Bronson Can't Hold On, O'Neal Takes Ocala Lucas Run

 Thursday night, February 26th brought the best weather of the week so far to the Ocala Speedway for night number three of the Lucas Oil Late Model Series. On a night when the track surface took a back step in providing the kind of racing that everyone was hoping for, Hudson O'Neal nevertheless was pleased with the outcome as he was able to drive under Kyle Bronson near the halfway point and then hide out amongst the slower cars and take the forty lap feature win worth ten grand. 

The biggest story of the night was no doubt the track conditions that led to the kind of racing that we saw for much of the main event, and while I don't want to make too big a deal about it, it was significant in that it affected the style of racing we saw. 

All week the track prep crew has been working very hard, trying to work with  the new dirt applied to the track while mixing in the variables such as temperature, sunshine, wind and humidity, stirring it all up and trying to create a track that has bite, is fast but is not so fast as to prevent passing and certainly also not rubbering up. 

So far, the first two nights have seen a very fast track that has made it a bit hard for passing, even as they cut down the amount of water applied to the track each night. The track was distinctly drier on Thursday as James Essex reported, "they took the keys out of the water truck." Unfortunately, at least on this night, that didn't prove to be the answer either. 

Forty one drivers signed in to race on Thursday for the first night of Lucas point awarded here this week. Four first time drivers were in the pits while three others decided their "fun meters" were pegged and they headed for home or for the beach. However, the four that were new were clearly stronger than the departing three, so the overall strength of the field just increased. And while the overall racing was pretty staid and uneventful, there were several notable things that happened during the course of the racing. 

The first would be the quick time award which was won by rookie driver Dallon Murty as he turned a lap at 14.232 seconds with the vibrations felt all the way down to Florida from all the Hawkeye fans dancing in the streets over that development. And while the quick time was excellent, ultimately the evening proved to be another learning lesson after he pounded the first turn wall on the opening lap of the main event and went off on the hook. This corner was the focal point of much action during the night and the Bruening Team would have two cars to fix as Tyler Bruening pounded that same wall during the first lap of a heat race and went off on the hook also. In fact, Bruening would later take a trip to a local hospital for a CT scan after complaining of neck pain. No further word on his was available. 

Jonathan Davenport was one of four heat winners from the front row after he turned the quickest time in the second group at 14.448 as the track started to slow down quickly, starting showing some slick but still during the heat races didn't widen out as they had hoped. The true lone outside lane pass attempt was made by Brandon Sheppard on a last lap run at Brandon Overton during the final heat race but it didn't work and he had to pull back in line to salvage second. 

A pair of B Features set the final starters for the main and with the provisional positions starting to kick in for this point race, there were fourteen rows of drivers ready for the forty lap main event. 

And there was much craziness in the first few laps, even if the racing itself was less than scintillating. Things started out with a bang on the opening lap with Kyle Bronson and Davenport barreling into turn one, going for the lead. Davenport knew he had to make his move quick because the drivers felt that the track would soon rubber up and go one lane. Unfortunately, as Davenport tried to race around the high side of Bronson he managed to hook his outside quarter panel, sending Bronson spinning and Davenport slamming into that dog gone turn one wall again. Davenport nearly turned over and he reported after the show that his car would have to go back to Longhorn for repairs. Bronson had some nose damage but would restart the race. It was also reported that both drivers talked out the issue, there were no hard feelings as both understood it to be just a racing incident. 

The race was restarted with Bronson again on the pole but turn one spoke up again with both Murty and Garrett Alberson pounding the wall with both off on the hook. This was a strange start to the race for sure. While under yellow three laps later, both Brian Shirley, running second, and Brandon Sheppard, in the top ten, both pitted for new rubber after getting flat tires and the top ten running order was changing rapidly.

With four yellows in the first five laps, this was not a classic way to start a feature but after that, things settled down with over thirty straight laps of racing. Bronson held the lead over Brandon Overton but Overton couldn't hold his car down in the corners as he put the reversers on and faded back. 

O'Neal, who started ninth, had worked his way forward mostly due to others wrecking and disappearing in front of him and suddenly he found himself in second. He began to pressure Bronson who was having his own issues keeping the front end down and on lap fourteen, O'Neal snuck past on the inside down the back chute to take over the lead.

Hudson then pulled away from the pack with O'Neal soon catching the back of the pack. By the halfway point the rubber was building up, everyone "walled up" into a single lane right on the inside of the track and passing came at a premium. For a number of laps Devin Moran challenged Bronson for second as Kyle tried to make his car was wide as possible. 

In front of that battle, O'Neal had managed to lap Ross Robinson but couldn't get past Cory Hedgecock and rode behind him for many laps but as long as he had Robinson for a blocker, he was in good shape. It is strange to see the leader back off from and not be able to pass the tail end cars but that is what was happening as O'Neal had to frequently slow to keep from running up the back of Hedgecock but there was no way he was going to attempt an outside pass at this point. 

Moran finally got past Bronson for second but he still had Robinson blocking him from a challenging effort. A late yellow set up a three lap dash to the finish with the lapped cars finally moved out of the way, but O'Neal was not about to make a mistake and he kept his car nailed to the inside line and drove home for the win. 

Moran finished second with Bronson holding on for third. It has been a couple of trying days for Bronson after having broke a driveshaft while leading on Wednesday followed by his hair raising opening lap incident tonight. 

Ricky Thornton Jr stayed the course and moved up from tenth to fourth while Tim McCreadie used some early race openings to move up as he came from twenty first to complete the top five. Only four drivers failed to finish the feature and all four used up their cars on the first turn wall. 

Racing will continue on Friday night with round four of this week's series. 

Sheppard Turns The Tables With Wednesday Ocala Victory

 Night number two of the Wieland Winternationals at the Ocala Speedway saw another closely fought Late Model feature, and on this night the slower traffic became a friend, not an enemy for Brandon Sheppard as he held off all challenges from Hudson O'Neal to earn a thirty lap feature win and pocket seven grand for his efforts. 

Wednesday night's show was the second and final race for the Lucas Oil Late Model Series that was not a point paying race but despite that, the field of drivers increased by four to forty. While Jonathan Davenport unloaded his car and polished it up, he eventually loaded it back up and became a spectator. First time drivers that did race included Daniel Hilsabeck and Cory Lawler who both watched on Tuesday along with Ricky Thornton Jr and Eli Johnson. A few more drivers are still expected to arrive when the Lucas points begin on Thursday and the purses start to get larger. 

The program would be exactly the same as on Tuesday with time trials to set the running order of the heats, of which there would be four, and then followed by a pair of B Features and the main event, set again for thirty laps. 

As one of the last cars to qualify, Garrett Alberson turned the quick lap at 14.141. Unfortunately for Alberson, after that things went downhill for him and while he would finish eighth in the main, that was not what he was looking for given his qualifying effort. Brandon Overton topped the first group with a lap at 14.288 seconds and later would get a top five finish in the main. 

Not surprisingly, five of the six qualifying events saw the winner come from the front row with the lone exception being one of the B Features that Thornton Jr won from the second row but just the fact that he had to again run a B feature indicates that his early season struggles were continuing. 

The feature race, which again started twenty four drivers because of no provisional openings granted for the non point race, was not quite as smooth as Tuesday night's nonstop main. The yellow waved four times with the third one being the most significant. 

While the track crew put less water on the track than they had done on Tuesday, the cooling temperatures and building humidity kept the racing surface blinding fast with the inside lane occasionally slicking up. Most of the preliminaries saw the outside row provide an advantage and the feature was no different as Kyle Bronson got the jump on Sheppard to take the early lead. 

Bronson was running strong and was very motivated to earn a win in his home state as he led the opening six laps with Sheppard chasing him. By this time, the yellow had already flown twice including a Tyler Erb hammering of the wall that ended his night. 

The green came back out and Bronson again held the edge over Sheppard with O'Neal moving into third. Suddenly, the race changed dramatically as Bronson slowed on the front chute and as he tried to move out of the way, Sheppard and he came together hard. Sheppard lost several spots but the yellow saved him for the restart while Bronson was done with apparent rear end failure. 

Sheppard again took the lead with O'Neal, Overton, Devin Moran and Clay Harris in the top five at the halfway point. Overton briefly got past O'Neal for second but Hudson was able to return the favor and retake second. 

O'Neal began to move in on Sheppard as he closed the distance on the leader. One last yellow flew, bunching the field with a dozen laps to go. Sheppard again pulled away but before long, he had caught some of the slower traffic and O'Neal began to press him again. The laps were running down and O'Neal was looking for an opening to make a pass but on this night, it was Sheppard that worked the lapped traffic the best.

He was able to find an opening and race around the top side past Ross Robinson while O'Neal got stuck on the bottom and Sheppard was able to lengthen his lead on the final circuit and drive home for the win. Moran finished a close third with Overton and a consistent Harris completing the top five. 

While there was just a single car that was lapped, his presence was key to the outcome and there were seven drivers that did not finish. 

While the program did not proceed quite as smoothly as it had on Tuesday night, it was far from a dragged out event with the final checkered waving about a quarter to 9, local time. 

Perhaps because it was a bit warmer than Tuesday or perhaps at least in part because folks saw how fast the Tuesday night program was clicked off and they decided to chance it, the crowd was significantly larger than it had been for the opening show. With good weather promised the next couple of days, the crowds should be even larger for the higher paying shows just ahead. 

Moran Edges Out Sheppard In Traffic at Ocala Opener

 The final week of racing for the Late Models in Florida during Speed Weeks 2026 opened up on Tuesday night, February 24th at the Ocala Speedway on the Northwest side of Ocala Florida. This entire week will feature the Late Models at Ocala with five straight nights of Late Model racing before the troops head North to Georgia to wrap up what has been a very long Speed Weeks presentation. 

This week's racing is produced by the Lucas Oil Late Model Series officials and FLO TV with the entire staff of the FLO broadcasts on hand for this set of racing. It should be noted that both the Tuesday and Wednesday night events, while LOLMS races, are non point nights toward their championship and because of that, several of the title contenders either did not race on Tuesday or have not yet even arrived on the grounds. Daniel Hilsabeck and Cory Lawler both worked on their cars on Tuesday before loading them back up and Tyler Bruening did not even upload his car while allowing rookie Dallon Murty to race and get more experience. Thornton Jr, Davenport and perhaps several others will arrive before Thursday night when point racing resumes. 

However, the fact that not everyone was on hand didn't diminish the racing as there were still thirty six drivers that signed in to race with still many of the top stars of the Late Model world on hand and ready to test Ocala. 

The track itself looks and races just a bit different than in years past with one hundred loads of new dirt added and the banking seemingly changed in subtle but noticeable ways to the drivers. Track prep experts from Eldora were brought in this week to prepare the track and it it remains like it was for the Tuesday night show, we should be ready for some excellent racing this week. 

This year the decision has been made to make all five nights of racing here just a one class program which should please the Late Model fans no end. It should also make for some quick programs that everyone seems to appreciate. The only danger is that with a one class program, particularly one that starts with qualifying where everyone tends to pound the same groove on the track, that the track is made to be wide enough for passing to take place. That did not seem to be an issue on Tuesday as they spent some extra time packing the outside so I would not expect it to be a problem the rest of the week. 

Everyone associated with Lucas seems devoted to running off a quick program and I think that is appreciated by the fans, especially on a Tuesday night when the temperatures are supposed to dip into the 30's and a fairly strong breeze blows out of the West. 

The two drivers that would settle the score later on who would stand in victory lane were both quick early with Brandon Sheppard turning quick time at 14.040 seconds and Devin Moran topping the second group at 14.227. Eight minutes after the final car took time trials, the opening ceremonies began and racing started. 

The program on Tuesday saw four heat races, a pair of B Features and a thirty lap main to round out the program. Between each set of races, an eight minute break was all that was allowed with a twelve minute break following the final B Feature before the main started. As a non point night, there were no provisional starters and twenty four drivers would take the green for the thirty lap feature. 

Sheppard started on the pole with Moran tucking in behind him and the race was on. Sheppard opened up a slight lead over Moran while Clay Harris, Daulton Wilson and Brian Shirley battled for third. 

With the hot pace, it took Sheppard only eight laps to catch the back of the pack and then the battle heightened. Moran was able to close up on Sheppard while Wilson slipped back and Brandon Overton moved up to battle Harris for third. 

Back of the pack traffic is always an interesting facet of nearly every race and so it was also on Tuesday. Sheppard seemed the fastest driver in the house but he still had to navigate the traffic and any mistake would likely be pounced on by Moran. 

To the dismay of Sheppard, he came up on a couple of slower cars that were running side by side and he had to hesitate for them to clear. This gave all kinds of momentum to Moran and when Brandon opted to try and pass the slower cars on the high side going into turn one, he got just a bit high and out of the groove for a second, killing his momentum and allowing Moran to duck past him into the lead. 

That was all it took with the pass executed just one lap short of the halfway point and while Sheppard then chased Moran, Devin was in his own groove and could not be caught. But that's the way it works with lapped traffic, sometimes it helps and sometimes it punishes. The race for third remained close with Harris and Overton swapping the spot back and forth near the end with Harris holding on for the podium finish. Hudson O'Neal got very fast in the second half of the race, moving up to fifth after starting eleventh and was perhaps the fastest car on the track at the end. 

Four drivers failed to finish the event which ran off thirty laps nonstop to complete a night of quick racing. There were only three yellow flags waved all night, all in the preliminaries with the feature concluding the theme of fast racing. 

Check out this stat. From the time the first green flag was waved in the first heat race until the checkered flag was waved over the winner, the total racing time was one hour and seventeen minutes! Unbelievable! And on this cold Florida night, I heard not a single complaint that the program got over too soon!  Quite frankly, every fan appreciates a fast program so they can move on with their life and those promoters that can figure this out are among those that survive and prosper. 

Another similar program is promised for Wednesday night before the points race kicks back in on Thursday and the purses began to rise also. 

Braaksma Switches Coasts, Results the same-Victory

 Monday night, February 23rd provided an interesting change of pace for us. We have been watching the Late Models almost exclusively of late and Monday gave us the opportunity to see the IMCA group back in action with Modifieds, Stock Cars and Sport Mods all racing at the first night of the Clash on the Coast, an event promoted by Peyton Taylor and family. 

To do so, we had to motor about five hours West and North toward Florida's peninsula, a region of the state that we had not had much contact with. The Clash on the Coast has been struggling to get their series started as the weather has been fighting them, particularly with much new construction ongoing at our destination. Finally however, things dried out enough that they were able to hold practice on Sunday night with the first race scheduled for Monday. 

Just about everything here was new or different, even the name of the track. Long known as Northwest Florida Speedway, we were on hand as the name was officially changed to Blackwater Speedway by new track owner and promoter Ron Wolverton with the start of Monday night's racing action. 

Wolverton just took over ownership of the track and the first upgrades to the track and facility didn't start until January 9th of this year. The amount of change they completed in that short period of time was quite staggering  and while many projects are still to be either completed or done, the changes were quite noticeable. 

Of course, I had never been here before so while I could see that some things were fresh, I had to rely on those familiar with the place to point out some of the other changes, along with a very informative article on Speed Sport written by IMCA's Ben Detherage. 

It was easy to see that both the pits and spectator parking had been increased recently with a lot of dirt moved and some driveways a bit on the soft side. There were new bleachers, new boards on existing bleachers and a major rework of the track itself. The concession stand was in the midst of updating, new bathrooms are to be built with temporary ones used currently and just about everything on the grounds in the process of being spruced up. 

Blackwater is called a quarter mile but it just might be a bit bigger than that with a pronounced D shape to the racing surface. The track had seen the application of a major amount of new dirt and it was soft, making for some bumpy conditions for the drivers to race on with the insides of the corners especially challenging. Finally, to keep the drivers from racing through the holes and making them worse, a number of large ute tires were hauled on to the track and set in the holes, forcing the drivers to race around them. One of the busiest employees of the night was the gentleman in the infield spray painting the tires orange before they were placed on the track. 

Track lighting was good and they had a very nice scoreboard in the infield that was visible to all. The track did have one noticeable inherent flaw and that was a very high concrete wall down the front chute. With the grandstands quite close to the track, the cars were impossible to see as they raced down the front chute as the wall covered them. I call this the "Cedar Lake Syndrome" where it's impossible to see cars race down the front chute if you are sitting on that side of the track and there are several other tracks that have the same issue. 

Despite having a solid announcing team on hand headed by Jerry Van Sickle, we didn't hear them all night as p.a. problems kept there from being any sound in the grandstands. You realize how much you appreciate announcing, and especially good announcing, when it isn't available and you have to "wing it" for yourself, trying to figure out what is going on and who is who. It also hurts the track itself not being able to plug the sponsors and let the fans know just who all the drivers are. 

A practice night had been held so there were no hot laps on Monday night, just as it should be. This way, with such a large field of racers, racing can begin at the advertised time, not an hour's worth of hot laps first as we have been having to deal with from time to time lately. 

A great field of drivers were on hand for the first night of the Clash with seventy Modified drivers along with thirty nine Stock Cars and thirty five Sport Mods. The Sport Mods were added to the program this year and they turned out a solid field for their first chance to be a part of this race. 

While they race IMCA Mods locally and in this area, I don't believe they have either Stock Cars or Sport Mods so virtually the entire field in those two classes were comprised of drivers from the Midwest and Heartland and many fans watching on tv from home must have thought they were at any number of local tracks where these drivers race weekly. Particularly strongly represented were drivers from the Hawkeye State, which is understandable but I felt like I must be at some Iowa track I recognized so many of the teams in action. 

The format was the typical one used by IMCA with a draw/redraw component used. Ten heat races and three B Features were used to set the field for the thirty lap Modified feature race. The action got off to a wild start with Slade Hartwick flipping in the first heat race. He would return to run a B Feature later but didn't qualify for the show. 

Some of the early heats were a bit rugged before the drivers figured out the track and settled in a bit. Some extra packing was used during the early races to pound in the cushion while a bit more water was added but after that, it was racing and non stop right to the finish. With twenty eight races including three extra distance main events, there was plenty of racing for everyone. 

The Modifieds ran first all night with their thirty lap feature the first up. Twenty six drivers took the green with two that had made the event not starting. The opening lap saw Time Ward and Joseph Joiner battle for the lead with Ward scored the leader by inches. One lap later Joiner took over the top spot and he would lead the next eight laps. 

This was the only one of the three features to not run off very smoothly and there were four yellows in the first five laps for spinning and stalling cars. As Joiner continued to lead through the opening part of the race, it took Ethan Braaksma little time to move into second and he challenged Joiner hard for the top spot. 

Driving the same car that he had so much success with in Arizona, he slipped under Joiner on lap ten when Joseph went high in turn one and took over the lead. From that point on, the race was his and while he had to endure five more yellows that brought the field back to him, he never was seriously challenged after that. 

There was much movement behind him though, as each yellow saw some shift in the running order. Probably the strongest challenge to Braaksma came after the final yellow on lap twenty two when Troy Morris III got up on the cushion and stayed close following the yellow. 

However, Braaksma continued to be smooth and run his line and he then eventually opened up some distance as he drove on for the win. Morris III came home second with Jed Freiburger having a strong run to come home third. Joel Rust and Dylan Thornton completed the to five with Iowa drivers controlling the race. In fact, the first non Hawkeye across the line was Chris Spaulding who seems to have a Modified for just about every sanctioning bodies' rules. 

Reed Wolfmeier led from start to finish to win the Sport Mod feature which came next. Twenty four drivers started this race and were much better behaved than the Modifieds, as they had only three yellow flags in their feature and the majority of the drivers finished the race while the Modified feature saw only ten drivers on the track at the end. 

Wolfmeier was dominant from start to finish but there was a good battle for second with Mike Smith, Joe Docekal, Ben Chapman and Cam Reimers dueling for the spot. The battle between Smith and Docekal was especially intense with Joe getting the second spot back following a late yellow and then fighting off Smith for runner up honors. 

Brayton Carter had car problems early and had to run a B Feature but he then raced up from fourteenth to finish fourth with Cole Suckow completing the top five. Again, all familiar names from Hawkeye tracks. 

One "Cheesehead" did do the state proud though, as crafty veteran "Hot" Rod Snellenberger led from start to finish to win the Stock Car feature. Snellenberger, who usually drives a rather "used up" looking car despite the fact that they are fast, had a sparkling looking ride for this show and it was fast as well as he pulled away on the green and drove away from the pack. He only had one yellow flag to deal with as the Stock Cars put on a smooth show and only four drivers didn't finish the race. 

Nathan Ballard and Owen Barnhill ran second and third for much of the early going with Barnhill moving into second by the halfway point but Curt Lund was the driver on the move. He got up to second by the halfway point and then slipped past Barnhill for second. 

In the closing laps, Lund started to put some pressure on Snellenberger, closing the lead down to just a couple car lengths but then Hot Rod adjusted his line and closed up the inside groove where most of the drivers were running after a long night of track pounding. 

Snellenberger would then stabilize his advantage at a few car lengths and drive on for the win over Lund. John Oliver Jr was among the leaders the whole race and he ended up third. Mike Vandermark Jr made a nice move up from twelfth to finish fourth and Mike Albertson completed the top five. 

It was a long night of racing with action wrapping up somewhere around 11:30 pm on what was a very cold night in February with temperatures dipping into the 30's. However, considering the less than ideal weather and the fact it was indeed a Monday night, I thought the crowd to be very good. 

Due to their adjusted race schedule because of the weather issues, Monday night's race will be the only one of the series that we will be able to attend but we thank Peyton Taylor, all his workers and all the track employees for their efforts at both running off this show and putting the Blackwater Speedway in a very good place for the future.  

Hoffman Edges Pierce in Hendry Co. Thriller

 Saturday night, February 21st, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series wrapped up their southern experiment with the Swamp Cabbage finale, a sixty lap race paying a strong twenty grand to the winner. The two drivers that seem destined to battle it out for the World of Outlaws Late Model point championship, Bobby Pierce and Nick Hoffman, went at it for sixty laps on Saturday night and on this occasion, it was Hoffman who got the better of his rival, edging out Pierce by just over a car length to win the main event and earn the big cash. 

And as it had also on Friday night, the track raced very well. allowing plenty of side by side racing, passing and providing good racing action. But on the downside, a few other things didn't change from Friday that took something away from the overall experience. 

It was another beautiful southern Florida day on Saturday, with temperatures in the upper eighties and plenty of sun shining. It actually felt hot to me but my blood still hasn't thinned out totally after escaping the cold temperatures of the North Country. 

In preparation for the Saturday night show, we made a stop at Harbor Freight for some necessary supplies and boy, was I glad that we purchased face shields for the night. They worked slick at deflecting the sand and gravel that was spewed into the grandstands like bullets fired from a machine gun and while we still were dust covered from head to toe, at least we were able to keep our eyes open most of the time as the shields deflected the spray away from out eyes. 

All different manner of protection was used by the crowd from the veteran fans here who wore goggles or sunglasses to cobbled together protection that made some of the fans look more like they were crossing the Nairobi Desert rather than witnessing dirt track racing. It was not a fashion show but nobody cared. 

The same twenty seven drivers that were on hand to race on Friday night returned for round two while the 4.6 Fords had a few more entrants with thirty seven of them showing up to race. I won't say this is a "down home" type of crowd but many in the stands seemed to get just as much entertainment value out of the 4.6 Ford driver that tried to continue racing after his hood came up and instead plowed into a ute tire as those that cheered on the duel between Hoffman and Pierce. 

It appeared there was a concerted effort to get more moisture into the racing surface than on Friday night as a nearly endless amount of packing and hot lapping was necessary which pushed the start time back almost an hour. Still, in the end, the surface still turns bone dry after a few laps on it and with the close proximity of the track to the stands, the machine gun action begins quickly. 

Upsetting the apple cart slightly, Sam Seawright, the first driver out for time, turned in the quickest lap of the night at 13.877 seconds and after winning a heat and having a nice redraw, Seawright would start the sixty lapper from the pole. 

Wisely starting the Late Model feature first again after initially scheduling them last on Friday until a change was made, the eight yellow flag "clown fest" that the 4.6 Fords would later produce as the last race would have set the hair of the Late Model fans in attendance on fire if they had to wait for the Late Models to appear. As it was, they were in line trying to get out the drive way when the 4.6 Fords finally hit the track. 

Seawright led the first five laps of the feature race before Pierce, who started sixth, motored around him on the top side to take over the lead. Most were hugging the inside line early but Pierce immediately went to the cushion with success. Once in front, Pierce pulled away slightly as Hoffman, who started fourth, moved into the runner up slot. He was running the low side as the leaders lines couldn't have been much different. 

Hoffman started to get a great burst on the bottom off turn four and he quickly closed in on Pierce, surprising him as he drove under him to take over the top spot. One lap later, however, Hoffman jumped the cushion in turn one and Pierce regained the lead but the pass was negated because a slowing car triggered the yellow. 

After that, there was a long stretch of green flag racing with the two leaders playing a game of cat and mouse. Hoffman stayed low for the most part but occasionally ran the cushion in turns one and two. Pierce was primarily up against the wall but would try racing lower on the track, particularly if Hoffman moved up in front of him. Several times Pierce got close but not so near as to attempt a passing maneuver. 

With just over ten laps to go, the two leaders finally caught the back of the pack for the first time and this made things even stickier as they tried to decide the best line to both pass slower cars but not open the door to their rival. It was exciting as Piece slipped past on lap fifty three, only to see Hoffman respond and get the lead back one lap later. 

A late yellow set up a six lap dash to the finish and after Ryan Gustin, who ran third for just about the entire race, almost gave Pierce a problem, it again turned into a two car battle. Pierce was pounding the cushion which was still big but was a long way around while Hoffman tip toed around the inside, trying not to break momentum or spin his tires coming off the turns. 

Pierce edged closer as the laps ran down, drawing the rear quarter panel of Hoffman. Bobby gave it his best effort on the final lap, blasting off the final corner cushion but Hoffman was just a bit quicker, holding on by just over a car length. Gustin finished third with Drake Troutman and Ethan Dotson completing the top five. Dustin Sorensen had worked his way up to fourth but the final restart saw him in the wrong lane and he lost a couple spots. Sixteen of the twenty four starters were still on the track at the finish. Early leader Seawright faded to tenth at the finish. Without a doubt it was a good entertaining race. 

Unless you were a fan of one of the 4.6 Ford drivers or perhaps a former owner of a Crown Vic, their feature was not quite so entertaining. They started twenty two cars in their main event but there were very few periods of steady racing as the yellow waved early and often and about five consecutive laps of racing was about the best they could do. 

Dalton Ellis started on the outside of row one and he led the first nine laps which also featured three slow downs. Moving up from the third row, Stephen Bruner, the only driver to move up the track, was able to find traction and speed on his lonely path and he was able to drive around Ellis to take over the lead. 

Through five more yellows and Ellis trying his best to regain the lead, Bruner held on and drove to the win. David Bruner, Friday night winner Blake Ridgdill and Cody Allen completed the top five. 

I found out that both the Friday night and tonight's 4.6 Ford feature paid a grand to win. And here we go, down that slippery slope that leads to problems with these supposedly "entry level" classes. Start paying them much more money for specials than they receive for most events and some teams are going to start "pushing the cushion", trying to earn the big bucks. Others will follow and soon you will have a class out of control, cost wise. We've seen this happen about a million times over the years and paying them too much for what they should have invested in their cars is the first step to the undoing of the class. 

Overall, this weekend of races probably far exceeded most folks expectations. There was a question of how well this track would race for open Late Models and I guess that was answered emphatically. The crowd on Saturday was gigantic and perhaps the largest in track history. The Outlaws staff was all a glow and even the drivers were surprised and pleased with the racing. However, none of them had to sit in the stands and be blasted by sand and gravel like the fans. Will the spectators put up with that again next year after the novelty of the race wears off? I think the only way to cure this problem is with a complete resurfacing of the track with some different material and I don't think that's going to happen. 

Of course no one can know at this time what the schedules for the major series will look like in 2027 but I feel that the Outlaws were pleased enough with this event to have it again next year. Where it will fit on the schedule remains to be seen and will the local fans who formed the majority of those attending be willing to pony up a hundred bucks to see the races again are all questions that right now have no answers. 

Thanks to everyone at the WoO for their help and all the employees of the Hendry County Motorsports Park for their hard work. This race had been a dream of theirs for a long time and in 2026 they brought it to fruition. 

Pierce Tops Hendry County As WoO Visits for First Time

 Extending their visit to Florida after the completion of the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia County, the World of Outlaws Late Model series traveled over two hundred miles further South to the Hendry County Motorsports Park located in the middle of no where but nearest to the city of Clewiston Florida for a weekend doubleheader of point racing. 

On a track that looked and raced much like any number of Illinois short tracks, Bobby Pierce feasted on the familiarity of such a set up as he drove to any easy win in the forty lap main event and earned twelve grand for his efforts. 

The 4.6 Fords(called Crown Vics in my neck of the woods), also ran a complete program and Blake Ridgdill was the winner of their twenty five lap feature. 

Called the Swamp Cabbage 100 and with a local Swamp Cabbage festival to go along with the races, I did actually see some Cabbage growing in the fields near Clewiston. Billed as the "Southern Most Dirt Track in the USA( I would have thought there might be a track in either California or Texas that might hold this honor, but I will will go along with their claim), the track is somewhere between a quarter and a third mile although the official description lists it as a third, it is a wide track with progressive banking that allows for side by side racing. 

It is also known as the "Fastest Sand Pit" and there will be no argument there, particularly on the sand pit part of the phrase, but more on that later. 

This is the first time that I had been at Hendry County and these days I don't get to a lot of new, to me, tracks so let's take a moment to talk about what I saw. The entrance is a bit of East Bay and the old Stateline Speedway in Tennessee before they cleaned it up. The driveway off a busy highway is a rough and bouncy dirt trail that winds between an abandoned boat yard of some sort with junked cars lining the driveway . It is not impressive.  

The parking lot is very small with many of the spectators actually driving into a field behind the pit area in turns three and four to park. To their credit, management was offering golf cart rides to the ticket gate for spectators that parked far from the gates. 

Interestingly, the tickets to get into the races were "all inclusive" with one price paid to get in which then allowed the spectators to roam the grounds at will, including walking into the pits once they had signed the waiver form. Fifty bucks got you everywhere you wanted to go. 

I was told that some extra bleacher seating had been added recently at the track with their being grandstands down the front chute, in turns one and two and also in turns three and four. They were of various size and construction and offered various levels of both comfort and visibility but there was plenty of seating available. The track lightning was good and the track p.a. system was very good with the announcers easy to hear. There was a small scoreboard behind turn two but it was a little hard to read from the main stands but at least they had something. There were several bathrooms around the grounds and most were of the permanent variety, not the "satellites" type. 

Observations on how the track would race for the Late Models were varied with some folks that had been there feeling that it would be a train around the inside of the track while others said that the racing had improved there over what it used to be. They do race crate Late Models and 360 Sprints here for specials so there must be some kind of passing available , right?

As it turned out, the racing itself was quite good. The heat races especially were excellent with two and three wide racing and the powerful motors in the Late Models allowed them to do what some classes don't and that it to get up to the top side of the track, clean off the track and even establish a cushion for them to race off which even makes the side by side racing easier. 

Then there is the down side to report. There is a reason that they call this track the "Fastest Sand Pit" because that seems to be exactly what they race on, sand. And it is dirty. Very dirty. Almost intolerably dirty. I witnessed fan after fan get up and leave early after they got sand blasted to the point they couldn't see the track. It was easy to spot local weekly fans as they all came equipped with goggles, snorkels and more . 

Without doubt, it was among the top five dirtiest tracks that I have ever been to and that includes a lot of tracks and a lot of race nights. It was miserable and about the only track that I can compare it to that I have been to in recent years is Charlotte for the World Finals and folks know how dirty that track is. But here you sit right on the track and much closer than at Charlotte and it was brutal. Honestly, I would never even consider taking someone here on a "date night" or introducing any new fan to racing here as they would never go to a race again, and I wouldn't blame them. 

It was too bad because the racing was good to the point of even edging into the very good category but it was hard to even see it because of the dirt. Honestly, if I had to put up with what we sat through on Friday on a regular basis, I would find some other activity to be a part of, that's how bad it was. 

Twenty seven drivers signed in to race with WoO on Friday, fortified by about four or five drivers from the region, some with crate cars and some with equipment not likely to make most shows. It would appear that the idea to extend Speed Weeks for the WoO put them on the short end of the stick, car count wise. Drake Troutman was quick qualifier at 13.875 seconds. 

Three excellent heat races and a B Feature would qualify the field with only three drivers left sitting on the sidelines for the main. Only the B Feature was substandard with everyone hugging the low line for that race. Track prep then took place for the main and the groove widened out immediately for that race. No complaints should be issued about the quality of the racing all night. Complaints about he persistent sandstorm blowing into the stands however, should be legitimate and fair. 

The original running order of the event was tossed and the Late Model feature was first up. The drivers put on an excellent show for those able to see it. Troutman redrew the pole and led the first seven laps of the race, running the low line. Pierce, who started third, moved to the cushion immediately, and with the help of a couple of other drivers, cleaned up that line and he then stormed past Troutman to take over the lead. 

Bobby then pulled away, at times opening up nearly a full straightaway lead over the field. However, there was still a good race going on for the second through fifth spot that was entertaining and Pierce had to fight through a bunch of lapped traffic which made his route to victory not easy. 

There was only one yellow in the race and that with just five laps to go when Tyler Erb spun. Ethan Dotson had started seventh and moved up to second, also pounding the cushion and he was Pierce's biggest competition at the end, but Bobby got away good on the lone restart and pulled away again for the win. 

The battle for second came down to the final corner with Dotson holding off Daulton Wilson as Wilson started to make the low groove work well at the end. Amazingly, there were only two drivers that didn't finish the race and all those extra drivers still racing during the contest on the relatively small oval added to the fun. 

4.6 Fords were the support class for this race with they apparently being a very popular class at this track. Thirty four of them signed in to race on Friday, necessitating four heats and a B Feature. Fortunately, they raced OK with not a lot of yellow flag events. They also ran their feature race last which allowed the parking lots to clear and spread out the rush to head home. 

Twenty two of them started the main with pole sitter Blake Ridgdill leading from start to finish with the main stopped three times for yellow flags with most being of the minor variety. 

Late in the race he received a challenge from Billy Evans but he clung to the inside lane with the 4.6 class not having the power to move up the track, and held on for the win. Evans finished second with Codey Allen, Stephen Bruner and Alan Smith trailing. The final checkered flag waved somewhere just after 10 pm in what was a fast moving show. 

The same two classes will race again on Saturday night with the Late Models going an extra twenty laps for an extra eight grand. 

 

Sheppard and Wight Win VSP Finales, Hoffman and Williamson Big Gator Champions

 Saturday night, February 14th the Volusia Speedway Park wrapped up what was a very successful DIRTcar Nationals with one final performance by the World of Outlaw Late Model division and the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds. 

Saturday night's show would mark the longest races for both classes this week with a pair of fifty lap finales presented and correspondently, the most money to the winners with the Late Models racing for twenty grand and the Big Blocks for seventy five hundred dollars to the winner. 

Strong fields of drivers still remained after a long week of racing with fifty six Late Model drivers signing in as their car counts have held stout all week. The Big Blocks had a bit of an exodus with forty one of them racing, but their numbers have been larger all week than for last year's event and even on Saturday they still fields a half dozen more entrants than in 2025. 

Other than the laps in the main events, the format would remain the same as it has the last few nights and the track prep crew seemed to have found that happy medium that many track prep crews are constantly working to get, a track that is fast but not blindingly so, not muddy but also not to the point of rubbering up and ruining the racing. It is a constant battle, no matter the region and no matter the time of year. This is part of what makes dirt track racing so interesting while also being so maddening from time to time. 

While most spectators sleep through the time trials(not literally), they are just about the most important part of the entire racing program as without a decent starting spot for a qualifying event, you might be advised to just put the car in "the box" and call it a night. Chris Madden was the quick qualifier for the night at 15.227 while Garrett Alberson, who has run just a partial week here, topping the second group about two tenths of a second slower. 

Six heats were again run for the Late Models and for those at home keeping score, the front row provided the winners for all six heats, thus emphasizing the importance of a good qualifying effort. 

The B Features are brutal events, starting twenty or more drivers and only moving up three but it was noted on Saturday that more drivers were scratching out of their B Features and hitting the road home early, cutting their losses and beating traffic. 

For the second straight night, there were a number of drivers that are WoO regulars that struggled to qualify and thus had to rely on one of several different categories for those who failed to make the main but wished to participate. This swelled the field to thirty one drivers that took the green for the Late Model event, a traffic jam for even this large and wide a racing track. 

With Nick Hoffman, the fastest and winningest driver here this week starting from the pole, the odds were heavily in his favor for another big win. But as they say, that is why the race is run and while Hoffman led for a large chunk of the race, when the checkers flew he failed to even earn a podium finish. 

Hoffman led early over Blair Nothdurft, the young South Dakota driver that is rapidly turning into a qualifying wizard and sending the "railbirds" searching their programs to find out who this #76 was. 

Unfortunately, while Nothdurft has gotten the qualifying part of the racing down, he is still learning how to pace a race and still have his car under him at the end as he faded back rapidly in the pack after the first few laps had been completed. 

Nineteen green flag laps started the race after a shocking first lap yellow when Tyler Erb broke before he got the motor oil warm, and by that time Brandon Sheppard had moved up to second. Hudson O'Neal and Ryan Gustin had also worked into the top five. 

As the race moved into its second half, Hoffman seemed to be slowing down while Sheppard was also picking up the pace and on lap thirty three, Brandon moved into the lead. When the yellow waved two laps later, Bobby Pierce, who started nineteenth, first showed in the top five in the running order and he didn't hang back long as when the green flew once again, he made a spectacular move, splitting the drivers in front of him and suddenly finding himself in the runner up slot. 

The last dozen laps saw a battle between the two Illinois drivers with Pierce pushing very hard and able to close the gap to a few car lengths. Several times it looked like he just might sneak under Sheppard and take over the lead but Sheppard fought off all challenges and with a couple nifty moves in the last five laps, put just a bit of distance between himself and Pierce. They would cross the line first and second with both likely happy that they had gotten their programs straightened out after some shaky moments by both this week. 

O'Neal also made some positive advances as after starting tenth, he raced past Hoffman to finish third. Ricky Thornton Jr has also been pretty quiet this week but he did manage to move up from thirteenth to complete the top five. Twenty two drivers were still on the track at  the finish with three of them being a lap behind. 

The Big Blocks also went for fifty laps on Saturday and there were three different leaders in that race. Many were hoping for good luck for "The Aussie", Peter Britten after he redrew the pole but things went South for him quickly when he hooked a rut on the first lap, went shooting up the track and took himself out of serious consideration for the win immediately. 

A different face was up front early as Justin Stone grabbed the lead after Britten's bobbleand he paced he field for the first seventeen laps of the race, a period that was broken up by numerous yellows. The most serious was a lap four red flag when Danny Creeden clobbered the turn three wall and then went for a couple of quick flips. He was rattled just a bit but eventually clambered out of his wrecked car. 

Stewart Friesen and Matt Sheppard were putting the pressure on Stone and when he slipped up the track on lap eighteen, Friesen was right there to motor into the lead. Larry Wight started sixth and it took some time for the track to open up so that he could get to his "sweet spot", which is the cushion. However, when things settled down, he quickly charged forward and by halfway point, was side by side with Friesen for the lead when the yellow flew once again. 

Steward couldn't hold back Wight however when the green again flew and Larry shot into the lead. It was one of the those nights when the Big Blocks just couldn't keep racing without the yellow waving often and while it made the battle for second between Friesen and Sheppard interesting, it was frustrating in that they just couldn't seem to get any consistent racing. A total of nine yellows flew during the race with the last coming with just seven laps remaining in the race. 

Wight was on a roll and there was no one able to keep up with him. Sheppard went for the lead on the last restart but pushed up the track and forfeited positions to both Friesen, who came home second and Mat Williamson who finished third. At the line, Sheppard nipped Felix Roy for fourth. 

Twenty one of twenty nine drivers were still racing at the end and with the frequent yellows, everyone was still on the lead lap. 

And just that quickly, the DIRTcar Nationals are in the books again for another year. Thanks to all the  many folks from DIRTcar and VSP for their help and  for their efforts over the last week plus for me. It is a grueling stretch of racing and all the employees do a great job and still maintain their smiles after night after long night of work. 

The crowds have been great all week and a block buster crowd was on hand for the Saturday night finale. The weather has been good all week, albeit cool but the shining sun always helps improve attendance. 

Things were a little slow at the Gator Pond in 2026 with just one little one spotted a couple of times. On the plus side, there were no reports also of missing children and small dogs!