Featured

Owens Three-Peats, Williamson Picks Up Second Win at Volusia Speedway Park

Wight in Super DIRTcar Series, Sheppard in Late Model claim DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator titles

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 15, 2020 — For the third consecutive night, Jimmy Owens captured the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series main event at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

After a series of drivers battled for the lead early in the Feature on Saturday night, it was Kyle Bronson who emerged to set a blistering pace on the top side of the half-mile dirt oval. Owens managed to keep up with Bronson, and with 11 to go in traffic slid to the lead exiting Turn 4 and pulled away. Ricky Weiss followed Owens a couple laps later as Bronson’s machine just couldn’t maintain its momentum.

Owens, who had never won at Volusia until this week, finishes the DIRTcar Nationals on a three-race win streak.

“We set the car up for late in the race,” said Owens, of Newport, Tenn. “We were debating on changing it, not changing it. We had it jacked up and down two or three times and finally we just said let’s go with what we started with. It worked, we just bided our time and used patience and I knew once the track slicked off it would come to us.”

Weiss was second with Bronson, Darrell Lanigan and Brandon Sheppard rounding out the top five. For Sheppard, it was just enough to claim his second DIRTcar Nationals Late Model Week Big Gator Championship in as many years.

“It’s been a great speed weeks for us,” said Sheppard, of New Berlin, Ill. “We’ve been fast every night, we’ve been in contention every night. I wish we had a few more nights left. I think we got the car a little bit better tonight for Feature time, and in the Feature there it was about the best I’ve felt in the past couple of days. It’s good to leave here knowing that we got the car a little bit better before we left. … We’re definitely fortunate to get this Gator Championship, it feels really good.”

In the Super DIRTcar Series finale at Volusia, Mat Williamson charged to his second victory of the week, bookending the event with his win on Tuesday night. Williamson jumped out front on the initial start, held off Jimmy Phelps on a restart with 17 laps down and cruised to victory over Phelps, Matt Sheppard, Billy Dunn and Billy Decker.

Larry Wight, who won three consecutive Features during the week, finished sixth on Saturday night, good enough to clinch his third Big Gator Trophy (2015, 2019, 2020) as the Super DIRTcar Series champion at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

“I think it’s a combination of good preparation, good car, good motor and a phenomenal crew, and having the family to back all that up and allow us to put in the hours and time at the track to come down here,” said Wight, of Phoenix, N.Y, who has won four of the past seven Super DIRTcar Series races going back to 2019. “The track kind of threw us for a loop tonight, we didn’t think it was going to get as slick. We thought the top would be better, so we tried to get the car freed up versus [Friday] night. I guess we should have left it just left it a little bit snugger.”

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 15, 2020

World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series (50 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens [2][$10,000]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [3][$5,000]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson [7][$3,000]; 4. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [4][$2,500]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [11][$2,000]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler [1][$1,700]; 7. 0-Scott Bloomquist [13][$1,400]; 8. 25-Shane Clanton [9][$1,300]; 9. 39-Tim McCreadie [15][$1,200]; 10. 25z-Mason Zeigler [10][$1,100]; 11. 0M-Chris Madden [23][$1,050]; 12. 2e-Rick Eckert [16][$1,000]; 13. 6T-Tyler Erb [12][$950]; 14. 3s-Brian Shirley [17][$900]; 15. 28-Dennis Erb [14][$850]; 16. B1-Brent Larson [28][$110]; 17. 18-Chase Junghans [19][$770]; 18. 76-Brandon Overton [21][$750]; 19. 12-Ashton Winger [24][$730]; 20. 97-Cade Dillard [18][$700]; 21. 66c-Matt Cosner [26][$110]; 22. 4G-Kody Evans [27][$110]; 23. 99B-Boom Briggs [25][$110]; 24. 5-Mark Whitener [6][$700]; 25. 22-Gregg Satterlee [20][$700]; 26. 157-Mike Marlar [8][$700]; 27. 17M-Dale McDowell [22][$700]; 28. 49-Jonathan Davenport [5][$700]; 29. 6-Blake Spencer [29][$110]. Lap Leaders: Kyle Strickler – 1, Darrell Lanigan – 2-7, 9-14, Jonathan Davenport – 8, Kyle Bronson – 15-39, Jimmy Owens – 40-50. KSE Hard Charger Award: 0M-Chris Madden [+12].

Super DIRTcar Series (50 laps): 1. 88-Mat Williamson [2][$5,000]; 2. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [1][$2,500]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard [4][$1,500]; 4. 49-Billy Dunn [5][$1,000]; 5. 91-Billy Decker [7][$800]; 6. 99L-Larry Wight [3][$700]; 7. 42P-Pat Ward [10][$650]; 8. 4-Andy Bachetti [19][$600]; 9. 25R-Erick Rudolph [11][$550]; 10. 19-Tim Fuller [15][$500]; 11. 20-Brett Hearn [23][$475]; 12. 44-Stewart Friesen [6][$450]; 13. 7MM-Michael Maresca [8][$425]; 14. 44P-Anthony Perrego [16][$400]; 15. 19M-Jessey Mueller [9][$375]; 16. 21A-Peter Britten [24][$350]; 17. 30-Ronnie Johnson [21][$325]; 18. 3-Justin Haers [18][$300]; 19. 23-Kyle Coffey [13][$300]; 20. 111-Demetrios Drellos [28][$300]; 21. 83-Brian Swartzlander [12][$300]; 22. 46-Jeremy Smith [14][$300]; 23. 32-Jim Rasey [25][$300]; 24. 8-Rich Scagliotta [26][$300]; 25. 1G-Darwin Greene [17][$300]; 26. 30M-JoJo Watson [22][$300]; 27. 1-Billy Pauch [20][$300]; 28. 7-Rick Laubach [27][$300]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 20-Brett Hearn [+12].

Larry Wight and his daughter, Audrey, celebrate Wight’s third Super DIRTcar Series win in a row. (Joe Grabianowski photo)

Wight Scores Third Consecutive Super DIRTcar Series Gator at DIRTcar Nationals

Owens goes back-to-back at Volusia World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Features

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 14, 2020 — For the third consecutive night, Larry Wight put on a thrill show at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford, winning his third Gator Trophy of the week in the Super DIRTcar Series Feature at Volusia Speedway Park.

After winning from the front row the past two nights, Wight launched from the seventh position Friday and worked his way toward the front while teammate Billy Decker showed the way for the first 26 laps. Then with four to go, Decker would not budge off the bottom of the track and got pinned behind Kyle Coffey, who was trying everything he could to stay on the lead lap. Wight jumped top side and blasted around Decker and into the lead, powering away for his third win of the week.

“He got stuck behind the lapped cars, I have to make sure I give Kyle Coffey a beer for that one,” said Wight, of Phoenix, N.Y. “[Decker] didn’t move up in time and we were able to get the top. I thought after I messed up the first time going after it Billy would have taken the top away from me, but he left me just enough room so I could enter above the cushion and cut down, luckily the car turned just enough for it.”

In the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series main event, Jimmy Owens went back-to-back, winning the second Volusia Feature of his career in as many nights. It wasn’t easy, though, as Kyle Bronson surged forward from 15th to overtake Owens in heavy traffic just as the caution waved with five to go.

The field was reset with Owens, of Newport, Tenn., back in front, giving him a clear track to hold off Bronson to the checkered flag. Darrell Lanigan raced from eighth to third with Brandon Sheppard and Brandon Overton rounding out the top five.

2020 VOLUSIA SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED: Before racing began on Friday night, Volusia Speedway Park track officials announced the track’s full 2020 schedule, beginning with Bike Week events on March 8 and running through the Corbin 75 on Dec. 5. A full schedule of events is posted at https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/schedule/2020-schedule-flyer/.

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 14, 2020

World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series (40 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens [1][$10,000]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson [15][$5,000]; 3. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [8][$3,000]; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard [5][$2,500]; 5. 76-Brandon Overton [10][$2,000]; 6. 0-Scott Bloomquist [11][$1,700]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,400]; 8. 18-Chase Junghans [3][$1,300]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$1,200]; 10. 14-Josh Richards [17][$1,100]; 11. 2e-Rick Eckert [14][$1,050]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard [18][$1,000]; 13. 66c-Matt Cosner [21][$950]; 14. 8-Kyle Strickler [22][$900]; 15. B1-Brent Larson [25][$150]; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs [23][$800]; 17. 12-Ashton Winger [7][$770]; 18. 0M-Chris Madden [6][$750]; 19. 4G-Kody Evans [24][$730]; 20. 6-Blake Spencer [16][$700]; 21. 6T-Tyler Erb [19][$700]; 22. 5-Mark Whitener [2][$700]; 23. 3s-Brian Shirley [13][$700]; 24. 72-Michael Norris [4][$700]; 25. 36-Logan Martin [20][$700]; 26. 21-Ivedent Lloyd [26][$110]. Lap Leaders: Mark Whitner – 1-14, 17-18, Jimmy Owens – 15-16, 19-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 40B-Kyle Bronson [+13].

Super DIRTcar Series (30 laps): 1. 99L-Larry Wight [7][$3,000]; 2. 91-Billy Decker [2][$1,500]; 3. 88-Mat Williamson [9][$1,000]; 4. 44P-Anthony Perrego [13][$800]; 5. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [8][$700]; 6. 4-Andy Bachetti [5][$650]; 7. 9S-Matt Sheppard [3][$600]; 8. 111-Demetrios Drellos [10][$550]; 9. 49-Billy Dunn [19][$500]; 10. 19-Tim Fuller [15][$450]; 11. 7-Rick Laubach [1][$400]; 12. 25R-Erick Rudolph [20][$375]; 13. 42P-Pat Ward [25][$350]; 14. 83-Brian Swartzlander [14][$325]; 15. 3-Justin Haers [11][$300]; 16. 19M-Jessey Mueller [17][$275]; 17. 46-Jeremy Smith [26][$250]; 18. 7MM-Michael Maresca [6][$250]; 19. 32-Jim Rasey [22][$250]; 20. 20-Brett Hearn [12][$250]; 21. 21A-Peter Britten [4][$250]; 22. 23-Kyle Coffey [18][$250]; 23. 30-Ronnie Johnson [23][$250]; 24. 6D-Dillon Steuer [24][$250]; 25. 1-Billy Pauch [16][$250]; 26. 30M-JoJo Watson [21][$250]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 42P-Pat Ward[+12]

Jimmy Owens shows off the first Gator Trophy of his career after winning on Thursday night. (Jim DenHamer photo)

Owens Finally Adds Volusia DIRTcar Nationals Gator to Trophy Case

For second consecutive night, Wight dominates Super DIRTcar Series

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 13, 2020 — Jimmy Owens has won almost 600 races in his career, including nearly every big Dirt Late Model race out there, but it took until Thursday night for him to earn his first Gator Trophy at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

Owens, of Newport, Tenn., dominated the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series main event, leading all 40 laps while behind him a furious battle was on to challenge him. A caution with 9 laps to go set up a shootout to the finish, but Owens was so strong he simply pulled away. A who’s who of star racers chased Owens to the checkered flag, with Dale McDowell second followed by Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport and Mike Marlar.

“I tell you we’ve been close all week, we’ve been steadily getting better each night here,” Owens said. “This car was just phenomenal tonight. I’ve been coming down here for years and I don’t think I’ve ever won a Late Model race, let alone I don’t think I’ve won two heats in a week.”

For the second consecutive night, Larry Wight held off Stewart Friesen to capture the Super DIRTcar Series Feature. Wight started on the outside of the front row and quickly took command of the 30-lap race on the high side of the track. With only one caution Wight, of Phoenix, N.Y., held Friesen and the rest of the field at bay to win his third Gator Trophy and second in as many days.

“This car has just been on a rail,” Wight said. “We put the same setup in as [Wednesday] night and it was still glued to the track. Hopefully we can keep it going for the rest of the week. The car is good enough to where I don’t even need to run the cushion. Any time you’ve got Stewie right behind you, you definitely don’t want to see a restart. He’s a phenomenal restarter and he’s usually able to make stuff happen. The farther I can keep him behind me the better.”

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 13, 2020

World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series (40 Laps): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens [2][$10,000]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell [4][$5,000]; 3. 14-Josh Richards [12][$3,000]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport [14][$2,500]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar [3][$2,000]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1][$1,700]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson [5][$1,400]; 8. 0M-Chris Madden [13][$1,300]; 9. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [8][$1,200]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$1,100]; 11. 7-Ricky Weiss [23][$1,050]; 12. 25-Shane Clanton [10][$1,000]; 13. 0e-Rick Eckert [21][$950]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb [24][$900]; 15. 1st-Johnny Scott [22][$850]; 16. 18-Chase Junghans [20][$800]; 17. 6T-Tyler Erb [15][$770]; 18. 12-Ashton Winger [26][$750]; 19. 0-Scott Bloomquist [17][$730]; 20. 3s-Brian Shirley [6][$700]; 21. B1-Brent Larson [29][$110]; 22. 99B-Boom Briggs [27][$110]; 23. 39-Tim McCreadie [11][$700]; 24. 97-Cade Dillard [25][$700]; 25. 4G-Kody Evans [7][$700]; 26. 66c-Matt Cosner [28][$110]; 27. 25w-Allen Weisser [16][$700]; 28. 22-Gregg Satterlee [18][$700]; 29. 6-Blake Spencer [30][$110]; 30. 5-Mark Whitener [19][$700]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 7-Ricky Weiss [+12].

Super DIRTcar Series (30 laps): 1. 99L-Larry Wight [2][$3,000]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen [5][$1,500]; 3. 25R-Erick Rudolph [4][$1,000]; 4. 7MM-Michael Maresca [3][$800]; 5. 20-Brett Hearn [7][$700]; 6. 91-Billy Decker [12][$650]; 7. 9S-Matt Sheppard [8][$600]; 8. 44P-Anthony Perrego [10][$550]; 9. 49-Billy Dunn [18][$500]; 10. 111-Demetrios Drellos [6][$450]; 11. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [11][$400]; 12. 21A-Peter Britten [19][$375]; 13. 42P-Pat Ward [14][$350]; 14. 7-Rick Laubach [1][$325]; 15. 88-Mat Williamson [15][$300]; 16. 19M-Jessey Mueller [9][$275]; 17. 30-Ronnie Johnson [22][$250]; 18. 19-Tim Fuller [21][$250]; 19. 23-Kyle Coffey [17][$250]; 20. 46-Jeremy Smith [13][$250]; 21. 83-Brian Swartzlander [20][$250]; 22. 3-Justin Haers [16][$250]; 23. 32-Jim Rasey [24][$250]; 24. 4-Andy Bachetti [25][$250]; 25. 48T-Dave Rauscher [26][$250]; 26. 1-Billy Pauch [23][$250]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 49-Billy Dunn [+9].

Larry Wight celebrates after winning the Super DIRTcar Series Feature on Wednesday night. (Chris Owens photo)

Sheppard Declared World of Outlaws Winner at Volusia After Erb Penalized

Wild night at DIRTcar Nationals had everything from door-banging to late-race passes for wins

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 12, 2020 — A wild night of racing Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford took another strange turn afterward.

Dennis Erb Jr. raced to the checkered flag in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Feature after Mark Whitener and Brandon Overton knocked each other out of the race in a door-to-door battle for the lead with seven laps to go. However, after the victory lane celebration, Erb failed to report to postrace inspection and was penalized to last place, handing the win to defending champion Brandon Sheppard for his first Series victory of the season.

Whitener was on point from the drop of the green flag, but seven different drivers swapped positions two through five until Whitener and Overton started slamming into each other trying to move to the lead. First, they hit in the middle of the backstretch, then crossed over in Turns 3 and 4 with Whitener on the inside sliding up the track and knocking Overton over the cushion, bringing both cars to stop as Erb and Brandon Sheppard shot by on the bottom.

Erb rolled the low groove on the restart with Sheppard blasting around the top. Erb’s inside position was just enough to edge Sheppard by a nose at the checkered flag for what appeared to be his first win of the season until he missed going to postrace inspection and was penalized, gifting the victory to Sheppard.

All that excitement set the stage for the Super DIRTcar Series event, where Larry Wight narrowly held off Stewart Friesen.

Defending DIRTcar Nationals champion Wight found a home on the top side of the track while Friesen was moving up and down trying to close the gap. With nine laps to go in heavy traffic, Friesen closed right on Wight. With three to go Friesen peeked to the inside of Wight exiting Turn 4, but Wight had enough momentum to power off the corner and hold off Friesen to the finish.

Series champion Mat Williamson was third followed by former NAPA Super DIRT Week winners Brett Hearn and Billy Dunn.

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 12, 2020

World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series (40 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [8][$10,000]; 2. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [7][$5,000]; 3. 14-Josh Richards [13][$3,000]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens [6][$2,500]; 5. 3s-Brian Shirley [10][$2,000]; 6. 25-Shane Clanton [9][$1,700]; 7. 39-Tim McCreadie [5][$1,400]; 8. 49-Jonathan Davenport [12][$1,300]; 9. 40B-Kyle Bronson [17][$1,200]; 10. 18-Chase Junghans [14][$1,100]; 11. 17M-Dale McDowell [16][$1,050]; 12. 157-Mike Marlar [3][$1,000]; 13. 25z-Mason Zeigler [22][$950]; 14. 12-Ashton Winger [15][$900]; 15. 0e-Rick Eckert [26][$850]; 16. 4G-Kody Evans [23][$800]; 17. 97-Cade Dillard [19][$770]; 18. 0M-Chris Madden [20][$750]; 19. 0-Scott Bloomquist [25][$730]; 20. 7-Ricky Weiss [11][$700]; 21. 99B-Boom Briggs [21][$700]; 22. 66c-Matt Cosner [27][$700]; 23. 6-Blake Spencer [29][$110]; 24. 5-Mark Whitener [4][$110]; 25. B1-Brent Larson [28][$700]; 26. 76-Brandon Overton [2][$110]; 27. 2s-Stormy Scott [24][$700]; 28. 21-Ivedent Lloyd [30][$700]; 29. 72-Michael Norris [18][$110]; 30. 28-Dennis Erb [1][$700]. Lap Leaders: Brandon Overton – 28; Mark Whitner – 3-27, 29-32; Dennis Erb – 1-2, 33-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 0e-Rick Eckert [+10].

Super DIRTcar Series (30 laps): 1. 99L-Larry Wight [2][$3,000]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen [4][$1,500]; 3. 88-Mat Williamson [8][$1,000]; 4. 20-Brett Hearn [1][$800]; 5. 49-Billy Dunn [5][$700]; 6. 25R-Erick Rudolph [6][$650]; 7. 91-Billy Decker [16][$600]; 8. 44P-Anthony Perrego [9][$550]; 9. 4-Andy Bachetti [3][$500]; 10. 21A-Peter Britten [12][$450]; 11. 1-Billy Pauch [10][$400]; 12. 30-Ronnie Johnson [14][$375]; 13. 19-Tim Fuller [19][$350]; 14. 42P-Pat Ward [21][$325]; 15. 19M-Jessey Mueller [22][$300]; 16. 111-Demetrios Drellos [17][$275]; 17. 3-Justin Haers [11][$250]; 18. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [13][$250]; 19. 9S-Matt Sheppard [15][$250]; 20. 23-Kyle Coffey [24][$250]; 21. 46-Jeremy Smith [20][$250]; 22. 83-Brian Swartzlander [18][$250]; 23. 48T-Dave Rauscher [25][$250]; 24. 7-Rick Laubach [7][$250]; 25. 7MM-Michael Maresca [23][$250]; 26. 6D-Dillon Steuer [26][$250]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 91-Billy Decker [+9].

Tim McCreadie celebrates his victory on Tuesday night at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford. (Chris Owens photo)

McCreadie Edges Sheppard in DIRTcar Late Model Thriller

Super DIRTcar Series champ Williamson holds off Rudolph

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 11, 2020 — Tim McCreadie won a furious DIRTcar Late Model battle with Brandon Sheppard Tuesday night at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford, halting Sheppard’s five-race win streak at the event.

McCreadie and Sheppard started side-by-side on the front row and put on a wheel-to-wheel clinic for 30 laps. McCreadie wound up his machine on the top side as Sheppard kept pace on the bottom. Kyle Bronson entered the picture late to keep the pressure on Sheppard, who moved up and down on track trying to find a line past McCreadie.

A caution with 10 to go gave McCreadie clear track, but Sheppard still threw everything he had at him in the final two corners before coming up just a half-second short at the checkered flag. Bronson was third with Dennis Erb Jr. and Jonathan Davenport rounding out the top five.

The Super DIRTcar Series kicked off its portion of the DIRTcar Nationals with defending Series champion Mat Williamson holding off Erick Rudolph, who nearly pulled even with Williamson just as a caution waved on Lap 13. Williamson darted back to the lead on the restart while Anthony Perrego mounted a charge and nearly got Rudolph. Stewart Friesen charged from 19th to finish fourth with Larry Wight completing the top five.

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 11, 2020

Super DIRTcar Series (30 laps): 1. 88-Mat Williamson [1][$3,000]; 2. 25r-Erick Rudolph [9][$1,500]; 3. 44P-Anthony Perrego [5][$1,000]; 4. 44-Stewart Friesen [19][$800]; 5. 99L-Larry Wight [10][$700]; 6. 91-Billy Decker [8][$650]; 7. 9S-Matt Sheppard [3][$600]; 8. 49-Billy Dunn [7][$550]; 9. 42P-Pat Ward [16][$500]; 10. 3-Justin Haers [13][$450]; 11. 21a-Peter Britten [11][$400]; 12. 20-Brett Hearn [2][$375]; 13. 7-Rick Laubach [6][$350]; 14. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [14][$325]; 15. 1-Billy Pauch [15][$300]; 16. 83-Brian Swartzlander [25][$275]; 17. 7MM-Michael Maresca [4][$250]; 18. 19-Tim Fuller [18][$250]; 19. 19m-Jessey Mueller [21][$250]; 20. 23-Kyle Coffey [23][$250]; 21. 30-Ronnie Johnson [12][$250]; 22. 46-Jeremy Smith [17][$250]; 23. 5-Matthew Stangle [22][$250]; 24. 48T-Dave Rauscher [26][$250]; 25. 6D-Dillon Steuer [20][$250]; 26. 4-Andy Bachetti [24][$250]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 44-Stewart Friesen [+15].

DIRTcar Late Model Feature (30 Laps): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie [1][$7,000]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson [3]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb [4]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport [10]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar [16]; 7. 17M-Dale McDowell [8]; 8. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [12]; 9. 7-Ricky Weiss [9]; 10. 72-Michael Norris [11]; 11. 20-Jimmy Owens [22]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton [5]; 13. 3s-Brian Shirley [6]; 14. 0M-Chris Madden [15]; 15. 97-Cade Dillard [13]; 16. 2s-Stormy Scott [14]; 17. 18-Chase Junghans [26]; 18. 0e-Rick Eckert [18]; 19. 14-Josh Richards [23]; 20. 8-Kyle Strickler [19]; 21. 25-Shane Clanton [20]; 22. 15-Donny Schatz [21]; 23. 31-Tyler Millwood [24]; 24. 36-Logan Martin [7]; 25. 5-Mark Whitener [17]; 26. 25w-Allen Weisser [25]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 20-Jimmy Owens [+11].

Spencer Hughes Stuns UMP Modifieds at DIRTcar Nationals to Swipe $5K Gator

Hoffman clinches fifth consecutive event crown; Brandon Sheppard tops Late Models

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 10, 2020 — On a night when Nick Hoffman and Kyle Strickler were expected to go wheel-to-wheel for the biggest UMP Modified prize in Florida, it was 19-year-old Spencer Hughes who stunned them all on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Gator Championship race Monday at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

Hoffman and Strickler, who each won their qualifying races over the weekend, wound up starting side-by-side in row five. Polesitter Jason Hughes charged out early with Spencer Hughes giving chase. A wild incident on Lap 21 saw Strickler and David Stremme try to squeeze through a tight gap between Michael Altobelli on the bottom of the track and the slowing car of Tyler Nicely at the top. Strickler got the worst of it when he made heavy contact with Nicely, damaging his front end so severely he was ultimately forced out of the race.

The Feature went green nearly the entire remaining 21 laps, but the caution flag waved again just as Jason Hughes had his eyes on the checkered flag coming off Turn 4. On the ensuing Green-White-Checkered finish, Spencer Hughes swept past Jason Hughes and held on to win the $5,000 Gator Championship race.

The event concludes the UMP Modified portion of the DIRTcar Nationals. Hoffman survived with a severely beat up car to finish fifth, which was enough for him to clinch his fifth consecutive DIRTcar Nationals UMP Modified Championship thanks to his two victories and six top-five finishes in six nights of racing.

“We had a really good week,” said Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC. “I think I jinxed myself today as we hadn’t used our spare nose all week, then we wiped it out on the last lap of the whole week. It was very eventful tonight, though. Definitely not the way we wanted it to go. Starting 10th, I probably had the best car to win the race but wasn’t able to show it. Then we bit the front-end early running into Kyle (Strickler) and then it wasn’t steering like I needed it to, so we just tried to stay out of trouble.”

For the first time in this year’s event, Dirt Late Models hit the track with Brandon Sheppard picking up right where he left off at the 2019 DIRTcar Nationals … in victory lane. Sheppard, who won the final four nights of last year’s event, dominated the kickoff to Late Model Week at the DIRTcar Nationals to lead an all-Illinois podium with Brian Shirley and Dennis Erb Jr.

Sheppard, of New Berlin, Ill., was smooth on three restarts from cautions, never allowing anyone to rattle him as he seeks his second straight DIRTcar Nationals championship this week.

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 9, 2020

DIRTcar UMP Modified ‘Gator Championship’ (30 laps): 1. 11H-Spencer Hughes [2][$5,000]; 2. 12H-Jason Hughes [1][$2,000]; 3. 95-Michael Altobelli [14][$1,250]; 4. 23-Ryan Cripe [8][$1,000]; 5. 2-Nick Hoffman [10][$800]; 6. 18L-Michael Long [17][$700]; 7. 35-David Stremme [5][$600]; 8. 96M-Mike McKinney [12][$575]; 9. 7JA-Justin Allgaier [3][$550]; 10. K19-Will Krup [25][$525]; 11. 77-Ray Bollinger [16][$500]; 12. 36-Kenny Wallace [13][$500]; 13. 5-Curt Spalding [21][$500]; 14. 3L-Jeff Leka [6][$500]; 15. 75-Terry Phillips [22][$450]; 16. OOD-David Reutimann [23][$425]; 17. 7-Drake Troutman [18][$400]; 18. 7CT-Christian Thomas [20][$375]; 19. 99M-Mike Mullen [28][$350]; 20. 99-Hunt Gossum [11][$300]; 21. 67-Garret Stewart [19][$300]; 22. 7A-Shane Sabraski [26][$300]; 23. 52-Colin Green [24][$300]; 24. 90-Jason Beaulieu [29][$300]; 25. 88-Matt Crafton [30][$300]; 26. 12L-Lucas Lee [15][$300]; 27. 22-Dale Kelley [31][$300]; 28. 8KS-Kyle Strickler [9][$300]; 29. 25-Tyler Nicely [4]; 30. 45J-Johnny Broking [27]; 31. 49-Brian Ruhlman [7][-]; 32. 65-Todd Sherman [32][-]. KSE Hard Charger Award: K19-Will Krup [+15].

 DIRTcar Late Model Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard [2][$7,000]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley [5]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb, [8]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie [1]; 5. 5-Mark Whitener [11]; 6. 0M-Chris Madden [4]; 7. 72-Michael Norris [3]; 8. 29V-Darrell Lanigan [14]; 9. 7W-Ricky Weiss [6]; 10. 76B-Brandon Overton [22]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard [20]; 12. 20-Jimmy Owens [17]; 13. 12-Ashton Winger [9]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 15. 17M-Dale McDowell [10]; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs [16]; 17. O-Rick Eckert [18]; 18. 40B-Kyle Bronson [13]; 19. 21-Ivedent Lloyd, [15]; 20. 25Z-Mason Zeigler [23]; 21. 16B-Tyler Bruening [12]; 22. 6-Blake Spencer [24]; 23. OOO-Kyle Lear [19]; 24. 89-GR Smith [21]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 76B-Brandon Overton[+12].

Schuchart Wins DIRTcar Nationals Sprint Car Finale, Sweet Crowned Champ

Strickler captures second UMP Modified Gator Championship qualifier

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 9, 2020 — Logan Schuchart became the third different winner in three World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Features when he powered to victory on Sunday night in Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

It took Schuchart, of Hanover, Pa., just one lap to slide past Daryn Pittman and pull away with the lead. Pittman gave chase before Cory Eliason darted past Pittman and set his sights on Schuchart. But with one lap to go, Eliason’s motor went up in smoke creating a green-white-checkered finish.

Schuchart again shot out quickly and easily motored to the checkered flag. Pittman was second with Brad Sweet third. Sweet’s run in his NAPA-sponsored Kasey Kahne Racing machine was more than enough to clinch his second DIRTcar Nationals Sprint Car Week championship, marking the first time he’s accomplished the feat since 2016.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Sweet, who said he’s going to spend the rest of the week at Disney World with his wife and daughter. “I thought we had a lot of different tracks all week. The NAPA car was fast on all the different conditions, but we’ll take that.”

A split DIRTcar UMP Modified field running a qualifier for Monday’s $5,000-to-win Gator Championship event saw Kyle Strickler win for the seventh time of his career at Volusia and the second time in the past five days. Strickler had opened a sizable advantage when the caution flew with one to go, bunching the field, but also giving him clear track. Strickler quickly powered back off the corner as Tyler Nicely tried to stay with him to no avail. Nicely wound up second with NASCAR Xfinity star Justin Allgaier in third.

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 9, 2020

World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature (30 laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$10,000]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [1][$5,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$3,200]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [18][$2,800]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [3][$2,500]; 6. 41-David Gravel [7][$2,300]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$2,200]; 8. 9-James McFadden [16][$2,100]; 9. 7-Shane Stewart [6][$2,050]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [14][$2,000]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [12][$1,500]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [8][$1,200]; 13. 18-Ian Madsen [17][$1,100]; 14. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [13][$1,050]; 15. 21-Brian Brown [10][$1,000]; 16. 57-Kyle Larson [21][$900]; 17. 2M-Kerry Madsen [15][$800]; 18. 14-Tim Shaffer [24][$800]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [23][$800]; 20. 15K-Chad Kemenah [19][$800]; 21. 4-Terry McCarl [20][$800]; 22. 7S-Jason Sides [26][$]; 23. 33M-Mason Daniel [27][$]; 24. 26-Cory Eliason [4][$800]; 25. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [22][$800]; 26. J4-John Garvin [11][$800]; 27. 11K-Kraig Kinser [25]. Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1, Logan Schuchart 2-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+14].

DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature (20 Laps): 1. 8KS-Kyle Strickler [2][$700]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely [1][$600]; 3. 7JA-Justin Allgaier [4][$400]; 4. 23-Ryan Cripe [9][$350]; 5. 35-David Stremme [7][$300]; 6. 96M-Mike McKinney [27][$275]; 7. 95-Michael Altobelli [5][$250]; 8. 77-Ray Bollinger [3][$225]; 9. 7-Drake Troutman [12][$200]; 10. 7CT-Christian Thomas [8][$200]; 11. 7A-Shane Sabraski [15][$175]; 12. 99M-Mike Mullen [22][$140]; 13. 75-Terry Phillips [26][$130]; 14. 52-Colin Green [14][$125]; 15. 24D-Travis Dickson [29][$125]; 16. A1-Gary Bentley [20][$125]; 17. 9-Sheldon Creed [23][$125]; 18. 4UW-Bobby Regot [24][$125]; 19. 5F-Jerry Foster [25][$125]; 20. O7-Curtis King [28][$125]; 21. 24-Zeke McKenzie [11][$125]; 22. 97-Mitch Thomas [17][$125]; 23. 8-Steve Stevenson [21][$125]; 24. 2A-Donnie Moran [16][$125]; 25. 11-Jesse Rupe [18][$125]; 26. 8A-Austin Holcombe [13][$100]; 27. 1M-Curt Myers [10][$100]; 28. O5-Dave Wietholder [19][$100]; 29. 90-Jason Beaulieu [6][$100]; 30. 88-Matt Crafton [30][$100]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 96M-Mike McKinney[+21].

Brad Sweet takes the checkered flag to win his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature of the 2020 season. (Paul Arch photo)

Sweet Leads Kasey Kahne Racing Sweep of World of Outlaws at Volusia

Hoffman dominates UMP Modifieds for 17th DIRTcar Nationals victory of his career

BARBERVILLE, FL — Feb. 8, 2020 — Brad Sweet and James McFadden led a Kasey Kahne Racing sweep of the top two spots in Saturday night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Feature at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.

Sweet, the defending Series champion, was battling Ian Madsen for the lead on Lap 7 when the two got together as they closed quickly on the back of the field. Madsen tried to shoot through an opening on the top side of Turn 2, but he ran out of room in the blink of an eye and went for a wild ride that took him out of the race.

Sweet cruised to victory the rest of the way, with McFadden and Daryn Pittman following him across the finish line. Brian Brown was fourth and Logan Schuchart charged from 25th to finish fifth.

(Visit WorldofOutlaws.com for a full report of Sweet’s victory.) 

The DIRTcar UMP Modified field was split into Saturday and Sunday qualifying Features for Monday’s $5,000-to-win Gator Championship event, with Nick Hoffman dominating Saturday’s race for his second victory of the week and the 17th of his career at Volusia Speedway Park. Hoffman powered to a full straightaway lead on the rest of the field and never looked back.

(Visit DIRTcar.com for a full report of Hoffman’s victory.)

DIRTcar Nationals Race Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 8, 2020

World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature (30 laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$10,000]; 2. 9-James McFadden [7][$5,500]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [6][$3,200]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [3][$2,800]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [25][$1,700]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [9][$2,300]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$2,200]; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$2,100]; 9. 87-Aaron Reutzel [23][$2,050]; 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [4][$2,000]; 11. 5-Brent Marks [10][$1,500]; 12. 26-Cory Eliason [8][$1,200]; 13. 2M-Kerry Madsen [12][$1,100]; 14. 41-Parker Price-Miller [16][$1,050]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich [17][$1,000]; 16. 7-Shane Stewart [15][$900]; 17. 3C-Cale Conley [20][$800]; 18. 7S-Jason Sides [26][$]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [22][$800]; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser [24][$800]; 21. 1A-Jacob Allen [21][$800]; 22. 39M-Anthony Macri [18][$800]; 23. 57-Kyle Larson [19][$800]; 24. 2C-Wayne Johnson [27][$]; 25. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [14][$800]; 26. 18-Ian Madsen [1][$800]; 27. 14-Tim Shaffer [11][$800].  Lap Leaders: Ian Madsen 1-7, Brad Sweet 8-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+20]

DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature (20 Laps): 1. 2-Nick Hoffman [1][$700]; 2. 12H-Jason Hughes [5][$600]; 3. 49-Brian Ruhlman [3][$400]; 4. 3L-Jeff Leka [9][$350]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes [2][$300]; 6. 99-Hunt Gossum [13][$275]; 7. 36-Kenny Wallace [6][$250]; 8. 12L-Lucas Lee [4][$225]; 9. 18L-Michael Long [11][$200]; 10. 67-Garret Stewart [17][$200]; 11. 5-Curt Spalding [7][$175]; 12. 21-Taylor Cook [19][$140]; 13. OOD-David Reutimann [8][$130]; 14. 11M-Mike McGee [16][$125]; 15. 12-Jason Gross [21][$125]; 16. 22-Dale Kelley [18][$125]; 17. 45J-Johnny Broking [22][$125]; 18. 1S-Brian Shaw [23][$125]; 19. K19-Will Krup [15][$125]; 20. 17TE-Tyler Evans [10][$125]; 21. 1-Brenden Rassel [12][$125]; 22. 17T-Michael Tarlton [14][$125]; 23. 32-Chad Roush [25][$125]; 24. O1-Bryce Nichols [27][$125]; 25. 22T-Tony Anderson [26][$125]; 26. 100-Scott Fritz [20][$100]; 27. OO-Buzzie Reutimann [24][$100]; 28. 19-Chad Bauer [28][$100]. KSE Hard Charger Award: 99-Hunt Gossum[+7].