A few weeks ago I had to take a company trip to east Tennessee. I spent four days up there, mostly in meetings, with a little spare time to squeeze in a beer, some decent food and a trip over to Jimmy Owens’ shop in Newport, Tenn.

I caught Owens as he and his team were preparing to head to Ohio to the Dirt Track World Championship. On that note, I have to say that Owens was insanely accommodating. The team was busy. They were working hard to repair the Club 29 race car that he rolled weeks MORE

As soon as Dick Barton reached victory lane after pulling off a storybook triumph on Sept. 20 in the 40-lap United Late Model Series Julien Buesink Memorial at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y. — a $4,000 score that was his record 80th career win at his long-time home track — he had the inclination to announce his retirement. | DirtWire

“The thought was lingering in the back of my mind,” admitted Barton, fully aware that walking away in triumphant fashion would put a spectacular cap on MORE

Charlie Cathell has witnessed countless laps turned at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., over the past five decades, but he had rarely seen anything like the hell that broke out on his half-mile oval’s backstretch four circuits into Saturday's 20-lap Dirt Late Model feature. | Story

As Bob Geiger of Laurel, Del., and David Pettyjohn of Millsboro, Del., crashed together with ferocious force, Cathell, 71, gazed through the window of his track’s tower and couldn’t believe his MORE

Racing is wonderful! Why would anybody ever quit?

Over the past couple of weeks two relatively young racers have announced plans to step away from the sport. First was Brian Birkhofer, revealing his decision in a low-key manner at Knoxville. In recent days popular Wisconsin racer Brady Smith has announced his plans to sell his equipment and quit.

Both announcements were surprising to say the least. The thought of racers walking away while obviously still in their prime has triggered renewed MORE