How does the West fit into Dirt Late Model Racing on a national level?

That's tough question and I don't claim to have an easy answer. What I do have is an opinion on what I would like to see happen and how I would like to see the West incorporated into the “national” Dirt Late Model scene.

First off, I have a beef with both the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series touting themselves as "national" tours. To truly be a national series, you must incorporate the MORE

I’m at the point in my life where I enjoy my “off” weekends. To me, an off weekend is one where I don’t have to be at a Lucas Oil race or I don’t have cover something for DirtonDirt.com. I’ve got the opportunity to do anything I want to do and go anyplace I want to go. That’s why, about three or four times every year, you can find me at Oakshade Raceway.

Often referred to as simply “The Shade”, this little 3/8-mile track is just a few miles off I-90, north of Wauseon, Ohio.

I’v MORE

Well, the Firecracker 100 weekend was quite the whirlwind for DirtonDirt. I not only started the weekend in southern Illinois and headed to Pennsylvania on a 10-hour journey, but I got a little slice of my childhood brought back to me. My weekend was filled with racing, Michael Jackson, string bracelets, and the best gas station ever, Sheetz!

First off, I know you're probably tired of hearing about Michael Jackson, but I do have to at least mention it since I am in fact a child of the '80s and MORE

It continues to amaze me how people underestimate Jimmy Mars. Walking down from the tower after shooting a thrilling Firecracker 100 Saturday night at Lernerville Speedway, where Mars rallied to win after changing a lap-27 flat tire, a fan said: "I can't believe that Mars guy won tonight." Huh? That Mars guy? Really? 

Perhaps he wasn't a national Dirt Late Model fan. Maybe he's never seen Mars race. Or maybe he'd had one too many Keystone Lights. But it's not the first time that I find people MORE

Fonzie always had a difficult time admitting he was wrong on Happy Days, but I'll come straight out with it. I was wrong.

It's easy to be prejudiced when it comes to racetracks you don't know much about, and when Clayhill Motorsports Park popped up on this year's UMP DIRTcar Summernationals schedule, I was a skeptic. The track in Atwood, Tenn., was too far from the series core, unproven in handling special events and had no history regarding top Dirt Late Model racers. Even the night before the MORE