Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Solid bumper, solid comeback
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Oakley Gillespie (Snapped by Carolyn)
When dirt racer Oakley Gillespie smashed an infield tire barrier in the final laps of the April 3 feature race at Pine Ridge Speedway in Guntown, Miss., the miscue certainly wasn't intentional.
However, that the 27-year-old Five Points, Tenn., driver soldiered on to win the 15-lap Crate Racin’ USA non-touring event provided a marketing opportunity for the durability of the bumpers built and sold by his team owner, Mark Dowdy.
Call it a win-win.
Gillespie’s victory gave Mark Dowdy Racing back-to-back 604 Crate Late Model victories to open Pine Ridge’s season as Gillespie took another step toward getting back into the groove after nearly three years out of the driver’s seat before connecting with Dowdy last summer.
"I wouldn't say I'm where I was when I quit, but I'm a lot better than I was last year,” said Gillespie, who was away from racing from June 2022-June 2025 during an apprenticeship to become a lineman with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “Me and Mark can communicate pretty good and I tell him what I need and it's no problem to adjust on things and get the car like I want it.
"I still catch myself here and there. I'll screw up and I'll think to myself, ‘You're a freaking idiot.’ You gotta learn from your mistakes. I’m trying not to make as many as I did last year, but just seat time, that's the big thing, as much seat time as I can get. That's the only thing that's going to help.”
The driver with more than a dozen career victories in Late Model-style cars is off to a good start for his first full season since 2021.
Gillespie’s father raced a few seasons with Oakley taking over the driver’s seat as a 13-year-old in the factory stock division, eventually moving into the modified sportsman class and capturing 2018’s CRUSA division title during a 16-victory season. Within a few years, he made the move into Late Model-style cars, although Gillespie remembers his first start in his Kenny Johnson-owned car was inauspicious.
In his Late Model debut at Thunderhill Raceway in Summertown, Tenn., the brake-bias adjuster on the car was reversed from what Gillespie was accustomed to, and his first lap went awry.
“I hit the brakes and locked the front tires up and slid right off the track,” Gillespie recalled. “Wadded the nose up and everything. I was like, ‘Well, I'm fired before I even get hired.’ ”
Johnson stuck with him and they found success over the next few seasons, including the 2021 North Alabama Speedway title. Gillespie also captured his biggest victory, earning more than $2,600 in the Mark Fields Memorial, a race honoring his late friend.
“Holding off guys like Josh Putnam and Brad Skinner to win that race, that meant a lot to me,” Gillespie said. “I told a hundred people, I don't care if I win the World 100 it won't be what that right there meant. I still go back all the time and watch the dang video.”
But after competing in the first half of 2022, Gillespie’s racing hiatus began. He left a tree trimming job to pursue his electrical lineman apprenticeship, based in Georgia. Even though he was living just 15 miles from Lavonia Speedway, spectating didn’t interest him if he couldn’t compete.
"I couldn't even go watch a race,” he said. “I deleted all my subscriptions to DirtonDirt and FloRacing, I deleted all of them. I couldn't watch it anymore, and it was every time I'd watch. It just make me sick and make me mad.”
Dowdy, an inspirational racer who climbed back behind the wheel despite paralysis from a 2008 motorcycle accident, once reached out to Gillespie about a one-off start for his Late Model team, but Gillespie passed. When Gillespie eventually moved back to West Tennessee for good, he contacted Dowdy.
“I just sent him a message: ‘Hey, I'm working back at the house now and I’ve got my weekends back. If you ever need somebody to drive for you, I'd like to give it a shot.’ ”
They connected in June 2025 with Gillespie winning one of 11 starts while getting back into the rhythm of racing. Experienced with four-bar rear suspensions, Gillespie also had to adjust to the rare swingarm suspension of his Rusty Schlenk-designed Domination Race Car. It’s turned out to suit him.
“The way I like to attack the corners, I don't know how to describe it, but, I feel more planted to the ground in that car,” said Gillespie, who’s not a fan of slick-track racing. "And if the track starts getting character in it, that thing, it just asks for more … It likes the ruts.”
After Dowdy’s offseason preparation, it’s feeling better than ever.
“Mark’s put a bunch of work into the car this offseason and he's got it much better than it was last year, so we hit the ground running,” Gillespie said. “We had speed last year, and I blame a lot of it on me last year, just because I had took a break for three years, so I was kind of knocking the rust off for me last year.
“Just finding a few things here and there, and it added up. First night out in the car and we led flag-to-flag in the feature, so whatever he found, it was in the right direction.”
Perhaps the team’s biggest struggle is finding tracks to compete. With the 604 Crate Late Model division losing cars in recent years, only Pine Ridge, Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss., and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., are reasonable options.
Whether it’s Crate racing, Limited Late Models or perhaps in the future Super Late Models, Gillespie hopes to continue his racing progress.
“We've got great sponsors, but finding a good backing sponsor that can push us to the next level would be great,” Gillespie said. “Mark’s run some Super stuff before I think with him and Rusty I think we could be competitive with the right stuff, you know? As long as the steering wheel-holder can do his job.”
Weekly highlights
• Sweeping the night’s Crate Late Model features, Bubba Roling of Clay Hill, Fla., won 604 and 602 main events April 4 at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla.
• Outdueling polesitter Mike Hildebrand, Mike Vandermark Jr. of Cedar Springs, Mich., captured April 4’s season opener in the Super Late Model division at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio.
• Winning the Mark “Coot” Williams Memorial, Trevor Collins of Seaford, Del., earned $3,026 in April 3’s Super Late Model special at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway. The event drew six cars.
Weekly news briefs
• April 4's season opener at the Ararat (Va.) BullRing was cancelled at the 11th hour because of issues regarding property and insurance, the Bo Miller-owned track announced. "We’re working through it, pushing forward, and doing everything we can to get things back where they belong,” the track posted in a statement. The next scheduled event is April 25. The track is scheduled for its first event on the first-year RidgeRunner Late Model Series on May 30.
• Limited Late Model racer Keith Walls of St. Thomas, Pa., is expected to be out for four to six weeks after suffering an injury in an April 4 wreck at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa. Wrecking on the first lap, the ninth-starting Walls fractured the bone between his right thumb and wrist.
• Hummingbird Speedway in Reynoldsville, Pa., has named Brian Nestor as program director for the 2026 season. Nestor, who literally started his motorsports journey doing cleanup work at the track, has worked at several different tracks in various roles. “Brian shares our commitment to providing a top-notch racing program for our fans and competitors, and we are confident he will be a strong fit for this position,” the Caltagarone family posted in a statement. The track, which opens the season May 2, will run its first season without track founder Louie Caltagarone, who built the 1964 and died in October.
• Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington, Wis., has posted several rule changes for the Limited Late Model division, including guidelines for carburetors and RPMs allowed. Visit the track website for details or call Matt Crist (608) 482-4989 or Bob Silaggi (815) 541-9656 with questions.
• Miller Central Speedway owner Dale Hargens has taken the track off the market. The track won’t be operating in 2026.
• Concluding a contentious offseason of uncertainty, Heidi Smith on Monday officially announced she won't be operating Thunderbird Raceway in Muskegon, Mich., in 2026.
• Moisture that won’t allow work on the track has cancelled Shawano (Wis.) Speedway’s April 10 practice and April 11 season opener. Information on the season’s opening will be announced.
• Hollis Speedway in Heflin, Ala., has replaced drainage pipes to solve issues that delayed the track’s opening. The season opener is set for April 11.
• Brian Rampmeyer of Timonium, Md., a longtime crew member for several Mid-Atlantic race teams, died unexpectedly on March 29. He was 61.
• With more time required for track preparation after the addition of new clay, Baton Rouge Raceway in Baker, La., has cancelled April 11’s racing program. The track plans to return to competition April 17 with a program that includes 604 Crate Late Models.
Weekly points
DIRTcar (Supers): Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., has 240 points to lead Tyler Erb (215) and Ryan Gustin (205).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Covy Parsons of Iuka, Miss., has 186 points to lead Allen Edwards (176) and Spencer Moore (166).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss., has 230 points to lead Taylor Jarvis (229) and Ben Davis (193).
(Several organizations have yet to have points races)
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway (April 10): The half-mile oval’s 80th season begins with $5,000-to-win events for Super Late Models and 410 sprint cars.
Dixieland Speedway, Elizabeth City, N.C. (April 10): The Billy Pritchard Memorial pays $3,500-to-win for the Limited Late Model division.
West Virginia Motor Speedway, Mineral Wells, W.Va. (April 11): The Grassroots Race Revival is topped by a $5,000-to-win Super Late Model event; the Burlile Ohio Valley Late Model Dirt Series is in action one night earlier at the shortened 3/8-mile track.
Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway (April 11): Super Late Models returns to action with a $4,000-to-win regular season event.
Lake View Motor Speedway, Nichols, S.C. (April 11): The track celebrates its 45th anniversary with a 35-lap feature paying $3,045-to-win for the Limited Late Model division.
Cottonwood Speedway, Dothan, Ala. (April 11): The 602 Crate Late Model division battles for a $1,500-to-win event in topping a six-division program.
Smoky Mountain Speedway, Maryville, Tenn. (April 11): The track’s opening Saturday Night Shootout of the season is topped by a $1,500-to-win event for Limited Late Models.
