Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Pennsy driver faces two-division challenge
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Taylor Farlling (Teal Beard and Jason Walls photos)
Taylor Farlling misses competing on the Mason-Dixon Shootout Series like he did early in his dirt racing career. Running his Limited Late Model at various tracks several years ago appealed to the Newville, Pa., racer.
"I really think it helped me as a driver,” Farlling said, “running on different conditions, different tracks, racing with different people all the time.”
While the 28-year-old operator of a diesel, automotive and fabrication shop doesn’t plan on running a tour in 2026, he’s laid out an ambitious schedule that will send him on a tour-like exposure to a dozen or more racetracks. His family-run team is also adding a Super Late Model so Farlling can compete at more tracks while splitting time between the Super and Limited Late Model divisions.
"I just want to travel and race as many different places I can race at and try to win it wherever I can win at,” Farlling said.
Entering his 13th season as a driver, Farlling is a fourth-generation racer who began in the street stock division as a 16-year-old. His father Donnie, himself a Late Model racer, knew it was time for his son to join him in the division after a late-season event at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway when Farlling was struggling to get the feel of a borrowed street stock at age 17.
"I just told him like I can't feel anything that the car's doing,” Farlling said of his father. “And he said to me, at that point, he's like, he says well, next year you’re getting in a Late Model. He says, if you're driving with your butt, he says, that means it's time to move up.”
Winless in his first Limited Late Model campaign, Farlling broke through the next season and has sprinkled in at least few wins each season, including a 2019 campaign when he captured the Bedford (Pa.) Speedway division title and scored a Mason-Dixon tour victory while finishing fifth in series points.
With an early-season 2026 victory at Dog Hollow Speedway in Strongstown, Pa., Farlling is continuing the best stretch of his career with eight victories over a 10-month stretch. Farlling credits the help of his father, who climbed out of the driver's seat a few years ago to serve as crew chief and maintain the team's race cars at his Bedford shop. Farlling is appreciative for all the racing assistance from his father, as well as his grandfather George Farlling Sr., who pitched in to help purchase the team’s open-competition engine.
“My dad basically retired from racing and kinda took over the workload on the cars as we got too busy at my shop here for anything else,” Farlling said. “And basically, I really wanna say that was kind of a big change in momentum. I mean, we really had a lot of success there last year, and this year, it seems like we still got the same speed we had last year.”
Mapping out weekends of Limited or Super racing — Farlling doesn’t plan to run in both divisions the same night or even the same weekend — he’s penciled in a schedule of events at Pennsylvania tracks including Sarver’s Lernerville Speedway, Kutztown’s Action Track USA, Selinsgrove Speedway, Dog Hollow, Bedford and Spring Run’s Path Valley Speedway, where Farlling captured last season’s Limited Late Model title.
He’s also got Hagerstown, Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, Potomac Speedway in Budds Creek, Md., and potentially Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., on his to-do list.
Not on that list, for now, is Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, and fans who remember one of short-track racing’s viral video moments from 2025 might recall Farlling from an incident at Port Royal when, after a tangle, he drove the wrong way around the track under caution and nosed into a rival’s car.
The track suspended him the rest of the season with four other Pennsylvania tracks enforcing the penalty. Farlling regrets a post-incident Facebook post that “added fuel to the fire,” later taking blame in a 2025 statement to DirtonDirt and today saying he “was definitely wrong for what I did.”
While Farlling believes the incident “got blown out of proportion,” it weighed heavy, particularly when tracks jumped on the banning bandwagon. He remembers discussing the July incident with his father.
“If I would have got banned from everywhere, like the way it looked like it was going, I told him, ‘This just might be my last season.’ If that’s how the tracks feel about me, and then obviously, I don't really need to stay involved with it,” said Farlling, who said he’d probably return to compete at Port Royal if he's reinstated for 2026.
“After everything settled down and we got that first race back in there and I had a lot of support from a lot of people that I didn't even know … a lot of that really helped the situation kind of ease on by because it was tough there for a while,” he added. “I really didn't know if I wanted to keep racing cause it was just a sour deal and it was pretty upsetting with how it all turned out. But after everything kind of smoothed out and I got my head back on track, and I mean, it just seemed like everything just kind of went back to normal and then it just got better and better from that point.
“Looking back at it, I mean, it was a bad thing that happened, but by the same token, I really think it opened my eyes that I needed to look at things differently whenever bad things happen on the track,” he said. “We've got plenty of people up in the stands that are watching us and we need to set a better example. So, honestly, that side of things, I'm glad that things kind of worked out the way they did cause I definitely felt like I was getting out of hand and I needed to settle down. And that was my settling down.”
Farlling ended up continuing his most successful season with two victories at Bedford and five at Path Valley as he tried to ignore the critics.
"I got random people that'll comment stuff on my racing page and even if we win or something like that, they’ll make comments and say, ‘Well, you won't be winning at Port Royal,’ ” Farlling said. “It's a cruel world on Facebook sometimes, whenever you go looking through them comments at people that don't even know you. They've got an opinion about you and don't know anything about you. And that stuff's all behind me here at this point. It's nothing to even worry about anymore.”
What he’s concerned about now is continuing his Limited Late Model success while ramping up Super Late Model competition. He’s eager for elite division action.
"I definitely wanna win in the worst kind of way in the Super Late,” he said, “just kind of like a prestige thing just to make my mark there with running with the best.”
Farlling knows a two-division campaign comes with challenges, but he’s ready for that.
"I feel like as far as driving goes, in my head, I feel like for me driving a Super, coming back to the Limited, I feel like I should benefit from that, like as far as feeling slower out on the track. Like I feel like I should have better car control,” Farlling said, adding that financial issues may be the biggest obstacle. “If the engine ends up blowing up in the Super Late, it's not gonna be the same kind of deal like our Limited where we can afford to put it back together fairly quickly. If the Super Late engine blows up, like it might postpone our Super Late career for a little bit until we can afford to put it all back together.”
All in all, “where we’re headed as a team is definitely the direction I want to take it,” Farlling said.
"I kind of had a plan in my head to win at as many different tracks that I can win at, just kind of like a bucket list thing. We're definitely picking them off slowly but surely there. We definitely got multiple different tracks under our belt that we’ve won at now,” he said. “Any time I strap on or put my helmet on, I'm going out there to win races. So I wanna win as many (as I can) and if I can win all of them, I'm gonna try to win all of them.”
Weekly highlights
• In a photo finish at Rockcastle Speedway in Mount Vernon, Ky., Garet McCloud of Stambaugh, Ky., edged a charging Zane Powell by 0.002 of a second at the checkers in the Crate Late Model feature.
• Returning to weekly racing for the first time since 2017, Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.D., saw hometown driver Cole Searing grab a May 2 Late Model victory from his eighth starting spot.
• Competing in a No. 1md car to pay tribute to Moe Defino, the late West Virginia team owner and crew chief, Kyle Lear of Severna Park, Md., led the last two laps of May 1’s Limited Late Model feature at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway.
• Joey Tanner of Portland, Ore., stayed perfect at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., on May 2 with his third Super Late Model victory of the season.
• Making a last-lap pass, Trever Feathers of Winchester, Va., overtook Gary Stuhler on May 2 at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway for a $4,000 payday.
• Anthony White of Clinton, Tenn., scored victories May 1-2 at Big South Fork Raceway in Huntsville, Tenn., and Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Winning May 2 at Spoon River Speedway in Banner, Ill., Tucker Finch of Jacksonville, Ill., notched his first Late Model victory.
• Matt Muraski of Kinde, Mich., captured his first Super Late Model feature victory May 2 at Buxton Speedway in Merlin, Ontario.
• With a May 1 victory at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wis., Caden Steffen-Ludwig notched his first USRA Late Model victory. He rallied from the 11th starting spot. The 20-year-old from Colfax, Wis., is a former crew member for Bob Cullen Racing and Illinois driver Brian Shirley.
Weekly news briefs
• East Moline (Ill.) Speedway pushed its season opener back to May 10 after the water truck broke down before the planned May 3 opener. The track is also still awaiting the confirmation of its liquor license.
• Longtime track and series promoter Randy McCoy of Franklin, N.C., has taken over promotions of Tri-County Racetrack in Brasstown, N.C. The high-banked quarter-mile oval, promoted last season by competitors Jason Welshan and Jamie Oliver, hasn't set an opening date but plans Limited Late Models and two Crate Late Model divisions (604 and 602) among regular classes. The track hosted a May 1 practice and plans for another practice on a date to be announced. The track remained dark in 2024 and ran eight events last season, including a Topless Outlaw Series race during a rain-plagued campaign. McCoy signed on as promoter April 18.
• Electrical problems forced the cancellation of Western Kentucky Speedway’s May 2 opener. The track that has added 602 Crate Late Models to the weekly programs for 2026 is now scheduled to open May 16 with a $2,500-to-win program for the 602 Crates.
• James Trantina III has expanded his vast racing interests with the purchase of I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn. The 40-year-old St. Joseph, Minn., businessman, Granite City Motor Park owner, national-tour team owner and racing sponsor recently completed the purchase from Don and Brenda Shaw, who have owned the track for six years. Deb Engfer will continue managing the track and Don Shaw continuing with track preparation and serving as co-promoter. Trantina owns and operates Collins Brothers Towing of St. Cloud, Minn., and fields a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series team for Dan Ebert. Trantina plans to compete as a Late Model rookie in 2026.
• Weather forced U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus, Neb., to push its opener from April 30 to May 3 with Tyler Iverson grabbing the IMCA Late Model feature.
• Old No.1 Speedway in Harrisburg, Ark., has put out feelers among competitors about starting a steel-block engine division for Late Models. See the track’s Facebook page for details.
Weekly points
DIRTcar (Supers): Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., has 395 points to lead Bobby Pierce (383) and Ryan Gustin (371).
Gateway (Limiteds): Jeff Sloan of Charleston, Mo., has 420 points to lead Mark Pflueger and Mike Lough.
IMCA (Limiteds): Zach Zeitner of Bellevue, Neb., has 153 points to lead Jordan Krug (149) and Curtis Glover (144).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Shane Sabraski of Rice, Minn., has 156 points to lead rookie Dexton Koch 138) and second-year racer Devin Fouquette (130).
American All-Stars (Crates): Logan Walls of Junction, Ky., has 340 points to lead Dalton Brown (190) and Tyler Hoy (188).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Covy Parsons of Iuka, Miss., has 282 points to lead Brandon Lunsford (279) and Joey Tucker (271).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Multitime division champ Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss., has 366 points to lead Ben Davis (324) and Chris Reid (311).
DIRTcar (Crates): Jason Garver of Starke, Fla., and Chase Wilson of Hoopeston, Ill., have 145 points apiece with Austin Leamon (140) in third.
Ultimate (Crates): Henry Hornsby III of Beckley, W.Va., has 105 points to lead Brandon Adkins (101) and Dalton Adkins (99).
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway (May 8): Super Late Models top a three-division program paying $6,000-to-win; Limited Late Models are also in action on Ladies Night.
Red Cedar Speedway, Menomonie, Wis. (May 8): WISSOTA Late Models top the card on Free Grandstand Night presented by Cardinal Glass Industries. Six divisions are in actions and there will be Mother’s Day giveaways courtesy Lakeview Floral & Gifts.
Winchester (Va.) Speedway (May 9): The Lee Stultz Memorial puts Super Late Models front and center with a $4,000-to-win special (Charles Gordon kicked in $1,000 on top). Crate Late Models are among three undercard divisions.
Lake View Motor Speedway, Nichols, S.C. (May 9): The Sandra Miller Memorial pays $3,045-to-win for Limited Late Models with six other divisions on the card.
Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway (May 9): On Grand Night at the Burg, the Phantom 30 pays $2,500-to-win for the Limited Late Model division topping an eight-division card.
Florence Speedway, Union, Ky. (May 9): Crate Late Models chase a $2,000 winner’s prize atop a four-division program.
Fort Payne (Ala.) Motor Speedway (May 9): The rescheduled fourth annual Marvin Ford Classic pays $2,038-to-win for Limited Late Models with two Crate Late Model divisions also in action.
Shawano (Wis.) Speedway (May 9): Charlie’s Country Mark Night includes a $1,500-to-win event for USRA-sanctioned Late Models, an event sponsored by Curtin Construction, Galloping Ghost Motorsports and Kopitzke Forest Products.
