DirtonDirt.com Dispatches

Dispatches: Spoiler-less Gustin tops Atomic

August 25, 2024, 12:37 pm

From series staff, team, track and contributor reports

Gustin's spoiler goes bye-bye. (Tyler Carr)

Among the latest notes and quotes from around Dirt Late Model racing Aug. 23-25 from the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series and more (Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series coverage from Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway will appear in separate stories). Also find a listing of live-streaming video from specials around the country:

Tribute to Bloomquist

Polesitter Ryan Gustin paid tribute to late Hall of Famer Scott Bloomquist by channeling his inner Dirt Track Dominator in winning Saturday's Fireball 50 on the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series at Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio.

Despite losing his car's rear spoiler at the 3/8-mile oval, the Marshalltown, Iowa, driver led all 50 laps through a wave of challenges from multiple WoO contenders for a $15,000 payday.

While other races including Cade Dillard and Tyler Erb ran into trouble, Gustin had trouble of his own when he Gustin ripped the rear spoiler off his Infinity Chassis. The spoiler dangled until the caution flew for debris from Brandon Sheppard’s left-rear quarter panel falling off. Series officials removed Gustin's spoiler during the lap-32 caution period.

While Gustin had aero troubles with the loss of his spoiler, he kept runner-up Bobby Pierce in check for his fourth WoO victory of the season.

In victory, he celebrated with Scott Bloomquist’s infamous “hang loose” signal and a point to the sky to the man that meant a lot to Gustin as a mentor and friend. He also dedicated the win to his son, Bradyn, who turned 12 on Saturday.

“It means the absolute world to me,” Gustin said. “It’s been rough, I’m sure we made him proud up there tonight. We were handicapped pretty bad when you lose a spoiler like that. I thought we were done, but the only way to win was to drive like a madman like we did for the last (14) laps.

“(Crew member) Tim (Douglas) was telling me I had a pretty big lead before lapped traffic, but it's hard when you got guys that can catch up pretty fast to you. Cautions definitely helped us for sure to get us going again, but any time you can win with no spoiler is a testament to how good these Infinity Chassis are and these Jay Dickens Engines run flawlessly. It’s also my son’s birthday today so I wanted to get one for him.” — Matt Skipper

Young Iowan's upset

C.J. Horn of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had a breakout weekly Late Model campaign in 2023 with seven victories and track championships at a pair of home-state tracks, Donnellson's Lee County Speedway and West Burlington's 34 Raceway.

But 2024 has been full of struggles for the 20-year-old, in part trying to get a powerplant together while continually falling short with no victories and five runner-up finishes, including four in five starts from July 26-Aug. 10.

Stepping up to touring competition with the Malvern Bank Series in an East-West combo tour weekend, Horn on Sunday at Mason City (Iowa) Motor Speedway notched his highlight of not only his season, but his career. He outdueled veteran racer Justin Zeitner in the first half of the race, taking the lead for good on the 23rd lap, then turned back challenges from series veteran Bill Leighton Jr. for a $4,000 victory.

"It's been a roller coaster of a year. We started off just terrible and we finally got this motor together. We've been waiting on parts for six months for it. And I mean, that motor, the only reason I got speed is it just pulls off the bottom like nothing," said Horn, who stuck with the low groove most of the way in the 40-lapper. "I mean, this car is great. Rocket helps us all the time and I can't thank them enough for all their help and all the things they do for us. So that's a big part of our success, too."

The driver who plans to become a commercial airline pilot thanked all his family and supporters, especially his grandfather in the hospital.

Horn's biggest struggles in holding off Leighton came when he'd come upon slower cars in his preferred groove.

"The bottom was good. I was hauling off the bottom and then started catching lapped cars in the bottom. I kept hoping they were gonna wash up and I saw something in the middle there, but they just weren't," he said. "I saw something in the middle there I wasn't sure, but I knew I had to take it and try it just so I didn't get passed. And it was good. It was a little treacherous.

"I had to definitely tip-toe through it. I mean, it was barely any, any throttle going through the corner. But I was able to get past the lapped cars, get back on the bottom and get some more speed build up so that way when I got the next car I was able to" get around them. — Series reports

First-timers aplenty

Garrett Alberson's first career victory on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series grabbed the headlines Friday night, but he wasn't the only driver to break through on a series for the first time.

On the same night of Alberson's victory, Derrick Stewart of Ainsworth, Iowa, Daniel Adam of Wade, N.C., Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and Shane Hebert of Lafayette, La., were first-time winners on regional circuits. Stewart topped Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association foes at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., while Jameson outran Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series competition at Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, Ky. Shane Hebert scored his first Mississippi Championship Challenge Series victory at Hattiesburg (MIss.) Speedway.

Adam's $5,000 victory was even more special. The 19-year-old racing out of Peru, Ill., not only captured his first MARS Championship Series victory, his triumph at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., was his first in a Super Late Model.

"Honestly, I didn't think it would happen. I saw (Shannon) Babb and (Jason) Feger behind me, and I'm like, 'Oh, crap!' " Adam said in victory lane, thanking his family and crew. "This feels good to finally get a win after three years. ... Holy crap it was awesome."

Stewart, whose first Late Model victory came 13 months ago in Malvern Bank-sponsored tour action at Columbus Junction (Iowa) Speedway, had his hands full with eventual third-place finisher Chad Simpson, who joined Stewart and Chase Junghans on the Lakeside podium.

"I didn't think it was gonna be that fast or that wide open or that physical, but (Chad) Simpson showed me the nose there and I got up on the wheel," Stewart said, adding that he was "pretty wore out" in victory lane.

A career-high $5,000 victory on the MLRA circuit — a series with a winners' list that includes Terry Phillips, Billy Moyer, Wendell Wallace, Al Purkey, Jesse Stovall and other big regional names — is special for Stewart.

"It's at the top," he said. "You know, my first one there was Columbus Junction was pretty big. This one here, it may not be as many people down here in victory lane with me, but I got some very special people here with me tonight."

Stewart thanked his family, crew and supporters for giving him the "opportunity to come do something that we've always wanted to do. We just never thought we'd get here."

At Lake Cumberland, Jameson left it all on the track — including perhaps a few pieces of his car — in outrunning Josh Rice. His car's right-rear decking suffered significant damage en route to his $5,000 payday.

"I'm glad we was able to get her in victory lane. I gave the boys a lot of work to do for tomorrow," Jameson said, noting that his team will be ready to chase Saturday's $15,000 payday. "Any time you win, it's an upper for the whole team." — Series reports

WoO title chase

With nine races remaining on the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series, the top three championship contenders are in position for significant accomplishments.

Points leader Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., is aiming to become WoO’ first five-time champ. Sophomore series standout and modified graduate Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., chases his first Late Model title. And Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., is trying to become the fourth series driver to win back-to-back championships.

Though his three feature victories are fewest among the contenders, the 31-year-old Sheppard’s consistency has given him a series-best 26 top-10 finishes as he tries to break the tie of four career series titles he shares with the retired Josh Richards.

“I think we’ve had a good car for consistency,” said Sheppard, whose Sheppard Riggs Racing is the Longhorn Chassis factory team. “It’s still a learning process with the Longhorn race car. At the end of the day, we’ll keep learning, figuring out what I like, and doing all the things we need to do to win. We’re trying to find that edge to match Bobby’s pace.

“He’s class of the field, so we gotta find a way to keep up with him. It’s good to be at tracks I know can be good for me and have some good showings. We’ve had misfortunes, but all we can do is make the most out of what we can throughout the races.”

Bolstered with experience in points racing with five DIRTcar Summit Modified championships, Hoffman knows how to get the job done with pressure on his back foot. As the 32-year-old driver goes after his first World of Outlaws title, Hoffman needs every point he can pick up to cap his second full-time Late Model season.

“You always expect to go out to win races and a championship,” said Hoffman, a five-time WoO winner in 2024. “This year has been huge for us and only shows what we can do further down the road in the years to come. It’s going to take winning races to get the title. Bobby may go win a couple more races and Sheppard is consistent at running up front every night. We can’t have issues, we gotta win races, and it’s going to be a big turning point.

“That would be the biggest milestone of my career. Sheppard’s done it four times and Bobby did it last year. Just to win one (championship) is a huge deal. Everybody wants to race with the Outlaws as a kid growing up, so to win a championship would be unbelievable and a milestone deal. We just gotta keep digging and get it done.”

The 27-year-old Pierce knows he needs to win as many races as possible to have the Low Voltage Solutions-sponsored No. 32 within striking distance in the points November’s season finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“We need all the races we can get,” said Pierce, who has been climbing the points rankings all season after a February tire penalty. “You never know with how things go. If nobody falls out of races and everybody’s up front, we have got to win whatever we can. We’ll take it one race at a time with trying to win out the rest of the year and see where we stand when Charlotte comes around.

“After the beginning of the year, I feel like I had a chance to come back up if I had the same year as 2023. We’ve won seven of the last 11 races, but we’ve had some DNFs hurt us. So, if it wasn’t for those, we’d be right there. We gotta dig in for these last few races, take the opportunity given and we’ll go from there.” — Matt Skipper