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10th anniversary: DirtonDirt.com milestone dates
A timeline of the development and history of DirtonDirt.com, founded by Michael and Amber Rigsby along with their first employee, current managing editor Todd Turner, 10 years ago today (10th anniversary coverage):
May 16, 2007: Michael and Todd meet face-to-face to hammer out we-can’t-turn-back-now plans for DirtonDirt.com, first during the World of Outlaws race at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway, later that night at Steak ’N Shake in Seymour, Ind., and then again the following morning with Todd’s fiancee Julie Boatright at Lynn’s Paradise Cafe in Louisville, Ky.
July 12, 2007: First mockup of DirtonDirt.com site appears privately, to be tinkered with for nearly two months before the public unveiling.
July 25, 2007: Michael, Amber and Todd travel from Madison, Wis., to Independence, Iowa, to meet with Three Wide Media about development of the DirtonDirt.com website.
Aug. 30, 2007: In preparation for site’s launch the first story is posted on the site. “Neat tries to capitalize on ALMS success,” a story by Todd Turner about Kentucky driver Brad Neat.
Sept. 4, 2007: DirtonDirt.com launches with Michael Rigsby’s introduction video welcoming subscribers to the website for the first time.
Sept. 7, 2007: Time trials hit the track at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, for 37th annual World 100, officially making the event the first staff-covered race for DirtonDirt.com.
Jan. 23, 2008: DirtonDirt.com staffs its first Georgia-Florida Speedweeks event with a Jimmy Owens victory at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga. The website has staffed every Speedweeks event since.
June 12, 2008: The first-ever Summernationals Minute is produced at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, Ky., with an interview with Michigan driver Jeep Van Wormer and a shot of the mohawk haircuts of the Jason Feger team. The Minute is part of staffed coverage of every Summernationals event since.
Jan. 29, 2009: The first-ever Speedweeks Minute appears from Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga.
Feb. 26, 2009: The first VideoCast interview segment appears at DirtonDirt.com with Jeep Van Wormer among the guests with Michael Rigsby.
March 3, 2009: DirtonDirt.com joins Twitter and sends its first tweet: “Check out the new VideoCast at DirtonDirt.com that feature weekly interviews with Dirt Late Model racing's key players.”
June 22, 2009: “Color me nervous,” written by Michael Rigsby, becomes the first blog to appear on the site as DirtonDirt.com introduces a new section for bloggers.
July 3, 2009: Videographer Webb Dillard makes his first contributions to DirtonDirt.com at Green Valley Speedway's Crate Nationals; he would later assume a regular role in 2011 and served as a staffer for six seasons.
Aug. 5, 2010: DirtonDirt.com’s first live pay-per-view production launches from Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., for the first of three nights of action at the USA Nationals.
November 2010: Florida native Joshua Joiner joins the team as a reporter and editor, the first full-time hire. Joiner served as a staffer for just over three seasons.
March 16, 2011: DirtonDirt.com’s first DirtWire news brief appears — “Golden Isles apparently shutting the gates” — as the site adds a spot for quick-hitting news.
March 19, 2011: Serving as a business analyst and contributor, Andy Savary joins the team; he later takes charge of DirtonDirt.com's business operations as a full-time staff member.
May 16, 2011: Fast Talk, Monday's roundtable discussion about the latest news and results in Dirt Late Model racing, debuts. The original three-panel format has grown to five panelists in the feature the continues today.
May 23, 2011: DirtonDirt.com’s first summer intern, Illinois State student Derek Kessinger, joins the team and later becomes a full-time staff member.
May 25, 2011: Quick Time, a Wednesday column featuring news bits, statistics and historical items, is published for the first time. Todd Turner and Andy Savary continue the weekly column.
Aug. 31, 2011: DirtonDirt.com undergoes its first major redesign of the website with addition of new SplashBox artwork, a revised video page and more.
Oct. 23, 2013: DirtonDirt.com launches an iPhone app to improve mobile access to DirtonDirt.com; an Android app is added the following October.
March 3, 2014: Senior writer Kevin Kovac joins the DirtonDirt.com team after serving as World of Outlaws Late Model Series public relations director for eight years.
March 11, 2014: Kevin Kovac's weekly column, Inside Dirt Late Model Racing, makes its debut with "It was a no-win situation at Clarksville." Kovac's midweek column has been a fixture on the site ever since.
March 22, 2014: The first RaceWire appears — “Pierce outduels Melvin, captures Shamrock 40” — as DirtonDirt.com adjusts its approach to race coverage with a capsulized format including links to photos and videos.
April 7, 2014: Videographer Will Gigeous joins the DirtonDirt.com team; his father, Steve Gigeous, founded Sports Plus Video in 1987 and has been frequent video contributor since the website's beginning.
July 14, 2014: Staff writer Alli Collis joins the DirtonDirt.com team following stints as a reporter for The Morehead News and The Jessamine Journal in her native Kentucky.
May 18, 2015: After serving two stints as an intern (acquiring the nickname "Tern" along the way), Michael Reiners joins the team on a full-time basis as DirtonDirt.com's live production director.
March 1, 2016: Late Model LIVE debuts, an in-studio show hosted by Michael Rigsby and produced by Michael Reiners; Lucas Oil announcer James Essex and Georgia driver Jonathan Davenport are among the call-in guests.
Nov. 28, 2016: Loudpedal Productions founder Tim Truex joins the DirtonDirt.com team, spearheading the website's creative video department.
Dec. 15, 2016: The VP Racing Gateway Dirt Nationals launch at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, the first indoor event covered by DirtonDirt.com, which covered the event with more staff members and contributors than any event in the website's history.
Jan. 1, 2017: Weekend editor Robert Holman joins the DirtonDirt.com team, the most recent full-time hire.
Sept. 4, 2017: DirtonDirt.com celebrates its 10th anniversary.
