Moran Holds On For Late Model Win; Sheppard Wins a Crazy Mod Feature at VSP

 It was another Big Block Modified and World of Outlaws Late Model doubleheader program on Friday night, February 16th at Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville as the week long series of races starts to wind down. On Friday night, Devin Moran would hold off a pair of the weeks' most consistent competitors in Chris Madden and Bobby Pierce for the Late Model win while Matt Sheppard was in the right place at the correct time to inherit what was the wildest feature race contested so far this week. 

The weather forecast for the weekend has been consistently ominous all week and has never changed so many are thinking that Friday night's races will be the concluding event of the series, even if no announcements have as yet been made. East Bay even moved up their three day Sprint Car show by one day so that they wouldn't be racing on Saturday so it seems likely that something will happen here too. In fact, during the driver's meeting WoO Series Director Steve Francis announced the evacuation plan for the pits for later tonight so it's a given that they will pull the plug as soon as the first rain drops fall on Saturday. 

However, what did catch my attention during the driver's meeting was something that Francis also had to say. And it was just by accident that I happened to hear the driver's meeting anyway as I usually don't even attend them, finding them boring and repetitive. 

However, this one was different. Francis was mad and the reason was that some less then brilliant Late Model folks had been messing with the gators in the gator pond over night and had brought down the ire of the authorities on them since messing with the gators, who are protected, is a federal offense and authorities at first wanted to kick everyone out of the lower pit area which would have caused quite the problem. They apparently settled things down and were allowed to stay but as always, it only takes a few idiots to ruin things for everyone. The simpletons in question were supposed to speak at the driver's meeting but didn't show but it was not a surprise to hear who was involved.   

Car counts would be at forty six Big Blocks and forty seven Late Models on Friday, numbers that had been very consistent all week and slightly up for the Mods and slightly down for the Late Models from last year. 

More money would be on the line for Friday night's events as the last two night's purses were split evenly between the two nights in the event that there would be no Saturday night racing and both classes would ran a forty lap main event on Friday. 

Race format would be the same with qualifying setting the running order with four heats and a pair of B Features in each class before the two main events. The two classes have alternated each night who runs first and on Friday it would be the Late Models that would go first. That also meant they would be first to pack the track as that is done by the competitors here . Madden and Pierce would eventually grab quick qualifier honors with Bobby fastest overall at 15.513 seconds.  Demetrios Drellos and Mat Williamson would share Big Block honors with Drellos fastest at 17.093. 

I believe the heat races on Friday night were the best of the entire week as with the format used passing is generally at a premium but there were some nice battles for position on Friday night, some close finishes and of course the finishes in the heats were super important. There were a pair of B Features for each class and then, following the doling out of the provisional starting spots, it would be feature time. Probably the most noteworthy observation of B Feature racing would be the fact that Tim McCreadie, who has really struggled in qualifying this week, would not be  part of the main event while speedsters like Brent Larson, Todd Cooney, Dustin Walker and Parker Martin would because they are part of their WoO alliance. 

As the track was being "tickled" before the Late Models took to the track for their main event following the redraw, it dawned on me how the marketing department of World Dirt had really dropped the ball here this week on their Late Model marketing partner. Except for the race cars themselves, what probably gets as much viewing time on tv during the week as anything else ? The tractors of course, as they circle the track and prepare it for the racing action. They are frequently seen on tv. And what color are the tractors? Green. Is that the color of Case IH, the series sponsor? I think not. A big oops there. 

Thirty cars would take the green for the Late Model forty lapper with Cade Dillard, who has shown good speed this year already at several different tracks, jumping into the early lead. Devin Moran, who started outside Dillard in row one, would slip into second. The cars were flying around the cushion, finding that line to be the quickest one while others used a lower line as the track, while very fast, was wide and offered racing room. Pierce was a man on a mission on Friday as he raced up to third after starting seventh after he got "snookered" on a last lap pass in his heat race. 

Back to back yellows on lap nineteen would pack the field up with four running Ricky Thornton Jr spinning one lap later and calling it a night. Chris Madden had fallen back to fifth but he worked his way past Hudson O'Neal into fourth as Dillard jumped the cushion and handed over the lead to Moran. As Moran opened up a slight advantage, the battle for second between Pierce, Madden and Dillard was a good one as they worked through lapped traffic. 

Things fell apart for Dillard as he got tangled up with a slower car and spun out of contention with just seven laps to go. Moran would continue to lead with Pierce and Madden battling for second and O'Neal and Brandon Sheppard also in the top five. 

Daulton Wilson got shoved into the wall by Mark Whitener with just two laps to go and that would set up a short sprint to the finish. Moran got over the cushion slightly and gave hope to Madden, who had taken over second from Pierce and Chris made a hard drive off the final corner but Moran had enough momentum to drive on for the win and the top prize of eighteen grand over Madden and Pierce. Max Blair came out of no where to forge his way up to fourth at the finish ahead of Sheppard. 

There were five yellow flags in the forty lap finale and six drivers that failed to go the distance on a good and racy track surface. 

The Big Blocks would then finish up the evening and provide a wild and unpredictable finish to their forty lap main. 

Drellos would start on the pole and take the early lead over Matt Sheppard as Matt would push up the track and forfeit a couple more spots. Erick Rudolph would move into the second spot and gradually start to move in on Drellos as the slick track was giving some of the drivers problems getting through the corners. By lap ten or so, the leaders were starting to get into traffic and Drellos was having some problems getting through the field. Williamson jumped on this opportunity and on lap thirteen, he was able to slip past Drellos and take over the lead. 

Just three laps later, the first yellow appeared for a stalled car and by this time, Williamson had moved into second ahead of Drellos with Sheppard and Larry Wight next in line. Most of the drivers were using the low line on the track but following that yellow, Wight moved to the cushion and he found immediate success, becoming the fastest car on the track as he passed Sheppard and then Drellos to move into third by the halfway point of the race. 

He continued to charge and just two laps later he cleared by Williamson and Rudolph to take over the lead. He was very fast on the cushion and while some of the other drivers then moved up to that same line, he had things firmly in hand as the leader. Following a lap twenty four yellow for a stalled car, Larry would again pull away and despite the fact that the outside line held its challenges with a fine margin of error, he continued to pull away. 

However, just when it looked like things were under control, lap thirty three would provide the wildest lap of the entire week. Wight was working through slower traffic and as he approached turn four, he would come up on the car of Brett Hearn and while Wight would later blame Hearn for chopping him off, to me it looked like Wight was in just a bit of a hurry and got into the side of Hearn's car, pushing him up the track. Wight continued to shove Hearn up the track and then suddenly came down back across the track. 

Incredibly, the green flag remained out through all of this and when Wight came down the track, he slammed right into the side of second place Rudolph, slowing him as he tried to recover. Sheppard, running third, would pass Rudolph just before the line while Wight would continue to try and right himself, storming into turn one. However he hit the cushion wrong in turn one, the car dug in and off Larry would go for a couple of flips. The red light would come on and everyone would try to sort out what they had just seen. 

Wight would be done with a damaged car and Sheppard would inherit the lead, having nipped Rudolph at the line for second on the lap that was scored just before the wreck. The last seven laps would see the top three battle for the win but Sheppard kept his cool and didn't allow Rudolph any openings as he would drive on for his second win in three nights with the surprising win falling into his lap, so to speak. Williamson would finish third with seventeenth starting Alex Payne finishing fourth ahead of Anthony Perrego. 

I would have to say that the Big Blocks have put on some of their best racing that I have seen here in Florida this year withvbigt car counts and good competitive racing all nights. 

Another immense crowd was on hand for the Friday night show as all the Late Model shows both here and at East Bay have been big winners when it comes to attendance. I was also told that the Outlaw Sprints set a record for fan attendance also this week so there were no lack of short track dirt fans on hand here in Florida. 

We will now see whether or not there is a finale on Saturday night or we have already witnessed it. 

Two Terrific Feature Races With Late Winning Passes at VSP; Williamson and Hoffman Victors

 For those that read this blog from time to time, you may have had the feeling that yesterday's blog was about my worst effort ever. And if you did, I fully agree with your assessment. It was a real chore evening getting anything produced yesterday. 

Because it seems that after weeks of hop scotching the country, an illness caught up with me and I have been miserable the last three days or so. Chills and fever, runny nose and headaches, tremendous pressure on my eyes and all the good stuff likely from a good old fashioned head cold. I've been taking meds the last thirty six hours or so that seem to have kind of controlled things, but I am far from the road to recovery. 

Of course I'm too stubborn to stay home from the races so I've been resting until the last possible minute before heading out to the track. This has been a week of eating, sleeping and more sleeping. Not the way one would want to end their vacation but that's the breaks sometimes. In any event, I'll try to do just a bit better today although right now I'm sweating so bad I can hardly see to type. 

Big Block Modifieds and Late Models would again be the featured divisions on Wednesday. The Late Models would be running under the World of Outlaws rules and procedures but it would be the same drivers as had been running earlier this week. There would be forty eight of them signing in to race as Volusia just does not get the same big car counts as East Bay. We would swap announcers as DIRTcar announcer Chris Stepan was off to East Bay to announce Sprint Cars while the second year voice of the Outlaws, Ruben Mireles, would be calling the action for the Outlaws. Interestingly, with exactly the same number of race cars, the Outlaws would run six instead of four heats that had been run on previous nights and there would be three B Features as opposed to two previously. The top six would redraw for the feature race while the Big Block Mods would use a different format, even though they had exactly the same number of cars. And people wonder why the sport is hard to figure out at times. 

We also got a big treat when Michael Waltrip, apparently taking a wrong turn on the highway heading for Daytona, ended up at VSP and even stole Dave Farney's green flag to start one of the heat races. I figured there must be some reason that Waltrip was at a dirt track when there was activity at the big track but he quickly became apparent that he was here to hustle his new beer and there are plenty of beer drinkers in this crowd for sure. I knew he had to be selling something to show up here. 

Four heats for the Big Blocks and six for the Late Model would follow qualifying with Rex King Jr the quickest for the Big Blocks and Chris Madden quickest for the Late Models. It was a night of smooth driving as the racers were really hitting high speeds but the races went off cleanly with very few yellow flags, right up to feature time. 

The Big Blocks would be going thirty laps on Thursday night and pole starter Jimmy Phelps would lead lap one as twenty five drivers would take the green. Phelps would lead only that first lap before he was passed by Demetrios Drellos who went roaring by him on the outside. 

Phelps would not give up easily though, and he got up on the wheel and would close back up on the leader, having success as he retook the lead on lap nine and would maintain the lead up through the halfway point of the race. By this time, Anthony Perrego had worked his way up from this seventh starting spot and passed Drellos for second with Larry Wight and Mat Williamson in the top five. Drellos was really flying on the outside and one lap later he sped past Phelps to take over the lead. 

He really began to extend his lead and was nearly a full straightaway ahead of the crowd with Phelps still holding second with Wight and Williamson following. The race had remained green to this point but with only five laps to go, Darren Smith jumped the cushion in turn one and took a violent flip which triggered the red flag. Smith was not hurt but the rear end of his car was twisted like a pretzel. 

The last five laps would see a tremendous shake up of the field. With the vast majority of passes in the world of racing now coming directly after yellow flags, due to tires and changing track conditions in most cases, While Perrego continued to lead when the green was displayed, Williamson got up on the cushion and quickly dispatched both Wight and Drellos and then closed in on Perrego. With Anthony running the low side of the track, he was a sitting duck as Williamson blew past him with just two laps to go and then pulled away for the win. It was a bitter pill for Perrego to swallow as if not for the last yellow, he would have won by a full straightaway and instead had to settle for runner up honors for the second straight night. Wight, Phelps and Erick Rudolph would complete the top five. 

And if the Big Block feature was not exciting enough, the Late Model main was even better with the winning pass coming off turn four on the final lap. Thirty cars would start the Late Model feature on this night as once we went to the Outlaws sanction, all the provisional starters began to pop up. Is it just me, or does it seem that the Outlaws every year have more drivers that tag along on the whole tour that couldn't ever make a show if there was no guaranteed starters yet they always appear at the back of the pack, never challenging for a top position but collecting a check just because they were there. Other than adding cars to the field, what benefit do they provide?

In any event, It would be Mike Marlar that would get the jump on Chris Madden to lead the opening laps. Ricky Thornton Jr was on the move though, and he quickly moved in to challenge Marlar and when Mike pushed up the track, it was Thornton Jr that would take over the lead. Thornton Jr would lead for three laps and then he would do the same as Marlar had done, jump the cushion in turn one and would hand the top spot back to Mike.  As Marlar continued to lead, there was a terrific battle behind him as Madden, Bobby Pierce and Thornton Jr waged war with Nick Hoffman also moving in to make it a four car group racing for position. 

Yellows on laps thirteen and nineteen slowed the action but both times Marlar would continue to lead with now Madden and Pierce his closest competitors. However, following the second yellow, Madden would make a hard charge into turn one and run Marlar up into the mud over the cushion, taking over the lead and sending Marlar reeling back into the pack. Then, as Madden continued to lead, there was a great battle for second as Hoffman and Pierce fought it out, going wheel to wheel for a number of laps. 

It appeared that Madden had things under control but when Hoffman finally broke free from Pierce, he began to reel in Madden at a remarkable pace. In the last couple of laps he got right up behind the leader and going down the back chute on the final lap, Hoffman threw a slider into turn three that cleared Madden with room to spare and Hoffman would pull out an exciting win, the best race of the week. Madden would settle for second with Pierce, Thornton Jr and Daulton Wilson rounding out the top five. It was an excellent race and despite the high speeds that the drivers were running, there was still plenty of room on the track for passing while the cushion as been a tough foe for many . 

All week the weather forecast has been showing that Saturday and Sunday (too bad 500 fans) look to be washouts and that forecast has simply not changed. Finally recognizing that fact, at the driver's meeting it was announced that the purse for Friday night's show and laps have been increased, just in case Saturday doesn't happen. 

Pierce Doubles, Sheppard Earns Win Number 500 at Volusia

 Wednesday night racing on February 14th at Volusia Speedway Park found an interesting night of racing with an unusual format likely not used anywhere during the rest of the season. The Big Block Modifieds would make their first of four appearances to wrap up the racing at Volusia but the Late Models would be the ones with the unusual schedule on this night as they would run triple feature races and for bonus racing, also make up the Monday night feature race that was rained out. 

Forty eight Late Models, the high number so far this week, would sign in for Late Model action and an impressive forty nine Big Blocks from all over the eastern part of the country would sign in for their thirty lap feature race to start off their week. 

With nearly one hundred race cars to qualify, no matter how speedily and efficiently they did it, time trials did take quite of big of time and for the first time all week, the races didn't start on time as they were nearly forty five minutes behind schedule, right from the get go. 

The Modifieds were divided into two groups with Mat Williamson and Demetrios Drellos being the quick qualifiers of their groups with Williamson being the only driver in the sixteens at 16.992.

The Late Models had a pill draw to determine who would be in the three feature races so it was strictly the luck of the draw to determine who raced in which race. They then qualified and the results were lined straight up for the three five grand to win mains. Bobby Pierce, Mike Marlar and Ricky Thornton Jr were the three quick drivers with Thornton Jr quickest overall at 15.439 seconds. 

While the Modifieds had to go through the series of heats and then Two B Features, all The Late Models were automatically moved into a feature race. 

The first Late Model feature would see Pierce lead all the way for an easy win. He started on the pole and led all laps and was never really challenged, despite a large number of yellow flags (7) that would keep the field bunched. Cade Dillard would get second from Tim McCreadie early and then hold that spot the rest of the race while McCreadie would slip back to fourth but work his way back up to third at the end. 

The second feature would also see quick qualifier Marlar lead from start to finish to take an easy win. Jordan Koehler would move into second but would be one of many victims of the big cushion as he would jump it and lose a couple of spots with Nick Hoffman moving into second. Later in the race, Tyler Erb would pick up the pace and he would drive past Hoffman for second and that's how they finished. 

The third feature race featured some wild action between a couple of the sports quickest drivers. Devin Moran would use the outside line to get the jump on Ricky Thorton Jr and take the early lead with Moran then leading the majority of the race. Gradually, Thornton Jr and Brandon Sheppard would start to catch the leader and with a few laps remaining things would get interesting. Thornton Jr would use a slide job to get past Moran but Devin reversed things in the next corner, making the same move to claim  the lead back. Thornton Jr. would try to get back under Moran in turn two and they would make contact, with Moran almost immediately suffering a flat tire and slowing to trigger a yellow flag. 

Thornton Jr. would inherit the lead with only two laps to go but once racing started again, Ricky would push badly up the track, jump the cushion and lose several spots. Whether it was from the contact with Moran, I'm not sure, but his car was not as good following that incident. 

Sheppard would take the opportunity presented to him and then drive on for the victory with Ryan Gustin second and Daulton Wilson third while Thornton Jr fell to ninth. 

The fourth and final Late Model feature of the night was the rescheduled race from Monday night. Thornton Jr would take the lead and would move off to a nice advantage over Marlar and Pierce. However, as the leaders got into lapped traffic, Tyler Bruening would for some reason come from the bottom right up into the groove of Thornton Jr and they would hit hard, slowing Thornton Jr down and allowing Marlar the opportunity to throw a big slider at Thornton Jr. 

Ricky would get over the cushion and the yellow would wave, even though he didn't stop and the "blend rule" would be used to place in the restart lineup. And just one lap later, leader Marlar would slow and Pierce would inherit the lead. Pierce would then go on to lead the last half of the race to get the win with McCreadie coming on to finish second ahead of Dillard. 

The Big Blocks put on one of their better shows in recent memory with four different lead changes among three drivers and winner Matt Sheppard earning his historic five hundredth feature win. 

Sheppard would start on the pole and lead the opening lap, after which a quick yellow for a spinning car would slow the action. Sheppard, however, would make  major gaff on the restart as he would get too high in turn one, jump the cushion and lose a considerable number of positions. In fact, by he finally climbed back on to the track from the mud berm, he would be all the way back to seventh position but he would eventually march back to the front. 

Anthony Perrego would inherit the lead after Sheppard's slip but he would lead for only a short time as Demetrios Drellos would then drive around Perrego to take over the top spot. Sheppard was on the move back toward the front though and by the halfway point of the race, he was up to third as he got by Mat Williamson and Jimmy Phelps for position. 

Sheppard moved to the high side of the track and he immediately picked up speed and both he and second running Erick Rudolph closed on the leader. Sheppard made a brilliant move as he moved high to pass Rudolph and then closed on the leader. Perrego tried to counter Sheppard's move but Matt moved both high and then low as he drove past into the lead and with green flag racing to the checkered, he pulled away in a very impressive performance. Perrego would settle for second and Rudolph would  complete the top three. 

Only three minor yellows would slow the pace and twenty four of the twenty seven starters would finish the race. 

It was a very cold and damp night but a very large crowd was on hand for the doubleheader with the World of Outlaws Late Models replacing the DIRTcar Late Models on Thursday night as point chasing resumes for the group. The Big Blocks will also be in action once again. 

Seavey Doubles In USAC Sprints, Moran Tops Late Model Crash Fest

 After a short night on Monday due to a rainstorm that stopped the action, the Volusia Speedway Park was back in action on Tuesday night, February 13th for the first full night of the 53rd annual Federated Auto Parks DIRTcar Nationals for the Late Models and USAC Sprints. 

After Monday night's rain shortened program, it was decided to run a double feature event for the USAC cars on Tuesday since they would be moving down the road to another engagement and wouldn't be available after Tuesday night. The DIRTcar Late Models would run their make up feature race as a part of the Wednesday night program. 

A double feature program for the USAC cars is a rare event indeed, so along with the grinding crash in the Late Model feature on the front chute after a bad restart, these would probably be the longest lasting memories of this night. That and the fact that Logan Seavey, would make the double feature program even more memorable by sweeping both feature races for the open wheel cars. 

Car counts would be very similar to the Monday night program with twenty seven Sprint Cars again signing in to race although Iowa's Robert Bell would have terminal engine problems early and would be done for the night. The Late Model field fell by one  as while Parker Partin completed his engine swap from Monday and was racing, both Stacy Boles and Dustin Walker decided to take the night off while several other drivers were on hand but still opted not to open the trailers up. 

The program would be identical to the one presented on Monday night except for the fact that no rain fell and we got the whole show in. Three heats for the Sprints and four for the Late Models plus three B Features in total would set the order for the main events. 

Previous to that, C.J. Leary would break his one night old track record for USAC cars at VSP with a lap clocked at 16.151 seconds. The Late Models would be split into four groups for heat race action and the quickest in the four groups were Kyle Bronson, Bobby Pierce, Austin Smith(in an upset) and Hudson O'Neal with Pierce quickest overall at 15.256 and it continues to surprise me that the Late Models are faster than the Sprint Cars here. 

The regularly scheduled Sprint feature would be the first to take to the track with ten grand on the line for the winner of the thirty lap main. Seavey blew a motor on Monday night just as he crossed the finish line in his heat race and they were in the midst of buttoning up the new power plant when the rains hit, but they didn't let the uncertainty of that event bother than on Tuesday night as Logan would come from the ninth starting spot to win the main event. 

After a first lap  yellow when Alex Bright hit the inside wall, Carson Garrett would take the early lead with Kyle Cummins moving into second. Another yellow on lap six for a spin slowed the field once again with Seavey up to fourth by this point as he trailed Brady Bacon and Garrett as Cummins took over the lead. 

Cummins continued to lead but Seavey made some nice moves as he raced up to second and began to close on the leader under a long green flag period of racing. By the halfway point, Garrett had lost third to Bacon with Justin Grant cracking the top five. 

Seavey would apply extreme pressure on Cummins as they dipped back and forth through lapped traffic with Seavey sliding under Cummins on lap twenty to take over the lead. From there he began to pull away with Cummins, Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. battling for second. 

Things came unglued for Bacon with just two laps to go when he got into a lapped car in turn four as he was fighting for second and he was part of a three car flip that saw both Jadon Rogers and Trey Osborne tip over with no injuries reported and all drivers actually still able to start the second feature. 

Seavey would pull away on the restart and drive on for the two lap sprint to the finish with Cummins second and trailed by Thomas Jr, C.J. Leary and Garrett. 

The Late Model feature looked like just another Bobby Pierce benefit run until the unthinkable happened with just eight laps to go but those unknowns I think, are what keep us coming back to the track week after week. 

Pierce would take the early lead with Bronson and Chris Madden moving into second and third. The yellow would wave twice in the first twelve laps, keeping the field bunched and the pressure on Pierce who was not able to walk away from the field. After Bronson applied early pressure, it was Devin Moran that closed on the leader and twice he appeared ready to make a serious challenge, only to see the yellow wave both times for spinning and slowing cars as the Pierce horseshow appeared to still be working just fine. 

However, that belief went out the window following the lap seventeen yellow for a spinning Ethan Dotson. Pierce would bring the tightly paced field through turn four for the restart and then, nothing happened. 
Pierce had lost power and with the field barreling down on him, drivers were sent scrambling in all directions with some wild hits taking place including one that launched O'Neal into a near orbit. Much damage was inflicted and several cars were sidelined, a couple with terminal ills that will require teams to borrow cars or go to back up machines. 

Of the thirteen cars that were able to restart, just half the field, most had some damage ranging for minor dings to body parts dangling in the wind. Moran would inherit the lead but Ricky Thornton Jr was all over him and a couple of times it appeared that Thornton Jr was ready to make a pass when both times he jumped the cushion and lost major ground. 

Moran would drive on for the win with Thornton Jr, Bronson, Max Blair and Cade Dillard completing the top five. It will be a busy overnight as many cars will need some extensive repairs to return for action on Wednesday. 

A twenty five lap Sprint feature would then complete the night's racing. Chase Stockon would lead but for only one circuit before he was passed by Bacon for the top spot. Seavey would start fourth and move into second following a lap eleven yellow for debris. 

He would then put the pressure on Bacon for the lead with Leary Daison Pursley and Alex Bright running in the top five at the halfway point. By this time of the night, the track was wide and shiny all the way up to the cushion near the wall and it was a perfect track for some slide jobs. We were treated to some great battles at this point with Bacon trying to protect his lead over Seavey and this slid each other back and forth and at one point, doing it twice to each other on a single lap. It was wingless racing at its best. 

However, Seavey was just too strong and on lap nineteen, with just six laps to go, he was able to clear Bacon and Brady didn't have enough speed to get back at him and would have to settle for second as Seavey would pull away. Leary would finish a strong third with Pursley fourth and Grant completing the top five. It was a good comeback for Pursley who spent most of the night battling engine woes. 

It was an ignominious night for Rogers as he managed to flip in both feature races. Even with lots of racing, the final checkered would wave at 10:30 pm., not bad considering the circumstances. 

Wednesday night will see change take place. The USAC Sprints will be replaced by the "Beasts from the East," the Big Block Modifieds that will start their four night run. Also, in a rather unusual format move, the Late Models will run a night of feature races only, much like the Modifieds do here with all drivers split into three feature races, thus everyone will get to run a feature and participation ribbons are promised for all. The evening will conclude with the Late Model feature that was not able to be run on Monday night. Crowds continue to grow each night working toward the weekend, even as it was quite cool at the track on Tuesday night.   

DIRTcar Nationals Kicks Off, Rain Delays The Action

 The 53rd annual Federated Auto Parks DIRTcar Nationals kicked off on Monday night, February 12th at the Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville Florida. This would be the start of the final week of this nearly month long series of races here at Volusia that has seen the World of Outlaws Late Models, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, Modifieds and now in conclusion, three nights of UMP Late Models followed by the World of Outlaws Late Models for another three nights. USAC Sprint Cars will join the UMP Late Models for two nights and then the Big Block Modifieds, "The Beasts from the East" will join the WoO Late Models for the last four nights of racing. 

What a grind this must be for all the employees of DIRTcar along with all the employees of the track as there is almost nonstop racing going on for nearly a full month here at VSP. However, the grounds still look good after this much racing and foot traffic and the gator is still looking good as he patrols the "Gator Pond" on the lower level of the pit area. 

The pairing of DIRTcar Late Models and USAC Sprint Car seems to be an odd one as the Late Models are a part of DIRT Vision while the Sprint Cars are a FLO property but somehow the business end of this must have been worked out as the Sprint Cars debuted as a part of the series last year and were asked to return for 2024. They have a nice series in Florida also as they race here in between two different series of appearances at Ocala Speedway(note the name change, even though Bubba still roams the grounds). 

It would be one of the nicest days of the entire series so far with temperatures in the mid 80's and plenty of sun and even a bit of humidity. However, these conditions would go down hill as the evening progressed but more on that later. 

Car counts would be very similar to those of last year with twenty seven Sprint Cars compared to twenty eight last year and forty seven Late Models compared to last year's forty six. With USAC running two points paying programs, everyone that was here would be racing on Monday while there are a number of Late Models that are on hand but did not unload on this night, instead waiting for later in the week when the purses go up and points for the Outlaws start on Thursday night. Among those watching were Jimmy Owens, David McCoy, Ryan Gustin, Matt Cosner, Jeff Mathews and Cory Lawler with Parker Martin using the afternoon to swap out a motor. 

One always knows that they are at Volusia when Dave Farney climbs up into the flagman's tower and begins his show. One of the most respected starters in the business, he is not only good at keeping the drivers informed to what is happening on the track, he also puts on a good show for the fans. How some tracks believe that not even having a flagman and instead just using a set of lights to start and end the races adds more to the show is just beyond me. 

It was a blazing fast track that the drivers would deal with on Monday but the groove would  be just a bit narrow. From the time the drivers hit the track, a quick program was being pushed by all as the radar was already showing that rain was on the way and it was a question not of if, but of when it would hit. 

Interestingly, the Sprint Cars would hot lap and then turn right around and do their qualifying first and then the Late Models would hit the track and do the same. Evidence that the track was very fast was quickly confirmed when Logan Seavey would set a new USAC Sprint record at the track with a time of 16.173 seconds. The Sprint Cars and Late Models would be operating under different qualifying formats on Monday with the Sprint Cars inverting six in each of their three heat races with four heats having been called for if they would have had just one more car. Six would come out of their B Feature to set a twenty four car starting field. 

The Late Models, on the other hand, would be divided before the time trials started into four groups and drivers would only qualify against drivers in their own group. Time trials would set the running order for the heats with the Late Models starting straight up off qualifying. Five would come out of each heat and the twin B Features would move up a pair of cars each, thus setting a twenty four car field and with this being a DIRTcar only race, there would be no provisional starters with just twenty four running the main. 

This would be as proficient a program as one would hope to see all year. When was the last time you went to a race meet and with two classes of cars qualifying, the first green flag would wave exactly at the advertised starting time? But that is exactly what happened on Monday with the rain bearing down on the track. 

The program would be run off at a break neck pace and with the drivers cooperating with few yellow flags, the ten preliminary races would be completed in the rapid fashion of one hour and fifteen minutes. In fact, the Sprints would run off their four races without a single yellow flag being waved. 

However, as the last Late Model B Feature was being run, it started to mist lightly and then became just a bit heavier. As the Sprints were being pushed to staging for their main, it started to pick up in intensity just a bit, not hard enough to be considered full out rain but just enough to make racing unsafe. The race went into a holding pattern as packing vehicles circled the oval. However, a few minutes later it started to pick up in intensity, the lightning bolts started to flicker and the program was called. 

Fortunately, with all qualifying completed, it would be easier to reschedule the rest of the program. The Sprint Cars, with other commitments later this week, will run a program that features double main events on Tuesday night. The Late Models, on the other hand, will run their feature race on Wednesday as a part of the features only night so we will see four main events on Wednesday plus the Big Blocks for their first show of 2024.  

Wilson Wraps Up East Bay Winternationals With Popular Win

 The final week of the Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park has flown by and on Saturday night, February 10th, it would be the final Lucas Oil Winternationals race ever. On a week where the competition has been fierce, it would be only fitting that the sixth different winner of the week would emerge and four Daulton Wilson, after two years of trying, he would finally get his first ever Lucas Oil Late Model Series victory. 

Wilson, who had been close to victory again earlier this week, would make a lap sixteen pass on Tyler Erb and then make it stick up despite some strong return pressure from Erb late in the contest to claim the win and the fifteen thousand dollars that went along with that. 

Sixty five drivers would sign in for the finale as the competition of a long week plus some less than favorable outcomes for some of the drivers found them loading up early and either heading for home or taking a night to lick their wounds, put things back together and than head for Volusia. 

The format would be the same as it has been for the rest of the week with two groups of cars qualifying and that would be followed by six heats, three B Features and the fifty lap main event Erb would show his strength early as he was quickest qualifier overall at 14.357 seconds while a surprise would find Boom Briggs quickest of the second flight and just a slight tick behind Erb. 

Whether it was the long week of hard racing, the extra drama this race had taken as as the finale forever, which by the way could be felt in the pits before the show, or just the extra money on the line but the racing took a harder toll during the heat race qualifying than it seemed to earlier in the week. There was an edginess displayed by a number of the drivers that hadn't been there earlier and some rougher driving that seemed to prevail. There was even a blatant "take out" or two that had to be dealt with by Lucas Oil officials as a couple of the drivers weren't playing well together. 

Also, for the first time all week, we saw the heavy equipment needed as the East Bay racing surface needed some attention. A long week of racing had gradually made the first and second turns start to rut up and some pretty big bumps developed. There had been some the past couple of nights but everyone just bounced through them and continued on. By Saturday though, they were sending cars off the ground and were starting to produce a safety hazard. So the grader was dispatched for the first time just before the main event and while no one wanted to see it used, it was the correct call and did make the surface much better for the fifty lap finale. And overall the surface has been good all week, with everyone pleased with how well it has raced after, quite frankly, the last couple of years had been sub standard. The new gumbo that Al Varnadore found has definitely improved the racing and came at just the right time. 

Thirty cars would take the green flag for the finale and again, with the qualifying as tough as it has been, just making the main event each night has been hard and a number of top runners would be starting deep in the field with many having to resort to the provisional allowance to even start. Mike Marlar, Spencer Hughes, Ross Robinson, Hudson O'Neal and Time McCreadie would all be going from the back couple of rows. 

The feature on Saturday would not see as many different drivers lead the race but it was still an intense battle for the lead. Tyler Erb would start on the pole and would lead the first fifteen laps. Early race action would see Garrett Alberson spin as a result of contact between Boom Briggs and Jensen Ford taht would leave Alberson no room. Erb would continue to lead but Wilson would move into second and start to put the pressure on Erb. 

With a slider in turn one, Wilson would take over the lead with Ford starting to slide back in the field while Brandon Sheppard and Garrett Smith would both be on the move. By the halfway point of the race, the yellow had waved three times and Sheppard, Smith and Jonathan Davenport would be the three chasing the leaders. 

Wilson would continue to lead but Erb was gradually reeling him in as the laps started to wind down and they got into some traffic. Erb began to put heavy pressure on Wilson but a big move by Wilson past Briggs(who somehow seems to be in the middle of everything) gave him some running room and Erb's aggressive charge into the corner saw him bang with Boom, slowing him down and giving Wilson more space. 

Boom wasn't done yet though, as he then slowed with just three laps to go, setting up a sprint to the finish. However, Wilson would get away cleanly and open up some distance while Erb was instead fighting to hold off Sheppard for second. Wilson would power away and to the cheers of the crowd, who seemed to be highly supportive of him, cross the finish line as the winner. Sheppard would steal second from Erb on the final lap with a big back straightaway move and Tyler had to settle for third with Smith and Devin Moran completing the top five. Twenty one cars would complete the race, all on the lead lap and the yellow would wave five times. 

The facility here at East Bay was absolutely jam packed on this night and it's hard to imagine how they could possibly shoe horn any more people on to the grounds. Folks were parked at least a mile away from the track and the grid lock leaving afterward was epic. Some seem to think that the crowds will be even bigger when the track runs its finale Lucas Oil shows in October but I disagree as  all the folks here for Speedweeks won't be around in October and I don't think the local and regional crowd is just that strong. However, I guess we will find out on that. 

I was disappointed that there was no final ceremonies or special award presentations or anything to honor the event and even though there will be one final weekend in October, to me Winternationals is what this track is all about and now would have been the time to do or say something for Al and his crew. We have met and gotten to know quite a few of the track employees in recent years and will miss running into them each year and no matter how things shake out in terms of what 2025 looks like, it will never quite be the same ever again. 

I also thought this would have been the appropriate time to make some kind of announcement of what the race schedule for 2025 will look like, but none was forthcoming. Perhaps things are still being negotiated for 2025 and there is not yet any announcement to make but in the meantime, a number of special events and series announcements remain twisting in the wind, so to speak, dependent of what happens with Lucas and their early races for 2025. 

Thanks go out to Al Varnadore and his staff for their help this year and for all the years we have been going to the "Clay By The Bay." Best of luck to all of them and good health for all. 

Davenport Fifth Different Winner at East Bay

 The final East Bay Winternationals continued on Friday night, February 9th with the Lucas Oil Late Model Series back on the track. And for the fifth straight night, a new winner would emerge as Georgia's Jonathan Davenport would win the main event with a strong run that would produce victory. 

By this time of the week, the field is pretty much set and seventy two drivers would sign in to race although there were still two drivers on Friday that made their first racing appearances of the week. Mike Spatola's rig has been sitting in the pits for a couple days now and on Friday they finally decided to run for the first time. Also, Adam Boyd, who lives just the roar in Riverview, made his first appearance of the series. In total, eighty five different teams have turned laps here this week. 

On Friday night the ante would go up as the top prize would be twelve thousand dollars to the winner and the distance of the main would also increase to fifty laps. Qualifying on Friday would produce some surprises with some of the best drivers mired back in the pack and some different names starting toward the front. The two groups would see Davenport and Blair Nothdurft turn the quickest laps while the biggest surprise was that the young South Dakota driver Nothdurft would be fastest overall at 14.167 seconds. This would give him the pole for the first heat race and although he couldn't translate that to a victory, he would at least qualify for the main event which has been a struggle for many of the drivers. 

No changes in Friday night's format as six heats and three B Features would set the running field for the main event. However, the struggles of some of the top competitors would see thirty drivers start the main with several having to fall back on provisional starts. In fact, with Ricky Thornton Jr, Tim McCreadie, Max Blair, Brandon Sheppard and Devin Moran all starting in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth rows, you knew that the competition level just to make the main was fierce. 

It would seem that Al Varnadore and his crew have hit on the correct formula for track prep the last few nights. The track is very fast but it is also not just a one groove track. The drivers are running at a tremendous pace, pushing hard and fast on every lap but they still remain all over the track with passing and re passing going on constantly. 

Davenport would be one of two race leaders during the event which was highlighted not so much by the race for the lead but the tremendous amount of infighting for top five positions plus other drivers making head long rushes through the field. The kind of stuff that you don't see while watching on tv but must be in the house in order to fully catch. 

Davenport would be challenged by "The Magic Man", Mark Whitener for the early lead with Tyler Erb moving to third. The face of the race would change quickly and early when second running Whitener would lose a driveshaft on lap seven and at the same time, fifth running Garrett Smith would again be bit by bad luck, with a rather spectacular looking engine fire triggering a red flag and a quick bail out by Smith. All was ok though, and the race would restart with Davenport now being chased by Tyler Erb and Jimmy Owens. 

Davenport was running higher on the track where most were running early while Erb was trying lower on the track. On lap thirteen Davenport would bobble and stick the nose of his car in the mud in turn one and by the time he got going, Erb was passing him for the lead. While Erb continued to lead, Davenport would stick with him as Hudson O'Neal, Garrett Alberson and Ashton Winger were all making moves to get into the top five. 

That would be the running order at the halfway point of the race and soon after that, Davenport picked up the pace and begin to challenge Erb back for the lead. He made several preliminary attempts and then on lap twenty nine, slid hard under Erb in turn four. There was some slight contact as Davenport would get by and take over the lead and shortly after that Erb started to slow, lose positions and eventually pull in with suspension issues. Whether or not the contact caused the problems, you would have to ask "Terbo" himself.

After that, Davenport would lead the rest of the race although O'Neal hustled up to make it fairly close and while Hudson couldn't attempt a real challenge, one slip by the leader would have meant disaster. 

And while the top two were secure, a great battle went on for the other top five spots. At one point it looked like Alberson was going to pass O'Neal for second and then the next second he was instead getting passed for third by Daulton Wilson as these drivers were putting on an excellent show while all were running incredibly hard. Winger was right in that mix and but would settle for fifth. 

Meanwhile, Thornton Jr and Sheppard would forge runs into the top ten, all while running the last thirteen four laps nonstop which would make the whole event more intense. Twenty two of the starters would see the checkered flag with six a lap down as the lapped traffic was well behaved on this night and didn't factor into the racing. 

Friday night, with fantastic weather, the crowd got even bigger if that was possible with many folks getting to the track by early afternoon, just to find a parking spot where they wouldn't be chased by gators afterward. I'm only partially joking here too. Gridlock after the races has led to many people roaming the pits, just to kill time while knowing that traffic will be bottled up for a long period of time. With more excellent weather in the forecast for Saturday, it looks like the East Bay Winternationals will go out with a bang. 

Owens and Sheppard Enter East Bay Victory Lane

 As the week rolls on, the crowds begin to get even larger and the intensity among the racers picks up, if that is even possible since it feels like they have been racing extraordinarily hard all week. 

In any event, in front of a full house at East Bay Raceway Park on Thursday night, February 8th, Jimmy Owens would be the big winner as he would hold off a hard charging Jonathan Davenport after a late race restart and drive on for a ten thousand dollar, forty lap win in Lucas Oil competition, the first point race of the week here at East Bay. 

Fans would get to see their limit in Late Model racing too as a rare doubleheader would finish off as the Monday night event, stretched in pieces over the last three nights, would conclude with a thirty lap main event that would see Brandon Sheppard come from the ninth starting spot to edge past fellow Illinois racer Brian Shirley to take the five grand win. 

Seventy four drivers would sign in to race on Thursday night with Mark Whitener making his first appearance after fixing a car wrecked in Georgia already this year. Parker Martin and Carson Ferguson would also be on hand for the first time. Meanwhile, the Riggs Team car driven earlier this week by Jaden Frame would be wheeled by Illinois driver Jake Little. Brandon Overton, who wrecked his car last night, would instead drive a second car for the Jeff Mathews team out of the Tampa area while Mathews broke out a new Rocket. Several other drivers would also bring out second cars as with points on the line for Lucas drivers, everyone put on their serious face for Thursday night action. 

The track would be in excellent shape again on Thursday which allowed the drivers to work all over the racing surface and much side by side racing was seen all night, from the first heat races right up through the two mains. And again, the only track work done after the cars hit the surface for the first time was for a bit of wheel packing by service vehicles just before the first feature race. And while it might have been a good track for the drivers, it was again plenty dirty for us in the stands but I guess at a track like this where you sit so close to the action, that is the price that must be paid. Good action for us for sure but again, not the kind of thing that your average man on the street wants to put up with which is one reason why it's so hard to get new folks to check out coming to a race. 

Garrett Smith and Hudson O'Neal would be the quick qualifiers for their groups with Smith quickest overall at 14.164 seconds. Smith would actually start from the pole for both feature races and while he led for laps in both races, he wasn't able to nail down that prime finishing spot that he has been so close to hitting on this week. 

Heat race action was excellent on Thursday with many good battles and until you see these drivers race up close and personal, it's hard to explain to the average fan just how hard they are racing for every second they are on the track. Yet with all this intensity, they really don't wreck a lot as they are really skilled at their craft. 

The usual format would be held with six heats and three B Features set to establish the feature race line up. The lone difference was that starting on Thursday, with Lucas points on the line, the parade of provisional starters tacked on to the back of the pack would begin. Instead of twenty four cars that all raced their way into the show, there would be thirty starters, some of which are Lucas tagalongs that aren't fast enough to race their way in but Lucas would like them to keep following the circuit so they add them to the field. Lucas is certainly not the only one that does this, as most series do the same thing but I've always been a fan of really making drivers earn their way into the show. 

In any event, thirty cars would take the green with Smith grabbing the initial lead from the pole. He would lead for four laps before Owens, who started to his outside, would drive by him for the top spot. These two would put on an excellent show as Smith refused to give in and would battle back with them trading the lead back and forth four times over the first half of the race. 

However, other drivers were also on the move including Garrett Alberson and Jonathan Davenport who soon became a part of the lead pack. By the halfway point of the race, Owens would be the leader with Alberson and Davenport trading second back and forth as both searched around the track for the best line. Garrett would really close in on Owens and when Jimmy bogged down briefly in turn four, Alberson very nearly made the pass but got into Owens instead briefly with all continuing without problem. 

This gave Davenport a clear run at the leader though, and Jonathan moved to the high side of the track where he really started making time. For all the world, he looked like he was ready to blast past Owens and take over the lead down the front stretch when Boom Briggs pulled up lame right in front of him with just two laps to go with a flat tire. 

A two lap dash to the finish would be set up and Owens got away cleanly on the green and while Davenport pushed hard, Jimmy would fight him off to take the win, a victory that was popular amongst the crowd for the Tennessee veteran. Alberson would settle for third while both Ricky Thornton Jr and Hudson O'Neal would complete hard runs to the front from rows six and seven respectively to round out the top five. 

Normally that would be the show and everyone would now stream towards the exits and the "real" show as everyone tried to ram their way out of the tiny East Bay Parking lots and whatever else nooks and crannies they had found to park their vehicles. However, this was not a "normal" night as we still had thirty laps of hard racing to look forward to as the evening would conclude with the thirty lap feature race which was  a part of the rained out Monday night program that was made up in segments over the last three nights. It was an innovative and interesting idea that was brokered to allow the fans to see six nights of racing and also allow the drivers to race one more night. The only ones left "holding the bag' where the folks who had bought tickets for the Monday night show. While their money wasn't refunded, all those that didn't have tickets for Monday were allowed to watch the last three night's makeup action for free while their unfortunate friends paid the purse for the freeloaders. It's a good thing this is the last year for East Bay because any attempt to repeat this procedure wouldn't be met so friendly as because it is their last hurrah, management seems to have been given a free pass this year.

In any event, twenty four drivers would take the green once again for thirty laps with Smith once again taking the early lead. But he was unable to hold it for long as Devin Moran came storming up from the third row to drive under Smith and take over the top spot. He would hold the lead for a number of laps but eventually both Brian Shirley and Brandon Sheppard started to cut into his lead. 

Shirley was really digging on the bottom as he raced up beside Moran and they had a good battle for the lead before Brian was able to secure it. However, shortly after  the halfway point, Sheppard would come flying to the front and the two Illinois drivers would go at it with Shirley unable to hold off the charging Sheppard who would take over the lead. 

Sheppard would become the fourth different leader and would pull away on the final few laps as he finally showed the speed expected out of this team. Shirley would hold on for second with Moran following him home. O'Neal and Ross Robinson, up from eleventh would complete the top five. Several of the drivers would use this last race as a paid hot lap session with the number of drivers streaming into the infield high in the closing laps. And even with all the racing we saw, the final checkered flag would wave just around 11 pm after which the fight out of the parking lot would resume. 

Friday night the action will resume live and on tv with another forty lap main event as the sands in the hour glass are running out with only two nights left of Winternationals racing forever. 

Tyler Erb Wins East Bay Thriller

 The 48th annual Wieland Winternationals continued on Wednesday night, February 7th at the East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton Florida with a forty lap, seven thousand dollar to win Lucas Oil Late Model Series event. With the action picking up as the week progresses, Wednesday night's feature race would be a dandy that would see five lead changes among three different drivers with Tyler Erb leading on two separate occasions and eventually driving on for the win. 

Seventy five drivers would again sign in to race with four making their first on track appearances of the week including Ryan Gustin(driving Todd Cooney's car), Cody and Brandon Overton along with Mike Marlar. The intensity also seems to be picking up as more drivers arrive, the purses go up and those chasing Lucas Oil Series points work to make their cars their best when point racing starts. 

The track would be quick for qualifying with Jensen Ford and Jonathan Davenport topping their respective groups with Davenport quickest overall at 14.221 seconds. The usual format would prevail with six heats and three B Features again setting the twenty four car starting field for the main event. Once again, with this not being a point race, there would be no provisionals and only twenty four cars would start the main event. 

With no track work to be done all night, except for some minor cushion packing before the main event, the feature would roll off early in the evening. Ford, in a bit of a stunner, would top the first half of the field in qualifying and would start on the pole but it would be outside pole starter Davenport that would grab the early lead. Davenport would be pounding the cushion early while Tyler Erb chose to work the low side of the track. Gradually Erb would close up on the leader and on lap twelve he would roll under Davenport to take over the top spot. Dalton Wilson and Devin Moran were both also working their way forward as the lead group remained tightly locked together. 

The first yellow flew with seventeen laps completed as Earl Pearson Jr. rolled to a halt with a flat tire. The restart was a bad one as Garrett Alberson spun and Brandon Overton crashed hard into him, heavily damaging both cars and reportedly ending Speedweeks permanently for Overton. 

Things got real busy on the restart as Erb and Davenport were joined by Wilson in what was turning into a tough three car battle for the lead. On lap nineteen, Davenport would slip past Erb to retake the lead but while both were fighting it out, Wilson would slip past both and be scored the leader at the halfway point of the race. Devin Moran was making a move to the front and was battling for third with Erb when they brushed in turn one and Moran spun, ending his charge. And then two laps later, Hudson O'Neal spun after rolling a tire off the rim as favorites fell, one by one. 

Drivers were trading lanes on the track, a sign that the track was multi groove and racy for all. Erb decided to move up the track and it paid dividends as he started to gain back ground on Davenport. A steady run by Jimmy Owens and Dennis Erb Jr. would see them break into the top five. Erb continued his charge and on lap twenty seven he was able to drive past Davenport and retake the lead. 

And once in front, he was able to gradually pull away from the field but there was still plenty going on behind him as the battle for second and positions right behind was a hot one. Ford stalled with just ten laps to go, settling up the final sprint to the checkers. Erb would get away nicely but now, suddenly, all eyes were on Marlar who had suddenly moved to the extreme high side of the track and lit a torch under his car. 

Not even scored in the top five with just those last ten laps to go, he suddenly was flying around the track at breakneck speed, riding about as high on the track as is possible. He flew past Dennis Erb and then Owens and set his sights on the top three racers. With Tyler Erb comfortably in  front, the race came down to second with Marlar having a full head of stearm and somehow finding room to squeeze between Davenport and the outside wall and make a head long charge that would allow him to nip Jonathan by inches for the second place honors. Wilson and Dennis Erb would complete the top five. 

Nineteen of the starters would complete the race with all on the lead lap and there were five yellows to slow the contest. Other big gainers during the race were Tim McCreadie and Brian Shirley. 

Normally the feature race marks the end of the night and of racing, but there was bonus racing on this Wednesday. The Monday night rainout, which has been split into three parts, would continue as all cars that qualified on Tuesday night after that show was completed would compete in another six heats and three B features, all to set the lineup for their makeup feature that will be contested on Thursday night after that regular show is completed. 

It was a lot of racing for one night but the track held up very well for the racers, while we as fans ate our share of Florida gumbo but didn't mind as long as we saw some good racing. It would appear that this new material found by Al Varnadore in December will work out well with the secret being that more moisture in the track is better. All racing was completed by just after 11 pm, not an unreasonable time by any means. 

Rumors continue to swirl about just what will happen with Speedweeks in 2025 with East Bay set to close after this racing season. The most heard and more reliable reports seem to indicate the Speedweeks 2025 will see three or four nights of consecutive racing ending on weekends at the three tracks that Lucas Oil now races at each January and February. The kicker is that these three weekends of racing are reported to not begin until after the Daytona 500 and then perhaps carry on as long as the first week of March. Looking at the makeup of the crowds that support these events right now, it seems to me that most are folks that have traveled from other parts of the country to attend these races and whether they will still around for that long remains a big question. I don't believe these events can be supported by the Florida race fans as I just don't think there are enough of them; they need the tourists and race travelers too. 

I would assume the races at Volusia would continue just as they have been using the same time slot but I'm wondering about such events as the Wild West Shootout, which starts as early as it does so as to not conflict with other early events. Perhaps that series might be moved back several weeks next year also when the New Mexico weather might be more favorable. It is  worth noting that dates for 2025 have not yet been announced for several annual events, as many are watching to see what happens here in Florida next year before making their own moves. Stay tuned but it appears one thing is for sure, Speedweeks in Florida will be forever changed after this year. 

Hudson O'Neal Tops East Bay Opener

 The final Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park for the Lucas Oil Late Model Series kicked off on Tuesday night, February 6th after a twenty four hour rain delay. However, no shows will be lost as using a rather unique make up formula that I have never heard of being used before and certainly have never witnessed first hand, the rained out Monday night show will be made up in three parts with the time trials being run on Tuesday after the regular show is completed, the heat races being run on Wednesday night after that show has been completed and double feature races as a part of the Thursday night show. 

There was no threat of a rain out for Tuesday night however, as sunny but cool weather greeted the fans and competitors for the Tuesday night show. Seventy five drivers were on hand to participate as a part of the last ever Winternationals here at "The Clay By The Bay" with a number of drivers making their first appearances here in a number of years, obviously to be a part of this last Winternationals. The car count was up significantly, as many anticipated as the number of cars on hand greatly exceeded last year's sixty that were racing on night number two last year. Included in that number were the top eleven in current Lucas Oil point standings and twenty three of the top twenty five currently listed. And the two missing were both in the pits and unloaded but chose to pass on the opening night action. 

Perhaps part of this unwillingness of a few to race was due in part to the fact that this would be a non point race for Lucas and "only" paying five grand to win so it was used as a test session by many for the point receiving races that start on Thursday night. 

However, for others that aren't chasing Lucas points, it was just another full blown night of racing which made for an interesting mix. The format would be the tried and true one used by Lucas with qualifying followed by six heat races, three B Features due to the size of the field and a thirty lap main event to conclude the evening. Because this was a non point night, no provisional starters, whether emergency or otherwise, would be added to the field so in one of the rare instances for Lucas, all drivers would actually have to race their way into the field with only twenty four starters to take the green flag. The field was split into groups A and B for qualifying and heats with O'Neal and Tyler Erb being the quickest in their groups with Hudson quickest overall at 14.666 seconds. 

It would be tough sledding tonight to even get into the main as the heats contained twelve or thirteen drivers with only three moving on while the B Features had sixteen to eighteen cars in them, went only ten laps and only two would again move on. For this reason, a lot of top notch cars were left sitting in the pits when the green flag flew. 

As it the norm at East Bay, once the racing started the track was not touched again, except to roll the cushion just a bit before the main event. The track appeared dry and seemed like it would be a one groove deal on the bottom and ultimately that's the way it turned out but early on I thought the drivers made much out of what was offered them. 

The two quick qualifiers would start in row one, side by side after the redraw was executed with O'Neal breaking into the early lead. Erb, as he often does, would try the top side and by working hard he was able to gain some momentum and would ease past O'Neal on the outside to take the lead on lap four. Tyler would then try to work the outside but when realizing the O'Neal was gaining back on him by running the bottom. Erb would try to move back down there for a block.

Erb, however, couldn't hold the bottom lane tight enough and on lap eleven, he slipped off the bottom just a bit in turn one and O'Neal was right there to slip under him and out fight him for the inside down the back chute. And once in front, Hudson would gradually pull away as Erb continued to lose positions. 

At the halfway point, Erb was still running second with Jonathan Davenport, Daulton Wilson and Ashton Winger in the top five. Wilson would put on a charge as he got past Davenport and then also would take Erb as Tyler struggled to hold the bottom lane. 

Wilson would drive hard in an effort to catch O'Neal but Hudson was strong, worked the lapped traffic well and would not be caught. He maintained a comfortable edge and would drive on for the win. Wilson would settle for second over Davenport and Winger. Devin Moran, who put himself behind the eight ball by qualifying poorly, kept digging all night, coming from eighth to qualify in a heat and then charging from eighteenth to round out the top five. Keep in mind this was even more impressive given that the thirty lap main went green to checkered without a single yellow. 

Twenty two of the twenty four starters would finish the race with seventeen still on the lead lap. Only Kyle Bronson and Jimmy Owens pulled off, both into the infield early to likely save their equipment for another night. 

Dale McDowell joined the announcers to provide color for the night's action and I'm told that the tv audience enjoyed his work. For those of us stuck live at the track, we had no idea what he was saying as the p.a. system at East Bay is the worst anywhere with no one able to hear a word said by Dustin, James or anyone else that might wish to communicate with the crowd. I only hope that Al doesn't try and pawn the p.a. system off on another track when they strip down this one because any purchaser would be getting ripped off. 

Normally the night would be concluded at this point but with the extra bonus action, the cars would then take a few minutes to get adjusted and then return to the track for qualifying for the Monday night show that will be fed to us in portions over the next two nights. With the track plenty rubbered up by this point, some different faces would appear at the top of the leader board in qualifying with Jason Riggs and Ross Bailes turning quick qualifying times. There were also some other surprises toward the front and this set of heat races should provide some action when they are raced on Wednesday night. 

One nice thing about the bonus action is that it thinned out the crowd. As expected, a very large Tuesday night crowd was on hand for the races with later arriving folks having to park nearly a mile away from the track and then hoof it to the grandstands but many bailed after the feature so when the time trials for Monday night were completed, I jumped right in my vehicle and wheeled right out of the grounds. There was no risk for me about stepping on a gator while navigating some of the back roads around the track here. 

Another full non point show is set for Wednesday night followed by bonus action in heat races from Monday. 

Ward Impressive at UMP Modified Opener at Volusia

 The UMP Modified delegation moved on to the Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville to continue their February racing campaign as the 53rd DIRTcar Nationals kicked off on Monday night, February 5th. 

It was a cold and windy Monday night and with much rain over night and other tracks rained out, Volusia was fortunate indeed to get a program completed on Monday. And despite the fact that it was a miserable night to be sitting outside watching for the fans, the drivers turned out in massive numbers with one hundred and thirteen Modified drivers from all over North America signing in to race on opening night. With all the rain, the track would be a heavy one and a large cushion quickly built up with required some careful navigation. But for the most part, the drivers did a fine job of curbing their opening adrenalin and crashes were quite far and few with most taking their equipment home in one piece except for the occasional quarter panel plus a few unfortunate enough to over strain their motors on the hard pulling surface. 

The racing  format would once again receive some changes for 2024 as it seems like officials are constantly tinkering with the format in an effort to make it the best for both the drivers and fans. with such a massive car count, it is difficult to settle on a format that is most fair to the drivers but also insures that the program is able to be completed in a reasonable amount of time, particularly on blustery February nights such as this very one. 

This year, for the first five nights of the UMP Modified portion of the DIRTcar Nationals, all drivers will get to run a feature race, no matter how poorly they might qualify. The drivers are divided into six groups and all drivers would just qualify against the other drivers in their group, not the entire field. Then, each group would run a twenty lap feature with the lineup of course straight up off times. Each night points would be tabulated and these points would set the lineups for the last two nights of racing. 

Since it was the opening night of action, all drivers would receive one hot lap session and then return to the track for their time trial session, group by group. My sense was that following the opening night, from then on the first time the drivers would be on the track, they would be qualifying. 

For the opener, everything seemed to be moving smoothly along. It does take some time to hot lap and qualify that many cars but there were not big snafus and by 7:43 pm, they were ready to begin the first of six feature races. The quickest qualifier overall was Michigan's Brian Ruhlman with a lap of 17.301 seconds, set during the first qualifying session after which the track started to slow up just a bit. 

Ruhlman would continue his hot start as he would then lead from start to finish to take the first twenty lap feature race. From the pole, he would immediately pull away from Clayton Bryant and build a big lead, even though the race was stopped four times by yellows for spins, a grinding first lap crash and wall banger at the halfway point. 

The final eleven laps would click off nonstop and Ruhlman would stretch his lead to a full straightaway over Bryant who would hold on for that spot. Michael Turner would make a late rush that would see him drive up to third. 

The second feature would see another dominating performance, this time by Mitch Thomas. He would start on the pole and move out to his own big lead, with the first thirteen laps of this racing going green. Gregory Moore would run second during the early going and would in fact, still be second at the halfway point with Shannon Fisk and Nick Neville trailing. 

The yellows, three of them, then flew in rapid fashion and while Thomas was not bothered, Moore started to fade badly with Neville forging his way up to second. Thomas, meanwhile, was gone once again as he built up a strong lead and would race home unchallenged. Neville would settle for second while Kenny Wallace made the  biggest move, coming from seventh to finish up third. 

The third feature race would see the first nonstop green to checkered run for the drivers and it was Tyler Nicely that would maintain the lead for all twenty laps. The first lap was tense as Nicely and Cole Czarneski would race side by side for the point but Nicely would edge ahead at the line. He would then pull away slightly as Czarneski tried to stay with him. However, Cole would jump the cushion and Lucas Lee would move into second. 

After that, it was a race between the Kentucky and Tennessee veterans, with things tightening up when Nicely caught some lapped traffic that proved to be troublesome. He very nearly got caught up by the slower cars before making what turned out to be the winning move by splitting a couple of slower cars and padding his lead again so that Lee couldn't catch him. Czarneski would settle for third. 

Feature race number four would see the first pass for the front spot and also see the biggest charge by an eventual winner as Tim Ward would drive up from the third row to take the win. Dave Wietholder would get the jump on Michael Altobelli at the start from the outside pole and lead the first three laps. Just when it looked like Wietholder was settling in, his motor went up in a ball of smoke on the back chute and he was done. 

Altobelli would inherit the lead on the restart but his lead would only last for one lap before Ward would drive around him for the point. Ward had moved to the cushion from his row three starting spot and drove by Ty Norder for second and he kept working the cushion as he powered past Altobelli to take over the lead. 

Altobelli pushed back as hard as he could, staying within a few car lengths and when Ward got into traffic, things would get difficult. Tim had to make some moves both high and low but he was able to get back to the cushion before Altobelli could get past him. Two late yellows, one of which set up a one lap dash to the finish would prove worrisome but Ward continued to hold his line and would hold off Altobelli for the win with Norder settling for third. 

The fifth feature race would provide perhaps the biggest controversy of the night with the identical looking cars of David Stremme and Tom Berry Jr going wheel to wheel for the lead after starting beside each other on the front row. They both raced hard into the corners with Stremme able to edge ahead by a small margin. Berry would continue to stay close to the leader but was also receiving a challenge from Michael Long for second at the same time. 

Berry Jr. jumped the cushion but was able to fight off Long and then gradually reel in Stremme once again. A yellow on lap fourteen for the slowing Buzzie Reutimann after it looked like Buzzie lost a motor closed up the field once again. 

Berry Jr was aggressively running the cushion and slowly he creeped up beside Stremme. They ran nearly a full lap side by side until Berry Jr was able to edge past with just two laps to go in the race. It then appeared that Stremme raced even harder to try and get the lead back. He drove very hard into turn one, washed up the track and ran Berry Jr. up into the mud and dangerously close to the wall. Stremme was able to get the lead back in the less than sporting move and Berry Jr. had no time to execute a return charge, settling for second at the line. Long would finish third. 

Michael Leach would lead the opening lap of the sixth and final feature race as the young Montana driver continues to turn heads. However, when he jumped the cushion in turn one, Will Krup was right there to slip past him and move into the lead. Leach tried to get the lead back while at the same time feeling pressure from Kyle Strickler, Justin Allgaier and John Clippinger. 

Strickler was pushing hard and he was able to drive under Leach for second and then set sail for Krup. Positions two, three and four were in close fashion until lap fifteen when Allgaier lost control on the back chute and spun, with Leach spinning and making contact with him. Allgaier would be done and Leach would have to go to the tail of the field. 

The last five laps would see Strickler attempt passing moves on Krup but each move was counteracted by a move of Krup's and Kyle was never able to get close enough to provide maximum pressure. He would settle for second behind the Illinois driver who would take the win. An outstanding drive was put on by Joseph Thomas who started twelfth and gradually worked his way to the front, passing both low and high on the track and moving past Austin Self and Clippinger for third. 

Thankfully it was a smoothly and quickly run show as by the end of the evening, it was getting quite miserable in the high rise stands with the wind a constant pain. All racing was done by right around 10 pm and as much as I have my questions about a features only format, my hands and feet agreed that it was the best way to go on this night.  

Lee Edges Strickler in Thrilling East Bay Finale

 Saturday night, February 3rd was the finale of six straight nights of UMP Modified racing at the East Bay Raceway Park and also the last ever night of Modified racing during the Winternationals for the soon to be vacated race track. The Modified drivers would put on a feature race that would leave the fans on hand with fond memories of racing the open wheel cars here as as after seventy five laps of furious competition that would see seven different lead changes among three drivers, Lucas Lee would edge out Kyle Strickler by a car length to win the finale and take home five thousand dollars for his victory. 

Eighty two different race teams entered at least one event during the six night run of the series here in 2024 as nice weather favored the racing throughout the week. By Saturday, only fifty eight were left upright but all would have one more shot to make the final main event. The top six in points earned during the week would not have to battle in last chance action but instead just draw for the top six spots and that would include Kyle Strickler, Cole Czarneski, Brad DeYoung, Ryan Gierke, Michael Leach and Lucas Lee. 

All others would run heat races lined up by points earned and those that didn't make it through the heats would get one last shot through one of two B Features. Hard but relatively yellow flag free racing would be the order in those races which started right on the dot at 7 pm and by eight thirty, the feature field, which would include two provisional starters, would be set.  

Other than to roll in the cushion for  a few minutes, no track prep would be done on the racing surface all night as has been the norm here and after the redraw was accomplished, it would be Strickler that would start on the pole. 

Strickler would take the early lead with Czarneski slipping into the second spot and Lee moving into third. The first half of the race would see the yellow wave five times for minor spins but the running order up front was pretty static and one got the sense that the leaders were mostly just putting down laps as they waited for things to develop later on while also saving their tires for the late race charge. 

However, Czarneski was not satisfied to just follow Strickler around the track and he began to pick up the pace, closing on the leader several times as the lapped traffic started to mount up. On lap thirty two, Cole would sweep past Strickler to take over the lead, just one lap before the fifth yellow would wave for a slowing car. 

And just three laps later, the yellow would wave one more time on lap thirty five for the built in halfway fuel stop. Most of the cars would stay on the track for their fuel stop and retain the running positions with just a couple of cars heading to the pit work area for tire changes that would relegate them to the tail of the field. At the halfway point, Lee would continue to run third ahead of Leach and Rodney Wing who had worked his way up into the top five. 

The pace would immediately pick up in the second half of the race, first by the only hard crash of the event that would see five cars from back in the pack grind together in turn four and then, just two laps later and following the reemergence of the green flag, Strickler would repass Czarneski to take over the top spot. Those two would go at it as Lee seemed to wait in the wings to see how things developed. 

Ten laps later, in traffic, Czarneski would again take over the lead but Strickler would get up on the wheel and drive back around Cole one lap later to again claim the top spot. Leach had moved to the top side of the track and started to make that work until he slowed suddenly with a flat tire, triggering a yellow on lap fifty. 

Now it was time for Lee to pick up the pace. He drove past Czarneski and then began to close on leader Strickler. A debris yellow would wave on lap sixty three, setting up the last dozen laps of all out war as after the youngsters had dominated much of the week, when all was said and done, it would be up to a pair of Modified veterans to settle the issue. 

Each was running their distinct line around the track, Lee "cat fishing" around the bottom as he often does, while Strickler retaining his nickname as he tickled the high side. Strickler would be the leader but Lee was making ground on him and on lap sixty seven, Lee would drive under Kyle off turn four to take over the lead. However, Strickler adjusted his line slightly off the cushion and would power back around Lee on lap seventy with only five to go. 

They would continue to race their own lines with no slower cars to hinder them and the two to settle the issue. With three to go, Lee would edge ahead  but Strickler would stay nearly beside the Tennessee racer. The last two laps would be frantic and while Strickler would make a strong push off the final corner, Lee would hold on by just over a car length to claim the prize. Czarneski would finish a strong third ahead of Treb Jacoby who drove a consistent race to remain in the top five for the second half of the race and Wing. 

Leach would recover from his tire issue to take sixth and would lead the second five of Devin Dixon, Brian Skaggs, Michael Turner and Allen Weisser across the line. Exactly half the starting field would still be on the track at the finish. 

A much improved crowd would be on hand to watch the finale of the series with the final checkered flag waving just at the 10 pm hour. It does feel a bit strange that this will be the finale of a long tradition for Winter time racing for the Modifieds and no matter what the schedule looks like for 2025, it will never again be quite the same. Special thanks go out to all the UMP officials that helped out this week along with Race Director Chris Stepan. I want to give special thanks to track announcer Larry Jewitt and his wife Michelle for being so kind and scoring us some fantastic seats for this week's races. I never sat in such luxury before at East Bay and never will again either. 

Leach Repeats at East Bay

 While Michael Leach may not quite yet be a household name in the world of Modified racing, his performance here this week during the final East Bay Raceway Park Winternationals will soon have folks across the country noting where ever he races and paying special attention to him when he pulls into the pits. 

On Friday night, February 2, he pulled off quite a remarkable achievement as he won for the second straight night over a field of top notch competitors, making a late race pass on none other than Kyle Strickler to claim his second straight victory of the Winternationals series. 

So far in his racing career, Leach has shown his greatest success running in the upper Midwest and Mountain areas of the country, racing in both the Modified and Late Model division with just limited appearances in both Modifieds and crate Late Models in the Southeast but he will soon be one to watch as his success grows and he steps up game in more visible forms of dirt track racing. 

Sixty seven drivers would sign in to race on Friday night with the lone new competitor being veteran Pennsylvania competitor Michael Altobelli. The format would be unchanged with eight groups for qualifying plus a heat for each group, followed by four B mains and the feature race, again on this night at thirty laps. 

Time trials are not always an indicator of just who is fast since a track, and particularly this one, can change so much even over the course of qualifying. But when Rodney Wing, as the fiftieth qualifier out, would set fast time with a lap of 16.276 seconds, he would establish that his Jeff Mathews owned car would be fast on this night and indeed, he would be racing for the win right to the conclusion of the race. 

The heat races would go smoothly with all eight won off the front row, which should not be a surprise and while the B Features continue to have their moments of difficulty, the main event was ready to roll on to the track by 9 pm. 

Twenty four cars would take the green and with Kyle Strickler on the pole, he seemed like a good choice to take home his point gaining win. And he would jump into the early lead with Jason Garver and Treb Jacoby close behind. Leach would start fifth on the grid and would waste little time being a part of the lead pack action and by the time the first yellow flew with seven laps complete for a two car tangle, Leach had used the low side of the track to move into second. 

Garver, who has been fast all week but has suffered multiple difficulties either mechanically or with the concrete wall, would again break while in the top five as he completed turn four on lap fourteen with  a ball of sparks showering from the car and he was done. Rodney Wing and Lucas Lee had also forged their way into the top five with Jacoby and Lee trading the fourth place spot back and forth. 

Several good battles took place during this time as Jacoby was one of the few able to make the top side work and he fought his way past Wing for third, only to see Rodney gain speed and not only move back past him but challenge Leach for second. 

Three yellows would see much shuffling behind the leader and while Strickler continued to hold the point, Wing, Leach and Jacoby would jockey on every restart for their spots. The final yellow waved with just six laps to go and Wing had actually gained the runner up honors from Leach by that point. 

However, the next few laps would be very telling as Wing pushed up the track on the restart, giving second back to Leach and Michael then closed up on the rear bumper of Strickler, looking for an opening .And when Kyle moved up the track in turn one, either because he thought he had to block the outside or his car pushed up the track, it was difficult to ascertain just which actually happened, Leach was right there to drive under the leader down the back chute and on lap twenty six, he was the new leader. 

With plenty of speed, Leach was able to pull away from Strickler and despite Kyle pushing as hard as possible, he wasn't able to cut into the leader's margin. Leach would cross the line with several car lengths to spare as he took the win over Strickler with Jacoby making another late charge on the top side to edge Winger for third. Cole Czarneski had another impressive drive as he started fifteenth, and cracked the top five on the final lap as he gained positions throughout the race. Only six of the starters weren't on the track at the finish and all were on the lead lap. 

I had an interesting conversation with Al Varnadore, the track owner. I had never spoken to him before but we talked for a few minutes on Friday as he was waiting for a few minutes to get back out on the track to do more prep work. I was under the assumption that with the track sold five years ago, that he had not done too much to upgrade the track since then. However, he told me that he had put all new dirt on the track in December when he found some what he called "great gumbo" near Plant City that was nearly totally rock free. 

But he said that while it was the best dirt he had ever found, it was also the most difficult and finicky dirt he had ever worked with and was extremely sensitive to the amount of moisture put on it plus the changing tides that this track is famous for really affected it. There was no doubt that they struggled the first two nights of the Modified series here with a track that kept getting slimy in the turns as the temperatures dropped and the tides raised but the last couple of nights, particularly Thursday night, the track was excellent. 

Al said that he would be done with the track come this Fall and that rumors that buzzed around that there still might be one more Winternationals next year wouldn't involve him if it happened. That might also be difficult too since he owns the infrastructure of the track and said that he plans to sell off the bleachers and whatever else he can and said that Donnie Moran is looking at buying the track lights for his track in Ohio. It was an informative conversation for me. 

He also said that with rain in the forecast for Sunday, following the races on Saturday night his hope was that the racing groove would be pretty well sealed over and that they would then pack the cushion to try and keep the rains from soaking in too deep as he really wants to get in all six nights of the Lucas Late Models for their final Winternationals . He also said that Monday is one of his better nights of the series. 

Saturday night the UMP Mods return for one last night of racing action. There will be no time trials on Saturday with points accumulated over the last three nights setting the running order for the heat races. The top six in points will automatically lock in to the main event which at seventy five laps, is one of the longest Modified races of the year. I hate to say these words when it comes to short track Modified action, but tire conservation is key to having a successful run on Saturday. Track prep is also more of a challenge with such a long main event. The winner will earn five grand plus the claim of the last Winternationals champion to hang in their race shop. 

The UMP Modifieds will return 

Michael Leach Stuns UMP Veterans at EBRP

 Night number four of the final East Bay Raceway Park Winternationals would take place on Thursday night, February 1st with the Modifieds again running a full program including qualifying, heats, B Features and a thirty lap main event on Thursday as the purse increases as the weekend approaches. It was another lovely night for racing at "The Clay By The Bay" and as the purses have picked up, slowly also have the crowds started to build too. 

And those fortunate enough to be on hand for the racing program would see by far the best show of the week to this point. The Modified feature was excellent, the preliminaries good also and the program itself was the tightest that it has been so far too with the racing action starting right on time, very few delays or other setbacks and the final checkered would once again wave early. 

The exciting Modified feature would see four different leaders in thirty laps and the winner would come from the fourteenth starting spot, almost unheard of in a time trial program that essentially starts the fastest cars right up front, at least in theory. And we would also see a couple of young drivers, relatively unknown in the world of Modified racing, assert their presence with a spectacular driving performance. 

Seventy drivers would sign in for night number four of the series with the program being similar to that run on Wednesday night. The cars would be separated into eight groups based on their draw number and they would then qualify against their group. Straight up, the top two finishers would make the feature and then the top two of four B Features would also be added to the back of the pack, making a twenty four car field for the main event. While the drivers are racing for money, they are also racing for points as those that plan to race all week want those points for the big Saturday night show when the heats are lined up by points with no qualifying held. 

Many drivers are still scratching their heads at how to get around this most tricky of racing ovals quickly and for than anything, show some consistency from lap to lap. I talked to a number of drivers, both new and veterans here and this track continues to throw more curves at the drivers than an Arkansas mountain highway after dark. It has been especially tricky this year, I think, as so far the track has also been watered quite heavily each night and as the tide comes in, it has made the character moods of the track even  more pronounced, especially with the cool nights. From lap to lap the track has seemed to change dramatically with the fast line on the track moving all over and restarts have been particularly troublesome with traction sometimes at a minimum. 

Later on Thursday I would note that the track seemed just a bit drier than it had been on previous nights and the racing was exceptional. Whether there was some correlation there or not, I do not know but the track was indeed very good with multiple racing grooves and little dust. 

The evening started right off with a surprise when Michael Leach turned the fastest lap of qualifying as he timed in at 16.713 seconds. The track was about a half second slower than it had been previously but in this case, slower was better. Also surprising was that Treb Jacoby, Jason Garver and Kyle Strickler, all likely contenders to challenge for a win, all missed qualifying and would have to start in the back of heat races. Even so, two of the three would eventually make the main event with only Garver missing out by one position. And Strickler would be on the charge all night, eventually finishing fourth in the main event. 

The heat races were all completed smoothly with few yellow flags and except for one bumpy B Feature, they too were raced off quickly with the main event set to roll onto the track by 9 pm. 

Some different faces would start up front for the feature race with Chris Wilson getting the jump on Devin Dixon to lead the opening lap. Cole Czarneski, a winner here already this week, would start on the inside of row two and it would only take him one lap to pick up speed, drive under Wilson and take over the lead. Even in the early going, there was much more passing and moving around on the track than there had been in previous feature events and plenty of three and four wide racing as everyone wanted to move to the front. 

Five laps were completed when the yellow waved for the first time as Todd Nieheiser tried to knock down the first turn wall and rolled to a halt. At this point, Czarneski still held the lead over Wilson with Brian Bernhardt in third. Shockingly, under the yellow, Austin Holcombe, a previous two time winner here this week already, would forfeit his fourth place in the running order as he headed to the pits which would move up Lucas Lee and Dixon one spot. 

Czarneski would continue to lead as he was married to the bottom which was working well for him as he continued to set the pace until a Jeff Mathews spin on lap ten slowed things once again. Some of the strongest drivers were now starting to flex their muscle as Bernhardt had moved to second with Lee up to third. Michael Leach, who had lost a hard fought heat race to Lee which had relegated him to the fourteenth starting spot in the field, was on the charge as he moved up to fourth by this point. 

One lap later, when Bernhardt hammered the wall and stalled, Lee had now moved up to second with Leach following him while Strickler had charged from fifteenth to the top five. 

The last nineteen laps of the main would go nonstop and upon the waving of the green once again, Lee was all over Czarneski for the lead. Cole was getting a bit tight riding the low line and on lap thirteen, Lee would drive around him and take over the lead. However, to his credit, Czarneski would not lay down when he was passed and would instead seem to turn up the speed and two laps later, just at the halfway point, he would nose past Lee by inches to take over the lead once again. 

However, it was now Leach that was the driver on the move, using the high side of the track. He would pass Lee for second and then close in on Czarneski for the lead. The two young lions would battle it out and finally, with just four laps to go, Leach would drive around Czarneski to take over the lead, after which he quickly extended his advantage. Lee had fallen back by this point and the two young drivers would pull away from the field, running one, two to the finish. Lee would settle for third with Strickler next in line. 

Special note should be made of the fifth finishing car. Ryan Gierke had to win a B Feature just to make the main and the Minnesota driver, who loves to ride the wall wherever he races, did so with success in this race as he charged all the way up from nineteenth to round out the top five. The frantic pace of this race would see only a dozen cars finish on the lead lap. 

How many folks would have had Leach and Czarneski at the top of their favorite charts going into this week? I had had the opportunity to see both race a number of times and while I knew they were both good, even I would not have believed they would be running so strong this week. Leach has the resources of Longhorn chassis behind him and He noted when I talked to him today that this was his seventeenth race of 2024 already and this is only the first day of February. He has already raced IMCA Mod, WISSOTA spec engine Late Models and now open Mods this year already but when I first saw him race in the Minnesota last Summer after tearing up the competition locally in Montana, I knew he would be good. 

Czarneski also races a lot with resources to support him and although he races on the other side of the state of Wisconsin from me, I have seen him race enough to know that he is also very good. He too has already raced in Arizona this year before venturing down with the open Mod. 

Round five of the Winternationals will be on Friday night and it will be interesting to see how the UMP Modified veterans respond to this challenge by the young upstarts from the non UMP parts of the country who are giving them so much grief.