Dirt Empire Magazine - February/March - Volume 1, Issue 1

D I G I TA L - O N LY

P R E V I E W

I S S U E

S E M I T T E O H T H AT L W O B I L I H C DAVENPORT DOMINATES AT THE WILD WEST SHOOTOUT

N E W

THE GREAT 2020 COVID/CANADIAN BORDER CAPER

P R O D U C T S

P A G E

8 2

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S P R I N T • L AT E M O D E L MODIFIED • MIDGET PRO/STREET STOCK KART • TECH & MORE

01 - Feb/Mar 2021

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CONTENTS February/March 2021

Photo: Greg Stanek

5 Welcome to Dirt Empire 6 Fore Word – Adam Cornell 10 From the Editor – Justin Zoch 12 News & Notes 20 Lighter Side of Dirt 24 In Memorium 26 Funny Side of the Track 28 Wild West Shootout 36 Short Track Stars – Jacob Brown 38 Moving Pics 40 Petaluma Speedway 46 Chaz Baca 50 Covid Chronicles - Aaron Turnbull 54 Chili Bowl 62 Series Insights – Rush Racing 64 Photographer Focus – Zach Yost 66 What I’m Doing Now – Curt Hansen 68 Auxiliary Power – Zan Haudenschild 72 Talking Tech 74 Guest Mic Drop – Ashley Zimmerman 75 Museum Spotlight 76 Karting – Just for Fun 78 Dirt Chronicles 80 Yesterday’s Dirt 82 New & Featured Products

FEATURES 28 WILD WEST SHOOTOUT Jonathan Davenport missed the bonus but still got to ride a steer three times and hauled the biggest bag of cash out of Arizona Speedway.

40 PETALUMA SPEEDWAY For the last 60 seasons, Petaluma Speedway has been one of California’s most consistently excellent speedways but it has plenty of issues to confront in 2021 and beyond to make it another 60 seasons.

46 CHAZ BACA At just 23 years of age, Chaz Baca is backing up his campaign to score an IMCA Modified title with a great start to 2021 and has wins at two of Arizona’s most prominent racetracks.

50 AARON TURNBULL What lengths would you go to defend your title at a race? Would you go all in to cross International borders and sign up for quarantine when you returned for a shot? Well, Aaron Turnbull did and it paid off.

54 CHILI BOWL Yes, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell went tooth and nail in the finale again with the former winning while the latter tested his cage but we’ve got plenty of other highlights and opinions from a week in Tulsa.

TO SUBSCRIBE, GO TO DIRTEMPIREMAGAZINE.COM/SUBSCRIBE DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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February/March 2021 Issue 01 • Volume 01 Advertising Info:

email: dirtempiremagazine@gmail.com phone: 315.921.1415 OWNER/PUBLISHER Adam Cornell SR. EDITOR Justin Zoch SUBSCRIPTION COORDINATOR Abigail Cornell WORDS Ashley Allinson, Ashley Zimmerman, Bert Lehman, Bill Blumer Jr., Bob Mays, Brett Swanson, Chad Meyer, Chris Romano, Cyndi Stiffler, Danny Burton, David Sink, Doug Seeger, Elizabeth Madley, Eric Arnold, Gary Costa, Greg Soukup, Jessica Jenkins, Joanne Cram, Joe Duvall, Kelley Carlton, Kevin Oldham, Larry Weeks, Lee Ackerman, Melissa Coker, Mike Spieker, Odell Suttle, Scott Erickson, TJ Buffenbarger, Todd Heintzelman, Vahok Hill

P.48 CHILI BOWL Photo: Greg Stanek

D I G I TA L - O N LY

P R E V I E W

I S S U E

ES IM TH T E O T H AT WL I BO CHIL DAVENPORT DOMINATES AT THE WILD WEST SHOOTOUT

N E W

THE GREAT 2020 COVID/CANADIAN BORDER CAPER

P R O D U C T S

P A G E

8 2

DIGITAL ONLY COPY NO UPC

S P R I N T • L AT E M O D E L MODIFIED • MIDGET PRO/STREET STOCK KART • TECH & MORE

01 - Feb/Mar 2021

RUSH CHAMPIONS

COVER PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: T-MEZ: DAVID CAMPBELL JONATHAN DAVENPORT: TOM MACHT

FOR SUBMISSION INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT SENIOR EDITOR JUSTIN ZOCH: ZOCH24@HOTMAIL.COM

PICTURES Adam Mollenkopf, Andy Newsome, Bill Miller, Bill Taylor, Brad Plant, Brandon Anderson, Brendon Bauman, Brian Bouder, Bruce Palla, Buck Monson, Buzz Fisher, Carey Fox, Chad Wells, Chris McDill, Chris Pederson, Conrad Nelson, Dan DeMarco, Danny Howk, David Campbell, David Giles, David Hill, David Pratt, Dennis Krieger, Don Laidlaw, Donna Rosenstengel, Doug Burgess, Doug Vandeventer, Glen Starek, Gordy O’Field, Greg Stanek, Greg Teel, Heath Lawson, Jacy Norgaard, Jason Orth, Jason Spencer, Jason Wells, Jeff Bylsma, Jim Collum Jr., Jim DenHamer, Jim Zimmerline, Jimmy Jones, Joe Orth, Joe Secka, John Dadalt, John Lee, John Rothermel, Jon Holliday, Joseph Swann, Ken Kelly, Lee Greenawalt, Leif Tillotson, Mark Funderburk, Mark Sublett, Matt Butcosk, Michael Diers, Michael Moats, Mike Campbell, Mike Damic, Mike Feltenberger, Mike Howard, Mike Musslin, Mike Ruefer, Millie Tanner, Patrick Miller, Paul Arch, Paul Gould, Rich LaBrier, Richard Barnes, Rick Neff, Rick Sherer, Robert Wing, Rocky Ragusa, Ron Gilson, Ryan Northcote, Scott Swenson, Seth Stone, Steve Walters, Tara Chavez, Terry Page, Tim Aylwin, Tim Hunt, Todd Boyd, Tom Macht, Tony Hammett, Travis Branch, Troy Junkins, Tyler Carr, Tyler Rinkin, Zach Yost, Zakary Kriener

Dirt Empire Magazine is published 8 times annually. Copyright © 2021 Dirt Empire Magazine. Any unauthorized use of the Dirt Empire Magazine Logo or related icons is strictly prohibited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Postmaster: Send all address changes to: Dirt Empire Magazine, 218 Flower Ave E, Studio C, Watertown, NY 13601 Subscription rate is $36 US annually. Canadian and International subscribers add $16 annually.

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

WELCOME TO

WELCOME TO THE Dirt Empire Magazine preview issue! It has certainly been an exciting journey crafting a new publication that will highlight all the things we love about dirt track racing.

I know I’m not alone in loving the experience of taking in a full show at the track. I have my personal favorite dirt track division, but I also love the competition, comradarie, excitement, joy and even the real emotions of losing. The spectrum of emotion experienced during a day at the track is what living is all about.

With that in mind, Dirt Empire Magazine will cover all things dirt track racing related: late models, sprints, modifieds, pro/street stocks, and even 4 cylinders and karts on occasion. If it’s a compelling story and it happened on the dirt track, we want it in our pages.

But why print, why now?

There are a couple of reasons. Just recently a dirt track racing website that had been around for a long time was shut down by its corporate ownership. Gone were all of the articles, photos, ads, everything. One flick of the switch and it all disappeared.

That was quite unsettling.

Additionally, it’s becoming more and more apparent that everything done online could eventually be silenced by whomever is the current, all-controlling, tech giant of the moment. It’s not too hard to imagine auto racing becoming a social pariah because of shouts of “waste” or

Be prepared to be blown away with each issue.

“harm to the environment” and all mention of it is suddenly banished from social media or blocked by certain browsers who’s name starts with a G and ends with oogle.

A print magazine, in striking contrast, is yours forever once you have it in your hands. Unless somebody breaks into your house and steals it or lights it on fire, you’ll be able to go back and enjoy those stories and tech articles again and again. I kind of like that idea.

That’s not to say that the internet doesn’t have its advantages and uses. Dirt Empire Magazine plans to take full advantage of technology where and when we can. You’ll note in some articles and ads that QR codes are available. Following these links with your smart device will take you directly to an advertiser’s website or perhaps offer full video of an event that is covered in an article. If there’s a great tech video that shows a step-by-step process as described in an article, we may just provide a QR code for that as well.

The idea will be that you’ll have the best of both worlds in your hands; a print magazine that you will be able to read and reread forever and access to digital content as well.

We’re going to try new and different

things with this publication, but one thing will always be the same: amazing dirt track racing coverage.

Be prepared to be blown away with each issue.

Our editorial thinking process is simple: Is it exciting? Is it informative? Is it fun?

If we can’t check off at least one of those prerequisites, then it won’t be in Dirt Empire Magazine.

We want to explore the entire dirt track racing experience. Will there be driver interviews, tech articles, track spotlights, industry-insider news? Yes. Will we also have photos of the coolest car wraps or helmet designs or t-shirts? Absolutely!

Will we cover iRacing? Yup. What about behind-the-scenes stories covering those individuals who have helped make a driver successful. Check. A top ten list of the best track side dirt-burgers and onion rings?

Why not?

Every issue will carry surprises and fulfill expectations.

It is our goal that you have as much fun experiencing each issue of Dirt Empire Magazine as we have creating it.

Let’s make 2021 a great year, one dirt track race at a time.

Adam Cornell Owner/Publisher

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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fore WORD

By Adam Cornell WHAT DOES ONE SAY when both introducing himself and his new magazine to the racing public? Who am I? Why am I doing this? What is Dirt Empire Magazine?

Questions, questions, always questions.

As a father of three, I’ve fielded more than my fair share of questions, so I’m ready for this.

First and foremost, I should welcome you to this new publication that focuses on allthings dirt track racing. I am very proud of the hard work put into this digital preview issue. Many individuals sacrificed their time and energy to provide stories, photographs, editorial work, feedback, snacks and drinks, and lots and lots of patience to create this publication. We all hope that you not only enjoy it but share it with others who might also enjoy it. Then we hope, if you haven’t already done so, you consider subscribing. We want to keep bringing you great articles and photos of the racing we love, and we want to grow the audience for dirt track racing in general. I believe getting people back to the track will be a great way to make 2021 an amazing year.

My path to owning and publishing Dirt Empire Magazine took a very circuitous route. I grew up in Binghamton, New York, and remember going to races at the Syracuse Fairgrounds for the great Labor Day races. I also have a vague recollection of going to Five Mile Point Speedway in Kirkwood, New York. Those details are a little more fuzzy, but I distinctly remember coming home covered in dirt and being sent right into the bath before bed.

Those early memories of racing cultivated a burning love for cars which was only stoked more by the likes of movies and television shows like Smokey and the Bandit and The Dukes of Hazzard. Fast cars, clouds of dirt, jumping over cop cars;

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It was pre-teen euphoria!

A curious thing happened through my teens, however. None of my friends at school were into racing. My best friend, Jonah, was, but he lived in a different school district. So, the day-today stuff I talked about with my friend was skateboarding, movies, computers, basketball, football and so on. We were the so-called “smart kids” in my school.

And everyone in society knows “smart kids” don’t love racing, right? I had my racing friend, and I had my regular friends – and the friendships did not cross over.

My older brother also greatly influenced my likes and dislikes as a kid.

If he didn’t like something, then it was dumb or lame. He wasn’t a fan of racing like I was, so it was ridiculed as stupid and therefore, if I wanted to hang out with him, I had to do what he wanted.

Racing wasn’t high on the list of things we did.

So, I was squeezed into a mold of expectations by those around me. I wasn’t ardent enough in my love of racing to persuade the rest of my friends to adopt it as their passion. I remember feeling bad, missing the fun of going to the track. Missing out on the adventure of real-life excitement. Towards the end of high school, I was only going to that one race in Syracuse each year, and then, my junior and senior year, I missed out on even going to that.

After school, I took a hiatus from racing fandom as I pursued a career in art and marketing as well as radio broadcasting. This career path took me to Louisiana to live for several years, then on to traveling all across the country as I handled the sales, marketing and art departments for several different companies.

Cut to 2013, when I was sitting in my corner office at a well-known, but not-tobe-mentioned, company’s headquarters, realizing that by all accounts I had “made it.” This was what everyone strived for and told me I should be trying to achieve with a career. And yet, I didn’t like most of the managers and VP level personnel I had to interact with daily, and in general, despised the work I was doing. I remember the day when I thought “This is terrible. I’m not doing this anymore. Anything is better

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

than this racket!”

I decided I needed to reinvent myself, do the things that made me happy, not just go along with the things people around me liked or said I ought to. I went back to those things in my childhood that I loved, namely dirt track racing. I hope it wasn’t a mid-life crisis, as that would mean I don’t have too many years left!

I began going to the local track, Can-Am Speedway in Lafargeville, New York. I felt awkward and out of place at first. Then the roar of the engines hit my ears as the first session of hot laps rolled onto the track.

There was no going back. This is where I wanted to be. The dirt in the air, the cheers from the fans, the smell of fuel mixed with the taste of beer; is there anything better in life?

I wanted to be a part of the action, but not in a car or working on one. I wanted to do what I love, which is create the written word or artwork of some sort, and do it on the sport I loved, dirt track racing. Surely there was a way to fuse the two passions.

I began submitting articles to different publications and eventually my work was picked up and published. I quickly realized that my acquired skills in marketing and sales could easily transfer over and work within the racing industry. I started small, working with a few clients, and then it grew and grew, to become my main focus.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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I pushed aside all of the other work I was doing, which included morning show host duties for a local radio station, so I could fully pursue this career in racing media.

Writing, handling the layout and design of another print publication, interacting with advertisers and PR people; things were going great.

And then the Covid-19 virus hit. Or more appropriately, the reaction to the Covid-19 virus hit. New York State shut down everything. They told people they couldn’t travel, couldn’t go to work, couldn’t race. . .

2020 was a very difficult year for most people, not just from the virus, which in some cases had a very real, deadly cost.

Many saw the businesses they had worked a lifetime to build, go away. There were stories of companies that had been around for generations that were now forced to close their doors because they weren’t deemed essential.

I was impacted directly, as the publication I was working for ceased operations. Watching a publication that I loved, slowly die a death that could have easily been avoided was difficult. Imagine finally finding the thing you want to do, a complete confluence of passions, and watching it wither and die before your eyes.

What to do now? Should I find someplace else to be, or could I take all of the things I had learned in twenty-five years of advertising, sales, marketing, design, writing and other professionally gained experience, and infuse that into a new publication? The answer was: I would hate myself if I didn’t try.

But what to do?

Personally, I love the feeling of paper in my hands. I love the heft of a magazine, the swish of the pages as they turn, the smell of the ink; there’s something both nostalgic and reassuring about print. There are many who share my love for the printed page. Once it’s printed, it can’t be changed.

Once it exists on paper, it can always exist.

A printed magazine is a time capsule that rolls forward through the years, carrying a snapshot of a bygone era. A periodical is literally a historical document of one moment in time, and that should not be taken for granted.

If we have learned anything in the last year, it’s that the internet cannot be trusted. Articles can be changed, entire websites can be removed, voices can be silenced. The parallels to George Orwell’s 1984 are too obvious to miss. Somebody out there thought 1984 was a how-tomanual instead of a cautionary tale, and that’s scary enough to have been written by Lovecraft instead.

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If I was going to try to build a media entity for the dirt track industry, print had to be included.

I looked candidly at the reasons why the previous publication I had been working for had failed and I felt like there were attainable fixes available. One of the things I had learned in radio was the importance of crossover relationships with other forms of media. Radio stations had a long tradition of running ads for television shows that were going to be on, and the television stations reciprocated by running spots for the local radio stations. The template for success was there. You could not embrace one form of media and ignore the others.

You had to embrace them all, deliver content to the readers in a way that the individual reader preferred; give them the

I decided I needed to reinvent myself, do the things that made me happy, not just go along with the things people around me liked or said I ought to. option to choose.

What I was seeing in the print industry, however, was an unwillingness to adapt to what was happening online and an attempt to try to run the same old publishing model that had existed for a century or more.

Recent history shows that this model can no longer work in a digital world.

There is still an audience for a print publication, but the younger generation is also glued to their mobile devices. Yes, there would need to be content available in print, but how do you bridge the gap from print to digital and back again? We think we’ve found some fun solutions!

You will find scattered throughout this issue, QR codes and website links that can take you to content beyond the printed page. The idea is that you can read an article about a driver or a track or a new product, pull out your phone and capture that QR code and jump right to a video or interview or product immediately. This technology is not new, but we see an opportunity to exploit it more within the pages of a traditional racing magazine.

Down the road, as we continue to grow our audience, we hope to be able to bring you even more crossover content, like

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

videos of our interviews. Imagine, you read the article, then link to the video of the race the driver was talking about. There is a lot of work to be done between now and then, but I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I’m interested in finding out if our readers like this option. I guess time and feedback will tell. But I’d hate myself if I didn’t try it.

Getting back to the social dilemma of having racing friends and non-racing friends, I realized that the power lies within each one of us to adopt and convert our non-racing friends into racing friends. I am hoping this magazine will help serve that purpose. We plan to have plenty of on-ramps to the sport for new readers, with plenty of in-depth content for the fans who have been around for decades.

Going to the races is about excitement and joy. It’s about real experiences with real people. After many have spent a year in seclusion and lock down, we need this now more than ever.

So, I challenge each one of you in 2021 to invite one of your non-racing friends to a race with you this year. Show them how great a night at the track can be. Become an evangelist for the racing scene! Buy them a gift subscription to Dirt Empire Magazine. Help them to see that one of the keys to life is living, not just existing. I know I’m going to actively work to convert a few of my friends over to being racing friends this year.

I’d hate myself if I didn’t try it.

Cars are and always have been my happy place. . .

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Close Racing Supply

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from the EDITOR

By Justin Zoch

NEVER BE THE SAME IT WILL BE NICE to be back – that I can say with certainty. My last race that I attended in person was the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Oklahoma - the 2020 edition. I returned from that race as I always do – re-energized for a new season after a week spent with friends watching some of the best racing we’ll see all year.

The Chili Bowl gives a charge like none other to kick off the new year every year.

I came back from Oklahoma, went to Florida for a running race with my brother in Miami in February (while not partaking in Speedweeks) and then came home and watched the world close down around us.

My wife and I initiated a pretty rigorous quarantine routine since we were able to do so quite easily since her corporate job sent her home with the promise to possibly return to an office in July of ’21, our two young kids being shuffled into distance learning and I’ve worked from home since 2001 (yes, I’m a trendsetter!) when I started at FlatOut Magazine.

The 2021 Chili Bowl has just wrapped up and they somehow managed to run the race without me for the first time since Jay Drake won it in 2001. It was weird watching highlights from home and

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texting photographers to get a sense of the happenings in the building. It was strange to not be peddling magazines and shaking hands with old friends in the trade show, too.

With all the changes, the Chili Bowl was never going to feel normal to anyone. However, for a lot of us, it may never feel the same. On October 25, Bryan Gapinski passed away. He was a midget fan, former owner, historian and devoted apostle of the little cars to anyone who would listen. When Knoxville hosted the midgets, Gapinski always took great pride in skipping town before the 410 feature hit the track. He was a great announcer and analyst who seemed to know everyone and had a relatable tidbit on everyone from Dan Boorse to Dario Franchitti.

He had the idea for the National Midget Driver of the Year program while he was on his honeymoon and used that vehicle to promote the sport and the drivers, owners and manufacturers involved in it. He was an invaluable resource to publications like FlatOut, Dirt Monthly, National Speed Sport News and he edited Midwest Racing News for several years. He even offered seminars in Tulsa on the history of midget racing.

Gapinski was the rare person who knew it all – the history, the people and the technical aspects of midget racing.

I was lucky enough to work with Gapinski on the Racin’ Boys Broadcast Crew of the Chili Bowl for well over a decade and we were always friendly and eventually became roommates in Tulsa for a week every year.

Our friendship grew and I always laughed that we’d be doing “pillow talk” about the 1995 Badger Midget season or which street stocker making his midget debut we’d have to seek out the next day for info before we’d go to sleep. We’d partner up on rental cars to get around Tulsa and, as we got older, instead of late night revelry when we’d go our own ways, we would usually grab Wendy’s, hit the hotel and watch

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Sportscenter before bed.

Bryan was 15 years older than me but we had the good fortune of having kids the same age. Once his daughter, Kailey, came along and later his son, Tyler, we both got to watch the other make the morning phone calls to check in or share our disbelief that it always seemed our kids got sick the second we got on a plane to Tulsa, making things more stressful on the home front. Our nightly pillow talk turned to things like croup, schools, Shopkins and our love of cheap toys at Five Below. He always liked to say goodnight to his kids on the broadcast and I’m glad I didn’t have to be there to miss that this year.

Gapinski did more for midget racing than we’ll ever know and he left the world when his beloved corner of the sport was in as good a spot as it has been in two decades.

That, however, is a too small comfort for losing a lovely, compassionate and thoughtful father and husband at the age of 56. Farewell, friend.

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news

NOTES

&

SPRINT CARS ON ICE Ice racing is coming to Michigan!

The Sprint Cars On ICE is proud to announce an alliance and partnership with Great Lakes Super Sprints presented by Engine Pro and ARP. Nick Berry, founder of Sprint Cars on ICE in New England has team up with Great Lakes Super Sprints owner Barry Marlow to bring ice racing to the Motor State in 2022. SCOICE also announced an agreement with MAVTV and the Lucas Oil On the Edge show.

HANGOVER RACE Everyone was eager to turn the page on 2020 and race fans around Seymour, Tennessee also got their first look at live racing in the new year with the 11th edition of the Hangover Race for fans to kick off their season at 411 Speedway.

Pierce McCarter outdueled Christian Hangar for the $5,000 prize.

NEW TULSA SPEEDWAY A decade and a half after the Tulsa Speedway permanently closed, there is a new oval track in T-Town and it’s a throwback to the old speedway. The New Tulsa Speedway is a high-banked quarter mile dirt track recently built as part of Tulsa Raceway Park, a drag strip. The track is owned by Todd Martin and Keith Haney and managed by Tim Cunningham. It will run weekly on Friday nights and also hosts specials with divisions like ASCS and the Sooner Late Model Series.

Bobby Pierce teamed up with new crew chief Cody Mallory to tackle the Wild West Shootout.

Photo: Mike Ruefer

BOBBY PIERCE will have a new crew chief for the 2021 season as he has welcomed Cody Mallory into the fold for the new season. Mallory has previously crewed for Scott Bloomquist and Jimmy Owens and the duo kicked off their new relationship at the Wild West Shootout.

CONNECT WITH BOBBY PIERCE ON FACEBOOK.

AUSTIN MCCARL Former Knoxville Raceway track champion and third generation racer Austin McCarl will leave his home in the Upper Midwest for the 2021 season and aggressively pursue the King of the West 410 Sprint title in California as the new driver of the Tarlton Motorsports 21 car. McCarl will partner with crew chief Paul Baines for the effort.

Photo: Rob Kocak

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

KELLER AUTO SPEEDWAY promoter Peter Murphy has come up with a unique prize and opportunity for the winner of the Kings of Thunder Sprint Car races in California – they’ll win a chance to race in New Zealand. The special trip in December is the Dalton’s Down Under “Kings of Thunder Lord of the Rings Tour.” According to the release, “the title plays off the fact that the Dalton’s race shop is located approximately five miles from the town where the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films were made. “I have several ideas in my head that I’d like to have a go and this was certainly near the top of that list,” said Murphy. “It will be a nice incentive for the drivers that compete at my place in Hanford and Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.”

Peter Murphy in his Dalton’s sponsored Sprint Car. Murphy and Dalton’s have now teamed up for the “Kings of Thunder Lord of the Rings Tour” contest. Photo: Paul Trevino

ROBBIE JOHNSTON Ransomville, New York’s Robbie Johnston raced from his home track at Land of Legends Speedway in Canandaigua, where he finished 19th in final points. Johnston, just 19 years old, banked $1,000 for earning the DIRTcar Big Block Modified Rookie of the Year title.

Photo: www.rjrracing.com

HUMBERSTONE SPEEDWAY in Port Colborne, Ontario will open in 2021 with new owner Terry Vince, who owns Competition Speed Supply and CSR Engines (Competition Speed Racing Engines). “I have a long history at Humberstone attending races in the mid-’70s with my father and from 1996 -2002, Competition Speed Supply had a parts and fuel truck in pits to service racers in addition to the engine business, It’s basically in my backyard,” said Vince. The track is hoping to have 12 races as COVID restrictions continue in Canada.

ZACHARY MADRID got his first career IMCA stock car victory at the Arizona Speedway’s 10th annual New Year’s Day celebration. Madrid, who was the 2019 IMCA modified champion at the racetrack, started the race on the pole alongside his father Anthony before earning the $1,000 victory.

JAMIE VEAL kicked off the longawaited return to racing at Australia’s Premier Speedway on New Year’s Day. The speedway had been shuttered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Veal bested Corey McCullagh and Darren Mollenoyux and the rest of the 31-car field.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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news

NOTES

&

IT WAS QUITE A SEASON for Indiana’s Brandon Mattox and at the end of it, he was declared USAC’s Most Improved Driver. The 34-year-old pilot started 24 of 27 USAC Sprint Car features and finished 12th in points with one top-five.

THE MOHAVE VALLEY SPEEDWAY in Arizona has new ownership as brother Ron and Misti Meyer and his bother Bill Meyer have purchased the speedway from Walt Carter. Bill Meyer is a former Modified track champion at the track and the speedway will feature that division on every race card in 2021. The Meyers are also adding new and additional lighting around the speedway.

Brandon Mattox declared USAC’s Most Improved Driver.

Photo: USAC Facebook

THE 10TH EDITION of Kokomo Speedway’s Sprint Car Smackdown will now reward the winner with a $15,000 payday. The USAC Sprint Cars will be in Kokomo, Indiana on August 25-27 for the Smackdown, which has been won three of the last four years by Tyler Courtney.

THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS Late Model Series has a new quick time award sponsor in Slick Woody’s Cornhole Company for 2021 and will reward $100 to the fastest qualifier each race. Slick Woody’s supported the WoO Sprint Cars in 2020 and will offer the same reward at that series’ races. In addition, Slick Woody’s has been announced as the Official Tailgate Partner of the World of Outlaws.

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SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.

THE USMTS MODIFIED SERIES has released their schedule and payouts and point fund and it is the largest in the history of the series. According to the release “With 36 nights of racing on the calendar, just the winners of those main events are set to take home $310,032 with more than $1 million earmarked for the payouts in those shows. Twenty-six of the 36 race nights will pay at least $10,000 to win. The other ten carry a $5,000 top prize. As if that weren’t enough, more than $230,000 is committed to the top ten finishers in the 2021 points standings of the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled

by Casey’s. A paycheck for a record $70,000 is reserved for the 2021 USMTS National Champion.”

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

White Knuckle Clothing Inc.

news

NOTES

&

PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY Over the offseason, Port Royal Speedway reinstalled their fourth turn guardrail, paved and expanded their entire pit area and also built a new shed for storing their clay.

All Photos: Dan DeMarco

www.portroyalspeedway.com

BAPS MOTOR SPEEDWAY The crew was busy in the winter months at BAPS Motor Speedway removing the infield tower to make room for the Jumbotron, removing the backstretch grandstands to expand the pits, installing a new guardrail in turns one and two and a new catchfence in turn four.

They also added new clay and banking to the race surface.

www.bapsmotorspeedway.com

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Salon at Studio B

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action

CAPTURE

Photo: Travis Branch

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Thomas Meseraull is a sensation indoors at the Chili Bowl in a Midget but he’s pretty exciting outside too, like this shot from Kokomo last summer.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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SKULL CANDY

the lighter side of

DIRT

ARRRRRGH! The old skull and crossbones. Bloomquist might just have a little pirate blood in him. Scott Bloomquist Late Model Star Photo: Paul Arch

THROWBACK! Skylar Gee’s All Star Sprint Car Tour design is an all star in our book!

Photo: Paul Arch

NYUK! NYUK! NYUK! Bruce Williams sports the Three Stooges on his head bucket while competeing in Big Block Modifieds Photo: Mike Feltenberger

NICE DECALS BUT where’s the car?

Christopher Bell came up with an ingenious method to highlight his sponsors on his car at Eldora – make sure that is the only thing that shows up!

Photo: Paul Arch

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

DID YOU GUYS not read the billboard? Jimmy White and Garrett Bard (95) tangled up their 305 Sprints at Williams Grove in late September.

Photo: Dan Demarco

Wehrs Machine & Racing Products DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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HOLY SHIRTS

the lighter side of

DIRT VINTAGE T-SHIRTS WITH holes, or new designs that are wholly awesome! We don’t care, if it’s a cool looking racing tee, we love ‘em!

CHAD MEYER FOUND his autographed t-shirt of North Dakota’s ageless Marlyn Seidler, who just completed his 46th year of competition with several wins. He came up a few points shy of winning his 20th championship.

PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID GILES was on board the Kahne Train early when he picked up this Kasey Kahne t-shirt during the 2000 season. That was the year Kahne won the USAC National Midget championship in his first year competing for it.

HOLY SHIRTS If you have a favorite vintage t-shirt or a new design that grabs your eye, send it to Dirt Empire Magazine at zoch24@hotmail.com with a quick quip about why you love it.

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GILES FOUND ANOTHER gem in his closet with this Earl Pearson Jr. shirt that harkens back to the early days of his partnership with Dunn-Benson Motorsports that lasted 17 years before ending prior to 2018.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

ZACK VANDERBEEK VanderBuilt Chassis

LEGAL TRACTION CONTROL

Stackable Bushing Torq Link

PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS INC.

INNOVATIVE RACE-WINNING PRODUCTS

920-832-2322 | www.RightFootPerformance.com

B-MAIN B-MOVIE Here’s a retread design by publisher Adam Cornell, using photos from John Clifford. It seemed like a joke a few years ago. After the success of ridiculous titles like Sharknado, maybe we should rethink this whole thing and pitch it to Netflix or SyFy!

White Knuckle Clothing Inc. Right Foot Performance Products, Inc.

in memorium

Photo: Paul Arch

SPRINT CAR LEGEND HAMILTON PASSES AS THE OWNER of one of the most famous Sprint Cars of all time, Manheim, Pennsylvania’s Al Hamilton’s iconic red number 77 sprint car was known throughout the country. Hamilton passed away on December 7 at the age of 91, 12 years after his wife of 58 years, Betty.

Hamilton was known as a generous owner that always had impeccable top-notch equipment that earned him 436 career feature wins. He helped launch and elevate the careers of top drivers like Stevie Smith, Lance Dewease, Fred Rahmer, Keith Kauffman and Lynn Paxton, all of whom are enshrined with him in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Photos: Paul Arch

LATE MODEL RACER FRANK SHICKEL PASSES FRANK SHICKEL WILL be remembered by his competition as fierce, well respected, and willing to help a young greenhorn. He had a contagious smile and was popular with the race fans.

Shickel, 80, from Bloomington, Illinois, passed on January 4. In a racing career that spanned over 50 years, Shickel raced throughout Central and Southern Illinois. Shickel won three track championships (1973,1976, 1977) at the Fairbury Speedway and had numerous feature wins. He stepped into a Late Model for the final time in 2012 and he was elected to the Peoria Speedway Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame, located in Rockford, in 2014. ~ Rocky Ragusa

Photo: Rocky Ragusa

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ICON GEORGE LANE PASSES IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS that we announce the passing of George Lane. Born and raised in Southwest Michigan, it is where George met his lifelong wife and partner, Janet, and they settled to raise their two sons, Doug and David. From humble beginnings to building an automotive powerhouse, George, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, entrepreneur, and racer, was a true pioneer. He had an unparalleled passion for cars, racing, and really anything with an engine! To feed this passion, George would make frequent trips to the Detroit area to purchase performance parts for himself and friends.

This ultimately led to his first startup, a part-time speed shop operated out of his garage. As this venture began to flourish, George started selling these parts to local racers and hot rod enthusiasts. His business grew quickly, and in 1964 Lane Automotive was formed. Not long after, in 1970, George launched Lane’s wholesale division, Motor State Distributing.

This division brought performance and racing parts from manufacturers across the country to locally owned speed shops and retailers throughout the Midwest. George later launched Allstar Performance, a brand focused on specialty racing parts and equipment.

Over its 57 years in business, Lane Automotive has grown into a multi-generational business which has had the privilege to be led by George, his children, and most recently, his grandchildren.

Under George’s leadership, fueled by his unwavering love for the industry, his company has grown into a well-recognized and highly respected brand, serving performance automotive enthusiasts around the world. Regardless of the company’s growth, however, George remained heavily involved in the race and hot rod scenes, and could often be found at local tracks on race day. He helped to support local tracks and racers, as well as to standardize many safety and certification practices across various sanctioning bodies. For this, George was honored with his induction into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Even after he formally retired, George continued to be actively involved with the company. He was a fixture at the annual Lane Automotive Car Show, and a regular at Cars and Coffee events where he could often be found swapping stories with customers he had known for decades. He lived life and built his company around a core set of values that are still at the epicenter of Lane Automotive culture: Accountability, Innovation, Integrity, Passion, and Respect. These values are forever central to our business, its employees, and the service we provide to our valued suppliers and customers.

George Lane both shaped and left an indelible mark on the automotive aftermarket, his family, and those he met throughout his full life. He will be greatly missed, but we are honored to carry his legacy forward for generations to come.

A small and private family funeral will be held in the coming days, and a celebration of George’s life is being scheduled for later this year. Please keep the Lane family in your thoughts and prayers.

- Allstar Performance

Photo: Allstar Performance

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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the funny side of THE TRACK

© 2021 Adam Cornell

By: Adam Cornell

“I guess the biggest thing I learned my first year of racing is that no matter what, never pull Pop’s finger.”

IT WAS GARY’S FIRST night camping with his new friends at the track. He was new to the sport of dirt track racing, and the whole social dynamic felt a bit foreign. Even though he didn’t understand everything they were talking about, he was having a great time drinking beers and swapping stories around the camp fire.

As the night drew on and the chatter from the other campsites began to die down, a voice called out loudly in the night air.

“Twenty-two!”

This brought a roar of laughter from everyone. Gary was perplexed. He had no idea what was so funny. Things calmed a bit and a few minutes later someone in a distant campsite called out, “Forty-six!” Again, there was laughter throughout the campsites.

The next morning Gary asked his friend Bob what it was all about.

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

“You see,” Bob said. “We’ve all been going to races together and camping together for so long that we’ve all heard the same jokes over and over again. We finally just decided to give them all numbers. So, somebody calls out a number, we all remember the joke, and we get a good chuckle.”

That night, just as the chatter from the campsites was winding down once again, a voice called out “Fourteen!”

The campsites erupted in laughter.

Gary, wanting to be a part of the goings on, mustered up courage and yelled out “Thirty-one!”

But he was met with the literal sound of crickets in the night air.

He turned to Bob and asked, “What happened?”

Bob shook his head and said, “Well, I guess some people can tell a joke and some people can’t.”

Brinn Inc. T&D Machine Products DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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review in PICTURES LATE MODEL

Winners January 9 – 1. Jonathan Davenport January 10 – 1. Ricky Thornton Jr. January 13 – 1. Jonathan Davenport January 15 – 1. Tyler Erb January 16 – 1. Tyler Erb January 17 – 1. Jonathan Davenport

2. Ricky Thornton Jr. 2. Jonathan Davenport 2. Tyler Erb 2. Ricky Thornton Jr. 2.Jonathan Davenport 2. Tyler Erb

3. Brian Shirley 3. Mike Marler 3. Jason Papich 3. Jonathan Davenport 3. Ricky Thornton Jr. 3. Ricky Thornton Jr.

!

The 2022 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts has been set for January 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, and 16 at FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway.

Photos: Mike Ruefer

Photo: Tom Macht Jonathan Davenport steering his way to victory lane. . .

. . .and Jonathan Davenport in victory lane with steers. Only at the Wild West Shootout!

Davenport in his Nutrien Ag Solutions sponsored number 49 never finished outside of the top three in all six nights of the Wild West Shootout, winning three of the six features.

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Photos: Terry Page

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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Dominator Race Products, Inc.

Photos: Tom Macht

T.Erb-o was T.errific on the T.rack (okay, we’ll stop.) Tyler Erb either won or was runner up in four out of five nights in Arizona.

For four nights it was Erb or Davenport finishing one and two.

Photos: Mike Ruefer

Even though Ricky Thornton Jr. won just one of the six nights at the Wild West Shootout, he placed in the top three five out of the six nights, putting in an extremely consistent and competitve effort.

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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review in PICTURES LATE MODEL

Guns a blazin’ - 2021 is off and runnin’!

Photo: Tom Macht

Johnny Scott and Billy Moyer getting after it in the desert. Photo: Mike Ruefer

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

New Mexico’s Garrett Alberson has the inside lane in this three wide tussle. Photo: Terry Page

Cody Laney eventually bested Mike Marler for fifth in the lid-lifter to the latter’s 10th. Photo: Mike Ruefer

Tyler Erb - midseason form in January! Photo: Mike Ruefer DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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action

CAPTURE

Photo: Tom Macht

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

The modifieds start another heat race as the Arizona sun slips out of view at the Wild West Shootout.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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short track

STARS Omaha, Nebraska

JACOB BROWN - MR. BRAGGING RIGHTS

By Lee Ackerman

BACK IN 2015, I-80 Speedway Promoter Joe Kosiski created the Bragging Rights Series by teaming with other area tracks to create a series for Grand National/Limited Late Model type cars. Eventually, I-80 changed the name of their Grand National class to the Bragging Rights Late Models.

Jacob Brown grew up around racing hanging out with the likes of Steve Kosiski, Dave Doll and Craig Preble, so the die was cast from the start. Nearly two decades ago, in 2002, Brown got his first taste of racing after Doll bought some flat karts and said, “here go figure out how to drive.”

In 2006, Steve Kosiski bought a late model from the Tilley family for Jacob and Steve Kosiski’s son Rob to drive. “For a while Rob and I couldn’t figure out if we were demo derby driving or racing late models,” said Brown. “It was a tough learning curve and there were many frequent flyer miles to the local frame shop.”

“It taught me how to get disciplined pretty quickly,” said Brown. “Steve made us figure out how to balance work and racing, as well as, if no one was in the shop, how

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Photo: Todd Boyd

to figure it out ourselves.” Those lessons in life so to speak, would pay off for Brown down the road.

Eventually, Brown bought an old car from Doll and continued racing out of the Doll shop and picked up a couple of wins while racing with brother Micah and Craig Preble. Then in 2013 when Preble had a bad accident, Brown moved into his shop and Bob Ward came over to help out. “I bought a car from Craig and destroyed it the second night out before I even had it paid for,” said Brown.

Eventually things started to fall in place and Brown started winning with consistency. At the end of 2016 Brown and Ward bought a 2016 Rocket XR-1 and suddenly Brown’s familiar 92 became a major factor in the Bragging Rights Late Model division. After posting just 11 wins from 2010 through 2016 the team started dominating the division.

In 2017 and 2018, they registered 16 wins and posted primarily top-three finishes every night and won the Kosiski Auto Parts Bragging Rights Championship at I-80 Speedway both years. They also

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

won back-to-back Bugeater Bash titles (an early season special event at I-80 Speedway) in that division and topped it off by winning the 2018 Bragging Rights Series Championship (featuring several race tracks).

In 2019, Brown repeated as both the I-80 Bragging Rights Champion and the Bragging Rights Series Champion and added the 2019 Shelby County Late Model championship, too. Brown also won the Shelby County Speedway’s season ending Tiny Lund Memorial race and said that it was “probably my favorite win in my career because the last time I was in victory lane at the Tiny Lund was when I was 15 and Craig Preble won it.”

“We bought the XR-1 at the end of the 2016 and we have worked on improving it ever since,” said Bob Ward. “I do what I can to make it better and Jacob does what he can to make it better and we have been pretty successful.”

Andrew Tilley, a third-generation driver who races against Brown on a weekly basis, says of Brown. “I guess you could say we are rivals and have been racing against

Having some fun at his home I-80 Speedway - last September.

Photo: Joe Orth

each other for a while. Jacob is probably the best the class has right now at I-80 although it is getting more competitive all the time. He has always raced me clean and I have never had a problem racing against him.”

When prodded on his secret to getting around I-80, Brown’s answer was short and sweet - “Stomp and Steer.” Asked what race he wanted to win at I-80, Brown said the GO 20 Bragging Rights Late Model Special sponsored by Malvern Bank that was added to this year’s Silver Dollar Nationals week.

Brown is the owner of Stone Creek Lawns and owns the car along with Bob Ward.

Ward is the crew chief of the operation and they are assisted in their efforts by Bobby Bolter and Big Ty. Certainly, moral support is provided by Brown’s wife Sarah and two sons, Aden and Asher. Mom and dad are always there providing support as well.

So, what’s Brown’s future plans. “Keep racing within our means. If some sponsor shows up and says here’s a super motor and a set of really good gas shocks, I’ll go racing with the Malvern Bank Series,” said Brown. “Until then, I have a business to run and other stuff to pay for, so we will keep affordably racing.”

“As Steve Kosiski and Dave Doll did with me, its my turn to pay it back and help the next generation of racers learn how to work on their cars and race. I have a six year old, Aden, and Craig Preble’s son (Preble is an ex-racer and former I-80 Speedway champion who was paralyzed in a swimming accident) racing the amateur

go kart class at Little Sunset Speedway (behind the I-80 Speedway grandstands).

They race out of my shop and we want to make sure they have the equipment to compete with any one that shows up.”

Speaking of Brown’s son Aden, just in case you think he’s just doing it to follow in dad’s footsteps, he reeled off eight wins last year including three special events wins. I think dad may have to look over his

shoulder down the road.

I think that says a lot about Brown and the future of local racing. If we are to keep it going we have to bring the next generation along and teach them the values of hard work and dedication. Then that next generation will experience not only the thrill of competition but all the friendships that are developed along the way.

Is there anything better than hanging out with your family in victory lane?

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moving

PICS SPEEDWAY CAR CAMS For nearly ten years, Michael Elliot has been placing cameras into the cars for amazing POV shots of what the drivers experience. We’re pretty big fans. Use the provided YouTube links or the QR codes to access the videos.

You can visit dirtempiremagazine.com for easy links as well.

BLOOMQUIST CLOSING OUT 2020 https://youtu.be/7InjSgf9bMY #0 Scott Bloomquist - Super Late Model - 12-5-20 The Grinch Volunteer Speedway

POINT YOUR SMART CAMERA PHONE AT THE QR CODE ABOVE TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

CODY OVERTON AT TALLADEGA ICE BOWL https://youtu.be/Nkgww_CVbXA #97 Cody Overton - 604 Crate Late Model - Ice Bowl 2021 Talladega Short Track

POINT YOUR SMART CAMERA PHONE AT THE QR CODE ABOVE TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

KENNY SCHRADER AT WINTER FREEZE 2021 https://youtu.be/7InjSgf9bMY #9 Ken Schrader - Southeastern Modified Series at Winter Freeze - 1-30-21 Screven Speedway

POINT YOUR SMART CAMERA PHONE AT THE QR CODE ABOVE TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

Leindecker Racing Engines, LLC DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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R ACETR A C K S PO TL IG HT

PETALUMA SPEEDWAY

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME

By Mark Sublett • Photos by M&M Photos IN THE GOLDEN STATE, raceways are plentiful but few have the history of Petaluma Speedway. Last year, the track celebrated 60 years of racing but it has been seen at the site for much longer - 84 years in fact.

The first recorded automobile race at the site where the speedway sits was in 1936 when local racing legend Ed Normi won the 30-lap race held at Kenilworth Park’s one-mile horse racing track. In 1948, a remodel of the grounds saw the current grandstands built where racers in the 1950s and 1960s competed on a quartermile dirt oval although configurations as large as 1/2 mile to 5/8ths are remembered over the years. Accomplished racer turned promoter Johnny Soares came along in the early 1960s and built the track to its current 3/8th mile configuration and racing has been the Saturday night attraction ever since.

Petaluma Speedway is located 40 miles north of San Francisco and 20 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. It is known for its native adobe clay surface. The dark, almost black, surface is so tacky it tries to

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pull your shoes off when walking across it and provides all the traction racing cars can handle. The cool moist marine air that rolls off the Pacific Ocean nightly provides just the right environment for a dust free racing surface. Decades ago, during a building boom, developers needed a place to dump that local adobe clay and Soares used it to his advantage. He allowed them to dump their dirt in exchange for the use of heavy equipment that was used to build

The local racers are loyal and one current streak that dates back 40 years shows just how loyal. up a hill on the backstretch where the pit grandstands now stand. He also built up the banks in the turns and built the on and off chutes we see today.

The track has always hosted the best racing divisions available while supporting

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

a strong weekly division. Petaluma currently runs 360 winged sprint cars, wingless spec sprints, dirt modifieds, super stocks, mini stocks and 600 micros as their track divisions with visits from the ASCS National Sprint Car Tour, Sprint Car Challenge Tour, King of the West/NARC 410 Sprint Cars, USAC/BCRA Midgets, USAC CRA and USAC West Coast 360s on their schedule yearly. The local racers are loyal and one current streak that dates back 40 years shows just how loyal. Shawn “Iron Man” McCoy has over 800 consecutive starts and has not missed a super stock race since the 1980 season. He doesn’t see himself hanging up his helmet anytime soon as he just drove to a second place finish last July 11th, finishing one spot behind winner Steve Studebaker who has been racing at the track himself since 1983.

THE SOARES LEGACY At an early age Johnny Soares fell in love with his lifetime partner Gladys and the two married in 1938. They had three children, John M., James and Joyce. John and Jim

Petaluma Speedway at dusk. Isn’t she lovely?

went on to race themselves and promote tracks like their dad. The elder Soares was a force to be reckoned with during his 17 years driving race cars. He raced midgets, hard tops, roadsters and stock cars in the 40s and 50s. He raced midgets with the Bay Cities Racing Association and later won the first two Hard Top Championships the association held in ‘49 and ‘50. One of his big accomplishments was winning a NASCAR Grand National race on May 30th, 1954 at the half mile Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California. He led the final 211 of 496 laps driving Charles Vance’s 1954 Dodge, the first ever of that make to win in California. Later, this division turned into the NASCAR Cup Series we know today.

In 1990, he was inducted into the Bay Cities Racing Association Hall of Fame, a year later into the Motor Sports Press Association Hall of Fame as a driver and promoter and in 2002 he became a West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame member.

In the late 1950s, when his driving career was ending, Soares became a key member of the Bob Barkhimer & Associates team. The group promoted 20 plus racetracks. Soares, along with Jerry Piper and Bert Moreland, managed tracks in Antioch and Petaluma among others that would hold races seven nights a week back then. According to Osborne, Soares would fly back and forth from the tracks that ran on the same night. He not only built Petaluma into what we see today, he also built and promoted Antioch Speedway and had a hand in the long gone West Capitol Speedway’s layout as well as several other tracks. Soares and wife Gladys took over

full ownership of Petaluma Speedway from Barkhimer and Associates in 1976 and held it until his retirement in 2002.

Soares was a trendsetter. In 1987, he was the first promoter to start a dirt modified division on the west coast. Now, more than thirty years later, the division is still going strong at Petaluma and is a staple at others. According to Osborne, “John was a promoter. To get the stories and results out we would type out 34 copies and send them to all the papers.

When he wanted the results to get into National Speed Sport News, he got a machine that we would put my race report in and it would spin that connected to the phone line. It was the predecessor to the modern day FAX machine. He wouldn’t let me call till after midnight when the phone rates went down.” Osborne chuckles and goes on to say, “He was always trying things from open shows to luring the best racers to compete at his track. He didn’t like dusty tracks and he didn’t like any downtime. He would say he never wanted to give the fans a chance to wish they were somewhere else.”

Once “Old Man” Soares, as he was commonly referred, got ready to retire, he tabbed his son Jim and his wife Karen to take over Petaluma. Jim had a long understanding of how the racing business worked having promoted Merced Speedway way back when and he was also the man responsible for preparing and maintaining Baylands and San Jose Speedway. His prep acumen earned him the nickname “Dr. Dirt” along the way. Karen and her twin sister Marilyn handled the concessions as

well as other duties such as running the pit booth, etc. Jim and Karen took the reins of the Petaluma Speedway in 2003 and never looked back. Jim created the “Johnny Soares Classic” after his father’s passing in 2007 and was a force in the Northern California racing scene.

FAETH IN A NEW LEADER Eventually, retirement came closer for Jim and he too kept an eye on the guy he wanted to succeed him. Retired midget racer and former Shasta Speedway promoter Rick Faeth recalls, “Well, he started showing up at Shasta and always used the same excuse that he was in Corning at Mike Ryan’s rummaging through vintage parts. Not sure if it was the truth, but he would watch the races and then split without even talking to me. I’d be like ‘what the hell, he didn’t even say goodbye.’ By my fourth year at Shasta, we were getting ready to leave Reno after the promoters workshop and we get our cars loaded and it’s dumping snow and getting dark. Jim says, ‘let’s go back in and have one more pop’. So, we go in and he proceeds to tell me that he’s got a young guy in mind that he wants to take over. Had his eye on the guy for some time, thinks he’s trainable.

So, I’m like ‘who?’ And he says, ‘YOU, ya big dummy’ in a George Sanford voice. So, I told him I had commitments to do one more year at Shasta and then soon after we consummated an agreement and I took over in 2012.”

After promoting Shasta Speedway for five years and getting some experience, Faeth learned a lot from Jim, “Jim was whip smart, very mechanically inclined, and

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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The John Soares Classic Midget Special is about to get underway.

I’m convinced the guy could fix just about anything. He just wasn’t the most gifted person socially. He didn’t suffer fools lightly and could be a hard ass. But he was fair and he stood by his staff when there were mistakes. That’s called loyalty and it is can’t be bought. That’s the most important thing I learned from Jim. That, and don’t lose a racer over a $50 squabble. Jim prepared the track my first two years, but by 2014 he was wanting to do more vintage midget excursions and less track prep so we were doing it on alternate weeks.

Mine sucked, so he’d have to spend his weeks fixing my errors. By August, he had been diagnosed with a rare brain disease and within three weeks he was gone. I soldiered on and continued to struggle. I brought in the legendary George “Dry Slick” Hawkins during an off week to move dirt and watched him. Something seemed to click because I developed my own style of grading, prepping, and watering and it seems every year we get better and more consistent track surfaces. When I say consistent, sure the place is a hooked up, fast joint, but what I strive for is to have the track as wide and as smooth as possible because I hate seeing broken race cars in my pit area,” said Faeth.

When asked about how he become interested in promoting races, Faeth said, “I don’t know that anyone ever starts out wanting to be a promoter. If that was the case then they should probably go seek some psychiatric help. I wanted to win the Indy 500 but that wasn’t in the cards. My earliest memory was when I was actually Bob Barkhimer’s paper boy when I was a kid. I used to ask him questions about the industry and he always complained that everything he ever tried he lost his ass on except for hardtops....HAH! I remember

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picking Rick Farren’s (former promoter of San Jose, Watsonville and Antioch Speedways) brain a time or two when I was helping to book BCRA events. I asked a lot of questions of Bob & Nadine Strauss (former promoters of Lakeport Speedway) who were extremely helpful. I don’t know, I had a lot of support from folks that encouraged me to give it an attempt so when the opportunity was presented; we signed up. Now, 14 years later we’re still banging our head against the wall.”

“Right out of the box we were able to cultivate a relationship with Ed Coughenour of Pit Stop USA that has helped our track and series with brand recognition as well as sponsorship revenue and a mountain of contingency opportunities for the racers.

That was our first big high. Certainly, being able to obtain a pair of contract extensions in order to keep the venue open are right up there. Jim Soares warned me that I might only have five years tops here. We’ve

Dr. Dirt - Jim Soares - addresses the driver’s meeting before the race he held in honor of his father John.

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

been here nine years with two more to go on the current contract so those have both been big pluses. I’ve always been a huge supporter of female racers. I believe it is really the only sport that women can compete on the same platform equally as men. Some race nights we’ll have as many as a dozen female racers competing here at Petaluma Speedway in various classes; that’s diversity working. I’m extremely proud that we’ve had back-to-back female wingless sprint car champions in Shayna Ensign and Angelique Bell. In terms of lows, the loss of Marcus Johnson really took a lot out of my sails personally, and for the entire local racing community. There was no doubt in my mind that he would have been another successful racer to emerge from a four generation racing family.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has set the world on its head and affected everything from restaurants to racetracks. Petaluma is no exception, “Being a state fairgrounds

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stars a place to race regardless.

The hopes for this pandemic to be controlled in time for the 2021 season is high. We all want to see Petaluma Speedway’s loyal fan base and all other tracks for that matter to once again fill the grandstands to see high speed race cars sliding sideways on the gumbo clay.

Sparky Howard takes an honor The track has faced lap for Dr. Dirt - Jim Soares. adversity before. An attempt to turn it into a minor league baseball park failed run entity we have oversight from various but a shopping center has been built only bureaucratic offices. We have our safety feet away from the pits creating an uneasy operating guidelines in place and are feeling of the city closing in. The entire awaiting the call to reopen from the county fairgrounds facility is facing the looming public health department,” said Faeth. end of a 30-year lease in 2023 and there That call from the local county did come and Petaluma Speedway was one of the are talks of a major reuse of the land that may or may not include the track. few tracks to go all in and hold as many “Old Man” Soares built a track that has races as possible. Between the pandemic seen a million laps turned and has possibly spikes and area wildfires cancelling a entertained a like number of fans over few, Faeth and his crew managed to hold 18 races, all with no fans in the stands. its 60 year history. The Soares name will forever be associated with the track that They shuffled some dates to Sundays so has stood the test of time for now and Flo Racing could broadcast all the races will continue being the fastest 3/8 mile live on their network which helped some dirt oval in Northern California into it’s but it was not ideal. In 2020, Petaluma uncertain future.

Speedway was there providing all the local

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Current Petaluma promoter Rick Faeth interviews Maria Cofer.

VISIT: WWW.PETALUMA-SPEEDWAY.COM

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MODIFIED

a main FEATURE

CHAZ BACA

TEARING UP THE WEST

By Doug Kennedy • Photos by Melissa Coker FOR A GOOD CHUNK of the 2020 season, it looked like a 23-year-old from Arizona was in line to win the prestigious IMCA Modified National Title. In the end, when all the points were counted and races were won, Chaz Baca ended up finishing sixth while winning the IMCA West Region and the Arizona State IMCA Modified points.

Baca was disappointed that he was not able to hold onto the lead and win the National IMCA title. Tom Berry ended up winning the title with Baca finishing 17 points behind. He has three primary reasons that he couldn’t hold onto the lead: “We start the season earlier and then other divisions like the Midwest start kicking in.” Berry was one of those drivers from the Midwest who had more wins than Chaz as well. “Not having as many wins hurt me,” Baca said. “And having a little bit of bad luck contributed, too.”

“It would have been huge to win that title,” Baca said. But winning the West Region was very important for Chaz.

“When you look at how many states are in the region, it’s definitely exciting to have

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accomplished this.”

The points are decided by taking the best 20 finishes out of the first 40 races run by the end of September. Baca got off to a quick start following tracks re-opening by winning seven of his first 22 starts. He won two races in the Arizona Dirt Track Tour that included besting Arizona’s state racing hero Ricky Thornton, Jr. Overall, he won a career best 16 features this past season, including five at Cocopah Speedway and four more at Battle Mountain Raceway, winning track titles at both.

Baca also travelled to some other states and tracks that included New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas to make up for the loss of races due to the pandemic.

In all, he raced at 13 different tracks.

JUST 23 BUT A LOT OF LAPS Baca began his racing career when he was nine in a go-kart. Four years were spent on the dirt and one other year he raced his kart on the asphalt. During his four years racing dirt karts, he picked off two state championships and four track

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

championships for the Arizona Karting Association. In his only year racing asphalt karts, Chaz won the championship at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association.

Once he completed that, Baca moved to mod-lites in 2011. At the time, he was just finishing up his asphalt kart days. Through those five seasons, the Mesa, Arizona resident captured the Arizona Mod Lite Association championship.

“I won a lot of features except for the one season, we didn’t run for track championships,” Baca said. “I was just racing and having some fun.”

Midway through 2014, Chaz began racing a modified. In 2014, he captured the Southwest Modified Rookie of the Year. The following year he won the Central Arizona Speedway championship and then in 2016, he captured the Southwest Modified championship and two track titles, one at Central Arizona Speedway and the other at Arizona Speedway. In 2017, he won the Canyon Speedway Park championship and then repeated at Canyon the following season as well as another at Arizona Speedway.

Chaz celebrates with pops after a win at Battle Mountain last summer.

Last season, Baca won the track title at USA Raceway. Since joining the IMCA Series in 2014, Baca has 51 feature wins to his credit.

As for IMCA, Baca had this to say. “It’s affordable and they (IMCA) keep their rules consistent. I also like the fact that they have a presence which allows us to race wherever we go.”

A FATHER-SON DUO When it’s time to go on the road, the travel usually entails Chaz and his dad, Chaz, Sr. (Charles) “It’s usually just the two of us for the weekend,” Baca said about his crew. “We split the crew chief duties. My mom (Dawn) will go when she can but she works a lot.”

“We pretty much do this together as a 50-50 split,” his dad Charles said. “We do it as a father/son deal and it’s always been that way.”

“He gets better every year,” said Charles of his son’s ability to drive a race car.

“When I first started to finance the team, I would buy cheap parts until he proved himself and then we would end up getting

better equipment and he would dominate.

He actually dominated in whatever division he has been in. He’s a smart driver that doesn’t push the envelope and more importantly, doesn’t tear equipment up.

He’s always looking ahead but he’s not going to rough somebody up to take the lead. That’s just not his style.”

We went from racing each other with toy cars to racing against each other on the track.

“We made an awesome deal when he was in high school. He was a straight A student and I told him as long as he keeps his grades up, he could go racing. I’m very proud of him and he’s got a lot of talent,” said Charles.

Charles Baca did some racing with street stocks and modifieds, mainly racing at Canyon Speedway Park and Manzanita Speedway, which was located in Phoenix, Arizona. He also won a track championship in the Figure 8 Division. “I started racing at age 15,” said Charles. “It was at a small asphalt track in Colorado, Beacon Hills Speedway which was located in Pueblo, Colorado. That’s where I cut my teeth in racing.”

“I was at the tracks, but I really don’t

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Baca en route to an IMCA.TV Winternationals victory score at Cocopah Speedway this January.

remember because I was one or two at the time,” Chaz said.

“As a young kid, all I wanted to do was play with my Hot Wheels whether it was making a track in the dirt or on a carpet so I guess you could say I was destined to be in a race car at some point,” Baca said about his youth.

“My dad was also the flagman at Canyon Speedway Park so my friends and I used to make racetracks in the dirt for us to race around on instead of actually watching the races going on. A few of those friends grew up to race modifieds. We went from racing each other with toy cars to racing against each other on the track.”

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN IN THE OFF SEASON? “We get a group of people, like family and friends, and go bowling.”

- Chaz Baca

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FULL-TIME GIG? Once Chaz graduated from high school, he went to Mesa Community College and earned an Associate Degree in Automotive Technology. He’s put that degree to good use as he currently serves as a landscaping mechanic for IDT Landscaping that is located in Tempe, Arizona. “I do the upkeep on small equipment like mowers, grass trimmer, and weed whackers and

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

also do the upkeep on their trucks that they use to haul their stuff. I’m content wherever I can race for a living. I would like to race for a living instead of having to work. It’s always been a dream of mine to go racing full-time.”

“I would like to see him fulfill his dream of racing for a living no matter what division he might be in,” Charles added.

As for the future of local/regional racing, Baca feels that it is making a comeback.

“Local racing used to be huge when I was growing up but then took a big fall for a while. Over the last few years, I’ve seen it start to pick back up. I think it’s only going to get bigger and a lot may be due to the virus that has attacked the world. People have been wanting to go to the local tracks just to get out of the house and I’ve also seen more and more kids starting to get back into racing within the last couple of years which only helps grow the local scene even more.”

With all the success Baca has experienced, particularly lately, he knows that without the help of his mom and dad, he wouldn’t be doing this at all. “They have

been the biggest part of my racing career,” Baca said. “They have given me everything they can to keep me on the track and moving forward. Again, I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”

BIGGEST, RICHEST, FAVORITE •

•

•

The highlight to Chaz Baca’s racing career to date is the time he beat Ricky Thornton, Jr. at Arizona Speedway during the Arizona Mod Tour early in 2020. “That’s a big deal for me because beating him was so special because he’s a really good racer.”

His biggest win, financially, came at Canyon Speedway Park in 2017 when he won a $3,000 to win race. “I’ve won a lot of $1,000 to win races but that was my biggest.”

His one dream race to win is the IMCA Duel in the Desert held in November.

“I’ve done it five times and my best finish was a 6th place.”

facebook.com/chazbacaracing

Leindecker Racing Engines, LLC DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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covid-19

CHRONICLES

Racing during the 2020 season was a challenge for most drivers across North America due to the rules and restrictions in response to the Covid-19 virus. Some of those issues may continue into the 2021 season. The goal of these stories is not to highlight political or social controversy, but rather to chronicle the hurdles faced and overcome in the quest to keep racing. Let’s go racing!

LATE MODEL

THE INSIDE STORY OF ONE CANADIAN’S QUEST TO RACE IN THE USA

By Bert Lehman • Photos by Jacy Norgaard

ENTERING THE 2020 race season, Aaron Turnbull of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, planned to race in 12-15 dirt shows in North Dakota and Canada, with the expected highlight of the year trying to defend his John Seitz Memorial victory at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Much like the rest of us, all his plans for 2020 quickly went up in smoke!

“I was pretty much forced to race in Canada, except for the one we went to in Grand Forks, North Dakota,” Turnbull said.

“Our home race track here in Estevan was shut down for basically what would have been our first two months of the season.”

The one race in Grand Forks that Turnbull referred to was the John Seitz

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Memorial race in September. It was a race he almost wasn’t able to attend.

When the U.S./Canadian border closed because of COVID-19 in the spring, Turnbull said he hoped it would be open by the time the John Seitz Memorial race was scheduled. But as each month passed, and with the Seitz race getting closer, Turnbull started to wonder if he would be able to defend his victory in the race.”

“In early August, I kind of figured it was looking like they were going to keep extending it (border closure),” Turnbull said.

With no end in sight for the border closure, Turnbull researched several different scenarios on how to get across the border with his . “I kind of had in my mind that I didn’t want to miss it and I was

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

going to exhaust every avenue to try and get there,” Turnbull said.

One option he considered was having his shipped across the border. Fellow competitor Brad Seng owns a business that had trucks crossing the border in that area a couple times each week.

“We were looking into having him haul it (Turnbull’s) back because when they’re headed back down that way he’s empty every time, so it would have been easy to put a car in there,” Turnbull said. “Then it would have been just a matter of me getting to Grand Forks and racing it there.

We looked at that but then we started talking to brokers and they were almost treating it like a street vehicle and worried about EPA standards and all that sort of

Aaron Turnbull went above and beyond just to attempt to defend his title at the North Dakota’s John Seitz Memorial last September.

safety stuff. That basically wasn’t going to be an option.”

Realizing that plan wasn’t going to work, Turnbull spoked with others who had crossed the border earlier in the summer and he devised a plan in which he would haul his late model across the border himself on a “commercial trip.” This plan would require Turnbull to quarantine for 14 days once he returned to Canada.

“I still wasn’t 100% sure it was going to work until I actually got on the U.S. side of the border,” Turnbull said.

The plan did work and he was successful in crossing the border with his late model.

Because of the difficulty crossing the border, his plan was for only him to cross the border, meaning his pit crew and family would have to remain in Canada.

“The way that I was approaching the border was basically that I was going down to pick up supplies for my business, which I did,” Turnbull said. “If I had my whole family with me, then it would be pretty obvious I’m not just going to pick up supplies for my business.”

Turnbull said anybody who would have crossed the border with him would

have had to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Canada and this wasn’t an option for his kids. “I was pretty much the only one who could work from home and take the two weeks and isolate in my shop,” Turnbull said. “Anybody else would have had to take the two weeks off from work or school and it just wasn’t realistic.”

The plan did work and he was successful in crossing the border with his late model.

When Turnbull arrived at River Cities Speedway, he said some drivers were surprised he was in the pit area.

Even though the Seitz Memorial race was in September, Turnbull had raced only three times in 2020 prior to the Seitz Memorial. All three of those races were in Canada.

“I kind of shook the dust off the car, I guess, and found some issues with it (car) that we were able to fix before going to Grand Forks, so that was good,” he said.

A head gasket problem was one of the

issues discovered in the races leading up to the Seitz Memorial race. “We really didn’t have time between there and going to Grand Forks to get the engine out and get it over to my engine builder and get him to fix it and bring it back,” Turnbull said. “We had to basically do it in the car and have him (engine builder) send us a couple of gaskets and get this thing ready for Grand Forks. There wasn’t a whole lot of time. My dad and I took the heads off and put new gaskets on. I guess we did it right because it held together.”

During the Thursday night portion of the Seitz Memorial, Turnbull finished second in his heat race after drawing the outside pole. “I wasn’t too concerned about Thursday night,” Turnbull said. “It’s more of a test and tune for me. If I don’t finish all that great, that’s fine. I just try to keep the car in one piece and adjust from there.”

A successful Friday night put Turnbull on the front row for the 92-lap feature on Saturday night. Entering the race, Turnbull said he didn’t have any intentions of taking the lead at the start of the race. He stuck with his strategy and let some drivers by. “I wasn’t too concerned about it because we

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still had a long way to go, even with the fuel stop,” Turnbull said.

Starting in third after the mandatory caution for a fuel stop, Turnbull said he got a good start to move to second and then “rode there pretty good for awhile. I wanted to just log some laps,” he said.

“With about 30 laps to go I found a line and I thought I better get ahead of A.J. (Diemel) before he finds this line I’m running because I felt like I was running them down a little bit because of that line. We exchanged the lead a couple of times, got out front there, and felt pretty comfortable. The last 10 laps my line was really going away and I probably should have moved around a little bit, but I had no idea if I had a lead. I kind of felt like I might have had a bit of a lead like that the year before, but evidently, they were closing in on me and I was just barely able to hang onto it at the end. But that’s all that matters.”

When the checkered flags flew, Turnbull had won his second Seitz Memorial race in a row and the $9,200 prize money that went with the top spot. This victory was by less than a car length over Diemel.

When asked what the secret to his success is in the Seitz Memorial race, Turnbull responded, “I don’t know if I want to give any secrets away! I guess the biggest thing is staying calm and not worrying about winning it on the first lap,

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Quarantine? Bring. It. On!

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

There was something missing from his victory – his family and pit crew, who were still in Canada.

which that is kind of the case in any race as far as I’m concerned. Even 30-lappers, 25-lappers, I feel like I’m just starting to get going at the end of the race. I just feel like this long race kind of suits my style. I don’t really get up there and blast the cushion from the start. I like to search around a little bit and not get too excited. I can drive pretty hard whenever I need to.”

As one would expect, Turnbull was happy to repeat as the race winner but there was something missing from his victory – his family and pit crew, who were still in Canada. “It was a lot more fun in 2019 when I could get out of the car, or at least

take my helmet off and see all those guys and how excited they were,” Turnbull said.

“I wish I could have seen their faces this year too. Hopefully, we’re back to normal next year.”

After the excitement of the victory calmed down, Turnbull had to once again set his sights on crossing the U.S./ Canadian border to get home. “When I crossed the border, I told them I went down for commercial (business) but I did end up doing some personal stuff, too, so that basically put me into the category where I needed to quarantine and self-isolate,” Turnbull said.

This required Turnbull to provide his phone number, email address and the address where he would be doing his quarantine to Canadian authorities. He was required to drive straight to that property and stay there for 14 days.

“If you are caught off the property you could face up to a $1 million fine and 6-12 months in jail,” Turnbull said. Luckily for Turnbull, the business he owns is located on the property he quarantined at.

After having time to look back at the experience, Turnbull admitted that crossing the border was stressful, but the extra stress was worth it for the Seitz Memorial race.

“Even if I hadn’t won it, it still would have been worth it because I just really enjoy the race and what the track and the Seitz family have put into it,” Turnbull said.

Of course, winning the race made it extra special. “It was definitely worth the trip!”

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review in PICTURES MIDGETS

ONE MAN’S REVIEW

LARSON GOES BACK TO BACK FOR SECOND DRILLER

Oklahoma’s David Campbell was one of the lucky photographers chosen to have access to every lap of the Tulsa Shootout and the 35th edition of Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We lobbed him some quick questions to get one man’s review (and opinion) of six nights of racing.

Photo: Buck Monson

BEST RACE OF THE CHILI BOWL? Actually, this is one of the toughest questions because there were some good ones. But to single it out, I’m going to go with the Friday Night Feature that Justin Grant pulled off a great win. The action was all over the place including Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s amazing comeback run from the C, B and then from the back to finish third. The top five were throwing haymaker slide jobs all over the track with a lot of three-wide, white-knuckled racing.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WEAR A MASK FOR SIX DAYS? Ok, I’m going to shoot straight with you all.

As a photographer at the Chili Bowl, up until this week and because of streaming/ TV coverage, we were not allowed to wear a mask in the infield due to the perception it gives to the watching audience. Now, that being said, a lot of people in the stands would end up bringing a mask because of the dust, especially in the higher up seats. That was common to see. For me, I embraced it because I knew it would help with the dealing of dust.

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Photo: David Campbell

WHAT WAS THE STRANGEST PART OF THE COVID BOWL? For those who go to Tulsa to be at the Chili Bowl, you probably know how crazy it is with the pit area and the number of fans gathered around the trailers just to catch a glimpse of their favorite drivers, well it seemed to be bare. It was exactly that, strange, completely strange.

BIGGEST SURPRISE PERFORMANCE? Daryn Pittman was my surprise driver of the week. He put together a very solid showing for his preliminary night where we finished second in the heat and qualifier and fifth in the A. On Saturday, he transferred into the A and sealed the deal coming from 20th to finish 5th. That kind of finish, my friend, was a nice surprise in my book.

DRIVER MOST LIKELY TO WIN HIS FIRST CHILI BOWL NEXT? We now know that you cannot count out Cannon McIntosh as the next first time Chili Bowl winner. The kid was on a rail every time he hit the track. Winning back-to-back preliminary A-mains while finishing 4th on Saturday on the biggest stage. Cannon seems to have really figured out the Chili Bowl layout and being a hometown boy doesn’t hurt either. KKM and Cannon really seems to jive and could possibly produce a Driller in their future.

HARDEST CRASH? With 69 being the official flip count, I’m going to go with the one that was violent and probably everyone knew was bound to happen - Christopher Bell’s. It had everything you’re looking for: drama, excitement, violence, heartbreak, sparks, airtime - you name it, it had it. The great thing is that he was ok and walked away but I’m sure he’s probably still feeling it.

Laps were winding down and it was time to give it all which is what he did.

Roger Crockett (45x) leads the field in the first qualifier of the week on Monday evening.

Photo: Buck Monson

heard around the dirt world”) and cemented the MVP of the Chili Bowl to J-Mac. On Thursday night. Jason had a rough start finishing 5th in his heat and that put him in the C-main which he won. He then started 11th in the B and ran all the way up to 1st with just a couple laps left when the caution came out. While idling around, all of sudden, the engine just shuts off. The

night had ended for J-Mac as the engine refused to fire back up. The interesting thing about that moment, still today, they have no clue as to the real reason why it shut off. And with that, it takes us to Saturday.

Around the pit area, there was this growing interest about McDougal starting in the I feature and how long it takes till he just runs out of luck because the features Human quote machine Thomas Meseraull brought his game on and off the track all week long.

BEST INTERVIEW? T-Mez (Thomas Meseraull) had the best interview. That’s it. That’s the answer.

ONE CHANGE YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN 2022?

Well, the biggest complaint I’ve seen so far, and I have to agree, was that it wasn’t until 11:30pm CST before they started the A-main on Saturday. I don’t know the best answer to that, although I’ve seen a lot of suggestions but that is way too late when there was a lot of waiting around.

FAVORITE PRELIMINARY NIGHT? Has to be the Cannon McIntosh win for sure. The pure excitement by his family, friends and crew was something very hard to reproduce. I feel that this is going to be a driver to watch this year in USAC because that preliminary night win wasn’t a fluke by any means.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? JASON MACDOUGAL FOR MVP? I’m going to lump these two questions together because it was the most memorable moment (outside the “bird

Photo: Buck Monson DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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By this time, the crowd cheered JMac on so much that it created the wave as he drove past them while they stood up and showed him some love.

Jason McDougal - Chili Bowl MVP. Photo: David Campbell

leading up to his was a display of wrecking carnage. I saw Jason at the top of the ramp and said “well, you ready for this?” and in the most nonchalant calming way, he said “go big or go home, right?” The fist bump was made, nothing else was said and boy did he go BIG! I feature – 1st H feature – 2nd G feature – 2nd F feature – 2nd E feature – 2nd A total of 49 cars passed leading up to the D feature. By this time, the crowd

cheered him on so much that it created the wave as he drove past them while they stood up and showed him some love. Also cheering him on was most of the social media platforms and he was trending on Twitter. This was being watched by anyone who had access to FloRacing and wasn’t under a rock.

He rolled out 17th in the D feature with competition getting noticeably tougher.

Green flag fell and J-Mac did what J-Mac does, sends it! With 15 laps to work with to get into the top 5, he pushed the car as hard as I’ve seen someone push one in a long time. Jason passes Ryan Bernal clean coming out of turn four to claim the

5th place transfer spot. He gets through one and two and takes off down the back straight and going into turn three, Bernal gets underneath him and ends up turning McDougal around - ending his incredible run. At that moment, Ryan Bernal instantly dethroned Sammy Swindell as the most hated person at the Chili Bowl. [Bernal was DQd and personally apologized to MacDougal shortly after in the pits.]

Overall, I think the Chili Bowl was a success considering everything stacked up against them to not have it. The fans really helped by complying with a mask requirement with very little issues and everyone involved in putting it on should all be commended for making it all happen.

The Bowl of Chili was great, and I can’t wait for another.

Oh, and, by the way, Kyle Larson won another big race.

PURSLEY EARNS ROOKIE HONORS A star-studded field of 76 Rookie of the Year contenders converged on Oklahoma for the Chili Bowl but the highest finishing first-timer was home state teenager Daison Pursley. He finished 10th in a B-main to narrowly beat out fellow teenagers Jessie Love and Jacob Denney. This continues a streak of hyped teenagers winning RoY accolades that includes Buddy Kofoid, Zeb Wise and Gio Scelzi. The last person aged 20 and above to win the award was Donny Schatz in 2017.

Pursley, however, does have a Chili Bowl victory to hang his hat on as he won the Virtual Chili Bowl back in May of 2020.

Photo: David Campbell

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Dominator Race Products T&D Machine Products

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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MIDWEEK MASTERS

Winning a Chili Bowl preliminary feature would be the apogee of a career for over 300 Chili Bowl entrants but two guys just can’t stop doing it in the midweek shows.

Photo: Buck Monson Photo: Buck Monson

A Feature (55 Laps): 1. 01-Kyle Larson[2] 2. 2J-Justin Grant[1] 3. 08-Tanner Thorson[11] 4. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[4] 5. 21-Daryn Pittman[20] 6. 89-Chris Windom[14] 7. 17S-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[12] 8. 1R-Brad Sweet[19] 9. 1S-Spencer Bayston[15] 10. 39-Logan Seavey[17] 11. 39B-Cole Bodine[24] 12. 25X-Alex Bright[7] 13. 27W-Colby Copeland[23] 14. 84X-Christopher Bell[3] 15. 7C-Tyler Courtney[6] 16. 97-Rico Abreu[5] 17. 52-Blake Hahn[13] 18. 3G-Kyle Cummins[10] 19. 67-Michael Kofoid[8] 20. 72-Chase Johnson[21] 21. 7X-Thomas Meseraull[9] 22. 21H-Brady Bacon[16] 23. 3N-Jake Neuman[22] 24. 49J-Joe B Miller[18]

RICO ABREU - WEDNESDAYS 2019 – Win 2015 – Win* 2020 – Win 2016 – Win* 2021 – Win 2017 – No transfer *also won Chili Bowl 2018 – Win

Photo: Buck Monson

CHRISTOPHER BELL - THURSDAYS 2018 – Win* 2015 – Fifth 2019 – Win* 2016 – Win 2020 – Win 2017 – Win* 2021 - Win *also won Chili Bowl

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the beauty of RACING A magical night sky during Lucas Oil Speedway’s Diamond Nationals.

Photo: Mike Musslin

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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series INSIGHTS WONDERLING, WEAVER HEADLINE RUSH CHAMPIONS

JEREMY WONDERLING Photo: Jim Balentine

THE 2020 SEASON PROVIDED plenty of challenges throughout the racing industry but the Pace Performance RUSH Racing Series together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC 2020 season went on despite them and actually drew large car counts to their events. The division was also proud to welcome the RUSH Karting Series into the fold for 2020.

In the RUSH Late Model Division, Jeremy Wonderling continued to be the man as he earned his third consecutive touring title.

He was ultra-consistent in the RUSH Late Model Touring Series and never finished lower than sixth in six events and scored nine wins in weekly competition to win his first National Weekly Series Championship over five time champion Max Blair.

Wonderling won $5,000 for earning it. The 40-year-old racer from Wellsville, New York, also scored the Bradford Speedway track title.

“Financially, RUSH is the smartest thing to do and the most economical,” stated

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Wonderling, who also dabbled in Super Late Models in 2020. “It’s hard not to run the RUSH Series for what they pay and what Vicki Emig and Mike Leone do for the series. I have to give a shout out to Joel Smith of Close Racing Supply, Jim Stephens from Penske Shocks, and Jason Ore from 955, who all keep my racing

I love the series and it’s very economical.

- Chas Wolbert. program going.”

Although it was his rookie campaign in a RUSH Sprint Car, Jeremy Weaver won the Equipment Rentals Weekly Series Championship. The 19-year-old won five times in the Hull Racing 41 with wins coming at Lernerville, Sharon, Tri-City, and Tyler County Speedways. The Stoneboro, Pennsylvania, racer is also a past winner in the RUSH Sportsman Modified division,

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

where he won the 2017 “Futures Cup”.

Weaver is going 410 sprint car racing in 2021, RUSH will retain the championship caliber call as Rod George will return to racing and pilot the Hull Racing entry.

“I’ve been involved in racing my entire life and there is no other track or series that has ever had a point fund like the RUSH Series,” said Hull. “It’s all about the points. There are rules that are working that would never work for any other track or series and that’s because they tech so well.

When the race is over, you better be right because they will be looking.”

“It’s been a blessing for me,” said Weaver. “I started my career through RUSH. It has given me a great stepping stone for other types of racing in the future. It’s an affordable and diverse division for anyone from beginners to future hall of famers who haven’t raced in a couple of years.”

In the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, Chas Wolbert broke a streak of non-title winning podium finishes and won his first

2020

RUSH CHAMPIONS

Jeremy Wonderling (Late Model National Weekly & Touring Series) Logan Zarin (Late Model Futures Cup) Kassidy Kamicker (Late Model Wheelman) Jeremy Weaver (Sprint Car Equipment Rental Options Weekly Series) Nolan Groves (Sprint Car Futures Cup) Chas Wolbert (Sportsman Mod Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Weekly Series) Rob Kristyak (Sportsman Mod Wedge Motorsports Route 7 Rumble) Ayden Cipriano (Hovis Sportsman Mod Futures Cup) Dennis Lunger, Jr. (Pro Mod Weekly Series) RUSH KARTING SERIES Jay Groves (Adult Flat) Nolan Groves (JR-2) Ryan Chase (JR-1) Kaden Pyle (Amateur/Rookie).

JEREMY WEAVER Photo: Joe Secka

RUSH title. A former mod lite racer, Wolbert grabbed 11 feature wins and the 26-yearold now has the career lead in the division with 33.

“I love the series and it’s very economical,” said Ohio’s Wolbert, who finished second in the Route 7 Rumble Series points. “It’s the closest thing to having a big block modified without spending $40,000 for a motor. Vicki did a great job of trying to keep us racing in 2020. I’m sure they (Vicki and Mike) will continue to work hard in the offseason to get us places to race and do things to expand our car counts.”

Meanwhile, Rob Kristyak lessoned

the sting of losing the RUSH Sportsman Modified title to Wolbert by defeating him in the inaugural “Route 7 Rumble” Series Championship presented by Wedge Motorsports. He did so by garnering the most points at all Raceway 7 and Sharon Speedway events in 2020.

A 17-year veteran of the big block modifieds, Kristyak moved into the RUSH Sportsman Mods in 2017. “We’ve been really enjoying it,” Kristyak said of the Sportsman division. “It’s very competitive and there are a lot of top runners out there.

For a limited budget team like ours, it’s been excellent, and Vicki works very hard to make it right.”

RUSH RACING SERIES PARTNERS Pace Performance together with Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC along with the support of Hoosier Tire, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bazell Race Fuels, Insinger Performance, MSD Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hovis Auto & Truck Supply, Flynn’s Tire, FK Rod Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Jones Racing Products, TBM Brakes, Performance Bodies & Parts, Racing Electronics, Dirt Defender, Wrisco Industries, Frankland Racing Supply, Landrum Performance Spring, Ontime Body & Graphic, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Sherwood Wheels, Alternative Power Sources, Precise Racing Products, Lincoln Electric, Velocita-USA, Waterstone Mortgage Hermitage, CrateInsider.com, Vahlco Wheels, and Wedge Motorsports.

INTRIGUED? E-mail: info@rushracingseries.com Address: 4368 Route 422 Pulaski, PA 16143.

Phone: 724-964-9300 Fax: 724-964-0604. www.rushracingseries.com www.facebook.com/rushlatemodels Twitter @RUSHLM

ROB KRISTYAK Photo: Jim Balentine DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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photographer

FOCUS

ZACH YOST

Photos: Zach Yost John Schneider (not the Dukes of Hazzard actor) ramps off turn 2 at Muskingum County Speedway (Ohio)

Earl Pearson Jr. celebrating his $200,000+ victory in the inaugural Dirt Million at Mansfield Motor Speedway (Ohio)

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Topless 50 heat race action at Tyler County Speedway (West Virginia)

Gordy Gundaker at East Bay Raceway Park (Florida) in 2017.

Hometown: Paden City, West Virginia Age: 28 Year Started Shooting: 2012 First Publication to Print Your Work: Dirt Late Model Magazine, July 2012 issue Favorite Track to Shoot: The now defunct Legendary Hilltop Speedway (Marietta, OH) Favorite Division to Shoot: Super Late Models

ZACH YOST

Remaining Bucket List Races: Wild West Shootout at Arizona Speedway & Knoxville Nationals Favorite Thing About Racing Photography: Everything. Capturing memories, spending time with friends, the adrenaline Outside of cars, what do you like to photograph: It’s all motorsports for me, maybe an occasional sunset or some lightning strikes or star trails.

Camera Equipment: Canon 7D Mark II (2), Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 300 f2.8, Canon 70200 f2.8, Canon 24-70 f2.8, Canon Fisheye 8-15, Sigma 50-100 f1.8

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what i’m

DOING NOW

By Lee Ackerman

CURT HANSEN IN 1977, I SAW my first 100-lap feature and what a race. It was the CornhuskerHawkeye Challenge at Sunset Speedway in Omaha and Curt Hansen passed Ed Sanger on the last corner of the last lap to win his third straight Cornhusker Hawkeye.

Hansen did not travel all over the country like Sanger did, preferring to stay closer to home. In his home state of Iowa and the surrounding area he was tough to beat in his prime.

In 1977, Hansen won 31 features and also four track championships. The next season, he won 33 races and another four track championships and he did it against legends like Sanger, Bill Zwanziger, Dick Schiltz, Roger Dolan, Fred Horn, Joe Merryfield and Gary Crawford. Remember, this was the 70s and Iowa drivers won the World 100 four times in a period of seven years.

In addition to winning the CornhuskerHawkeye Challenge in 1975-76-77, Hansen won many other specials of his time including the Falstaff 100 at Hawkeye Downs in 1976 and 1978, the Pabst 100 at Quad City, the Knoxville Late Model Nationals in 1977, the Grand National at Boone in 1977 and 1980, the Canadian National Dirt Track Championship in 1977 and the 1972 Dirt Track Classic at Deland, Florida just to name a few.

During a career that started in 1966, Hansen notched over 300 wins and was the man to beat in the Midwest. In 1982, he decided to retire from driving for a number of reasons. First, cars were

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switching to high dollar small blocks and all tube chassis with humper tires and unheard of stagger. More importantly, however, his kids were in high school sports and it was time to give back to the family.

In 2015, Curt Hansen was inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

A very well-deserved honor indeed. When we decided to visit with Hansen and see what he has been up to since he retired from driving race cars, we found that he still lived in the house he had bought in Dike, Iowa, back in 1970. It’s been added on to, remodeled and updated but it has been Alice and his home for 50 years.

Dirt Empire: So, what has Curt Hansen been doing since retiring from racing?

Curt Hansen: I started working at John Deere in 2004 and I still work part time at John Deere Power Systems. I usually work two to four hours a day throughout the week. I strictly work on engines. (Prior to that Hansen worked for Clay Farm Equipment for 36 years.)

DE: Do you still follow racing and, if so, are you still involved?

CH: I still follow local racing somewhat but not to any great extent.

DE: Any family members involved in racing?

CH: My son Bobby races occasionally.

DE: Your fondest racing memory?

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CH: My fondest memory of my career is winning four track championships in one year and I did it twice.

DE: Who was your toughest competition back when you raced?

CH: Oh, gosh there were so many great drivers but, of course, at the top of the list has to be Ed Sanger. We waged so many battles over the years. Another one that stands out was Verlin Eaker. But, as I said, there were so many great drivers from the area back then.

DE: Any regrets about your career or is there a race you wish you could have won?

CH: I wish I could have tried to race the World 100 more than just one time, but it was always at the end of the racing season and I was always out of vacation.

DE: What was your favorite race track and why?

CH: Locally, here in Iowa, it was Hawkeye Downs when it was dirt. It was flat and slick, but it was a driver’s track not a high horsepower track. The other thing was it usually had more than one groove, sometimes other tracks went to a high speed follow the leader one groove race tracks, but Hawkeye Downs was very racy. My overall favorite track was Sunset Speedway just outside Omaha, Nebraska.

Sunset was the slickest race surface there was. It just brought out the best in a driver.

You had to be easy on the brake and easy on the throttle. I remember that 1977 race (Cornhusker Hawkeye Challenge). I had a big block and Ed (Sanger) had a small block. I used so little of the motor that day.

I never put the gas completely to the floor

the whole hundred laps; you just could not afford to break the tires loose or you lost ground fast. That track was just so slick and treacherous to drive. I will never forget we had 22-gallon gas tanks and usually in a 100-lap race we used 20 to 22 gallons.

That race we used just 14 gallons.

DE: Do you follow current NASCAR racing?

CH: I still watch it but it’s not the same as it was. I think back in the day people could identify the race cars to the ones they drove themselves and now that’s not the case. You could buy the same kind of car that they raced in NASCAR or if you wanted a 427 cubic inch engine you could buy one, but not now. So, to me, it is not the same.

DE: Do you have any hobbies these days?

CH: I have a two-post lift in my garage so I can tinker with my own vehicles. My favorite is the C5 2004 Corvette.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT “I feel very fortunate that I got to race in the 1970s with a $7,500 race car and could race four weekly shows for $500-to-win with special events on off nights that were 50-lap features paying $1,000-to-win with a few 100-lappers in there, too.”

. . .THE ONE TIME HE LEFT IN AN AMBULANCE I will always remember Curt Hansen telling me about the big accident at the Mason City Speedway that happened on June 15, 1980, as two veteran drivers got a ride to the hospital in the ambulance. Jerry Holtkamp and Curt Hansen were both taken to the hospital after their cars were involved in a first lap crash. The cars collided on the front stretch sending Holtkamp’s car flipping three times. Both cars were destroyed but the drivers were released from the hospital Sunday night having received severe bruises.

“It was the worst wreck I was ever

in,” said Hansen. “It was the only time in my career that I left a racetrack in an ambulance.”

When asked what caused the wreck, Hansen added, “some guy tried to win the race on the first lap. He passed a couple of rows and then got into the back of the cars ahead of him. Jerry Holtkamp had nowhere to go and got into the fence and he went airborne.

I got into Holtkamp as he was in the air and I went flying through the

air. I remember looking down and seeing the number 49 on top of a car. I actually landed on my tires, but the front end of the car was destroyed.”

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auxiliary

POWER

By Ashley Zimmerman

Auxiliary Power is all about those individuals who are the support crew for the best drivers in the business (we know they couldn’t do it without them!)

FANS WHO FOLLOWED the World of Outlaws through the 1990s find the Haudenschild name synonymous with the “Wild Child” [Jac Haudenschild], but for fans of the next generation of racing super stars, fans hear Haudenschild and they instantly think of the second generation “Wild Child” – Sheldon Haudenschild.

While COVID-19 made scheduling a challenge, Sheldon Haudenschild boasted his best season yet on the World of Outlaws Tour, and with no rest for the wicked, also managed to sneak off and marry Zan Smith.

The Haudenschilds are key representatives to fans and sponsors of the “Greatest Show on Dirt”, and Zan (along with Pella) have been no stranger to embracing the roles they play on the World of Outlaws circuit. Fresh from celebrating their wedding with friends and family, Dirt Empire sat down with Zan Haudenschild to talk about life on the road, Sheldon, Pella, and share all of the juicy details fans want to know!

Dirt Empire: Not a lot of fans know your history in dirt track racing.

Zan Haudenschild: My grandfather raced late models at Eldora Speedway. He often took me there as a child. I became Ms. Eldora Speedway in 2012. I majored in Public Relations at Xavier University and saw becoming Ms. Eldora as a great opportunity to network and further my education in motorsports management.

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Photo: Paul Arch

ZAN HAUDENSCHILD DE: Speaking of your Ms. Eldora Speedway title, in 2016, you were crowned the Knoxville Nationals Queen. What compelled you to participate in the Queen’s contest?

ZH: I entered the Knoxville Nationals Queen contest with my sights set on the opportunity to become the first Ms. Eldora Speedway to also be Knoxville Nationals Queen. I did not participate in pageantry in my youth. I was fortunate to spend the week with my close friend, the 1st RunnerUp, Michaela Dumesny. Having spent most of our summers traveling with The

Photo: Ryan Northcote

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

All-star Circuit of Champions [ASCOC], we were excited to have an opportunity to see another side of the sport and experience a behind-the-scenes look at the Knoxville Nationals.

DE: While Sheldon is quickly blazing his own legendary path in sprint car racing, you happen to also be in laws with one the icons and legends of sprint car racing. What is life like being related to the “Wild Child”?

ZH: To many, Jac is the Wild Child and a legend. To me, Jac is just Jac. He is always

to the track in Texas on race day when we were sent home in March. Our careers are based on performance, and when you can’t leave home to perform, that changes the state of affairs. We were lucky; we have an awesome team and Sheldon has a supportive fan base that kept us busy with online orders. We continued to focus on the task at hand; when the quarantine ended, we needed to be ready to hit the road. The schedule wasn’t a typical WoO schedule but many tracks and promoters stepped up to salvage about 58 races on tour.

in a good mood, and always has a positive outlook no matter the situation. I’m proud to share a name with someone like Jac for who he is as a person, beyond who he is as a driver. Sheldon shares many of the qualities his dad has modeled over the years, both with and without wearing a helmet. He shares a fearless driving style, and a positive attitude. The name on the back of his fire suit represents the history his father paved, and the legacy that is Sheldon’s to write.

DE: What is life on the road like as a part of the World of Outlaws Tour?

ZH: Life on the road is ever changing. We are in a new place almost every day. It’s hard to explain the day-to-day because the way we live life is much different than an average 9-5. While we may not be on the track every day, the work doesn’t begin with a green flag and end at the checkered.

Driving across the country is a huge part of our jobs, typically covering over 30,000 miles each tour. Both West Coast swings are my favorite parts of the tour because we get to spend time in our favorite places between racing, including Lake Tahoe and Lake Havasu. If it were possible to bring a car on the road, I would do it in a heartbeat. Daily life would become much easier with the freedom to quickly run errands or to take a road trip.

DE: How was the 2020 race season different for you versus a normal race season?

ZH: I’m a planner. When the WoO schedule comes out, I begin planning the year from merchandise orders, to exciting stops along the routes. We were actually on the way

DE: What type of difficulties did you face attempting to reschedule your wedding during a pandemic and race season? When did you and Sheldon come up with the idea to run off and get married in secret?

ZH: Our wedding was originally scheduled on a Tuesday in April, fitting in directly between races on the California swing. We had our hearts set on Lake Tahoe, which is where we were engaged. We packed our wedding gear into tote bins and carried it under the motorhome all season, in case we got to race in California. When it was clear we would not be going on the West Coast swing, we began exploring the idea of eloping, looking for flights, etc. The week of Knoxville in August, we saw a 3-day opening on the schedule. Our crew guys watched Pella and took us to the airport.

They were the only people we told we were getting married and they kept the secret until December.

DE: It is well known that you are the creative genius behind Sheldon

Photo: Paul Arch

(and Pella’s) merchandise,. Is there anywhere that you draw inspiration from? Anything super exciting in store for 2021 merch, that fans should watch for?

ZH: I draw ideas from places, and people we see on tour, the music we listen to, and the shows we watch. The Concert Collection, for example, is a range of apparel with nods to various rock bands.

The Pin Up design changes each year, in a reference to the vintage vixens of the past.

I like to create designs I would wear and would be proud to see on others. The fans that wear Sheldon’s’ gear are a reflection of the brand we built and continue to evolve. In 2021, customers can expect

Photo: Travis Branch DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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to find the continuation of their favorite collections and new items also.

event experiences, to virtual t-shirt trailer visits.

DE: What role does social media play in life on the road, selling merchandise, and keeping in touch with fans?

ZH: Used properly, social media as a tool allows us to reach fans globally. With the addition of DIRTvision, especially in 2020, fans who were otherwise unable to attend the races were allowed the opportunity to spectate from the comfort of their living rooms. This generation of drivers have the ability and reach to propel the sport and gain followers like past drivers could not.

While you cannot beat the live experience of a race, it isn’t feasible for most to attend as often as they may hope. Social media has the power to fill that void, from in-home

DE: Having been exposed to different forms of racing growing up, and experiencing other dirt track racing series, what do you feel makes the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars different than other forms of racing and series fans can follow?

ZH: The World of Outlaws live life in a way that simply doesn’t compare to other forms of racing. Racing isn’t just a career path for WoO teams and their families.

It’s a way of life. Quite literally we live for racing, our entire lives revolve around the sport. Our competitors become our travel partners, the people we see more than our own families; they essentially become our family.

A Dog’s Life (On the Road) DE: You are also the creative mastermind behind sharing Pella’s adventures on Instagram and with students in the classroom. Where do you draw your creativity for Pella’s personality? What is life traveling with Pella like? When you began Pella’s social media adventures, did you think it would take off as well as it did?

ZH: Pella has been on the road from day one. She is the best travel companion, low maintenance on long travel days, and always happy to guard the trailer for TEAM17. Pella is not a fan of working the t-shirt trailer and prefers to be with the guys in the pits. She serves as a team mascot, but beyond that, as a friendly avenue for children to relate to racing in a

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way they might not otherwise. The goal is to share her adventures, and the excitement of The World Of Pella Tour through her eyes. Pella doesn’t need much in the way of creativity when it comes to her personality.

She is sassy, and proper, yet wild and energetic in her own right.

DE: How did Pella get involved with sharing her life on the road with students in the classroom?

ZH: The World of Pella Tour became a unique way to teach a geography lesson in the classroom. Pella got to visit with one class in particular, who are fortunate to have an awesome first grade teacher who has opened their eyes to the world of sprint car racing.

Early evening hues in West Plains, Missouri.

the beauty of RACING Photo: Mike Musslin

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talking

TECH

By Vahok Hill IF YOU ARE A RACER and are working on race cars, you will need a welder at some time. You will break, bend or just simply wear out something made of metal that will need a repair or replacement. You will need a welder. Luckily, you are living at the right time. Never in our history has the opportunity to buy a welder been so great.

The options are broad and the cost can be low, high or moderate. How fortuitous.

A welder will help to make you a bit more independent from having to take a part that needs to be repaired, to and from the weld shop. Being able to fix a part from your own shop will make maintenance faster and less dependent on the schedule of others and it should be lower cost. Plus, welding is a fun process. However, there are a few questions that you will need to ask and answer: • • • • • •

What kind of welder should you buy, MIG, TIG Gas, or Stick?

What brand do I buy?

What kind of infrastructure will I need to add to my shop?

Will I need any special training?

Where do I get the required training?

Is it really worth the extra effort to do all of this when I can just run to the welding shop and get a part repaired?

TYPES OF WELDING There are four basic types of welders the market today for the home-based racer.

Not all welding types are created equal.

Gas welding, which is accomplished with a mixture of oxygen and acetylene gasses, uses an open flame to melt the metal and then a filler metal is fed in to the weld puddle by hand. This was the gold standard for many years until the development of

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Photo: Star Hill

better electrical methods of welding. This is a high skill form of welding and is limited to steel. Yes, there are some people who have developed the skill to weld aluminum and other alloys with gas welding but it is not the best option for race car fabrication and repair. This was a very common and popular welding form up until the late 1960s.

Stick welding is accomplished by placing the welding rod or “stick” into a holder and the weld is addressed through the end of the rod. The rod is consumable and the flux or the shielding is on the rod and as you weld the shield is deposited on the weld and will have to be chipped or cleaned off once the weld is completed. These types of welders are not used in the race car world at all. Most stick welding is accomplished on very heavy-duty industrial welding and very common in ship building and pipeline construction. It is not at all suitable for use in the racing world.

Next is MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding, which is also called wire feed welding.

This is technically Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). In this type of welding an electric arc is established between the piece or pieces being welded and a consumable bare wire electrode, this bare wire is fed into the weld puddle. The weld wire and the weld puddle are shielded from the atmosphere by an inert gas or a mixture of inert gasses, fed into and around the weld area. GMAW is a great answer for many welding questions. It is fast, fairly simple and it works very well on steel, one of the most common materials used to build race cars. Aluminum can be welded using GMAW but it does have some serious limitations when used with aluminum. For a good all-around welding process, GMAW

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

or MIG welding it is a very good answer to what the racer needs. These machines can be purchased in very portable units and some models are configured to operate with either 110 or 240 volt power supply.

Some machines can utilize both voltage levels with a simple plug change. And, compared to the MIG machines offered 20 or so years back, they have a plethora of adjustments to help fine tune the weld.

That said, it does have limitations and they can cause issues in the longer term.

GTAW, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, utilizes tungsten as the conduit for the electric arc to the work piece. GTAW also requires the use of an inert gas to shield the arc, argon is the gas of choice. GTAW is also called TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding and by the brand name of Heliarc. Tig welding has a level of overall control that is far greater than any other form of welding.

The operator has the ability to vary the heat input and the amount of filler material introduced as the weld progresses, plus the types of alloys available for filler rod is very broad with many choices and it is as easy as picking up another welding rod should you need to change the filler metal.. TIG also offer the ability to work on a variety of materials like carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, titanium and a host of other materials. We will focus on steel and the weldable alloys of aluminum. TIG is a very fussy welding process, in so much as it requires a high level of cleanliness and weld joint preparation. But all forms of welding, if you expect a strong joint also require a high level of cleanliness, so TIG is not the Lone Ranger from this perspective.

TIG also requires a higher level of skill than say MIG welding, not that GMAW requires less skill to learn and gain proficiency,

it just does not require a level of skill that GTAW requires. Tig machines range from highly industrial that require special infrastructure for power requirements to very simple machines with minimal adjustments and have great portability.

Another plus is the ability to change the filler material you are using to feed into the weld. There are many different types of filler material for carbon steel, aluminum and stainless steel. This gives you many options for improving the strength of your weld; you will be able to fine tune the welding process to the material you are welding. Again, TIG welding offers greater control over the weld and the overall welding process. You can vary the heat input to the work piece instantly.

This is very helpful if you are welding thin materials.

Most sprint car chassis are fabricated utilizing TIG welding. Many late models are TIG welded but many are MIG welded and very few modifieds are TIG welded.

TIG welding is slower and more expensive to execute than MIG welding. For a car that has many welded joints, TIG welding may not the best option. From a strength perspective, we can argue all day about which form of welding is the strongest. The best comment is that between TIG and MIG either type can be a very strong if it is done correctly. MIG welds tend to be harder but, from a material perspective, it is all about who does the weld and how well the joint is fitted and the level of cleanliness and the filler material that will determine the ultimate strength of any weld.

THE MARKETPLACE The market is full of welders that will work for the weekend warrior and the professional. There was a time if the machine you purchased was not red (Lincoln) or blue (Miller), you were looking for trouble. That has changed and there are a plethora of great machines offered by a wide variety of companies. In fact, many of the European companies are offering great machines and products from welders to the accessories. ESAB out of Europe has some great machines and accessories.

There is also a technology war going on with welding helmets currently. Some of the auto darkening technology in the most current helmets offer a product that seems to make you a better welder because you can see while you are welding. They are that good. The thing is, some of these helmets are pretty costly, so be prepared to spend some money. Yes, you can buy a TIG or MIG welder for $200 to $500, but can you be sure of where it was made and just how robust the machine will really

be? Look around, ask questions. Just remember welding guys have opinions just like Ford and Chevy guys, sometimes they bleed Miller Blue or Lincoln Red. So, try to understand who you are talking to and how valid their information will be.

The big issue will be support after the sale. Contrary to popular opinion, welders do need parts from time to time. Do your homework and ask others about after the sale support. A cheap welder purchased from an online seller who only sells the machine and none of the support parts will not do you any good. The machines have consumable parts and you need to be able to purchase them to maintain your welder.

GETTING STARTED / ACCESSORIES What else will you need to buy to support the welder? It depends how serious you want to become in the repair and fabrication side of the equation. If all you are going to do is make a minor repair you may only need a couple of angle grinders and a saw. But if you want to get more serious, the list of things you need will grow to dwarf the cost of the welder. Welding benches, metal forming equipment, specialty hand tools, special grinders, benders and sheet metal brakes. But for the start you will need to have a good power supply in your shop or a generator in the trailer with enough capacity to power the welder.

The first thing you should buy prior to welding at home or in your trailer is a fire extinguisher. You will also need some good lighting and possibly a cart to hold your welder and the bottles safely.

Training is a critical step in the process.

I learned to weld in Metal Shop in High School. Unfortunately, many schools no

longer offer Industrial Art Classes. Most Community Colleges still offer Industrial Arts classes. In fact, many of the larger Community Colleges offer very specialized classes for just TIG, MIG, Stick and Gas welding classes. Many of the schools work in unison with the industries that need welders to develop certification certificates for multiple types of welding processes. This is a common practice as many companies are not offering training and certificate programs due to the costs involved. The exception being most Aerospace companies as they have some unique and specialized certifications on some unique and exotic metals that most schools cannot afford to offer. Remember, it is easier to learn and practice at school than at home, especially if you don’t have the required equipment and do not have the funds to buy multiple welders just so you can try one out. It is also a good way to get some experience on different types and brands of machines. But, for the folks who want to weld on race cars and or work in industries supporting the racing world this is a great way to get a foot up on the others vying for the same positions.

The big question - is all this worth the effort and cost? Again, it depends. Do you want to have a more complete racing operation? Is being able to make small repairs at the track important to keep in the game? Do you want to experiment with suspension and or make a part that you feel will give you a competitive advantage?

If you want to be able to develop an additional skill set, then maybe, adding the ability to weld is something you should give some serious thought to adding to your tool box. It really is just that simple.

Photo: Vahok Hill

Photo: Star Hill

Pro tip: Make sure the point of purchase has supplies and support after the sale.

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guest

By Ashley Zimmerman

IT HAS ALWAYS RESONATED with me that dirt track racing is a true grassroots racing movement. The drivers, the racetracks - they all encompass the ideology behind grassroots racing. It’s been a not so secret mission of mine to help save grassroots dirt tracks – my content is barebones grassroots exposed. Most small town racetracks are one bad season away from closure – one of the biggest causes being giant racetracks within driving distance trampling across their schedules.

Yes, sometimes you have to take the date available and events must go on; that’s the purpose of having a track. That said, with the vast amount of ways for promoters to reach out, there is absolutely zero reason that they cannot work together to work out a schedule, creating best case scenarios. The future of our sport depends on the future of all racetracks.

The reality is that this isn’t a step in the process. Time and again, I have witnessed larger racetracks schedule over top of existing events forcing smaller tracks to reschedule. When this happens, who does this look bad on? Not the larger tracks.

As fans, we are never privy to the behind the scenes and it is simply human nature to voice your complaint in response to scheduled events flip flopping around and rearranging our lives.

My home is the Iowa/Illinois border and I pay close attention to the schedules around me. On multiple instances, there have been last second schedule changes dropped by Knoxville Raceway, right on top of grassroots race tracks hosting the World of Outlaws on the same night. They

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Photo: Jessica Boone Visual Arts

MIC DROP

THE GIANTS are all within easy driving distance of one another. When a racetrack with the notoriety of Knoxville Raceway hosts a unique event, fans will flock to experience a “once in a lifetime” event over the World of Outlaws, who frequent our part of the country. In the case of the SRX race, or the NASCAR trucks, who could blame the fans for wanting to be in on something so groundbreaking for dirt track racing?

Actions come with consequences, and again, these consequences will not fall on the shoulders of a giant such as Knoxville Raceway.

For many grassroots racetracks, they are not afforded the luxury of the support and monetary backing of a Fair Board.

Fair Board backed racetracks have a Fair Association to lean on for assistance and upgrades. Most grassroots tracks are funded entirely by the promoter and the profit generated by hosting top tier events.

Often times these events are the “bread and butter” for the racetrack. More so, some grassroots tracks only host specialty events, putting the faith of their future solely on a few races. The attendance of race fans not only generates ticket sales but concessions sales – which is where profit lies. Profit means track upgrades in the off season, safety improvements, and purse increases.

In cases like hosting the WoO, attendance is critical to see them return the following season. When the fan count doesn’t look spectacular at these events, do you think WoO is going to want to continue to keep them on the schedule?

Extenuating circumstances are not

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

litigating circumstances. The return of your favorite series hinges on your presence.

A laundry list of racetracks hangs in the shadows to fill your favorite track’s slot.

The lifeblood of dirt track racing is grassroots racing. We all love to experience new events, but regular Saturday nights are spent at the local track. When these giants drop specialty races on top of these track’s top tier races, no one wins in the end. The larger tracks and conglomerates will profit immediately but when grassroots tracks have been suffocated into closure – where will the legends come from? Where will the next generation of drivers cut their teeth? Who will be living out their dream contending with the “big dogs” if they weren’t once a hometown hero?

The history and the future of our beloved sport relies upon each and every facet that embodies what makes dirt track racing memorable. When you become a part of a movement, you become a part of a team and we all have significant roles.

Success comes from the team working to make dreams a reality. We must all be held accountable for the role we play. It is too late to realize our mistakes once racetracks have closed. I ask of you, when will you begin to make it your mission to save the grassroots movement? When will you ask the giants to stop looking down on the rest?

Whether it be horses or sprint cars, Viola, Illinois’ Ashley Zimmerman has been around horsepower her entire life. Not at the track? She’s at a barrel race.

museum

SPOTLIGHT

CURRENT LOCATION The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is located in Knoxville, Iowa, and looks over the second turn of the “Sprint Car Capitol of the World” Knoxville Raceway. www.sprintcarhof.com

Part of what makes dirt track racing great is its rich history.

We want to pay tribute to those who keep a watchful eye on the history of our favorite sport by highlighting the museums across the country.

GILMORE RACING DIRT CHAMP CAR #14 The Gilmore Racing 14 Dirt Champ Car owned by Sherman Armstrong was driven by AJ Foyt, Jr. from 1974-77. The car was custom-built for Foyt by 1998 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee car builder Grant King in 1974.

Foyt was the 1972 USAC Dirt Champ champion and was a six-time winner of the “Hoosier Hundred” at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

Jerry Nemire was the last to drive the car (between 1981 and 1985). He earned 1981 “Rookie of the Year” honors at the Hoosier Hundred in the car.

Photo: Vern Potts

RESTORATION After retiring the car, Nemire restored it to its 1974 condition.

Though the original housed a Ford engine, the restoration features Nemire’s Chevy. Nemire was proud of his restoration and showed the car off for years. Tony Stewart would often inquire about buying the car but Jerry wasn’t ready. After a cancer diagnosis, there was a change of heart. Jerry succumbed to a long battle with cancer shortly after Tony surprised him by picking the car up in person and spending a day with him. The car is currently on loan to the museum from Stewart.

Photo: Bill Wright DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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just

KARTING

FOR FUN

Photos: David Pratt

BACKYARD BATTLE ROYALE OFF THE GRID and off and running!

Photographer David Pratt was invited to a backyard race track in his homestate of New Jersey to take some shots from a kart track that started out with a bunch of friends running some karts on private property. Soon, word got out that there was a place to get some laps in a go-kart and have some fun.

Naturally, being racers, things escalated quickly. Soon, there were car counts in the mid-twenties and engines were being modified to make them very fast. As Pratt said, “Good times but it got to be too much to handle for the land owners.�

These shots were from the 2017 season before the track was shuttered in 2018.

This track is closed now but backyard gokart racing continues to be one of the best kept secrets (well, it was) in racing circles.

Butch Sampson

Tight action with Austin Brengal (1) leads Kyle Simmons (52), Joe Demott (74), EJ Harrington (100) and Morgan Miller (17)

Morgan Miller (17) was the only female driver at the track. She was a muti-time winner

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EJ Harrington (17) and Butch Sampson (20)

EJ Harrington later in the season in his 100

EJ Harrington (17X) and Morgan (17)

Joe Demott (74)

Matt Carman (20) DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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dirt

CHRONICLES

LATE MODEL EVOLUTION

By: Bob Mays

Late Model racing started modestly enough, with guys taking the former family sled to the track for some fun. Here, future National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Jerry Richert checks out the cushion in his new race car. (Leroy Byers photo)

The 1955-57 Chevy became the dominant platform for the 1960s late model racers. Big, tough and easy to find parts for, the Chevys were able to go in a straight line or around a bend no matter how badly beaten and battered they became. (Leroy Byers photo)

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By the mid-1970s Cameros and Firebirds were the cars of choice.

When these sleek, sporty cars took over the late models, it ended the slam bang era of big, fat, 1950s era cars. The late models were suddenly real race cars in the eyes of the fans. This is Dean Ward on his way to a track record. (Duane Starr photo)

National Late Model Hall of Famer Joe Kosiski shows off his sophisticated late model at I-80 Speedway in 2002. Guys like Kosiski became well known superstars and tens of thousands of fans of late models support several national touring series.

(Bob Mays photo)

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CHARLIE SWARTZ Photos by Paul Arch

yesterday’s

DIRT By: Lee Ackerman

LEGENDS OF KENTUCKY CHARLIE SWARTZ If you wanted to pick a candidate for outlaw late model driver or renegade back in the day, Swartz might be your man. What long time dirt late model fans will never forget is the picture of Charlie standing on his car with a jack handle in his hand at Volusia County in 1980. Charlie was definitely one of the most opinionated drivers in racing but his record behind the wheel is legendary.

His fantastic year behind the wheel of the C.J. Rayburn house car in 1980 with the swing out west to Nebraska and a big win in the Nebraska Late Model Nationals with over 100 cars on hand, then up to the Tri-State Speedway and a win in the AMSOIL Late Model Invitational and then to Brownstown in Indiana and the checkers in the inaugural Jackson 100.

Later that year, he won the big one, the World 100 at Eldora and added the St. Clairsville 100 and the Southern 100 before the season had ended. He continued winning and, in 1982, won two of the biggest at Pennsboro with a win in the Hillbilly 100 and with that revolutionary car a huge payday later at the Dirt Track World Championship.

Later, he posted wins at Firebird and Manzanita in a swing that I’ve labeled the Great Western Swing and then the famous win on the mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield with the Spring Fling in Oklahoma, Black God 100 in Kentucky, Harvest 200 in North Carolina and Outlaw Wedge Nationals in Ohio to name a few.

He posted 39 wins in the All-Star Circuit of Champions, several in STARS and a win in the NDRA. In time trials, he was hard to beat. He had a nice run with the World of Outlaws in sprint cars before returning to

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the fold in dirt late models. He was fast, he was controversial, he showed up with some of the strangest equipment to ever hit the track and he was a member of the inaugural class of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

JACK BOGGS There are those individuals who when the stakes are raised just seem to rise to the occasion. Kentucky produced such an individual in Muriel Jackson “Black Jack” Boggs. Throughout his career, Boggs proved time and again that he was a big money racer.

The first shot he fired across the bow of dirt late model racing came in 1982 when he surprised the racing world on March 6 by taking the Budweiser Super Bowl of Racing before 30,000 fans inside the cavernous Pontiac Superdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

In April, Boggs scored another major win, this time at the legendary Knoxville Raceway in Iowa when he won Super Race I and took home first prize of $12,500. In 1983, he added the Southern 100 in Ohio and the Hall of Fame 100 at the Atomic Speedway in Tennessee.

In 1984, Black Jack went to the top of the dirt late model world after scoring big wins in Virginia in the Log Cabin Nationals and the Winchester 200 in October in won the Dirt Track World Championship at Pennsboro, West Virginia. He won that very prestigious race again in 1990 and 1995.

Boggs’ other big wins included the National 100, the Hillbilly 100 (twice), the Jackson 100 (twice), the North-South 100, the USAC Four Crown Nationals and the USA Nationals. But none were bigger than his 1995 win at Eldora when racing got compressed into one day and Boggs won

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

the World 100.

He was the STARS Champion in 1985 and again in 1988 and the All-Star Circuit of Champions titleholder in 1988. He scored 27 STARS wins and 15 All Star wins and competing off and on in the Hav-ATampa series scored four wins.

As driver Randall Chupp, once Boggs’ crew chief, said “He was a tiger behind the wheel. I can’t imagine anybody ever driving harder than Jack.” Longtime friend and sponsor Garland Flaugher called Boggs “the smoothest driver I ever saw.” Tragically he left us too soon at the age of 49 in 2000.

STEVE FRANCIS Steve Francis started his career at a young age in 1983 and by 1984, under the guidance of father and his long-time crew chief brother Chris, he had notched his first win in a late model.

By the mid-80s, Francis was racing regionally along with hitting some national events. Finally, in 1992 Francis grabbed the spotlight by winning a STARS

JACK BOGGS Photos by Paul Arch

Winternationals event in Florida. By 1994, he was in the thick of the STARS points battle and finished runner-up to Davey Johnson. He then became the man to beat in the series capturing the championship in 1996-97- 98 and posting 25 STARS feature wins during his career.

In 1999, Francis took his game to an all new level when he finished the year on a terror winning the World 100, the Dirt Track World Championship and the Commonwealth Cup to be crowned as the Big Johnson Driver of the Year.

He campaigned on both the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model and World of Outlaws National tours and in 2007 won the World of Outlaws Late Model Championship. He posted 28 World of Outlaw wins during his career and then became a regular with the Lucas Oil Series finishing runner-up to

Jimmy Owens in 2013. Francis scored 14 Lucas Oil wins during his career.

In 2008, he won the Colossal 100 at the Dirt Track at Charlotte and the National 100 in Alabama in 2010. In 2012 Francis had another great year with wins at the Topless 100 and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals. He finished off the year winning the Australian National title during the winter. He also has several wins in Arizona and Florida during off season specials.

BILLY TEEGARDEN The Independence, Kentucky, driver started his career in 1959 and spent several years racing in the supermodified ranks before switching to late models in the mid-sixtiess. Teegarden retired from racing in 1984 after suffering an eye injury racing in Indiana in 1984.

STEVE FRANCIS Photo: Kyle Ealy

During his career, Teegarden posted hundreds of feature wins as well as many track championships, including a number at the Florence Speedway in Kentucky. In 1970, he won the Ohio State Championship at the Eldora Speedway. In 1973, he won the Kentucky Dirt Track Championships followed by the Southern 100 in Ohio in 1976 and the Northern Kentucky Dirt Track Championship and the St. Clairsville 100 in Ohio in 1978.

He was known for having built his own chassis the Dazzler and drove for many car owners including Duncan Machinery, Morgan Chandler, Lloyd Ruth, Larry Morrison, Earl Rogers, Bruce Mertz, Will Wagner, Roger Edwards, Jim Tobin, Bobby Paul, Ron Schweitzer and Glen Gullett. He also tried his hand at promoting at various Kentucky tracks.

BLUEGRASS HERITAGE In addition to Swartz, Teegarden, Francis and Boggs, The Commonwealth of Kentucky has produced a number of other great dirt late model drivers who have left their mark on our great sport such as drivers Verne Lefevers of Pineville, David Speer of Campbellsville, Fats Coffey of Greensboro, Butterball Woolridge of Frankfort, Eddie Carrier, Sr. of Burgin, and Chuck McWilliams of Union. Those drivers will be joined in the near future by Darrell Lanigan of Union and Jackie Boggs of Grayson. Together the drivers listed above and many others from Kentucky have helped to create dirt late model racing history and will hold a special place in the history of the sport.

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new & featured PRODUCTS

MULTI-HOLE TOP REAR END MOUNT Check out the new multi-hole top rear end mount from the folks over at Close Racing Supply. This new rear end mount comes powdercoated black. It also comes complete with all of the hardware needed to bolt it to the rear end. The hot new piece retails for $120. www.closeracingsupply.com

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Close Racing Supply

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new & featured PRODUCTS

WM468-4

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MODULAR T-BAR ASSEMBLY WM468-A | This is the new Wehrs Machine aluminum modular rear T-BAR with T-BAR adjusters. This 5 piece design makes crash repair simple and inexpensive by replacing the section of tubing that is wrecked instead of the entire T-BAR. New accessories are WM468-4 | Hood pin mounting tab for T-BAR kit WM468-5 | Adjustable tab for mounting filler panels - allows the filler panel to be mounted straight no matter the angle of the upright.

WM468-6 | Drill jig for aluminum T-BAR tube - saves you time when building your T-BAR! wehrsmachine.com

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

NES REPAIR TOOLS Nes Thread Repair Tools clean, chase, and repair stripped, rusty, or damaged internal or external bolt and nut threads. It doesn’t matter if you’re working with SAE or metric hardware, coarse or fine pitch, left or right-handed threads--these tools can make repairs with no setup or calibration required. Simply insert the repair tool and turn the adjusting knob to fit it to the proper bolt diameter. The tool’s cutting blades automatically float into the thread slots, adapting to the correct pitch. All that’s left to do is to spin the tool like you would a tap or die to begin the repair. As the tool is turning, its cutting blades perfectly cut, clean, and clear the threads, leaving you with a bolt or nut that’s ready for service. And because just a single Nes tool can be used to do the same job it can take dozens of taps and dies to do, you’ll also save money and valuable storage space.

Nes designed the Thread Repair Tools to last, too. Each one is made from HSS metal that’s hardened to Rockwell specifications (58C for external/62C for internal tools) for extra durability, and the blades are replaceable so thread cutting performance is always top notch.

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the beauty of RACING The B-mods get ready to do battle at Dallas County Speedway in Missouri.

Photo: Mike Musslin

DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

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Wehrs Machine & Racing PRoducts Brinn, Inc. 88

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SUPPORT OUR CONTRIBUTORS Dirt Empire is proud to have assembled a crack staff of freelance photographers and writers who blend their passion for the sport with their talent and artistry to make these pages pop. If you see an image that you’d like to own or need a great image for your shop, drop them a line and support them.

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91

after WORD

By Adam Cornell

I REALLY HOPE YOU HAVE enjoyed this preview issue. The hard work and dedication it took to produce this first example of Dirt Empire Magazine was an exhibition of love and devotion to dirt track racing. If you see a photo you love, check out the photo credit, then seek out the photographer online and consider purchasing their photos.

We want to know what you think. We want to be able to bring you the type of magazine you want to read for years to come. Share this issue with your friends.

Get their opinions. Then let us know.

As the old idiom goes, “you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”

Okay, challenge accepted.

Give us feedback, give us story ideas, let us know where you would like us to be sold – racetrack, convenience store, Walmart, whatever.

If you’ve already subscribed, thank you!

Keep an eye on your mailbox around April for your first print issue! We are plenty excited to get that into your hands.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, what are you waiting for?

You’ll hate yourself if you don’t try it.

Adam Cornell Owner/Publisher

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DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021

Combining the proprietary design and extreme travel of our Platinum Spring wire, Eibach Platinum Series Springs deliver maximum grip and control in all dynamic race conditions. With a motorsport bloodline spanning over 65 years, race proven technology is built into every spring and Eibach continues to dominate the field. Platinum Series Springs are now available in a range of conventional and coilover springs for Dirt Late Models, Dirt Modifieds and Big Block Modifieds.

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