Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Blair's rally and midseason reset
After a busy Fourth of July weekend that opened the second half of the season, our roundtable checks in for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Detail something from recent national touring action.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: What Max Blair pulled off on Saturday at Muskingum County Speedway to win his first-ever full-field Lucas Oil Series feature— charging from the 15th starting spot to the lead without the benefit of a caution flag — was downright amazing. Reaching the front from midpack in a national touring series event completely under green-flag conditions is rare enough. A driver doing it to record a career milestone like Blair did is something you just don't see happen. Just a spectacular performance by the Pennsylvania racer who was deserving of a Lucas Oil victory after making so many runs to top-five finishes from deep in the field this season.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: The NAPA Gopher 50 washout at Deer Creek Speedway might've postponed the inevitable — Bobby Pierce winning again to extend his remarkable World of Outlaws Late Model Series streak to a record seven in a row. No national touring driver has tallied seven straight victories, so that's something to watch Wednesday for WoO's event at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: Having only one of the five originally scheduled national touring races survive the weather was disappointing, but at least Max Blair made Saturday's lone feature at Muskingum County more than worthwhile. The way he won — snapping a four-year drought without a full-field national touring victory after charging from 15th — made for one of the season's most refreshing storylines. Performances like that keep Dirt Late Model racing from becoming too predictable with the same handful of winners and push back against the notion that drivers simply can't come from deep in the field anymore to win. It's certainly not common, but Blair made it look easier than most. He's had one of the fastest cars in the country all season. He just hasn't always qualified where he's needed to, but you can almost always count on him to pass race cars and make his way to the front. Erasing a 7.6-second deficit over the final 20 laps — without the aid of a caution — to steal the victory ranks among the most memorable drives we'll see all year.
Bryan Ault, DirtonDirt contributor: Max Blair's first full-field Lucas Oil touring win at Muskingum County Speedway has to be the story of the weekend. Blair's 15th-to-1st charge, without the aid of caution flags, was an impressive feat, especially given that he beat Devin Moran at the Moran family's home track. Throughout March and April, Blair recorded eight top-five finishes in the Lucas tour and his runner-up finish at Eldora's Dream cemented his status as a serious contender. Seeing him land in victory lane will undoubtedly bring a big boost of confidence for the Keystone State driver.
Dig into the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
Turner: I must say I was a little skeptical — and Tanner English didn't sound so sure himself when I interviewed him on the tour's opening night — that the team he'd cobbled together would endure on the circuit, much less be in position to win the overall championship. English is capable and experienced, but the Summer Nationals is always fraught with trouble. A series of rainouts gave English a break on the night-after-night action, and his consistency (a single finish outside the top five) has outpaced reigning series champ Jason Feger. The title is in his grasp.
McFadden: It's a shame rain has washed out roughly half the tour's schedule because this has been one of the more entertaining Summer Nationals battles in recent memory. Watching Tanner English and Jason Feger duel atop the standings has been a lot of fun. The mashup of regional talent from across the country is fantastic — Alabama's Sam Seawright, Michigan's Luke Morey, Virginia's Kyle Hardy, Iowa's Chris Simpson, Louisiana's Clay Stuckey and Cade Dillard, Georgia's Tyler Millwood, Ohio's Rusty Schlenk — alongside Summer Nationals mainstays Billy Moyer, Shannon Babb and Ryan Unzicker. I love the parity. On most nights, it feels like a dozen drivers have a legitimate shot to win. Unless, of course, it's Brandon Sheppard in Sunday's Herald & Review 100. I'm looking forward to covering the tour's finale this weekend at Wayne County Speedway.
Ault: Weather slowed the tour's attempts to get into a groove. I'm looking forward to Tuesday's stop at Montpelier (Ind.) Motor Speedway this week, which I'll be covering. The tour's frequent winners (outside of Mother Nature, of course) such as Jason Feger and Tanner English will have their hands full. Veteran Ohio driver Rusty Schlenk has won back-to-back outings at Montpelier sanctioned by the Northern Allstars and Ultimate Heart of America series, and the northeast Indiana oval has been his adopted home track. It will be interesting to see if any of the tour's veterans can top Schlenk.
Kovac: I'll agree that Tanner English is putting on quite a show of consistency on this year's Summer Nationals. He's said he wants to win the overall points title, and the way he's running is certainly championship-worthy. After a third-place finish in Sunday's Herald & Review 100 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway, he's comfortably leading the standings thanks to a remarkable 15 top-five placings in 16 features. Eleven of those finishes have been podiums, including two wins and seven runner-up placings. The program English assembled for 2026 is relatively modest, but he's taking well to his AK Race Car and just running near the front virtually every night. A Hell Tour crown would look nice on his resume.
Mention another Fourth of July weekend, highlight, moment or tidbit.
McFadden: That darn Mother Nature robbed us of what was shaping up to be a successful Lucas Oil return to Mansfield Speedway on Friday. I know Matt Tifft was eager to show off the improvements to his racing surface after the rough and dusty World of Outlaws weekend on May 29-30. From what I saw, the track was in much better shape. Dust was far more manageable during the heat races and, more importantly, the surface didn't appear spongy or prone to developing the deep ruts and punishing bumps that likely discouraged some teams from making the trip for Friday's modest 29-car field. Tifft has put in a lot of work to make Mansfield a racetrack drivers want to support, and from everything I gathered, he's headed in the right direction. It also sounds like he'll get another opportunity to host the Lucas Oil Series next year. If you haven't already, check out my latest story featuring Rick Schwallie discussing Mansfield's future and the series outlook in Ohio for 2027 considering the state of Atomic Speedway.
Ault: How about the Marlar family sweeping three nights on the same weekend? Two brothers winning would be cool enough, but all three is truly a hat trick. All three Marlar brothers took home checkers flags. Mike's $10,000 victory at Mudlick Valley Raceway, Skylar's Crate Late Model checkered flag at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Corbin, Ky., and Camaron's five-figure win at Big South Fork Raceway is definitely not something you see every day.
Kovac: The biggest event over the holiday weekend was supposed to be the World of Outlaws Late Model Series's NAPA Gopher 50, a three-day show at Minnesota's Deer Creek Speedway topped by a $40,000-to-win finale. Unfortunately, a rainy forecast prompted track and series officials to call off the entire tripleheader early in the week. That's a real bummer because it marked the second straight year that the Gopher 50 headliner was canceled (last season just Saturday's program was lost) and the fourth time in the last seven years that the event wasn't run (2020's was bagged because of Covid-19 and 2021's was rained out). The Gopher is a race that's been around since 1980 and part of a national tour for over two decades, and, in recent years, it's evolved into a big-money, multi-day affair. But man, it's losing some momentum with these cancellations. Hopefully clearer days are ahead for the race starting next season.
Turner: I'll stick with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and say I was duly impressed with some Macon rookies at Sunday's Pepsi Herald & Review 100. Michigan-turned North Carolina driver Luke Morey rallied from sixth for a runner-up finish and Virginian Kyle Hardy ran as high as second and finished fourth. The fifth-mile oval is one of the sport's sternest tests and those guys make it look easy.
Handing out midseason awards, name two out of three (best newcomer, breakout driver or most improved driver).
Kovac: Naming a breakout driver is always a little tricky. Is it someone who's never had any success? Is it a racer who's winning more regularly? I'll just throw out Sam Seawright as my nominee. His win total isn't high (three victories), but his checkered flags include the Ice Bowl and a DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature just last week and he's impressed me with top-10s on both the Lucas Oil and WoO tours and a 10th-place finish in the Dream. He's making strides. As for most improved, mark me down for Max Blair. He's obviously an accomplished driver, but the way he's running top-five with regularity on the Lucas Oil circuit and scored a runner-up finish in the Dream has caught my attention. Blair, at 36, is taking a step forward.
McFadden: I'm right there with Kevin in giving Max Blair my most-improved honors at the midseason mark. How could you not? Sitting fifth in the Lucas Oil standings — just 10 points behind Brandon Overton and 85 ahead of Ricky Thornton Jr. — is an impressive feat for a driver who finished ninth on the tour just two years ago. The other two categories — best newcomer and breakout driver — are a bit murkier, at least for me. I'll give best newcomer to Lincoln Smith, the 15-year-old Ohioan. In his first full Super Late Model season, he already owns a June 13 victory at Midway Speedway and followed it with an impressive 13th-place finish against the Lucas Oil Series at Muskingum County, outrunning several touring veterans. I'm sure we'll be seeing his name much more in the years ahead. His car control, less than a year into Super Late Models, is notable, and he's learning alongside one of the sport's top consultants in Keith Berner. That's a recipe for continued success.
Ault: I have to pick Trey Mills as a breakout driver. The season started with his highly competitive and entertaining Lucas Oil Series race at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga., which ended in a flip but proved he can run against the big dogs. Starting on the pole of the Dirt Late Model Dream really put him on the map. I think Mills is one of our sport's future stars whose best is yet to come. For most improved driver, I'll go with Josh Rice, who has bounced back from a rough-and-tumble Speedweeks and is now contending up front in his rookie season on the Lucas Oil series.
Turner: I think I'll also go with Josh Rice for most improved. It's easy to forget he's running a first-time tracks many weekends, but his trajectory in his first national tour season is impressive. For breakout driver, I'll go with Caiden Black of New Concord, Ohio, who has four Super Late Model victories including his first Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series triumph at Atomic. (I'll also say true division newcomers appear light this season, but I'll mention that Dexton Koch is leading WISSOTA's rookie points and Derek Daly is atop IMCA's rookie points).
Consider the storyline of the year so far, or predict one for the rest of 2026.
McFadden: Maybe it's because I've relocated from Maryland to the middle of Ohio, but one of my favorite storylines this season has been watching Mansfield Speedway and West Virginia Motor Speedway reestablish themselves as major players on the national Dirt Late Model scene. Their resurgence has brought marquee event after marquee event back to the Mid-Ohio and Ohio Valley region. The Niss family's stunning $131,000 boost to the World of Outlaws winner's purses at Mansfield on May 29-30 only fuel that momentum and, in a vacuum, ranks among the biggest storylines of the season by itself. Ohio now boasts four six-figure-to-win Dirt Late Model events on the calendar, with a fifth — the Dirt Track World Championship at WVMS — in neighboring West Virginia. Credit belongs to Matt Tifft and Mike Hurley for investing heavily in their facilities and, in turn, helping elevate not only their racetracks but Dirt Late Model racing as a whole.
Ault: In the first half of the year, I felt Nick Hoffman's emergence as a challenger to Bobby Pierce on the World of Outlaws circuit was definitely the story to watch, but Pierce has been on a heater in recent weeks and is starting to separate himself as the series contender with 16 wins and a 76-point lead. To me, the emergence of Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 on the Lucas Oil tour could wind up being the story of the year. In the beginning, it looked like the Lucas Oil series championship was Hudson O'Neal's to lose, but there's definitely a swing in momentum in B-Shepp's favor. Sheppard could well become the driver to beat.
Kovac: Bobby Pierce has been Dirt Late Model racing's biggest story of '26 with his torrent of victories — 16 in WoO action and 21 overall — and I sense that he's going to create a big storyline over the remaining months of the season. I'll point out that there's been three crown jewel events contested so far this year and Pierce has won the two that he's entered (Show-Me 100 and Dream). I think we're going to be paying close attention to an assault by Pierce on the crown jewels as well as his bid for a 40-win campaign.
Turner: I think Kevin's right on that Pierce is in position to make this one of those special seasons … but that all depends on him maintaining his amazing pace and crack the 40-victory mark. As Kyle mentions, another worthy storyline is the resurgence of West Virginia action behind multitrack owner Mike Hurley, particularly if the Dirt Track World Championship's return to smaller-and-better West Virginia Motor Speedway is a huge success. Perhaps that, coupled with Matt Tifft's revival of Mansfield, will be an uplifting storyline for the sport that tends to lose more tracks than it gains.
