“It’s funny how things work themselves out,” says Matt Miller, contemplating a life that over the past 12 months has taken some dramatic turns. After years as a traveling racer and making a living at the top levels of the sport, Miller is today a happy guy, racing locally around his Whitehouse, Ohio, home and finding a long-sought balance between motorsports and real life.

Miller is coming off an impressive weekend, capturing the $4,800-to-win Barney Oldfield race at Oakshade Raceway. He MORE

The UMP DIRTCar Summernationals has long been the ultimate test of endurance for Dirt Late Model racers. The month-long tour can be trying for even the best teams.

Many have shied away from it. It’s been years since Scott Bloomquist tackled the grueling Midwestern road trip. The three-time Hell Tour champion last won it in 2002, with his other two championships coming more than 20 years ago in 1990 and 1991.

On the other hand, some drivers seem to relish the challenge. Billy Moyer, arguably the MORE

David Earl Gentry is a fierce competitor. He always has been.

I remember a very young Gentry turning laps at the now-defunct McMinnville (Tenn.) Speedway on a Sunday afternoon in the early ‘80s. Gentry, who was just starting his racing endeavors at the time, spun halfway into the infield, gathered himself back up and drove wide open out of the infield and back onto the track near the flag stand.

Unfortunately, when Gentry came back onto the track near the flag stand, he collected my stepdad, MORE

The days have grown hot and the arc of the sun seems to reach straight overhead, leading dogs to seek a shady spot with tongue extended. Evening brings little relief as fireflies compete with mosquitoes for Midwestern airspace.

All of this can mean only one thing: Summernationals is upon us.

That’s wonderful news for race fans and vendors of gasoline and beer. But for racers it is a time to draw in a deep breath and get ready for 29 races over a span of 32 hectic days. If you look at the UMP MORE

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 9) — A three-car inversion for Eldora’s Dream XVIII heat races has set up some intriguing scenarios for Saturday night's six 15-lap prelims. Former Eldora winners Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan and Scott Bloomquist all have front-row starting spots, but there’s plenty of competition behind them promising to make things interesting.

Here’s a breakdown of Saturday’s heat races, which each transfer the top three finishers into the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win Dream MORE