After nearly 60 years, Volusia Speedway Park has established itself as one of the top dirt racing venues in the country and a premier learning ground for launching drivers and teams into the national spotlight.
The track has enjoyed a storied history of attracting a large group of local racers, many of whom have taken the lessons learned from the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” and applied them to successful careers outside the “Sunshine State.”
Let’s revisit who’s grown through Volusia:
Dick Murphy (DeLand, FL)
Before Florida provided dirt-racing talent among drivers, Volusia’s owner from 1982-92 and 1998-05 reached the heights as a pioneering car owner in Super Late Model competition.
Dick Murphy made heavy investments in the sport when he purchased the track from Benny Corbin in 1982 while fielding a Late Model for Gaffney, SC’s Mike Duvall. That same year, Duvall and Murphy found success by scoring the National Dirt Racing Association (NDRA) championship, and Duvall drove the iconic “Flintstone F1yer” machine to his only World 100 triumph at Eldora Speedway.
Murphy continued his partnership with Duvall while running a VSP-sponsored No. M14, driven by Larry Moore in 1983. Moore won multiple races for Murphy across the NDRA, along with scoring the 1986 STARS Racing Series title.
While Murphy scaled back his Super Late Model efforts by the end of the decade, he spent the years after focusing on the 1/2-mile track’s growth by expanding Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals into a two-week extravaganza while managing between dirt and asphalt racing on the same property.
Murphy and Duvall’s contributions to the sport forever marked their place in history, each receiving an induction to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.
Jason Garver (Starke, FL)
As the reigning track champion in the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, 602 Late Models, and Factory Stocks, Garver is a seasoned Volusia veteran who hasn’t been afraid to take his talents to unfamiliar territories.
The 49-year-old spent most of his career as a regional driver between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama while competing for track championships across several divisions on dirt and asphalt. Garver made his first start at Volusia in 2015 with an E-Mod, then started competing annually with a UMP Modified in 2018 for DIRTcar Nationals and the Emil and Dale Reutimann Memorial.
Garver won his first race at the track with a Factory Stock in 2021, then won his first Golden Gator in 2022. From 2021-2024, He had sporadic starts that placed him out of championship contention, but he’s visited Volusia Victory Lane each year since 2021.
In 2025, Garver took his first visit to the Midwest for a seven-race stretch with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals between Clarksville Speedway and Duck River Raceway Park. In that span, he earned four top 10s and his first top-five finish at Duck River.
“Racin’ Jason” has kept himself in the track title conversation at Volusia in 2026, leading the 602 points while sitting within the top three of the UMP and 604 Late Model standings. He returned for a week with the Hell Tour and earned his first win at Harrisburg, AR’s Old No. 1 Speedway on June 30.
Trey Mills (St. Augustine, FL)
Before Trey Mills became known as “The Future” in dirt Late Model racing, he was once a local hotshot who looked to build his name in the Florida ranks.
Before racing at the 1/2-mile, Mills started his career in go-karts at the former karting track, picking up multiple Feature wins before stepping up the ladder to 602 Late Models at the start of 2020. In his fourth career start on the high-speed oval, a 12-year-old Mills bagged his first Feature win and went on to finish third in the standings.
In 2022, Mills made scattered starts in both 602 and 604 competition across the “Sunshine State” while turning his first laps in a Super Late Model at Volusia, Golden Isles Speedway, and All-Tech Raceway. In 2023, Mills made his first step into regional racing by joining the Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series, winning his first Feature at Whynot Motorsports Park and earning Rookie of the Year honors.
Mills continued racing on the southeastern circuit while venturing toward the Midwest with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and crown jewels like the Dirt Late Model Dream, World 100, and the Prairie Dirt Classic. Mills made his first full campaign with the Hell Tour in 2025 and scored his first victory in the Herald & Review 100 at Macon. His chain of success helped him form an MD3 Rookie of the Year hunt with the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision, where he sits ninth in the standings.
Kyle Bronson (Brandon, FL)
Bronson made his venture into dirt racing with karts around Florida in the 2000s, then joined the UMP Modified ranks in 2012, winning the DIRTcar Southeast UMP Modified title in his first year.
The Brandon, FL native competed in the United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series (UDLMCS) throughout the year, winning his first race at Volusia in November 2013. Bronson had a memorable debut at DIRTcar Nationals in 2014 with Golden Gator scores in the UMP Modified on Feb. 13, then with the World of Outlaws on Feb. 22. He and Kyle Strickler (2021) are the only drivers to score wins with the two divisions in the same year.
His Volusia accomplishments continued with his sweep of the three Crate Racin’ USA Features during the inaugural DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals in 2020. A year later, he picked up his second World of Outlaws victory and another Crate Racin’ USA win during the second running of the event.
Bronson has become a regular on the national tour circuit, trading years with the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. But Volusia will also be an annual stomping ground for him.
Clay Harris (Jupiter, FL)
Similar to Bronson, Clay Harris raced karts around the “Sunshine State” in the beginning stages of his racing career, winning 13 championships across multiple sanctioning bodies before climbing up to Late Models and UMP Modifieds in 2018.
Harris made his first trip to Volusia since racing karts in 2019 for the Emil and Dale Reutimann Memorial, then returned in 2020 to score his first three wins on the 1/2-mile aboard his No. 6 Rocket Chassis Late Model. “The Shark” started 2021 with his first Sunshine Nationals Feature win in a 602 Late Model, then his first DIRTcar Nationals Golden Gator in 2021 with the Modified.
The next year, Harris visited Volusia Victory Lane with the 604 Late Model and Modified in the Labor Day Classic – joining Joe Belkey and Jason Garver as the only drivers to win twice in more than one division on the same night.
Harris began dipping his toes into Super Late Models in 2023 by following southeastern-based leagues, then plunged into a national schedule with the Lucas Oil Late Models in 2024. While he is seeking his first win, Harris has had his best run on the tour in 2026, with a career-best seven top-fives and 12 top-10s.
Tyler Clem (St. Petersburg, FL)
Tyler Clem has evolved into a Florida dirt track favorite since he arrived with a dirt Late Model at 10 years old in 2012.
The St. Petersburg, FL native grew his skillset in the Late Model categories until an offer to drive a Top Gun Sprint Car arose in 2015. Clem split his time between the two disciplines across the state, winning his first Feature at the track with the Sprint Car in 2021 en route to a Top Gun championship.
Clem’s prowess at Volusia shined when he won the inaugural Battle in Barberville to close 2022, then won the first Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout in 2023. That same year, Clem gained the chance to drive for Big Frog Motorsports in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Between 2023 and 2024, Clem earned a combined five top fives and 18 top-10 finishes aboard the No. 58V through his two Hell Tour expeditions.
Clem has continued to find success in 2026 with the Big Frog Late Model and the Smith Racing No. 6S 360 Sprint Car, winning the 604 Late Model Feature at the Summer Sizzler and leading the Top Gun Sprints points in his quest for a second title.
You can see the local and future stars of Florida racing at Volusia Speedway Park in 2026 when the Top Gun Classic takes place on Friday, Aug. 28. The night will feature a lineup of Top Gun Sprint Cars, 604 Late Models, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, and Factory Stocks.
How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.