Blogs – Inside Circle Track

Short Track Archive by category "Blogs"

Turn 2 Blog: How much does football season impact racing?

This week’s edition of the Turn 2 Blog that would have normally been posted on InsideDirtRacing.com has been moved to this sire due to a technical issue which we are working to correct. Sorry for the inconvenience. How surprised were you at Garrett Smith’s win in the Dirt Track World Championship? Richard: This is one of those yes and no sort of answers. In the sense that a 19-year-old won a $100,000 crown jewel race is surprising no matter what the circumstances. Those are races that are supposed to be won by guys named Davenport, Overton, McCreadie, Owens and the…

Rich’s Ramblings: The 10 Biggest Dirt Late Model Races

With the Dirt Track World Championship running this weekend at the Portsmouth(OH) Raceway Park, I have been thinking about what the biggest races are each year on the Dirt Late Model racing calendar. As a result, I produced a Top-10 list of those races as I see them. I hope you will take the time to give my Ramblings a listen, and as always, offer your own suggestions on my Twitter feed(@RichardAllenIDR) or on the website’s Facebook page(InsideDirtRacing.com). Here is the ranking of what I consider to be the 10 Biggest Dirt Late Model Races: Please continue to bear…

Garrett Smith earns DTWC pole; Friday’s Qualifying and Heat Race results

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Dirt Track World Championship is one of the crown jewel events on the Dirt Late Model schedule each year with a $100,000-to-win purse up for grabs. Portsmouth Raceway Park hosts the event with preliminary action taking place on Friday night then B-main races and the 100-lap feature being contested on Saturday evening. Garrett Smith turned in a perfect night on Friday by setting fast time in hot laps, Group A qualifying and then winning his heat race to secure the pole for Saturday night. This will the be final race of the season…

Turn 2 Blog: Older drivers still getting it done

This week’s edition of the Turn 2 Blog that would have normally been posted on InsideDirtRacing.com has been moved to this sire due to a technical issue which we are working to correct. Sorry for the inconvenience. The older veterans of Dirt Late Model racing are definitely letting it be known that they have no plans to just fade away into the darkness, aren’t they? Richard: After his win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature this past Saturday night at Talladega Short Track, 48-year-old Tim McCreadie commented that “A lot of times when you get to this…

How long will the ‘Kyle Larson Effect’ be felt in dirt racing?

There is little doubt that all forms of dirt racing have, over the past two years, received more attention within the world of motorsports than at any other time in history. Mentions of dirt races have been made during NASCAR television and radio broadcasts as well as in racing related news shows and various other types of programing. And more, social media posts by the sport’s biggest stars and most followed accounts have brought racing on clay to the forefront. Whether it be Late Models, Sprint Cars or Modifieds, there has probably never been a time when the names of…

The winner of the 2020 Snowball Derby will be …

The time for the 53rd annual Snowball Derby is upon us. The biggest event in pavement short track racing will take the green flag on Sunday afternoon at the Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. Some of the nation’s biggest short track stars and even well-known figures from the NASCAR Cup Series will attempt to capture the checkered flag in the historic and prestigious event. So who among those entered will be among the favorites? Here is a list of the drivers most likely to be in contention and the one driver InsideCircleTrack.com picks to win: Stephen Nasse– The 25-year-old…

Snowball Derby’s Back-to-Front Challenge will lead to big decision for one driver

The Snowball Derby is pavement short track racing’s biggest event for those who compete in the ranks of the Super Late Model machines. The winner will receive a first prize reward of $25,000, a year’s worth of bragging rights, and a lifetime of being introduced as a former winner of that race. But in 2020, crossing the finish line first and then surviving the post-race technical inspection process could become even more lucrative for one driver. Qualifying for the Snowball Derby is one of the most stressful activities in all of racing. The top-30 drivers(out of no fewer than 52…

Chase Elliott bringing spotlight to short track racing during off-season

Whether it be his intention or not, NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is about to bring a fairly bright spotlight with him when he competes in two major short track events during this brief bit of down time prior to the restart of his regular job. The 25-year-old driver plans to race a pavement Super Late Model machine in the upcoming Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on December 6th. He will then make his first ever attempt at the famed Chili Bowl Nationals in a Midget Sprint Car during the week of January 11-16 at…

Fairgrounds Speedway and All-American 400 steeped in racing history

One of America’s most historic races is set to take place this weekend at one of America’s most historic race tracks. The green flag will wave over the All-American 400 on Sunday afternoon(November 1st) not far from the State Capitol of Tennessee at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. It will be the 36th running for one of pavement short track racing’s crown jewel events. Indeed, this is an event and a venue steeped in history. Some of stock car racing’s most recognizable names have competed and won on this .596-mile paved oval. The likes of NASCAR Hall of Fame members Richard…

CARS Tour event at Hickory will look a bit different this year

In 2017 the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour introduced what has become one of the most popular events in all of pavement-based Late Model racing when the Throwback 276 came to fruition at the Hickory Motor Speedway. The Late Model Stock Car division and the Super Late Model division, both sanctioned by the CARS Tour, have since shared the spotlight with both classed contesting 138-lap feature races. But what has made this event so special and popular, aside from the competition itself, was the fact that teams schemed their racing machines to look like famous race cars from the past….