Jason Garver had planned on only running a handful of races at Volusia Speedway Park this year, but then he found himself in contention for a championship – in four divisions.
The Starke, FL native and Volusia veteran has competed in four of the five “Fab 5” divisions this year – the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, 602 Late Models, 604 Late Models, and Factory Stocks – just hoping to get more track time around the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” But after a few wins and a few more top fives, championship paths started to form.
He currently leads the points for the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds and 602 Late Models, and sits fourth in points with the 604 Late Models and second in points with the Factory Stocks.
“Honestly, we didn’t really intend in the beginning to run for points,” Garver said. “I think it’s an advantage on all cars. They all drive somewhat different, so they got all kinds of different lines, so you can go from one car to the other and figure out where the grip is or where you don’t wanna go. I mean, it gives me that advantage on the first lap because I kinda know where to go, but the competition only takes a lap or two to get it figured out.”
Garver’s “secret goal” was to get his track knowledge to a level where he could contend against the top UMP Modified drivers in the country during Volusia’s marquee season finale – the 12th annual Emil & Dale Reutimann Memorial on Nov. 20-22.
“It’d definitely mean a ton for me to win that race, especially with what the Reutimanns mean to racing,” Garver said. “It’s secretly our goal to run there more was to try and get better to get on up there in the mix with all the big dogs when they come. So, that was really goal number one, and it would be really nice to win a points title, but if we could win the Reutimann, the rest doesn’t really matter because it’s that big of a race.”
While “Racin’ Jason” has celebrated wins around Florida at Ocala Speedway, Hendry County Motorsports Park, North Florida Speedway, and All-Tech Raceway, he spent a portion of the summer with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals for the first time.
During his stint with the tour from Clarksville Speedway in late June to Duck River Raceway Park in early July, Garver picked up five top-10 finishes and a best finish of fifth at Duck River.
“It was pretty neat,” Garver said. “Most of the tracks, they’re a lot smaller than what we’re used to around these parts. That took a little to adjust to the dirt a little different, but we really used it as a test to see, trying to do a little more of it next year. I wanted to see how we fit in, if we were good enough to go back, so it was definitely a week-long test.”
While most of the tracks on that test were smaller bullrings, the 48-year-old was still able to learn some lessons for a possible 2026 return and even gather some notes he can apply to Volusia.
“We took a little bit from all of them, really,” Garver said. “You know, I think Red Hill was a track where it was a little bigger than most of them, because a lot of what we went to were littler bullrings, but we really tried to keep as good of notes as we could for when we go back and around here.”
Garver will continue his chase for four championships with his 604 Late Model, DIRTcar UMP Modified, and Factory Stock at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” during the Battle in Barberville on Saturday, Sept. 20. Grandstand gates will open at 4 p.m. ET, with Hot Laps at 6 p.m.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.