems almost predestined. Certainly lots of factors, developments and downfalls can change things, but I’m fairly certain that any drivers with hopes of holding a globe trophy on Saturday know that path goes through the No. 32 and No. 49.
McFadden: They’ll be in the top-five at the very least come Saturday night. Davenport hasn’t finished outside the top-five at the Dream since 2018 and Pierce, he’s on another one of those heaters (six victories in eight starts) entering the sport’s biggest week of the year. Davenport’s been getting a little disgruntled lately at the level of aggression other drivers are racing him with, but honestly, that’s how Dirt Late Model racing is these days. Perhaps tensions from the North-South 100 will carry over into the World this week. Maybe they won’t. But one thing’s certain, and that’s the field will have to go through Davenport and Pierce to win the World. Now the question is, what kind of racetrack are we going to get? If there’s any cushion, Pierce has the advantage. If there’s not, Davenport’s the clear favorite to win his sixth globe.
Ault: Highly unlikely. Don’t get me wrong: I think it would be awesome for the sport if we had a magical, dramatic, last-lap pass between the two for a win. The storylines would definitely not make our jobs boring. But I’m a realist: unless Davenport breaks, wrecks his beloved Eldora car, or has some sort of disastrous qualifying effort that pins him in the back on a rubbered surface, I don’t think we’ll see an epic showdown. Remember, J.D. won the Dream by a 10-second margin and looked effortless doing it. As I watched him circle the track last June, I became resigned to the idea there’s a 90 percent chance he will win anytime he unloads at The Big E.
Kovac: We’re always craving one-on-one showdowns on the huge Eldora stage between two drivers that are at the top of the division, but how often do they actually happen? Not very often, if at all. I mean, for instance, did Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer ever battle right down to the checkered flag for an Eldora crown jewel win? They finished first and second three times in the World 100 (Moyer on top each time) and once in the Dream (Bloomquist winning), but none of them included lead-swapping in the final laps. Perhaps we’ll get a dream race to the wire between Davenport and Pierce if Eldora’s track surface has just enough cushion left to let Pierce go side-by-side with J.D., but history shows that such classics are hard to come by. I guess that’s why such a race would be considered a classic, right?
Pick a driver with the best chance to outrun Davenport and Pierce.
McFadden: There are a few that wouldn’t surprise me, honestly, starting with Ricky Thornton Jr., who’s fresh off his ninth half-mile victory of 2025 in Sunday’s Baltes Classic at Eldora. RTJ’s trending upward at the right time, having won four of his last five features, and he brings a brand-new car to Eldora feeling mighty confident about his chances despite only one top-five finish in six World 100 feature starts. From qualifying through the final laps of the feature, he’s been hands-down the best driver on half-miles this year, making his car navigate dirty air exceptionally well and simply getting up on the wheel to make things happen when needed. Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal and Mike Marlar are serious contenders as well. Devin Moran has seemed to put the stretch of bad luck behind him. Davenport and Pierce won’t have it easy this week.
Ault: I’ll go with Dale McDowell. Maybe (and maybe is doing a lot of heavy lifting) if Davenport uses up his tires too soon, if Pierce pounds the wall, or maybe the two superstars both just wreck each other, Dale Mac could pass both of them en route to his second World 100 victory. We all know McDowell’s remarkable consistency at Eldora, and it would be redemptive for the veteran to take home the checkered flag on the sport’s biggest stage.
Kovac: Thornton certainly has the look of a driver primed to win his first Eldora crown jewel as he roars into the weekend with four wins in his last five starts (worth a cool $95,000), and I’m sure he’s going to play a big role in the World 100. But I just have this gut feeling that Chris Madden actually has the best chance to outrun the drivers who have combined to win the Big E’s last four majors. Madden is confident in his Kale Green-owned Longhorn after a pair of big-show runner-up finishes in recent weeks, and he’s a guy who can conserve his tires and run that middle line like Davenport. And since Madden has entered 42 crown jewel events at Eldora in his career without a victory, he’s paid his dues and I think the time has come for the stars to align and get him to the winner’s stage.
Turner: Ricky Thornton Jr. He’s among the sport’s hottest drivers after his Port Royal sweep and Hillbilly Hundred victory, and Sunday’s Baltes Classic victory shows he’s got the chops at Eldora. The big thing for Thornton (and everyone else) is having the car at lap 90 that’s as good at Davenport and Pierce. Koehler Motorsports has unveiled a new Longhorn Chassis for the week at Eldora, a different strategy than J.D.’s habit of bringing the same car every year, but maybe this is the one?
Choose a relatively unheralded driver you’ll be watching at Eldora?
Kovac: How about Tennessee’s Cory Hedgecock? He’s an accomplished regional driver with a pair of World of Outlaws wins, but he hasn’t been much of a force at Eldora, making two World 100 feature starts in six attempts and failing to qualify in his two Dream and single DTWC appearances. Last year, though, Hedgecock finished a solid sixth in the World 100 (and second in a prelim), and he just placed fourth Sunday in a Baltes Classic feature he used to tune up his new Viper Motorsports-backed Longhorn Chassis. I think he bears watching this weekend.
Ault: A similar question was asked before the Dream and I picked Josh Rice, who went on to win a preliminary feature and posted a respectable ninth-place finish in the 100-lapper. I would pick Rice again, but since picking the same driver twice is boring, maybe my good luck will work for Zack Dohm. Dohm has had motor issues while leading heat races at the Big E before engines have expired and knocked him out of contention. The Cross Lanes, W.Va., driver has the car and more than enough ability as a driver to get the job done at Eldora. Plus, he posted a top-five run against a tough field at the North-South 100 at Florence last month. If his motor can hang on and the inverts manage to fall his way, expect Dohm to be right in the mix.
McFadden: I expect Dylan Thornton to have a good chance at making Saturday’s World 100 main event returning with DRT Race Cars founder and racing extraordinaire Cody Sommer. Remember at the Dream in June, Thornton, the 14-time multidivisional winner this year, won a prelim night heat race. Fading on his prelim night (ninth-to-18th) buried his chances at qualifying for the Dream main event, where he could only finish 15th from 21st in that Saturday’s first of concise, but Thornton for one had speed with Sommer in his first crown jewel appearance at Eldora and should only improve this time around.
Turner: Based on the Baltes Classic, I’ll throw a couple of names of Southern youngsters out there. How about Georgia’s Haiden Cowan rallying to third from his 16th starting spot? And likewise Florida’s Trey Mills finishing seventh in the other 25-lapper? There’s not guarantee these two can perform as the spotlight gets brighter, but Cowan has shown flashes of success and what Mills lacks in consistency he makes up for with the tenacity he showed in grabbing a DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Macon.
Do you have a quirky Eldora habit, ritual or tradition that’s always a part of your trip to the legendary track?
Ault: I’ll detail a few. There’s a family I’ve gotten to know each year that sits in turns one and two. I always enjoy catching up with them (“He runs DirtonDirt!” they tell their friends when I show up) and asking about their daughter, who serves in the military. Sometimes she goes to the race and other times she can’t make it, and they often don’t know where she is in the world because she goes on classified missions. Another tradition is trying to persuade my family to drive anywhere except I-70 in Indiana to get to the track. The stretch of road from Indianapolis to Ohio is the country’s worst stretch of highway. The last one would be buying just one 50-50 ticket because I’m a penny-pincher and it’s the only time in the year where I gamble. All it takes is one!
McFadden: I do always try and make a lap around the facility shortly before on-track action begins, from the infield media center to the hillside seating area in turn-one and back around again, just taking in the atmosphere. Buying 50-50 tickets is a must at Eldora as well. Other than that, it’s pretty simple for me, and that’s just enjoying the festivities as much as possible around the Big E.
Turner: I’m absolutely certain that Kevin Kovac (Lucas Oil Series director Rick Schwallie nicknamed Kevin “Sprinkles” because of his usual order) will mention the Dairy Dream in St. Henry. And that’s a good one. But I’ll go with my driving path to Eldora from my Louisville, Ky., home. I mix it up by driving through Indy instead of Cincinnati, by exploring various Ohio burgs in finding a new way to get to the track as often as possible (I still have a few farm roads to mark off the list). I’ll never forget my first time to Eldora when I was virtually certain I’d taken a wrong turn …. before the Track that Earl Built appeared on the horizon.
Kovac: As Todd noted, no doubt a trip to Eldora isn’t complete without a trip to the Dairy Dream in nearby St. Henry for some ice cream. In fact, the biggest bummer with the DTWC now being at Eldora is that the Dairy Dream has already been closed for the season. So yeah, I’ll be stopping in for a (sprinkled) treat this weekend. But there’s one other thing I always savor about an Eldora crown jewel weekend: walking out of the infield and through the upper pit area to the parking lot after the pit area has largely cleared out following Saturday’s finale. I like to wait a bit to talk with the winner to let the crowd around him die down and his accomplishment to sink in, and by that time the pits have largely emptied and there’s an almost calming quiet to the place after the constant whirlwind of the weekend.
