Dirt Empire Magazine - Issue 13 - 2022

POLE POSITION

DEC/JAN 2022-23

OWNER/PUBLISHER

Adam Cornell

EDITOR

Justin Zoch

SUBSCRIPTION COORDINATOR

Abigail Cornell

WEBSITE COORDINATOR

Shaun 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 Kennedy, 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

PICTURES

Adam Mollenkopf, Andy Newsome, Bill Miller, Bill Taylor, Bob Mays, Bob Yurko, 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, Josh James, 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, Quentin Young, Rich LaBrier, Richard Barnes, Rick Neff, Rick Sherer, Robert Wing, Rocky Ragusa, Ron Gilson, Ron Sloan, 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,

$100,000 at 19 years old, Garrett Smith said ‘Sure, why not?’ Check out our Review in Pictures of the 2022 Dirt Track World Championship.

16 #DEASKS – JASON FEGER

Every issue, we send out a call for readers to submit their questions to a star in the sport and this time we dialed up a lot of good ones for late model star Jason Feger as the Highside Hustler continues to earn a living around the rim of the racetrack.

20 BRENT MARKS – BREAKOUT STAR OF 2022

Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks is not a new name to open wheel fans but this was the year that he shot up the charts and became the man to beat at many of the sport’s biggest events. Marks talks about his historic sweep at Eldora and how running a true outlaw schedule made it all possible.

26 MATT SHEPPARD’S SUPER 2022 SEASON

Matt Sheppard’s 2022 season was so impressive in the Northeast modified scene we simply could not ignore it. Between his dominance at weekly tracks, supreriority in the STSS and his quest for the best in the Super DIRTcar series, Matt Sheppard may very well be having the best season of his career.

32 REVIEW IN PHOTOS – SUPER DIRT WEEK

Everyone gathered in the Empire State for the 50th time as Super Dirt Week at Oswego not only celebrated the history of the sport but launched the event into the next 50 years with a huge win by mega star Matt Sheppard in the 200-lap finale.

DUSTIN SORENSON – 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP CAMPAIGN

Rochester, Minnesota mod racer Dustin Sorenson kind of fell into running the whole USMTS tour in 2021 but came back in 2022 committed to winning the crown. We check in as he was closing in on accomplishing his big goal.

PAGE 50

fore WORD

GREAT THINGS AHEAD!

not once but twice because we could not find paper to print on. How insane! But we over came those challenges and kept pressing forward.

In late 2022 and through 2023 we are very happy to be branching out with new retail partners. You can now find Dirt Empire Magazine on the rack at Barnes & Noble stores, Books-A-Million stores and Tractor Supply Co. stores, as well as several local retailers across the country.

By Adam Cornell

SINCE THE VERY inception of Dirt Empire Magazine, I’ve tried to use this space to talk about some of the challenges and changes that we have had to face in the publication of this title. I wanted to bring everyone along on the journey from the start, as Dirt Empire doesn’t succeed without all of you. So, as we begin the quest of a third year, I thought it would be good to look back on the last two years and share some of adjustments we’re making going forward.

From the moment that we published our first issue, the dirt track racing industry has been supportive, despite our ups and downs. In 2021, I nearly died from Covid, and yet, the support I personally received from the racing community was unbelieveable. I will never forget the kind words from supporters and competitors alike. Personally, I will always reflect on that time and use it to propel myself to try to be a better person.

In 2022 we faced an unprecented global paper shortage - to the point where we had to postpone printing an issue,

With the commitments that we’ve made to the retailers, they wanted a more structured production calendar for each year. This leads us to a new adjustment.

Starting with this issue, we will be moving to a bi-monthly production schedule tied into the months of the year. With six issues a year it will help us pile the best photos and stories into each issue. Our subscribers will receive every issue you’ve paid for. So, if you purchased an 8-issue subscription, you will receive 8 issues. If you have trusted us with a multi-year subscription, you will receive every issue you paid for. Thank you, subscribers! I am confident you will continue to love each chapter Dirt Empire releases over the upcoming years!

With that out of the way, I cannot wait for all the things coming up. We will be exhibiting at the PRI show in Indianapolis in December at (appropriately) booth 410. I hope to see many of you there. Stop by and say hello and pick up some cool Dirt Empire swag!

I’m also looking forward to the 2023 racing season already. I know, I know, we literally just finished the 2022 season, but 2023 will be here in a hurry and with it we have even more great racing to look forward to. There are so many young

drivers moving up through the ranks that it feels like we are on the cusp of an explosion of new talent that will demand our attention in 2023. I look forward to the interviews and amazing photos the veterans and newcomers will provide!

No doubt challenges will persist, but isn’t that life? We can only plan and execute and let all the variables dictate our successes.

Here at Dirt Empire Magazine we are thankful for the successes we’ve had and the opportunities that have presented themselves, and we are looking for ways to be even better. In 2023 we plan on making the Dirt Empire experience even more enjoyable for everyone. We are happy you’re along for the ride.

Now for some self-promotion:

Besides Dirt Empire Magazine, I am also a novelist. If you’re interested in supporting Dirt Empire Magazine vicariously, you can check out my novels, The Catskills and Hollow Pointe on Amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million (though you may have to go online or special order the books at the stores.) I’ve always felt books and magazine subscriptions make the best gifts. If you’re looking to give a gift to that person who loves dirt track racing, a subscription to Dirt Empire Magazine will make you their favorite person. If you have those friends that aren’t into dirt track racing, we need to have a talk about the unsavory characters you’ve been hanging with lately. But also, the best gift you could give them is a book from the publisher of Dirt Empire Magazine!

I hope 2022 was a good and successful year for you and your loved ones. I hope 2023 brings happiness and good things to all of you out there in the Empire!

Let’s go racing!

Though Dirt Empire Magazine is my primary focus these days, I’ve penned multiple books including two thrillers, and several childrens’ books. Though not associated with dirt track racing, these make the perfect gift for those people in your life who already have a subscription to Dirt Empire Magazine. Shameless self-promotion now concluded.

Photo: Melissa Tousley

from the EDITOR

HAMMER HILL MEMORIES

but, man, they can’t close it down.” Well, they can and they did. We all know a place like this in our lives.

By Justin Zoch

IT HAPPENS all the time. A business closes down and everyone rushes to say “No way. How can they do that? I love that place.” Happens every time. One of my favorite joints to watch live music was Lee’s Liquor Lounge in Minneapolis. It was the closest thing we had to a real Honky Tonk in our cold, northern city and it was gritty, comfortable, woodpaneled, stuffed with characters and quirky bartenders and they always hosted the hippest country bands on their way through town like Big Sandy and the Fly Rite Boys and the coolest of the coolDale Watson - who even wrote a song about the place.

This same experience holds true for racetracks and every season we seem to lose a few more. Some are more expected than others, some affect the sport more than others and some personally hurt more than others. This year, several tracks are on the chopping block including Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway and, up until recent news, Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway [a late breaking note has the track reopening in 2023]. Another notable dirt oval, Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway, has already run its last race with the Short Track Nationals (STN) in early October and the track already has a buyer, most likely a developer of the valuable land on the city’s west side, which may require rezoning.

I loved I-30 Speedway, just like I loved Lee’s Liquor Lounge, and I loved it for a lot of the same reasons. I started attending the STN around the turn of the century at a time when a lot of the new racetracks, some tied to NASCAR, were like the dirt tracks at Charlotte or Texas Motor Speedway. These were sharp, welllit showplaces that could grow the sport – kind of like a hot new club with great sound and hot new acts.

I-30 Speedway was none of those things. It was a gritty, down-home, backto-basics racetrack that featured a, quite frankly, rundown grandstand and a pit area sprawled around turns one and two and the backstretch with teams pitting anywhere they could find a patch of cleared pines. I don’t know what I was expecting on my first visit to the STN but it wasn’t this. It was everything I never knew I wanted in a racetrack. It was love it at first sight.

legend over the last three decades – Tim Crawley. Talk about authentic. You’d be hard pressed to find a man more befitting of that adjective than the Crawdaddy, who, when he left his home track to go on the road, became a multi-time American Sprint Car Series champion.

We all enjoy a new track with clean bathrooms and a paved parking lot but I’ve always valued authenticity over polish. I-30 Speedway and the Clay family that ran it were always true to their vision for their racetrack and while many longed for upgrades or changes, I-30 Speedway always seemed just perfect to me. The little place they called Hammer Hill always seemed to deliver the goods on the track, which is important, but most my memories of the place revolve around the pit area and the loose, fun atmosphere that most big money events fail to foster. The STN were always high stakes, high dollar affairs but never felt corporate or corrupted. As an occasional interloper looking for good racing in a great environment, I could not have hoped for more.

Of course, all of my opinions and impressions of I-30 Speedway may be completely outdated – as with most places I love, I haven’t been there since at least 2008, if not before. Gone, but not forgotten, thanks to I-30 Speedway for being the most authentic racetrack I’ve ever attended.

When news arrived of its demise, there was shock and concern about how this could happen. Then, of course, the next sentence out of my mouth was, “I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve been there

At the time, fans were welcomed to the track by a man in a white suit coat and cowboy hat named John Parish who called himself “The Mississippi Scoundrel” and was the living embodiment of everything I loved about the place. To be sure, The Scoundrel wasn’t a cynic. He was as authentic as you could get – just like everything around him. As for the racing, the local

WE ALL ENJOY A NEW TRACK WITH CLEAN BATHROOMS AND A PAVED PARKING LOT BUT I’VE ALWAYS VALUED AUTHENTICITY OVER POLISH.

NOTES &

DEVIN MORAN DOUBLES DOWN WITH NEW TEAM

OUR ISSUE 11 cover story, Devin Moran, made news shortly after that issue hit stands that he would be leaving his long-time ride with Tye Tawrog Racing and that he would be moving on to a new opportunity for 2023. He recently announced that he has partner with Double Down Motorsports (DDM) team owner Roger Sellers, who recently parted ways with Hudson O’Neal.

According to a press release, “te newlyformed pairing plans to compete full-time on the national tour in 2023 in hopes of capturing the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Championship. Devin, who will be making his return to full-time racing with the series for the first time since 2020, will be armed with a fleet of new Longhorn Chassis with full factory support from both the China Grove, North Carolina manufacturer and Bilstein Shocks. The team will also be relocating and racing out of the shop of Devin’s Hall of Famer father Donnie Moran in Dresden, Ohio.”

“I think it’s a great match between the two of us and I’m really excited for a great 2023 season and beyond,” quoted team owner Roger Sellers today. “When Hudson (O’Neal) decided to pursue another opportunity I thought about stepping away from car ownership, but I took my time and didn’t let emotions get the better of me. I have a lot invested in this sport and

REX LEJEUNE STEPS DOWN AT ATTICA RACEWAY PARK

HE’S HAD AN AMAZING run and an indelible impact on the racing scene in Ohio and beyond but Attica Raceway Park’s Rex LeJeune is stepping down to spend more time with his wife and friends.

LeJeune has been involved in the racing industry for over 40 years, including the past 17 as Director of Operations at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio. He will retire at the end of the 2022 racing season at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” venue. “I’ve been doing this every weekend for 40 years. It will be nice to have the freedom to do whatever my wife, Barb and I want to do,” said LeJeune, adding Barb is also retiring from her job at the end of 2022.

Being a lifelong race fan along with his two brothers, LeJeune began his career in racing as the flagman at Fremont Speedway in 1983 under promoters Gary Kern and Larry Boos. LeJeune then

moved on to Attica Raceway Park as flagman when it opened in 1988 and waved the flags for the next nine years. From 1994 through 1999 LeJeune was also the flagman at Eldora Speedway thanks to owner Earl Baltes. In 2000 LeJeune was named the Competition Director of the World of Outlaws Gumout Series, working with Ted Johnson and Rick Ferkel. In 2003 LeJeune became the Competition Director for the All Star Circuit of Champions and did held the same position in 2004 and 2005 for the Mid-American Sprint Series (MASS).

In 2006 LeJeune would get off the road and work with Promoter John Bores at Attica Raceway Park. “I have been so blessed to work with so many great promoters at some of the best tracks in the country along with great series, and track workers, but most important the countless number of fans I have met and became lifelong friends with over the

my passion to win big races and a Lucas Championship is greater than ever. So, when I decided to keep going, we talked to a lot of our sponsors and product people and their input helped guide our decision. We had some great prospects that expressed their interest in driving for us, but at the end of the day, Devin is a great fit and checked all of the boxes.

“This is a situation (with Double Down Motorsports) that I’ve been looking for my entire career really. To have the resources and equipment that Roger has in his arsenal and to be able to race out of dad’s shop is really just a dream come true. I’m excited to be in Longhorn Chassis with Bilstein Shocks again next year and I think we are putting together all of the pieces to make a serious national championship run next season!”

Devin Moran and Double Down Motorsports (DDM) will kick off their 2023 racing season during “Speedweeks” in Georgia and Florida during the months of January and February. The team will concentrate mostly on Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events, while also entering a majority of the crown jewel races across the country. DDM will also continue to field a car for Roger’s son-in-law Robby Moses in Tennessee, who will once again compete in a limited slate of events regionally.

years,” said LeJeune.

LeJeune has flagged or worked at 69 different race tracks in 20 states over the past 40 years. Congrats to LeJeune on a life well lived in the fast lane and we look forward to seeing him in the grandstands for years to come.

Photo: Mike Campbell

Photo: Rick Sherer

It was recently announced that former Marion County Fair Board President Jason Reed has been named general manager of Knoxville Raceway. Reed, a lifelong Marion County resident, comes to Knoxville Raceway following an 18year stint with 3M Corporation and has served in multiple capacities on both the Marion County Fair Board and the board’s executive committee, begins his new role effective immediately.

“After the Marion Country Fair Board elected to hire a full-time general manager for Knoxville Raceway, we quickly narrowed our search and ultimately offered the position to Jason Reed,” said Marion County Fair Board Vice President Bob Roush. “Jason’s background, experience, skill set and feel for the fan base, all make him uniquely qualified to fill the position. Jason has an intimate knowledge of Knoxville Raceway operations built from a hands-on work ethic and a lifetime spent at the Marion County Fairgrounds. His passion for the facility is second-to-none and the entire fair board was thrilled when he accepted the position.”

After serving the track and the

CORRECTION!

We were just joking... why so serious? In the last issue we had a great article on the RUSH Sprint Car Series. You should really check it out if you weren’t around last issue. Fortunately within that article we had some great photos

fairgrounds in any capacity that was asked of him, Reed was elected to the Marion County Fair Board in 2008 and has maintained an active role on the board since. He has been a member of the executive committee for eight of those 14 years, including serving four years as president and four years as secretary.

During those 14 years, Reed has worked closely with Knoxville Raceway Race Director John McCoy on planning, logistical, and procedural policies as well as with city and county officials to ensure weekly and annual events are operated both efficiently and transparently. Reed was also instrumental by working with track officials in developing and implementing plans for camping, parking and vendor operations.

“I’m extraordinarily grateful to the fair board for their vote of confidence by affording me the opportunity to serve as general manager of one of the most iconic race tracks in the world,” said Reed. “Knoxville Raceway and the Marion County Fairgrounds have been integral in my life for as long as I can remember. From showing livestock to volunteering at the raceway and serving on the fair

from Rick Rarer. Unfortunately we had a bad caption on one of the photos. For clarity’s sake below is the photo (again). This time, no joking around. Brian Hartzell in the mean green 69 machine is getting chased by the maniacal Blaze Myer’s Joker emblazoned 43jr during a

board, I’ve always been committed to making sure our venues are destinations Marion County can be proud of. It’s a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Marion Robinson, P. Ray Grimes and Ralph Capitani, some of the most iconic race promoters in sport’s history. I don’t take that for granted. I can’t wait to get started.”

RUSH

race during the 2022 season. For more info check out rushsprintcars.com and make sure to follow RUSH and each driver on social media!

REED HIRED AS KNOXVILLE’S GENERAL MANAGER

Photo Rick Rarer

Sprint Car Series

Photo Paul Arch

the lighter side of

DIRT

Travelin’ With Paul

VETERAN RACE photographer Paul Arch travels the country all year and he’s always got his eye out for something interesting and he always, always has his camera at the ready. Throughout this season, Arch visited plenty of new tracks, old favorites and found lots of little nuggets of joy to share with our readership.

COVID may have won in 2020 but nobody wants an autograph.

JUST MONTHS after reaching the pinnacle of his profession, an induction into the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, veteran announcer Rick Eshelman passed away. Eshelman was a crucial voice for the sport as late model racing gained in popularity over the past several decades and has influenced forever the way we listen to the sport we love and think about the people who perform for us. Several writers and fellow announcers have penned tributes to Eshelman to express their appreciation for his guidance and his performance over the years. Rest in Peace, Rick.

KELLEY CARLTON – WRITER, PROMOTER

Words. Not everyone has them. Even those that have them often can’t get them out. I have never been very good at speaking. But I can occasionally cobble together a sentence or two on paper. My mind has been clouded for a few days and I couldn’t find my way to put anything down that did any justice to Rick. You see, Rick Eshelman not only always had the words, he could express them like no one else could.

I have been in awe of hearing and reading about the impact that Rick had on people over the years. There are countless stories of friendship and mentorship along with his strong work ethic. His ability to connect with people and make them feel like they are special. His uncanny ability to remember everyone’s name, including dogs and children. Rick was my friend; hell, Rick was everybody’s friend. And that may be the greatest testament to the man he was. He was a Hall of Fame announcer but more importantly he was a Hall of

A DIRT EMPIRE TRIBUTE TO RICK ESHELMAN

Photo: Paul Arch

Photo: Paul Arch

Eshelman clowing around with late model racer Jill George in 2012.

Fame friend. And those don’t come around very often.

I hope that we can all take this tragic ending and use it to better ourselves. Say the things that need to be said. Tell people how important they are. Make sure that no one feels alone. In the world we are all we got.

COREY LITTON – ANNOUNCER DAKOTA CLASSIC MODIFIED TOUR

I had the pleasure to work with Rick two times in my career. The first was at a track in Florida in 2017. There were issues with the national anthem playing, so I walked over, grabbed the mic, sang the anthem, then went back to what I was doing. Afterwards, he talked with us about racing for at least an hour mainly about racetracks in the North Dakota and Minnesota area.

The next time was in 2020 at one of my home tracks. And come time for the main event, he had me call the entire race with him. Once the checkered flag flew, he said, “That was for what you did for me in Florida.” We again spent quite a while shooting the breeze afterwards and I was as amazed with his wealth of knowledge he had as I was thankful for him letting me call a race with him.

I had kept in contact with him in the years after and he was always there with advice, encouragement, or just to chat. I will miss that greatly. And I am incredibly thankful for every moment I got to share with Rick.

TRACY PASSE – DEER CREEK ANNOUNCER

The first time I met Rick, he was serious in wanting me to call some races with him, but I hadn’t even called races at regular shows yet. But that is how welcoming he was to the mic and to everyone. Over the years, he became one of my greatest mentors in this announcing adventure. A message would quickly turn into a call. His replies were always “thanks babe” or “thank you sweetie”. Again, the love he showed so many. And his love for pickles was epic! He loved the pickles from Deer Creek Speedway and I became his “supplier” and would hook him up at every opportunity. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring great joy, laughter, friendship, and love. I will forever be grateful for his encouragement, support, and friendship. May you enjoy your new job right where you were meant to be at The Rainbow Bridge Rick.

Photo: Paul Arch

Photo: Ken Kelly

AROUND THE TOP WITH

JASON FEGER

By Ashley Zimmerman

WHILE JASON FEGER has been visiting victory lane against the best the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil series have to offer since the turn of the century, the Illinois native more commonly known as the Highside Hustler leapt to the forefront of dirt late model racing during the 2022 season battling with Ryan Unzicker for the MARS championship and nail-biting finishes against Bobby Pierce that will most certainly be a staple in the highlight reel come season end. While the start of the season may have had its struggles, by mid-summer Feger became a strong contender wherever he entered, keeping not just fans on their toes but drivers as well.

After narrowingly edging out Bobby Pierce by just half a car length on night one of the Davenport 150 with the World of Outlaws, Feger became the talk of fans and headlines. With a career as detailed and exciting as Feger’s sparking conversation, a plethora of #DEAsks submissions was specifically fitted just for the Highside Hustler. With a few moments free as the MARS series and racing around the Midwest beginning to wind down, Dirt Empire sat down to ask the most sought-after fan-submitted questions with Jason Feger.

Dirt Empire: Have you ever raced anything other than a late model? Is there anything else you’d like to race or try your hand at?

Jason Feger: I started in a sportsman car. I ran that for four years, and then all I’ve ever driven after that is a late model. I would love to drive a Formula 1 car or a winged sprint car”

DE: What’s your favorite snack to have on the road?

JF: Beef jerky.

DE: Rumor has it that Paducah International Speedway is your go-to track in Kentucky. What makes this racetrack so appealing to you?

JF: Well, we won a lot of races there, I just feel like it’s just a good size and shape. It’s not too big, but it’s still big and fast, and it’s really high banked.

DE: What is the best advice you’ve been given when it comes to racing, but more importantly, what’s the worst advice? How did you come to find out it was bad advice?

JF: Oh boy [he laughs] the best advice I’ve been given would probably be that you kind of have to mind your own business on the racetrack, race your lines, race your car, do what you can do, and don’t worry about other people. That’s probably the best advice I’ve ever

been given. The worst advice, well I don’t know, I guess I’ve never thought about that. Maybe the worst advice that I got was back when I didn’t know if I should quit my job to go racing or not, they told me, do you know how you can tell if you can race for a living? Well, you just go racing, and when you run out of money you gotta go back to work. [laughs] Luckily, while it wasn’t the best advice, I haven’t had to go back to work either!

DE: What is advice you would give when it comes to racing?

JF: I would say definitely don’t worry about getting caught up in the drama and what other people are doing. Work hard and control what you can control, there are so many variables in racing that you can’t control, you just have to be prepared to control what you can control and worry about yourself.

DE: You’ve obviously had quite a lengthy career, is there anywhere you haven’t raced that you’d like to race at?

JF: I’ve never been to Lernerville or Port Royal and I’d love to get to either one of those tracks.

DE: Is there a person you’ve looked up to throughout the duration of your career in the racing world?

JF: I guess there’s been a bunch of them

Photo: Tim Hunt

honestly. I love just the history of our sport. Recently, Tim McCreadie has been a big help the last few years, but I’ve worked with Billy Moyer over the past, I’ve always kind of really looked up to him, and even Scott Bloomquist as well.

DE: In August, you were able to capitalize on a flat tire running down Devin Moran and win over Bobby Pierce by just half a car at Davenport. What did it mean to you to get not only an exciting win but a win against two drivers who are dominant when they visit Davenport?

JF: It felt really good. Devin was able to pass me in lap traffic before he had the flat tire when we got back by him. We were really fast, obviously, Bobby [Pierce] is always really good there, he’s one of the best in the country. I’ve never won at Davenport before on the small track. I won on the big track, so it felt really good to get a win on the little track. It’s kind of been an Achilles heel of mine, and I feel like we’ve been getting better and better there. It definitely felt good and it’d been a long time since we had won an Outlaw show. It’s always kind of good if you go win one of the national series or tour races, it’s definitely a little bit of a bigger chip off your shoulder.

DE: All season long you’ve been battling pretty hard back and forth with Ryan Unzicker on the MARS Racing Series points and you’re very close to each other right now,

there’s really not much of a gap. Has that added a bit of pressure to your year in trying to make sure you’re consistent to be able to stay that close?

JF: Well, actually that’s kind of why we’re second because we haven’t been very consistent. I think maybe he’s won one race, and we’ve won like five or six of them. But he’s been right there with the seconds and thirds and we’ve had a drive shaft failure one night and then we’ve had some other back luck. We’ve had a couple of not very good finishes, which just got us behind. We’re actually going into the last week and I think we’ve got two races this weekend, and we’re probably going to need a little bit of luck to pass him [Unzicker.] He and I are buddies, but we both want to beat each other at the same time. We definitely feel like we’ve been pushing each other harder and harder to make each other better. [Eds. Note: Unzicker edged Feger by 37 points for the title.]

DE: A place that you’ve had quite a bit of success at that is no longer operating is Belle Clair Speedway. For those who never got to experience a track like that, what was the racing like?

JF: Well, it was really small, and obviously I’m pretty good on bull rings; I love tracks like Macon, and Highland, and I used to go to Shepp’s Speedway, too, but they are all really small. Then Belle Claire was right in that category. I feel like I’m a pretty patient person, and I think sometimes on those little tracks, you just have to know when to be in the right spot, be patient and let stuff come to you. It was a fun little place though, it was very unique, with bleachers on both sides, a wooden wall on the corners, and it had an infield wall with people pretty much just standing right on that wall. It was pretty crazy.

DE: What would you say are some of your best career moments being a race car driver?

JF: Well obviously we’ve won the Hell

Photo: Tim Hunt

Photo: Tim Hunt

You can’t call yourself the Highside Hustler if you don’t occasionally live up there, as Feger is doing here.

Tour once, and we won the UMP National Points tour once, those were both big ones. Any of the Lucas Oil wins were really big, the first one we won I think was at Paducah. But to think we’ve won three Lucas Oil races, and we’ve won a couple of Outlaw shows. I think my first Outlaw show was pretty awesome. That was at Beaver Dam in Wisconsin, I don’t quite remember the year, I think that was maybe 2009. We were still pretty young and relatively new and a really low-budget team, so to be able to beat the big guys back then that was a great feeling.

DE: When you look back across your career, what is the win that immediately sticks out to you?

JF: The one that pops out would probably be Kentucky Lake, I forget what it was called, maybe Commonwealth or something. But we won a $7,500-to-win race there and it was the first big win that we had. I had to pass Moyer to win the race and that just definitely was the moment where we were like holy cow we can actually do this. That would’ve been in 2009.

DE: You’ve begun utilizing YouTube as another avenue for fans to get to know your team and see more behind the scenes. What benefits have you found from utilizing another platform? Do you think it’s a missed opportunity for drivers to reach their fans and engage with them?

JF: I feel like the racing fans are some of the most loyal and it’s just really cool for them to get to see some of the behind-

the-scenes. I have a buddy that loves doing that stuff, so we’re kind of just getting started on it. But we love being able to show them more in-depth what it takes to do what we do and what all goes into it. The fans are really eating it up and it’s awesome. Obviously, you know the benefits are a lot more exposure for your sponsors, product sponsors especially love it, and it also translates over into merchandise sales as well.

DE: Do you have any pre-race superstitions or race-day traditions?

JF: No traditions but definitely superstitions. I hate if I see a black cat cross the road on race day before heading to the track. I will turn and go the other way. I had a crew guy that lived in a trailer court and I had to go pick him up, and I swear every Friday this cat would cross in front of us in that trailer court, and I kept having bad luck so I started going the other direction. No peanuts or nuts of any kind at the race track, I actually got that one from Bob Pierce when I drove his car. He had some bad luck and said get the peanuts out of the hauler. We threw the peanuts away and I think he won the next night, so it’s just kind of stuck. I wish I could get rid of it, but it’s just stuck with us.

DE: With a schedule full of travel and time on the road, do you feel your crew becomes family?

JF: Definitely like family and brothers I would say. Pretty much all of my crew, well most of my guys that have helped me have been my buddies first. I’ve known them through different parts of my life or whatever and then they’ve come to help when they could. It’s good in one way and it’s bad in another way. But it’s really hard to be gone on the road as much as we are and live in a 24-foot box and not bond.

DE: With continued rising costs of just about everything, is there anything you’ve had to scale back on or become more particular about choosing to do or use?

JF: The tire shortage has definitely made things tough. We have to be more resourceful and just try to plan ahead of time. We keep our eyes open and buy tires from other race teams that are selling out or something like that. That’s made things difficult. I’ve been pretty lucky with sponsors so the fuel prices haven’t really gotten us too bad yet. Otherwise, I would definitely be watching where I’m going. We obviously try to

Photo: Tony Hammett

Photo: Ryan Roberts

Feger cruised in this patriotic piece during the 2011 World 100.

maximize everything we can, so get as much as we can out of stuff since the prices are way up right now.

DE: What would you say you are looking forward to the most this offseason?

JF: Well, we switched over to Longhorn Chassis this year and we didn’t get them until May, so we were definitely behind the eight ball with them. I’m looking forward to just being able to go through the cars really well and get our spare

parts up to where they need to be. Get the trailer organized and everything 100% switched over, we’ve just been kind of winging it a lot this summer for some of that stuff. It will be nice to be prepared and hopefully less work we have to do during the summer and season.

DE: If there was anything that you could go back and change this season, what would it be?

JF: Not getting the chassis until May definitely got us in a bind, but I mean that

was circumstances out of our control. This sport is definitely a lot easier when you’re prepared 100% with your spare parts and can get some laps in. But not having these cars and not being able to test all year. We’ve just been racing so much that we haven’t been able to go test and try different things. I feel like we’ve been really competitive, so you’re scared to try stuff when you know you have a good car. I’m looking forward to getting to go test and be more prepared.

Photo: Ryan Roberts

Popping the left front during the 2021 season.

SPRINT CARS

a main FEATURE

By Ashley Zimmerman

IF YOU’RE A SPRINT CAR FAN, Pennsylvania and posse are just two words that go harmoniously together to create one of the biggest rivalries in dirt track racing since late models versus sprint cars. It goes without saying whether you’re Outlaw or Posse, the phrase “staying on the porch” has transcended a friendly grandstand debate every now and then. With one look at the current standings for season winnings or a flip through the headlines of the most notable races fans will see one homegrown Pennsylvania Posse member sitting strongly near the top, proving that you can get off the porch with a true outlaw schedule and win just like the Posse is synonymous for.

After returning to the family-owned number 19 in 2021, Brent Marks struck out in 2022 to revisit the golden era of sprint car racing by running a true outlaw schedule. Having run with the World of Outlaws tour full-time dating back to his first season in 2017, as well as years spent traveling around Pennsylvania, Marks curated a schedule in 2022 that was not only ideal logistically but ideal for himself and his crew to spend time at home and with their families. While the decision might not be for everyone, Marks has proven undeniably that series or not, Posse or Outlaw, if you work hard enough, a driver can not only make a living cherry picking their schedule but they can even be the highest earning with a few of the shiniest crown jewels to pair with the checks.

As the season begins to wind down, Marks has notched 17 wins in 78 races, including his legendary 14th to 1st place run at the Historical Big One where he swept the crown jewel weekend by also winning the King’s Royal. With season

GET TO KNOW THE BREAKOUT STAR OF 2022

earnings over $600,000, Marks has had an unprecedented season off the porch posing a slew of the who, what, where, when, and why questions. Of course, with an opportunity as exciting as sitting down with Brent Marks, Dirt Empire snagged some valuable downtime just before the dream season curtains were drawn.

Dirt Empire: You’ve had the season that most could only dream of, without following a series or chasing points. What does it mean to you to have a season like this, but also be able to show you can be this successful without following the WoO or All-Stars?

Brent Marks: Every driver and team

Photo: John Rothermel

dreams of seasons like we had this year. We’ve worked so hard to be successful and build this program into something that is extremely successful and I feel like we’ve accomplished that this season. The races we’ve won this year and the success we’ve had this year absolutely means the world to me. We have proven that a team can be successful without

BRENT MARKS

Photo: Paul Arch

following a series, as much as I love racing with the WoO and All stars, doing what I’m doing right now really fits. It fits the type of life I want to have outside of racing and doing what we do has been a huge relief to our team.

DE: Has this level of success this season made you contemplate wanting to run with a series next year or has it made you more dedicated to wanting to continue doing your own thing?

BM: Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing like racing with the WoO, but I’m happy running the schedule we are running. It fits me well, it fits my team well, and it fits my partners well. There are so many great races between both series and we like to try and hit them all!

DE: Have there been any outside factors that have also kept you wanting to stay close to home, like family?

BM: With both series stepping up with big races and local Pennsylvania racing having really big races, it helps a ton to be able to race a true outlaw schedule and

also have time for family. Baylie, Bentley, and McKenna mean the world to me, and to be able to have the time to spend with them is something that means everything to me.

DE: Is there anything about racing Posse that you think has given you an edge over your competition and contributed to your unrivaled success and consistency? Is there anything about remaining Posse that you feel is a benefit over running a series again?

BM: The Pennsylvania Posse is an extremely tough group, the best local racing in the country hands down. You always have to be on your game even on the local level, just like you do racing in a series. That’s why the World of Outlaws and All-Star teams come to Pennsylvania to race… because the competition is so tough. As far as it being a benefit to stick around, the tracks locally have stepped up a ton financially and have made it so appealing to race closer to home, but I’m a big believer in you’re only as good as your competition and that’s why I like to race both series a lot.

DE: Do you feel like there has been an advantage for you running the family car that correlates to your success?

BM: I like to be in control of my own destiny and running my own race team has given me the opportunity to do things my way, whether it’s right or wrong, I learn along the way and make adjustments that need to be made in order to direct the team in a better direction. Being a hired driver can be stressful sometimes especially if things don’t go well and you’re going week to week wondering if you still have a job. There’s a ton of stress running your own race team but I’d rather stress about that than anything else!

DE: Is there anything you did in preparation for this season that you think was what helped put you in the best possible place for this kind of success?

BM: I feel like our program after last season was good. I just wanted to really concentrate on building a team with great people because you can have the best of everything but if you don’t have good people, it’s all for nothing. Heath (Moyle)

Photo: Paul Arch

Marks celebrates winning $100,000 at the return of the Historical Big One. Two nights later, he’d win $175,000 at the Kings Royal.

and Dennis (Christ) have been amazing this year and I couldn’t do it at this level without them.

DE: Was there anything in your late 2021 season momentum that taught you anything or you built on coming into 2022 that you might contribute your consistent wins to?

BM: We really just built off last season. We were good in 2021 but needed to fine-tune some things coming into 2022. Having a group of great people really solved a lot of tiny little things we were lacking in 2021.

DE: Could we potentially see you continue to branch out further even if not running with a series? How would a schedule like that challenge you to manage your life at home and life on the road?

BM: I really like my schedule. We travel a lot at the beginning of the season and really don’t go past Knoxville during the summertime. That has worked really well for us. This gives not only myself but my guys time to be at home with their families and that’s more important than anything.

DE: Are there any races that you’d love to put on that schedule if you

were to run further away from home?

BM: Next year I’d like to head out to Huset’s and the Jackson Nationals. We just didn’t do it this season, but next season, we will!

DE: As you’ve racked up this expansive list of wins, do you feel like the pressure to keep succeeding like this has grown or lessened as you went on?

BM: It’s grown. We run top three almost every race lately and we’ve won big races this season. It’s kind of expected of us now and that’s extremely hard to continue on. It’s a challenge and I love the challenge.

DE: Have there been times throughout this season where the pressure has gotten much higher or more overwhelming than other times

Photo: Dan DeMarco

Photo: Dan DeMarco

Marks, seen here racing David Gravel in July at the WoO’s Port Royal stop, has been part of the Posse and an Outlaw. This year, however, he became a pure purse chaser.

and how did you handle it or what do you do to handle the expectations that have come from this season?

BM: Kings Royal week was extremely stressful. Going into that week, I had tons of people tell me I was the favorite and they were counting on me. I try not to let any of that ever get to me but it was constant and it was hard to look past it. I did my best and I just concentrated on what we do, and that’s go out have fun and race race cars! Fortunately, we lived up to everyone’s expectations and won both races! It was an amazing week.

DE: What win is the one that sticks out the most in your mind? What makes it unique?

BM: Definitely the Historical Big one and Kings Royal. We made history that week. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come. I’m so grateful.

DE: What do you think sets Williams Grove apart from the other Pennsylvania tracks and creates more of a challenge for drivers who come into town for a race like the National Open or an Outlaws vs. Posse weekend?

BM: The history. All the greats of sprint car racing have won races at Williams Grove. It’s such a unique and difficult track to race. Nothing compares to it in the country, so when you win races there, people notice.

DE: If there was a track that you wished you could get more laps at and improve your consistency at, which would it be, and what causes you to struggle there? What benefit would you have from improving your performance there?

BM: Knoxville, winning the Knoxville Nationals is number one on my list and I feel like we keep getting better and better

there. We just need to consistently be better every single time we go race there. It’s such a hard track for me, their clay is so unique and ever-changing. It’s just hard, but every time we hit the race track I figure more and more things out.

DE: With the growth of newer race series, and more high-dollar sprint car races, the opportunities to run a true outlaw schedule while being able to make a living doing so becomes more and more plausible for drivers throughout the US if you had to offer any advice for someone debating which direction to go as they move up the ladder, what would you say?

BM: Just work hard towards your goals. Find what fits financially if you run your own race team. If you’re just a driver, work hard till you get to where you want to go - everyone has different goals and aspirations, just do what works for you!

Want to haul nearly $300,000 out of Eldora Speedway in less than a week? Just drive like Brent Marks did last July.

Photo: Paul Arch

WORDS BY ADAM CORNELL

PHOTOS BY QUENTIN YOUNG

SUPERMAN MATT SHEPPARD has been at the top of his game in the Northeast big-block modified scene for a very long time. The Waterloo, New York native has ridden his Bicknell 9s at the top of the leaderboard for years now and 2022 continues that campaign, shaping up to be a very big year indeed for Sheppard. It marked his 40th year of life on this big blue marble we call home, and very well may be the best year of his storied career.

Sheppard started racing karts when he was just seven years old, following in the footsteps (tire tracks?) of his father, Stu Sheppard. The elder Sheppard was a racer from the late 1980s and early 90s racing Sportsman Mods in the upstate New York circuit. Home was in Savannah, New York, not far from the legendary track at Canandaigua. Stu also raced at Cayuga County, Rolling Wheels and UticaRome Speedways, bringing a young Matt along to take it all in and learn the sport while cheering for his dad.

“If I had to go back to the beginning, I remember playing in dad’s car in the

MATT SHEPPARD SUPER SEASON 2022

driveway. He had an open trailer and I’d climb in and pretend I was racing,” Sheppard said. “That’s like my earliest memories I have of racing.”

When it was finally Matt’s turn, he got behind the wheel of a kart starting in 1990 and would head out to Paradise Speedway in Geneva, New York. Fridays were spent supporting dad at the track, Saturday afternoons belonged to Matt and his kart.

Eventually he graduated to four-cylinder cars at age 15, racing mostly at Black Rock Speedway, now Outlaw Speedway, in Dundee, New York. Four-cylinders gave way to eight very quickly as he was into a sportsman modified at age 16.

Matt benefited from the help of another modified driver and champion, Steve Paine, to get his shot at a sportsman ride.

“I learned so much from Steve and his dad,” Sheppard said. “It was years of knowledge and experience that has been really valuable for my entire career.”

The rookie season in the sportsman mod division was 1999 and Sheppard notched six wins. A year later, Paine gave Sheppard a new ride, a Teo Pro car, and it was off to the races – literally. Sheppard claimed twenty-two victories in 2000 and won the Mr. DIRT Sportsman Championship. He completed his breakout season if fine fashion, going into Super DIRT Week at the New York

Sheppard brought his A game this year in the Short Track Super Series, driving away with the STSS North Region and Elite Championships for the series.

State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York to compete on the Moody Mile. There he took home the trophy for first place in the sportsman race.

Having climbed the sportsman mountain to its pinnacle, Sheppard gazed off at other peaks to scale. The next year the team kept the Teo Pro but swapped in a 358ci engine to move up a class in DIRTcar. He raced at Fulton Speedway in 2001 and ended in victory lane six times on the season. This was enough to crown Sheppard as track champion in the 358 mod class for the year.

In 2003 Sheppard moved up to the bigblocks and landed his first victory in the class at Canandaigua Speedway, going full circle from watching his dad race to having his dad watch him race and win at the track he grew up at.

In 2004 Sheppard signed on to race for car owner Randy Ross who had a nose for good racers, including Billy Decker. The move made Sheppard a full-time race car driver, something he’d dreamed about from way back when he was pretending to drive his dad’s car on the back of that hauler in the driveway.

“I grew up with racing and realized at a young age that racing is what I wanted to do,” Sheppard said. In 2004 he got the chance and he never looked back.

In 2009 Sheppard won his first Billy Whittaker Cars 200, besting Tim McCreadie and Tim Fuller. He came close again in 2012 and 2014, taking second place in each of those races. In 2016 Sheppard took more control over his racing career, launching his own team after parting ways with Heinke Baldwin Racing after the 2015 season. He moved back into a Bicknell chassis to launch his racer-owned team, stating at the time, “I’ve always had a close relationship with them. It’s not that I don’t like the Troyer cars and we’ve had a lot of success in them. I didn’t feel as connected with them. Randy (Williamson), (Bob) Slack, Pete (Bicknell) and all the guys at Bicknell. I’ve had a great relationship with them throughout the years and they are willing to step up and help me out a little bit to get me back into this deal. I look forward to working with them again.”

It wasn’t long after this move that he was able to repeat his trip to victory lane in the Super DIRT Week finale, finishing in first place in 2017, beating out Peter Britten and Larry Wight. In 2021, Sheppard got a podium finish at the big race, finishing third behind Mat Williamson and Billy Decker.

As if he needed any help, the stats from the 2022 season lend credence

to his use of the Superman moniker. In the big block category, as of press date, Sheppard started 87 races. Of those he was in the top ten a whopping 76 times! Top five finishes totaled 67 for the year. As for victories, Sheppard has amassed 40 wins so far this year.

Throughout 2022 Sheppard was found at weekly races across upstate New York. He competed at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Land of Legends Raceway (formerly Canandaigua Speedway), Orange County Fair Speedway, Outlaw Speedway and Utica-Rome Speedway. He finished 2022 as track champion

Besides competition, there were several times when Sheppard and his team had to battle rain and the elements to get out on the track and compete. Fortunately for us, Quentin Young was there to give us this great shot.

at Utica-Rome and OCFS. Besides competing in the Super DIRTcar Series in 2022, Sheppard also ran in the Bob Hilbert Short Track Super Series powered by Sunoco Race Fuels. Sheppard was the STSS champion in 2021 and repeated in 2022 in both the Elite Series and North Region points races. In the Super DIRTcar Series, Sheppard went into the race at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with a 164 point lead.

Sheppard got out the broom for Super DIRTweek, completing a sweep for the week. He qualified on the pole on Thursday, won his heat Friday and finished the trifecta Sunday with a victory that netted him a $50,000 payday in the big block competition. Sheppard also scored the victory Saturday night, winning the 2022 Salute to the Troops 150 in the 358 modified class. Not bad for a week of racing.

In the big 50th annual Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Oswego Speedway, the big finale to Super DIRTweek, Sheppard needed an early pit and a little luck to get to victory lane.

“The key to the race was the pit stop on the 97th lap,” Sheppard said, after the race. “I had a left front tire going down and that caution period allowed me to take on tires and fuel and when I came out, we really started to roll.”

From that lap 97 pit stop, it took Sheppard 76 laps to regain the lead.

Sheppard finished the season with a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to

compete in the World of Outlaws World Finals. The multi-night race ws the conclusion to what could be considered Matt Sheppard’s greatest season yet. As the 2022 closes Sheppard can look back on the road he has traveled and revel in the many milestones of success he has passed along the way. By the time this issue hits the rack it will already be known whether he was able to keep the sizeable lead alive through the feature races in Charlotte and if that brought a ninth Super DIRTcar Series championship home.

What will the 2023 season bring for Superman Matt Sheppard? We can’t wait to find out!

Sheppard closed his Orange County Fair Speedway season with a big victory in October, netting a nice payday and putting some solid punctuation at the end of his commanding 2022 season.

Photo: Bob Mays

Kaylee Bryson (26) and Justin Grant (91) prepping for the USAC Silver Crown Bettenhausen 100 at Springfield Speedway in Missouri. Kaylee Bryson led over half of the race on her way to a fifth place finish. Grant took the win.

Ryan Godown (26) pursues Mat Williamson (88) down the frontstretch in front of the enormous crowd filling the stands at Oswego Speedway.

The Sportsman Division is one of the most popular DIRTcar divisions and was a huge part of the 50th edition of Super Dirt Week. Mike Fowler fends off traffic in his vintagewrapped 410.

The 358 mods ran under the lights as Corey Barker (31) peeks over to see Tyler Meeks (9M) showing him a nose.

Tim Fuller on the outside of Gary Lindberg (28). Fuller finished the finale in the top ten while Lindberg was scored 34th.

The Pro Stocks had a bit of a NASCAR flavor as veterans Kenny Wallace (above in the 36) and Kenny Schrader (below in the 9s) both returned to Oswego but for the first time on dirt. Wallace’s fourth was better than Schrader’s 20th while Nick “The Manimal” Stone, from Rotterdam, New York, took the flag first. It was Stone’s first Super DIRTweek victory.

Super DIRTweek is always entertaining, even in the pits. Above, Brett Hearn with his fighter jet pit sign. Stewart Friesen with his Stewie Griffin pit sign. We have to admit, we thought photographer Quentin Young was pulling a fast one on us with a little Photoshop magic. Nope Quentin just knows how to capture magic when he sees it.

(Above) Matt Sheppard continued his dominance over the division and won his third Super Dirt Week finale of his career while also winning the Salute to the Troops 150 for the 358 modifieds on Saturday night. (Below) Sheppard shared the final podium with Mat Willamson (left) and Max McLaughlin (right).

short track STARS

DOUG MANMILLER THE HANDLER

BY RANDY KANE

HE IS KNOWN simply as “The Handler”. Doug Manmiller, whether working as a self-employed electrician during the week or strapped into a potent 358 Modified ride on the weekends, knows how to handle, basically, any situation.

“That, actually, came from one of my former employers,” revealed the 54-year-old resident of Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania, referring to “The Handler” nickname.

“Just give it to Doug, he’ll handle it,” Manmiller added, talking about his former employer. “Also, when we were at the race track, he owned the car I drove at the time and he’d tell everyone ‘Look at him handling that car.’ So, it came from that. I’m fine with that.”

When it comes down to Manmiller’s success story throughout all his years at the race track, that formula is also very simple. Preparation, Manmiller is quick to point out.

Manmiller has driven for many top of the line race team owners throughout his 29-year career with the 358

modified cars. He has had several great relationships over the years and each one produced success in different ways. In the end, though, preparation has been a key.

“I started racing when I was seven,” began Manmiller. “No one else in my family had raced anything before me. I’ve always been the only racer in my family until recently. I raced for roughly 16 years in the karts and had success on dirt and asphalt, plus road courses. I won a National Championship and beat out former Winston Cup standout Jerry Nadeau once. I’d raced a lot with Jeff Strunk. We came up through it all together. Eventually, Jeff got into the bigger cars and I got married. I used to travel to the old Reading Fairgrounds halfmile track and growing up I always had a desire to drive a dirt modified. I guess, if I’d grown up in Central Pennsylvania I’d been thinking about driving a Sprint Car, you know? Strunk always told me you can do this.”

That dream of a modified never went away. “Anyway, I was about 24 and that thought was in my head. I hooked up with Gary Spotts, who owned 358 Modified cars in the past but got back into the

karts. I’d been his driver for two seasons and he had an itch to go back into 358 modified racing. I figured I’d race karts forever but Gary asked me if I wanted to come along and be his driver. I guess that was my big break, you can say? I’ve also driven for owners like Josh Biever, Dick Biever, Rod Breitenstein, Greg Sarangoulis, Shawn Fitzpatrick, Dave Zubikowski and recently Jason Miller, since 2015, to name eight. I raced my own car for a short time, too. All of them helped me out in so many different ways. I was comfortable driving for all of them and we got along on the family end or whatever. I am still friends with them all today and I never could rank them in any order. We had then and still do today, always good relationships,” Manmiller noted.

His first career 358 Modified feature win came at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania in 1994. By 2003 he claimed his first track championship at Susquehanna (now BAPS Motor Speedway) Speedway in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. In 2010, he was the 358 Modified champion at Big Diamond Speedway. He won the end-of-the-season,

Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania

Manmiller gets dicey in the 2s racing Billy Schinkel at Big Diamond back in 1995.

Photo: Mike Feltenberger

rich-paying Coalcracker Championship event at Big Diamond in 2012.

Over the years, Manmiller has put several solid seasons together, running religiously week-after-week on all the local raceways. Every year he’s mentioned as a championship contender and he’s always in the hunt. There’s no need to drive for only high-profile racing teams or teams with deep pockets. Manmiller has accomplished most of his success on driving talent alone.

“My dad, today, still has a burning desire to win a track championship or a Freedom 76 race at Grandview,” mentioned Doug’s 28-year-old son, Cody Manmiller. “That, certainly, would complete his career goals.” However, with Grandview Speedway announcing in September 2022 the track will most likely close its gates, Manmiller won’t get that chance. “My goals in racing since day one have always been go fast, be consistent and win races,” Doug announced.

His son, Cody, has seen his father’s entire career play out. “I was born back in 1994, the first year my dad began running the 358 modified cars. I grew up in the grandstands watching my dad make thousands of laps. I played soccer in college but had no competitive outlet so I decided to try racing. My first two seasons I raced in a 600 modified car and then moved up to a 602 crate car. The first year I raced at Big Diamond. I got my first career feature win and won the 602 crate track championship. In 2022,

I moved to Grandview to race the 602 Crate car weekly there.”

Michael Storms had raced off-and-on throughout New York mainly but moved to Pennsylvania after he got married to Gabriella Manmiller in 2021. They became parents of a son in 2022 and Doug took on a new role as grandfather. It was a job he certainly could handle. “I am a lot more experienced and better at it now than I was when my kids came along,” Manmiller noted, laughing.

Doug’s new son-in-law Storms helped out as Cody’s crew chief and, recently, took over as the 358 modified chauffeur for veteran car owner Norm Hansell and his well-known 357 team at Grandview weekly.

On Saturday night June 4, 2022 it was truly a Manmiller family affair at Grandview when Doug won the 30-lap

358 Modified feature and roughly 30 minutes later son Cody won the 602 Crate 25-lap feature race on the same night. Michael Storms was still the crew chief for Cody’s effort.

That rare feat happened only once before on June 20, 1998, at Grandview when Randy Bailey and his late son Michael won a Twin-35s 358 Modified night on Father’s Day Weekend of all dates. “That night was amazing,” announced Doug. “Racing right now is fun and very fulfilling. All three of us had a hand in the outcome that night and it’s still hard to believe it happened.”

“I sat in the stands for all those years and to be standing in victory lane alongside my dad maybe 30 minutes after he won, on the same night, it was unreal,” explained Cody. “To think we’d both win on the same night, it’s

Doug Manmiller leaning on the right rear at BAPS Motor Speedway during 2021.

Photo: John Rothermel

Photo: Scott Bender

Cody and Doug Manmiller share Grandview’s victory lane on the night they both won their feature events.

something I never dreamed of. It all was like a dream happening.”

Right now, Manmiller isn’t sure what the future might hold. He knows he can handle it. Whatever comes his way? “Right now, I race year-to-year,” suggested Manmiller. “We’ll see what the future brings. I want to race next year and hopefully my car owner does, too. We’ll see how things play out. If another car owner comes along and my current owner decides to give it up, I’ll decide at that time. If nothing happens and I don’t drive I’ll probably help my son. I have a son-in-law who’s racing and my grandson will be probably racing at an early age. I’d be perfectly happy helping others be successful. I’m pleased with the career path I’ve followed. I know I’ll be able to handle it.

“My future doesn’t only depend on my decision. A lot depends on the car owner and my crew guys, too. If I keep on racing a lot of things have to come into play to make it happen. Who knows what the future will hold but 29 years in, racing is still fun.

Photo: Mike Feltenberger

Enjoying the spoils of a 1996 Big Diamond victory.

Taking on the now gone Moody Mile at the New York Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York in 2007.

Photo: Mike Feltenberger

The Manmillers, Doug and Cody, often race together on the same card.

Photo: Scott Bender

DUSTIN SORENSON CHAMPIONSHIP CAMPAIGN

WORDS BY ASHLEY ZIMMERMAN

PHOTOS BY BUCK MONSON

THERE ISN’T MUCH argument that can fight the statement that as a race fan, if you fancy dirt track race cars with fenders, the Midwest offers a host of opportunities to see exciting racing on any level spanning from the IMCA to DIRTcar to WISSOTA and the USMTS. Modifieds on dirt truly flourishes in the heart of the heartland each and every summer

and where the USMTS is concerned, the series boasts some rather large paydays and a lucrative points championship to accompany their forty race schedule.

While the options to compete against the best of the best in modified racing can seem endless on any given Saturday night, Minnesota’s Dustin Sorenson has had the USMTS on his radar since he

It’s this kind of lightning close precision that earned Sorenson a win at the Dairyland Showdown in Fountain City, Wisconsin back in May of this season.

Sorenson took it right down to the wire at the end and finally secured his first USMTS championship officially on the final night of the season at 81 Speedway in Kansas. Dirt Empire caught up with him in the final month of the season before he knew officially that everything was about to change in his career and he was going to be $100,000 richer. We know now how the story ends but Sorenson wasn’t yet a USMTS champion when we chatted.

Dirt Empire: Let’s start from the beginning of sorts, as a driver who’s following in the footsteps of your father, growing up, was there anything that stood in your way or made you question if you wanted to pursue racing?

Dustin Sorenson: No, not really, other than hockey was a big part of my life when I was really young. I kind of had to make a decision between hockey and racing for which direction I wanted to go, but after high school I was leaning towards racing, so that’s where I went.

DE: Would you say your dad’s racing career and success inspired your racing dreams and goals?

DS: One hundred percent. When I was little, watching him race the USMTS races was my favorite thing. Since my career started he has been my crew chief, we fight all the time [he laughs] but I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without him. He’s really good and we work really well together.

DE: With your father having been your crew chief throughout your career, coming to the close of a season as successful as this, what has it meant to you to have him so intimately in your corner and a part of your success?

DS: I think it’s really cool because it’s something that I think he really, really wants, too, so it’s huge.

DE: IF you win the championship, who do you think will celebrate harder?

have been some of the best advice your dad has offered to you as your career in racing has grown? Anything you would pass along to other drivers?

DS: I have to think about that, probably not tearing your stuff up. Especially this year, I’ve come a long way with that aspect in racing, making sure that you’re finishing races, especially when you’re racing for points, not up there in the wall and just consistently finishing.

DE: Is there anything you did during the off season to prepare differently for this season that you could attribute to the success you’ve had in 2022?

DS: No, not really. We were really doing there at the end of last season, so I had a lot of confidence going into the early part of this season. I think I won a lot or almost half of the races in the last couple months of the season in 2021. Then over winter just the same thing, we went through the cars, tore them completely apart, actually had them both at Mars and put them both on the jig and put them back together.

DE: Do you feel like you learned any sort of valuable lessons in the 2021 season that kind of gave you a push to be able to get to the next level? Was there something that finally clicked?

DS: I don’t think it was just an overnight thing that clicked. It was kind of the whole season racing with the USMTS; it helped me out racing against those guys every night, it was huge for me.

DE: You work a full-time job and the USMTS schedule is quite busy, how do you balance how competitive the schedule is?

DS: It’s tough. I work on my car at night, just my dad and I at the shop. I have some guys who help me at the racetrack but they work full time jobs so it’s only on the weekends.

could say the word racecar. As a second generation modified driver, Sorenson had only one decision to make growing up, racing or hockey. When it came to the type of racing, watching his father pilot a modified throughout his childhood would make his decision one without contemplation, it was always going to be a modified.

DS: [he laughs] I don’t know, I guess I don’t really know, I’ll be really excited, but I think if I win he’ll be really excited, I think it’ll be tough to tell. What I do know is that my buddy Neil Eckhart, who passed away last fall, would be more excited than anybody if he was still here.

DE: Having someone like your dad with experience in your corner, what

DE: If racing came with do overs, is there anything you’d go back to change?

DS: [he laughs] This season, yeah, I’m thinking of Humboldt where we got into Terry Phillips, spun out, and had to go to the back and that kind of hurt for points. I think the biggest race that I wish I could go back and change something would be Saturday of the Jamboree last year. Instead of redrawing I took a challenge

to start. I think it was ninth for an extra $10,000. I got the lead and led for a while and then lost it to Jake ONeil on a restart. But, it would have been pretty cool to win that.

DE: Currently you have a very slim point lead in the USMTS standings as the year closes to an end, do you feel like the gap has ever been big enough to take any of the pressure off?

DS: No, it’s never been that big enough for me to feel like I have enough of a lead, I definitely wish it was bigger. I think Tanner is currently only about 82 or 84 points behind me. I’ve definitely been watching it closely. I don’t feel any comfort. He runs good every night so the pressure is definitely on.

DE: After becoming a strong competitor on the USMTS series, what would you say sets the series apart from others in the US and what makes the series challenging?

DS: I think the payout the last few years is what makes it the best series. I mean there are a lot of good drivers in UMP, WISSOTA, and IMCA, too but we’re the only tour that pays as much as it does where you can make some money at it. I wish everybody would come to the USMTS races because I want to race against the best of the best.

DE: If winning the championship with the USMTS opens any doors for your future, what would you like to see them be?

DS: I’m not sure, I mean obviously late models are a lot bigger stage, it seems like they have a lot bigger fan base, so maybe go do something there. I’d still like to keep racing modifieds because that’s what all of my home tracks are and that’s what I grew up doing. But I don’t know, whatever opportunities I get, I guess we’ll do whatever makes the most sense.

DE: Since we are rounding out the season, what are your top moments of the 2022 season and why?

DS: The first race of the year at Rocket Raceway Park I tore up my car in the B main and then we were scrambling to get it back together for the feature. So I ended up tearing up my car in the B main and still winning the B main, it was all sheet metal damage. The deck lid was hanging off of it, we were scrambling to get it all back together for the feature and then the lights went out in the feature before us on the track so that gave us extra time to get it all back together and then started 13th in the feature and ended up winning so that was really cool after the hectic night we had in practice night before. The USMTS win at Fountain City, the track is called Mississippi

Thunder Speedway, that was cool, it was a $10,000 to win and it’s one of my home tracks so that was pretty fun. I started pretty far back in that one, too. The win at Cedar Lake. It was USMTS. I started eighth in that race and won. I think that’s three, so a few weeks ago at the Labor Day race at Deer Creek Speedway, I started fourth and Jim Chisum who you’ll probably be interviewing the next year because he’s going to be really good, he started inside of me in third, we swapped the lead seven times and both led twenty one laps, and he beat me by only a tenth of a second, that was just a really fun race back and forth like that. Probably the last one that comes to mind is the USMTS race at Ogilvie. I also started around eighth or so, just really deep there and was able to work my way up and win there also.

DE: What will winning your first USMTS championship mean to you? How long has something like this been on your bucket list?

Sorenson has a lot of laps in Fountain City and the raceway is one of the closest on the UMSTS tour to his Rochester, Minnesota, home so he let loose on the roof after winning there.

DS: I never really thought at this age, at 21, that I’d be able to win a USMTS championship. We didn’t even really plan to run the USMTS series last year, we kind of just ended up going by that because it made sense for us to go, but then we finished so strongly last year we thought that if we kept going we had a chance, so that was the plan. I don’t think anyone really thought that it would happen, but it would definitely be the coolest thing ever if I did, I mean just being able to win $100,000 at 21 would be pretty special.

DE: If at the end of the season you have secured the points championship, how will you use or would like to use this momentum going into next season?

DS: I don’t know, I guess we’ll see what happens, see what kind of opportunities, if any are given over the winter. If you can make pretty good money running modifies and the USMTS schedule is only 40 or so races long, we have to do what makes sense for us.

DE: What have been some of the key contributing factors that you have relied on or made a priority to enable you to stay consistently at the top this season?

DS: I think everything is. Everyone is so good nowadays, you have to be up to par. Our race cars are awesome, we’ve got two of them from MB customs and I have confidence that either car will be competitive any night, our engines come from Action Race Engines and they run great every night and whenever I feel like I need a fresh one they get me one right away. The setup even, I have my dad if I

have any questions and it’s huge to have him help me out.

DE: What do you do to help yourself recover from a bad race weekend and not let it continue to impact your season?

DS: I just try to forget about it and just keep running as good as you can every night. I mean, maintenance is huge. It’s making sure that you don’t have any DNFs, making sure nothing breaks. Just making sure all your stuff is good and there’s nothing stupid that’s gonna happen that’s gonna cost you points is a huge part of what I look at.

DE: If you had a younger fan inquiring with you about the best way to follow their dreams in your footsteps, what would you tell them?

DS: I would say ask questions. The older guys with more experience know a lot more than what you do starting out and definitely listen to what people have to say. If you don’t have someone you can immediately ask questions of, ask questions around the pits, make a lot of friends, you don’t have to immediately go up and ask for help, just stand next to them, talk to them, make friends.

While Sorenson loves racing his USMTS modified, he does have a lot of laps in late models and wouldn’t turn down the right opportunity.

track SPOTLIGHT

THE FUTURE OF SKAGIT SPEEDWAY

A SIT DOWN WITH PETER MURPHY

WORDS BY JOANNE CRAM

WITH THE RETIREMENT of Skagit Speedway’s owner and promoter, Steve Beitler, the future of Skagit was a little up in the air after the 2021 season. This Pacific Northwest icon has hosted decades of dirt track racing entertainment. Born in 1954 out of a parcel of cleared stumps, the 3/8 mile track has been racing jalopies, modifieds, several classes of sprint cars for just shy of seven decades. With only nine dirt tracks currently in operation in the state of Washington, the thought of another iconic track shutting down was just not something anyone wanted to see. Luckily for Skagit Speedway, loyal backers were ready to step up and take on the challenge of seeing the speedway through to several more decades of dirt track racing.

Skagit’s Crown Jewel of races is the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup. The event originally was a three track event held between Skagit Speedway, Sky Valley Speedway (Monroe, WA), and Elma. After Elma dropped out and Sky Valley closed down, the Dirt Cup was officially all Skagit’s. With one of the biggest purses in the country, Jim Raper’s vision for The Dirt Cup was realized and the race became one of the nation’s top nonsanctioned open wheel events.

PHOTOS BY DON LAIDLAW

Former racer turned California promoter Peter Murphy now joins a short list of dedicated Skagit Speedway promoters: Steve Beitler, Fred Brownfield, Jim Burrow, the Green and Lemley families, and Jim Raper, to name a few.

Here are some questions and answers with Peter Murphy as to what’s in store for the future of Skagit Speedway.

Dirt Empire: You’re from Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. Before we get into your vision for Skagit, give us a brief rundown on how your

career and transition to California. Peter Murphy: My home town is just outside Sydney, about thirty minutes away. I started racing compact speeders in Australia, then moved into compact speed cars and 3/4 midgets one year, then moved right up to sprints back in 1990. I raced eleven times in Australia. Then had the opportunity to head to America, my 12th night out in a sprint car was at Knoxville Raceway. My 13th night out was against the World of Outlaws at Knoxville. It wasn’t the race I had hoped for; the right front fell off,

Peter Murphy, left, shares his thoughts with racer Kerry Madsen.

the night didn’t go super well! Sprint car racing has always been my dream. I grew up in Australia reading Open Wheel Magazine, then I stepped into the pages myself- it was pretty cool for me. Sprint car racing is something I always wanted to do. Back in 1988, I worked for Steve Kinser in the Coors Light Gambler and had the opportunity to tour the country. I fell in love with the life of traveling to race. I remember thinking that this is something I want to do. I then worked for Barry Lewis in 1990, then I joined the Beaver Drill and Tool 12H Bob Vielhauer car. I stayed longer than I should have. I ran a 360 in Sedalia a few times. After that, I went home and got a ride back home and things were good, going in the right direction. It’s been a great race career; I’ve raced in three countries - New Zealand on the north island, my home country of Australia, and of course over here in America. I’m honored to be able to say I’ve had a win in all three countries, a career of over 70 wins.

DE: What is your new title in this stage of your life as a racer?

PM: Race promoter at Hanford and Skagit Speedway

DE: What is your current role in racing?

PM: As of now, I am the promoter of two

different tracks. Because of my crash in 2013 at Antioch, I ended up with a severe head injury, and was told could never race again. It happened on my youngest boy’s birthday. My recovery was really long and I kept thinking, so what next? Someone suggested that I put on a race. I just knew one thing for sure, I wasn’t done with sprint cars. With all of the injuries, dealing with depression, blood on the brain, it look so long to learn how to do simple things like telling time and simple math.

It was a frustrating recovery, but I knew I wanted to do something more. The first race I promoted was in Tulare in 2015, where ironically I won my first 410 feature. Oddly enough, Skagit was my last win in a sprint car. I really liked promoting that first race and decided I wanted to keep putting on races. I now own the lease at Hanford Speedway, I am only able to do special events because of current fair board regulations stating that we can only have so many events. But next year there

Murphy is more than willing to get dirty to get it right as he goes to work on the surface.

are plans for more as I work closely with the fair board to bring more sprint car races back to Hanford.

DE: How do you balance this new stage of life with your family life back in Clovis, California?

PM: This has been a work in progress this year, trying to find the right balance. Both of my boys and my wife have come up to Skagit to put time into the track. My oldest boy, Tyler, is at Fresno State studying theater and travels a lot to perform. My youngest boy, Bryan, just graduated high school and spends a lot of time working for me, which I love. He thinks he wants to go racing in a sprint car, so we are working on that. My wife, Stephanie, is going to college for her BA and working full time as a teacher’s associate for the deaf and hearing impaired. This is her passion and she also loves racing and comes up to Skagit to help whenever she can. She’s so good at what she does. She’s my rock; that’s all there is to it. I lost a lot of months of memory, and she remembers everything and helps me fill in the gaps.

DE: What other tracks are you associated with besides Hanford and Skagit Speedway?

PM: No plans as of yet, but it is always a possibility. I can never say no, and if I can help someone do something they want to do, it’s a go. I have great people around me at both tracks who make life so much easier. The key is to surround yourself with good people.

DE: Who are the other players at Skagit Speedway and what are their roles?

PM: Kevin Rudeen, John Hagar, myself: we all three own a stake in the track. John is at Skagit every day working on the track. There are so many qualities about him that I cannot come close to achieving; we compliment each other very well. We are both here day to day. Kevin is at Skagit at least once a month when his schedule allows it. He is extremely busy with his other businesses and does so much with his Rayce Rudeen Foundation work as well. We are all three very vested and all decisions are a joint decision between the three of us. My partner at Hanford is my brother-in-law, Preston Cross, who is also a part owner of Corey Day’s car with Jason Meyers. Like I said before, I am surrounded by some amazing people making all of this fall into place.

DE: How did it come about that your group acquired Skagit?

PM: Funny enough, there seem to be varied stories on how it all came about. But basically, conversations between everyone happened at separate times, and it just all came together. I think this partnership is good for the sport and good for Skagit.

DE: What are your long term plans at Skagit?

PM: As with any track, things are a continual work in motion. You can’t just stop at some point and say it’s good enough as it is. You always have to make it better. We as a race community have to adapt to the racing world and make it better. Times are changing, our loyal fans are getting older.

Facility wise, the score tower out behind the back straightaway is over 20 years old. It needs to be fixed but parts

are not readily available for something that old. It takes a lot of time and energy to chase down parts, wait on them, then install them. We need to put a new Jumbotron up that is state of the art and following the times. We will get a new scoring tower eventually. The infield needs to be redesigned and we are weighing options for infield pitting but unloading is a challenge. Skagit Speedway has historically pitted in the infield until the last two decades, and the fans love to see the action of the infield pit. We would like to go back to infield pitting in some form, but not sure what that looks like yet. We need to try to make things work for the racers and fans both. We just really want it to possible for fans to be able to see the action and what’s going on; this is what we’ve been told they miss.

Other things we are working on are the campground, trying to make it work better and be bigger. Change is hard and we realize that. But our ultimate goal is to make the camping more uniform so it’s easier to access and the spots are uniform. Electricity and water installation at each site is also down the road. It’s not simple and takes a lot of work with the county to make these sorts of changes to a facility like Skagit Speedway.

DE: What do you think about the health of sprint car racing?

PM: It’s struggling on the West Coast. Our diehard fans are getting older. We need to do something to entice new blood; younger people who can continue the sport. I think it’s worse on the West Coast due to politics probably, they don’t seem to have racing in mind, and there are so many hoops to jump through to get anything done. It’s all about control in

The Jim Raper Dirt Cup is Skagit’s showpiece and brings stars from around the country, like 2022 winner and All Star champion Tyler Courtney (57). Murphy intends to keep growing the event’s prominence.

West Coast politics.

People want instant gratification now days. We are all so used to instant gratification on our phones, and I think this is a reason we are losing fans in the stands. So many options are available now via streaming subscriptions, so people don’t have to go to the track. They can watch races on their phone. Somehow we need to compromise and figure out how to balance streaming races with the need to get fans in the stands at the actual events. Live streaming needs to be a balance to retain people in the stands so the sport can survive. Without fans in the stands, it’s a struggle to put on a successful show. We need to change what we do to get the younger people to come to the track in person and experience live racing.

DE: How did your first season at Skagit go?

PM: Change is always hard… the first season was interesting.

DE: What big races do you plan to focus on for next season, besides Dirt Cup and World of Outlaws weekend? Any changes to those races?

PM: We plan to keep the schedule pretty much as it was this season; weekly racing on most Saturdays. Dirt Cup will be a three day event again, we will host a two day Monster Slam event in August, and the World of Outlaws will be back for a three day show over Labor Day Weekend. We will host a two day wingless and 360 show again as well. We are excited to have expanded our big shows to three days so the teams can spend more time at the track and the fans can see their favorite drivers for a longer stretch of time.

DIRT TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

PHOTOS BY TYLER CARR

Garrett Smith (10) became the youngest champion ever of the Dirt Track World Championship at the age of 19. He raced from the pole and earned $100,000 for his effort.

Two titans - Tim McCreadie (39) and Brandon Overton - battled early but only McCreadie was close to Smith at the end and finished second.

All the elements of a Crown Jewel - big purse, big field, big crowd.

The iconic bridge provides timeless shots every time race cars hit the Portsmouth Raceway Park.

Tubular steel chassis crafted to the same measurements as the classic OEM chassis.

The DWTC brought all of the heavy hitters and occasionally stacked them up four wide, like this shot of Spencer Hughes (11), Camaron Marler (99), Ricky Thornton Jr. (20RT) and Brandon Sheppard (1). Thornton’s 8th was the best of this quartet in the finale.

The legendary Charlie Swartz driving a Jim Dunn tribute car was a highlight before the start of the main event.

Back-to-back for T-Mac!

A seventh place finish in points earned ROTY honors for Garrett Alberson.

Photos & Text

by Vahok Hill

Air pressure in the tires is a huge adjustment. But how much do you adjust, more air or less air, is the tire new or old, does the age of the tire impact how much air you should run? What about the wheel offset and width, does it matter? What is the durometer of the tire, is it changing is it something you can adjust?

MAKING THE MOST CRITICAL ADJUSTMENTS

TO PARAPHRASE Albert Einstein, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is the definition of crazy.” Race cars are adjustable, there are a multiplicity of adjustments that can impact and effect the performance. So, what are the critical knobs, screws, springs, fluids and parts and when should they be adjusted? I would guess that most racers really don’t know which adjustments really impact the race car’s performance in a positive way, hence the phrase “we missed the set-up today”. If they did know the critical adjustments, they would dominate whatever series they were running.

The trick to winning is doing adjusting correctly and regularly. Also, just because you can adjust something does not always mean you should. How many adjustments make no measurable difference to the car’s performance at all? First, what can you adjust on a racecar? A brief, but not complete list includes weights, stagger, shocks, ride height, bump stops, wheel base, tire compounds, roof height, pedal travel, spoiler or wing height and location and on and on and on.

The point I’m trying to make is that there are so many adjustments it can boggle the mind. And, I have not listed all of the potential adjustments. We have not even talked about engines, power curves and gearing the car to take advantage of the torque being developed and the RPM where it is occurring.

So, how do you define the most important or critical to performance adjustments and when you should adjust them or develop an individual level setting for a given adjustment? When should you adjust them and how large or small should the adjustment be? Can you turn the knob too far? Also, does or could the combination of settings/ adjustments cause or have confounding relationships? A confounding relationship, for the purpose of this discourse, would be adjustments that could cancel their individual effects or the impact of some other non-related adjustment.

Furthermore, we need to determine what adjustments have no measurable effect on the performance of the car. So, how do you know what to adjust? When to adjust? And, to what level or degree of a specific adjustment should be accomplished? Easy questions to ask, just a bit harder to answer. The simple answer is you have to test and keep copious notes on the test session(s) and adjustments you make on race day. The hard answer is that understanding which adjustments are critical to performance is difficult to determine. The best starting point is to review the data you have and if you don’t have data, start with the baseline settings and develop a list of what you do know.

Baseline settings are just that where you start your car on a given night. Prior to hitting the track while the car is still in

the shop. Develop a setup sheet of where all of the adjustments are set when you hit the track. Start with the simple stuff. You don’t need a computer or anything fancy, a simple spiral notebook a pen and some highlighters are a great way to start. We will talk about the colors and what they may mean in just a bit.

SHOCKS

• Compression and rebound settings

• Age of the shocks

• Type of shocks (do you run different types of shocks?)

SPRINGS

• Define the rates and age of the spring

• Reference the with the free length from new to now

• Steering

• Brakes

FLUID SYSTEMS

• Oil

• Hydraulic systems

• Fuel

• Water

• Cooling systems

DRIVER SYSTEMS

• Seat

• Restraints

• Pedal positions and travel (At times this may require adjustment at the track)

WHEELS & TIRES

• Wheel size

• Wheel type

• Wheel offsets

• Tire brand, if you race where tires are specified not really an adjustment

• Compound (s)

• Number of laps on each tire

• Durometer of the tire, from new and on race day.

• Physical wear from new

• Wear on a given night

• Tire wear on each corner of the car

• Age of tire from purchase and manufacture date

• Lot number of tire

• Spring rate of tire at given air pressure

• How much the spring rate of the tire changes at a given air pressures, will require some testing to determine changes.

• What you are filling your tires with, air, nitrogen

Determining which knob to turn is in fact where the racers are separated from the field fillers. As stated previously you need a plan and documenting your various adjustments is the start. The next is actually documenting what you usually adjust over the course of a race event. If you adjust nothing you are missing an enormous opportunity. If you only make adjustments at home in the shop you are also missing opportunities to improve your car. If you spend a good amount of time adjusting the engine you may be focusing on the wrong thing. A bad chassis guy can do way more to kill performance than a mediocre engine tune. At the professional level the only time the engine gets worked on, i.e., taken apart, is if something goes wrong. I am not saying that the engine is not important, it is. The issue is that the track is not the place to adjust the valves, rebuild the fuel system or to perform engine maintenance. You would not build your engine at the track, so it stands to reason that it is a poor place to perform what should have been done at home, back in the shop in a more controlled environment.

So now you have two these lists, what do you do next? Remember I said to get some colored highlighters, now you start to use them. Take the color of your choice, I like blue and start to separate the adjustments that should be done at home, this is what you should be doing on a weekly basis as part of the maintenance of the car. Do this on both lists. These are things that you should not be working on at the track, except for emergency situations. Next take another color, I like red for this next step; using both lists, define what adjustments you

Adjusting the valves at the track. Sometimes you have to but it is a job best done in the controlled environment of your shop. It seems like more can go wrong that right doing this at the track. The biggest issue seems to be focus, lots of different things can draw your attention away from the tack at hand, try to do jobs like this in the shop if at all possible.

actually make at the track, be honest, if you don’t adjust something on your list at the track don’t highlight it. For many racers this will be a short list. Once you accomplish this task the next would be to look at all of the adjustments you do make and review your race-day notes to see if these adjustments helped or hurt your performance. This will include a review of lap times pre and post the adjustments, your driver debriefs pre and post adjustments. This is why taking copious notes is so critical. Remember some factors could be on both lists, choose another color for these adjustments.

If you find all you adjust are seat belts, you may have a perfect setup. You don’t need a Rosetta Stone to see if this is working for you. If you are winning and adjusting nothing, Bully for you. If you are finishing out of the win column you many need to start exploring your racecar and see where you are lacking.

So, what have I learned over the last 30 or so years being at the track and doing experiments on race cars and teaching racers to test? Keep lots of notes. From a hardware perspective, springs

are critical to performance. It does not matter if it is a coil, a torsion bar or leaf, springs are a critical to speed. If you are not on top of the springs in your car, you are missing some speed potential. Suspension components that move through their range with no binding are key, not really an adjustment but more of a maintenance item. Tires are critical

So how many adjustments do you see? Which adjustment do you make first? Which is something you set at the shop when doing weekly maintenance? What impact to the racecar will have a positive impact on performance or a negative performance.

to performance, more succinctly, the condition of the tire, the durometer, the pressure in the tire, the spring rate of the tire. Wheels are also a critical factor with respect to offset and widths. Wheel widths impact how the tire interfaces with the track surface, wheel width impacts how quickly a tire will gain temperature or lose temperature. The key phrase in that last sentence, impact how quickly the tire will gain or lose temperature, this is a critical to performance adjustment. Driver comfort is key. If the driver is not comfortable in the car it can cause some serious issues both from a safety and a performance perspective. Comfort in the car is about more than their seat. It is about the feel of the car and the controls, also critical to performance characteristics. If your car has a sway bar, they are critical to performance, diameter of the bar, how it is mounted and whether you pre-load the sway bar or no pre-load.

Now I need to address the elephant in the room, shocks. I am fully prepared to get hate mail over what I am about to say. First, we have to define the role of the shock. The shock is on the car to control the wheel movement, it has to move smoothly through the full range of suspension travel and more significantly to prevent uncontrolled oscillations of the suspension. This is where the role of shocks becomes a sticking point. If the shocks are adjustable, racers can lose their minds. Let’s say, hypothetical situation, you race on a dirt oval and that your car is loose off the corner. Many times, a racer will soften the rear springs usually the left rear, possibly both rear springs and they may increase the rebound settings on the left rear shock or

shocks. This allows the car to roll back on the rear tires and get a greater transfer of weight to the rear wheels and gain some traction. A good thing. The problem, in most cases it is usually easier to adjust the rebound on the rear shocks than changing the spring (s). This is where the problem can become exacerbated. If the racer dials in too much rebound the car compresses the rear suspension off the corner and the weight is transferred to the rear and the increased rebound keeps the rear suspension compressed down the straight and into the next corner because the shocks have become struts not dampers. The car does not return to the running ride height and this tail down weight on the rear tire’s stance causes a push as the car enters the next corner.

This causes a litany of other confounding problems. The problem again, in racer speak, if a little is good more is better. The problem with shocks is that many racers do not understand their role and the tend to over adjust to the point where they are not really shocks, but suspension travel limiters, either up or down. It may have been that the shocks were working well and doing the job they were designed for and a spring change would have fixed the situation. Now we have and adjustment on the rear of the car that is now impacting the front of the car and may cause the racer to make adjustments on the front of the car when a softer spring on the rear might have been the solution. Not a difficult scenario to work with if you have a good set of notes and actually use them.

I pity many of the various manufactures of shock absorbers technical support folks on Monday mornings when the calls start coming in from racers to ask why my car’s handling went south after the racer adjusted them. Just because you can adjust something does not always mean you should adjust it. And, sometimes more is not a better solution. When you stand back and look at the list it may require some more work and an adjustment to your race day routines. You may have to start spending a bit more time in the shop, or you may find, that an ordered list of tasks to check during maintenance may help you better utilize your time and provide a bit more structure to your work flow. It really is that simple.

Is fuel level an adjustment or just a simple maintenance item? What if you are close on minimum weight the amount of fuel could be critical. Fuel is heavy why carry around more than you need. How much will you burn off in a heat or a main? Maybe you should check your notes.

guest MIC DROP

A YEAR IN THE LIFE: Miss Short Track Super Series

Emilee Mills - In Her Own Words

FOR THE LAST YEAR, I’ve been known as Miss Short Track Super Series but I’m also a former racer’s daughter, a racer’s cousin and a fan of racing in general. I come from a family that has been in dirt modified racing for four generations! Not only did I grow up around my father Jamie Mills racing but my grandfather Eugene Mills owns the Bluehen Racing Team, which has had many awesome drivers race for us that I personally have had the pleasure of getting to meet like Kenny Brightbill, Bob McCreadie and Jack Johnson. I always knew from a young age that racing was something extremely important to me, and something I have and always will have a passion for.

In 2017, Brett and Heather Deyo gave me the opportunity to become Miss Georgetown Speedway, which allowed me to meet so many racing people who are now like family to me. My Miss Georgetown reign came to an end in 2021 and I decided to run for Ms. Motorsports 2022, and I was second runner up. I knew at that point I did not want to be done representing the sport I’ve always loved. So, I decided to talk to the Deyo’s about having a “trophy girl” for the Short Track Super Series, and as Brett Deyo said “anything for Miss Mills!”! I was so excited to be a part of the STSS crew, and honestly couldn’t believe I was going to be able to represent one of the biggest

dirt modified series in the north east. Some people think that my responsibility as this title holder is to be a “pretty girl” in victory lane with a bikini on but that’s not all that true. My main responsibility is to represent STSS with dignity and passion. I have done many duties as Miss Short Track Super Series. Not only do I take pictures in victory lane but I also help out wherever I’m needed. For instance, giving out weight stickers at pre-race tech, hanging up signs and banners before a series race, helping with driver sign in at the series trailer, doing redraw, hanging out with fans, selling posters and giving out crowns and flags to kids, and even helping with media.

Throughout the year I have been able to have so many incredible moments and make so many memories. I checked off seven new tracks that I’ve never been to - Orange County Fair Speedway, Afton Motorsports Park, Outlaw Speedway, Utica-Rome Speedway, Devils Bowl Speedway, Accord Speedway, and Bloomsburg and they were all great experiences and facilities. Some of my favorite moments throughout the year have been being able to get so much closer with not only fans, but with drivers as well. I never thought that one day I’d be able to go to a racetrack and actually be able to hang out with some of my biggest racing idols.

I’ve also formed so many new friendships. Coming from a small town in Delaware, you don’t really know many racers or people from New York, Pennsylvania or even Vermont, but I was lucky enough to meet so many people throughout the year that have supported me and made me feel like I was home.

I always love to see the happiness on a driver’s face and their families full of excitement after a win because it truly gives me that same feeling I had as a child when my dad would win races. A good example of how I appreciate racing as a family sport is when Stewart Friesen won the NewYorker at Utica- Rome Speedway. He brought Parker (his son) up on the roof with him and they were both filled with so much joy, then they sat down on the roof together and watched the fireworks go off in the background, it was such a sweet moment that I got to actually witness in person. Another memory that surpasses most is when I have given out crowns and flags to some of the children at different tracks, seeing how happy the kids are is such a good feeling, because without them in the sport at a young age then racing could very well end in the future.

On the other hand, there have been some challenging times. With all the traveling I have done throughout the season, it has made it hard to be able to support my family at home that race weekly at Bridgeport Speedway but luckily I have Race Monitor and FloRacing. Another challenging aspect of the year was trying to get out of my comfort zone. I have always been kind of a shy girl without much self-esteem but this year truly changed my life and allowed me to get out there and find myself.

In the end, my year as Miss Short Track Super Series has been one of the most life changing experiences ever and I can’t thank Brett and Heather Deyo enough for allowing me to do what I love. Although I am now in nursing school and plan to be a Nurse Practitioner one day, racing will

Photo provided by Emilee Mills

EMILEE MILLS SPENT THE 2022 SEASON REPRESENTING THE SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES AND SHARED HER THOUGHTS ON A YEAR WELL SPENT BEING A BIG PART OF ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST MODIFIED SERIES.

always be a part of me, and I am truly blessed to have been able to do all the things I have this year, travel all the miles, meet all the racers and fans, and form so many new friendships unlike many others.

Things don’t always go as planned for Miss STSS, especially at Port Royal

Emilee Mills at Port Royal Speedway this fall with some of her biggest little fans.

Speedway.

Photo: Ryan Hill / FOURWIDE

Photo provided by Emilee Mills

Photo provided by Emilee Mills

engine builder SPOTLIGHT

By

BALDWIN RACING ENGINES

BALDWIN RACING ENGINES was started by Jeff Baldwin back in 2002.

“I started there when I got out of school,” Baldwin said. He was a recent graduate from the Nashville Auto/Diesel College in 1995. “I enjoyed the work, but I just didn’t see a future there. At the time they didn’t do any performance engine work. It was just basic, passenger vehicle work. I wasn’t interested in doing that forever.”

From there, Baldwin went to work at a local auto dealership where he worked on cars and handled vehicle maintenance for customers. He also got an opportunity to watch the circle track program the dealership was sponsoring and running.

“I was gaining knowledge that whole time,” Baldwin said. “I was working with the racing teams, tuning carbs, adjusting timing and that kind of thing.”

In 2000 Baldwin had the opportunity to purchase the machine shop he had first worked at when he came out of school. He saw the potential and leaped at the opportunity.

“It was a really basic shop,” Baldwin recalls. “I mean the tools were from like the 1950s. But it was what I had to work

with at the time. Over the years we have continued to add more technology and get better and better.”

At first, Baldwin Engines focused on truck pull and circle track cars, running their own hobby stock/street stock Camaro out of the shop from 2003-13.

“We had some pretty good success in that class of racing early on,” Baldwin remembers. “Everybody wanted us to work on their engines. That started getting our name out there at the

beginning.”

One of the areas that Baldwin Engines excelled at were demolition derby engines.

“For whatever reason, we did a ton of those engines,” Baldwin said. “Our demolition derby engines were coast-tocoast, nationwide. Pretty much if there was a demolition derby going on in the state, one of our engines was there.”

The recognition of Baldwin Racing Engines continued to grow over the years

as a rugged, dependable engine for racing or demolition derbies. Now Baldwin Engines are found all around the globe.

“We send engines all across the country and all around the world,” Baldwin said. “We have engines in Australia, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, UK and a ton up in Canada.”

What continues to set Baldwin Racing Engines from other engine shops out there? As a small company with relatively few employees, Baldwin focuses on real customer interaction and service.

“I still assemble each engine, dyno every one that comes out of the shop, so when a customer calls to talk about their engine, I know everything about it and can give them every detail they need. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve found it’s what works best for my customers,” Baldwin said.

Besides customer service, Baldwin Racing Engines utilizes the top engine components to complete their builds.

“I only put the best into our engines,” Baldwin said. “We have the latest equipment in our shop now, and produce a very good product. We work with the best as well: Total Seal, Mike’s Racing Heads, All-Pro Cylinder heads, Dyer’s, Jones Racing Products – we really benefit by working with the best.”

When it comes to Jones Racing Products, Baldwin has been able to benefit from their assistance with his builds, “One time we had a small issue, we had a small measurement off on a bracket. I sent it over to CJ [Jones of Jones Racing Products] and he had a new bracket over here in a day. They have been awesome to deal with.”

Despite the successes of Baldwin Racing Engines, there are still challenges.

“Right now, at the moment, one of the biggest challenges is just getting parts. We’re fortunate in some respects in that we work with companies like Jones who get us what we need, when we need it, but industry wide, there’s trouble getting the components. Hopefully that works itself out. The other big challenge is labor issues and keeping up with new equipment. In a way, newer equipment compensates for some of the labor

issues, but it would always be great to see the next generation coming up ready to work,” Baldwin said.

At the end of the day, Jeff Baldwin takes pride in his engines, and he enjoys staying small so he can keep focused on turning out the best engines possible.

“Maybe I won’t make the most money doing it this way,” Baldwin said. “But in the end, it’s my name on it. I want final approval when it’s finished and goes out the door.”

All photos provided by Baldwin Racing Engines

WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL DRIVER RYAN GUSTIN

By Cyndi Stiffler

Dirt Empire spent the season on the road with Ryan Gustin as our contributing writer, Cyndi Stiffler, tracked what it is really like during a racing season in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series - Thanks for allowing us to tag along, Ryan!

THIS WILL BE our final piece of this series, and to those that have been following this all year, you will definitely have to follow the Reapers social media’s pages and website to see how the season will end. The team has one last swing this weekend with three races in the Midwest on tracks that Gustin has plenty of laps on and has podium finishes.

Then from there, they roll right in to the World Finals where the season will conclude in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Reaper is sitting in a solid fourth place right now in the World of Outlaw points, and it would take a lot of interesting circumstances for him to better that spot,

but you just never know in racing, and his fan base will be cheering that effort on till the end.

When Dirt Empire and I discussed doing this piece last year at PRI, I knew immediately whom I would do it on. There were only a few drivers that I knew well

enough to even take on the task, but Gustin was the new guy, trying to get established in the late model world, trying to earn respect and gain knowledge from the ground up.

I first met Ryan over 15 years ago now, when he was racing modifieds and he was

Photo: Jacy Norgaard

Photo: Jacy Norgaard

Crewmember Noah Bushman is set to finish a long, but successful, season on the road with the Reaper.

still just a kid. My husband and eventually my daughter were racing modifieds and we make numerous trips over the years to the Midwest and raced with the USMTS, where Ryan was two-time champion with more than a 100 wins. Since we were UMP racers, the adjustment and struggle was real, but drivers and teams like Gustins and many others made that transition better by extending so many kindnesses our way. Over the years, I have watched Ryan’s modified career in amazement. He was simply one of the best to ever wheel in that division. When he got the opportunity to drive late models, he never hesitated, and a world of fans stood in the background looking on, knowing the Reaper would make his mark, to which he has proven true to their point.

The transition into late models, and especially the renowned World of Late Models, no doubt was a bit humbling after his career in the modifieds but true talent and determination always rises to the top. Ryan and his rookie team jumped in with both feet and have notched their mark and presence into this elite group. Perhaps if Ryan had just a tad more luck this year the standings may have shown a different picture. Numerous nights, not only did he have the lead but in some cases by 2-3 seconds over the field, only to lose a tire, or some other incident beyond his control. One thing is for sure; those that watched him nightly will verify, this team has steadily increased their

knowledge and sheer speed this year.

He’ll end the season with at least 40 top tens, 20 top fives, and five feature wins this season. They improved their World of Outlaw point’s standings by two spots this year, and I predict this team will most definitely be in the hunt for a championship in the very near future.

I want to extend my thanks to Ryan, Kendra, and the crew for all their support on these articles. My personal experience in both racing and promoting is that most of the time what the fans see and what the reality actually is can be polar opposites. This series of articles was to present the behind the scenes of a young team that is most definitely notching their name in the late model world. The title might be slightly misleading in that outside of the two visits to Sharon Speedway this year, I did not travel with

the team. Photographers were kind enough to update me weekly with photos, and through plenty of texts and phone calls with Gustin and his team we were able to bring you this inside look of the Reaper team.

While this life is a dream come true for those that live it, it also brings many other obstacles the average fan may not see. Ryan, his family, crew, owners and sponsors are deeply grateful for all their supportive fans and the numerous ways that support is shown as they travel across the country chasing dreams, wins and championships.

To keep updated you can follow Gustin’s journey on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and his website www.ryangustin. com. Tune into DirtVision to watch all the World of Outlaw events.

Ryan Gustin was on the hammer throughout the 2022 World of Outlaws campaign and was gracious to share the entire experience with our readers.

Photo: Ryan Black

Gustin surrendered the fourth spot to Dennis Erb Jr. at US36 Speedway in Missouri.

Photo: Jacy Norgaard

shooter at LARGE TYLER CARR

MAYBE YOU’VE NOTICED, but we here at Dirt Empire Magazine love us some racing pictures. This is our opportunity to honor the great photographers of our sport who are on the road throughout the season shooting race cars and drivers and chronicalling history. They are our shooters at large. Lone gunslingers who have choosen to wield a camera as their weapon. Ride on, shooters. Ride on.

A great look at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021.

The magic dust. Dennis Erb Jr. prepares a tire prior to World of Outlaws action at Atomic Speedway in 2022.

GET TO KNOW TYLER CARR

Hometown: New Plymouth, Ohio

Age: 27

Year Started Shooting: 2012

First Publication to Print Your Work: The November 2013 issue of Dirt

Late Model Magazine

Favorite Track to Shoot: Tyler County

Favorite Division to Shoot: Dirt Late Models

Remaining Bucket List Races: Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals, Wild West

Shootout

Favorite Thing About Racing Photography: The friendships I’ve made in the sport because of it

Outside of race cars, what do you like to photograph: Basketball

Camera Equipment: Canon R6, Canon 7d mark II, Canon 70-200 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8, Canon 300 f4, Tokina 10-17 fisheye, Sunpak flash

Ricky Thorton Jr. grabs the wall at Kokomo during qualifying for the World of Outlaws event.

For more dynamite photos from Tyler Carr, check out his coverage of the Dirt Track World Championship starting on page 50 of this issue.

Mitchell Wormall and Jason Kendrick make contact and go tumbling at the Perth Motorplex in Australia in January of 2020.

A most improbable ending as Kyle Strickler scores a win in reverse at Tyler County Speedway.

The pyro lights up the Ohio sky during the four-wide parade lap at the 2019 World 100.

Carr was in perfect position as a heat race barreled into turn one during the 2020 Topless 50 at Tyler County Speedway.

By: Bob Mays

Outlaws are nothing new, in fact they’re about as old as the sport itself. Gordon Woolley, in the Bill Hoback number 92, churns some dirt at Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1966. Gordon could, and did, show up anywhere in any car in the 1960s. (Leroy Byers photo)

Ray Lee Goodwin in the Swenson & Williams number 24 nailed the 1968 Knoxville Nationals and won the 1972 IMCA title but mostly showed up where the money was. He took a good share of it home to Kansas City too.

(Phil Dullinger photo)

Dub May, shown her in the C.K. Spurlock 18, started in El Paso, Texas, moved to Central Pennsylvania and jumped to the World of Outlaws tour in the decade of the 1970s. The constant was winning…lots of winning. (Bob Mays photo)

Kenny Jacobs, presently in the Lonnie Parsons number 6, car hopped for most of his career. He hopped into many victory lanes with most of them and cobbled together a fantastic resume that landed him in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. (Bob Mays photo)

new & featured PRODUCTS

REM Shift kits are designed to relocate shifting locations of Bert (Gen 1) and Winters/Falcon transmissions.

Loosening belts to reach a shifter are a thing of the past. This is a safe and economical alternative to major changes in the driver compartment.

Originally designed for Northeast Dirt Modifieds, interest was garnered for other racing classes including Late Models, Super Sportseman, Sprints and any other race car that uses a Bert (Gen1) or Winters/Falcon transmission.

Race Proven for over 7+ years and requires no maintanence. Repair/ Rebuild/Kit installations available.

American made using quality aircraft cables, stainless hardware and highgrade anodized aluminum components.

REM Shift

311 Maryland Ave. Laurel DE 19956

609-578-2456

Vangorder17@gmail.com

Facebook:

@ SCOTTYSSPEEDANDDIESEL

New from Billetwerx is our Swivel-NSet chassis clamps which are useful for bracing fenders, roofs, wings, and anything that needs an adjustable angle, or the final angle is unknown at the time of installation. Swivel-N-Set can swivel 360 degrees at an angle of more than 60 degrees! Mount it on a tube and simply adjust it and set it tight! Multiple style end connectors and adjustable tube lengths give you the ultimate in mounting and bracing flexibility. Perfect for all forms of racing applications as well as custom car, motorcycle, and aviation builds!

KEY FEATURES

• Fully CNC Machined from 6061 -T6 Aluminum

• Swivels 360 Degrees

• Useful for Bracing Roof, Wing, Fenders, and much more

• Various Rod lengths and End Connections available

• Made in the USA

• Clamp on to Tube Chassis

• Anodized Finish

• Adjustable in Length and Angle

• Locks Down Tight

Price - $49.00

Billetwerx Performance Products is a division of Schantz Fabrication Inc. 300 Courtland Drive Highland, IL 62249 billetwerx.com

Call: (618) 300-6016.

Email: zschantz@schantzfab.org

CORDLESS, HOSELESS LIFTS

Designed for Racers by Racers, Freedom Vehicle Lifts LLC has developed a Patent Pending line of Wireless Operated aluminum vehicle lifts. No Cords. No Hoses.

The line of lifts can raise a vehicle with a Cordless Drill or by using their Wireless Remote Power Drive System. Freedom Race Lifts offer Safer, Easy to Use, Lightweight, Compact Designs that give racers more Freedom to focus on the thing that matters most-------Winning!

Phone: 507-358-0091

Email: rdr_services@embarqmail.com

Web: www.freedomracelifts.com

Facebook: Freedom Race Lifts

REM SHIFT - SHIFTER RELOCATION TRANSMISSION ATTACHMENT

BILLETWERX SWIVEL N SET CHASSIS CLAMPS

STREET STOCK METRIC CHASSIS

Bernheisel Race Cars M•Series Street Stock is precision built to the specs of the 78-88 metric chassis.

• Crate Racin’ USA approved!

• RUSH Stock Car Series approved!

• Safer and stronger

• Includes Jack Bolt Nuts and Spring Buckets.

• All stock components guaranteed to fit properly.

• Available with or without upper control arm mounts.

• Available in full perimeter or offset.

• Checking gauges available for tracks/ series.

Bernheisel Race Components

1 Bordnersville Rd. Jonestown, PA 17038

Call for more details 717.865.3119

www.bernheiselracecars.com

The World of Outlaws returns to console gaming for the first time in over a decade on September 27, as World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing hits the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The official game of “The Greatest Show on Dirt” features six different dirt series, from the premier World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Cars and CASE Construction Equipment Late Models to four DIRTcar classes, and more than 40 tracks, including Eldora Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, and Volusia Speedway Park.

World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing retails for $49.99, while the Gold Edition is available for $69.99. The Gold Edition features all additional downloadable content for the remainder of calendar year 2022, a $35 value; 2022 DLC items will include Limaland Motorsports Park, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, and Lucas Oil Speedway, as well as two additional DIRTcar classes, UMP Modifieds and Super DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds. For those who purchase the base game, a Season Pass for downloadable content is available for $29.99.

For more information about World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing visit worldofoutlawsgame.com. For more information about the World of Outlaws, visit worldofoutlaws.com. For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit iRacing.com.

WORLD OF OUTLAWS DIRT RACING GAME FOR PS4 & XBOX

support these FOLKS

SUPPORT OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Dirt Empire Magazine 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.

Bob Mays - catsracin@yahoo.com

Buck Monson – buckmonson@gmail.com

Dan DeMarco - deacon39@me.com

Don Laidlaw – wildlight@shaw.ca

Jacy Norgaard - jacy@jacynorgaardphotography.com

John Rothermel - jcizzybu@ptd.net

Ken Kelly – kota360@hotmail.com

Mike Feltenberger – starterone@aol.com

Paul Arch - peanumber10@comcast.net

Quentin Young - quentinyoungphoto@yahoo.com

Rick Sherer - ricksherer@outlook.com

Ryan Black – ryanblack95@yahoo.com

Ryan Hill/FOURWIDE - sales@shopfourwide.com

Ryan Roberts - jryanroberts@ymail.com

Scott Bender - zrobert15@comcast.net

Tim Hunt – highsideshots@gmail.com

Tony Hammett - tony.hammett@charter.net

Tyler Carr - tcarr95vc@gmail.com

Vahok Hill – vahok.hill@cox.net

pit STOP