DirtonDirt exclusive
Hell Tour champ building foundation for future
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Tanner English (joshjamesartwork.com)
Tanner English had no idea what his 2026 season would bring.
Four months ago, the Benton, Ky., driver had an operation with a single race car — his father Terry’s 2016 Rocket Chassis — one engine and a pickup truck pulling an open trailer. It was enough to get him to the racetrack once, maybe twice, a week, and little more.
So how did he transform a shoestring operation into a championship-winning DIRTcar Summer Nationals team? By finding the right people at exactly the right time.
John Minon Jr. of Clarksville, Tenn., provided a brand-new engine. Another supporter stepped up with a stacker trailer stocked with the travel necessities for life on the road. Then, before the first weekend of April, rising chassis builder Austin Kirkpatrick joined the effort, putting English in one of his AK Race Cars.
In three months, the 33-year-old English went from simply getting by to enjoying his most successful season since his eight-win 2022 campaign that ended with a runner-up finish in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series standings. He now owns five victories this season — including four during his first career Summer Nationals title run — matching his combined win total from 2024 and ’25.
“We weren’t even really ready for (the Summer Nationals), per se. I set out with intentions to do the whole thing, but honestly, I had no expectations to finish the whole thing,” English said. “I told most people, it could end the first day — you just never know. But things started out good and they just kept snowballing from there. Every night just kept getting better and better, and learning the car — and learning our equipment with tires and motors. … Just can’t say enough about all the help that came on. … I’m grateful to be here.”
Though English led the Summer Nationals virtually from start to finish — taking the points lead after the tour’s second race June 12 at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon, Ill. — he didn’t win on the month-long tour July 1 at Farmington (Mo.) Empire Speedway. English didn’t necessarily view that winless stretch as counterproductive.
Instead, every race expanded his notebook with the new AK chassis while consistency kept him afloat in the standings, carrying a 3.7 average finish throughout Summer Nationals competition.
“This has definitely helped us build a notebook and get more competitive, and consistent and qualify better, just everything, just help the whole deal,” English said. “And me as a driver, just getting more races under my belt, getting caught back up with all these guys I've raced 50 times already this year. Ain't nothing like seat time.”
English debuted his first AK Race Car on April 3 at Ponderosa Speedway, finishing fourth in a $10,000-to-win feature behind Mike Marlar, Jason Jameson and Josh Rice. Before that, he'd ran a pair of March events in his Rocket Chassis — winning his season debut, in fact, March 14 at Duck River Raceway in Wheel, Tenn., in Ultimate Southeast Series competition.
After 12 races in his first AK chassis, he unveiled a second brand-new AK car for June 9’s Hell Tour opener at Brownstown (Ill.) Bullring. The prime reason he skipped June 3-6’s Dream XXXII at Eldora Speedway was to assure he’d have fresh car for the Summer Nationals.
“A lot of people expected us to be at the Dream, but there was just no way,” English said. “You can go through a month's worth of supplies at the Dream in three days.
“If I went, I'd sacrifice maybe that car and then not be able to go to the Summer Nationals races. My plan was to go to races that I knew I could make money. I knew this was in my wheelhouse — tracks I liked where I could make some money and get my program off the ground.”
The partnership with Kirkpatrick began with a suggestion from English’s father.
“Right around first of March, I had an engine from John Minon, and that was all I had besides dad's old Rocket,” English said. “Dad said, 'Why don't you call Austin and see what y'all can work out? I'd like to see you in one of them cars.'
“I called Austin and we worked out a get-it-now, pay-later type of deal because he believed in me. I didn't have the funds to buy a brand-new car. I had a lot of promises from sponsors that hadn't followed through. That was a big weight off my shoulders.
“It's been up front ever since. It's been really good. Just the whole combination, the Pro Built motors. It’s been phenomenal. … We’ve learned quite a bit on this deal (on the Summer Nationals). That's what I set out to do, is learn a lot in a short amount of time.”
English hopes the championship becomes an origin of a sustainable and fruitful Dirt Late Model operation for years to come.
“That's what I want to do. I want to build this thing up to that level,” English said. “To do it on my own is going to be even that much more rewarding. Not saying I wouldn't welcome any partner or whatever, but I really want to keep racing for myself.”
English points to Bobby Pierce's team as the model — not simply because he’s on pace for another 30-win campaign and another World of Outlaws Late Model Series title, but because of how it’s built. Like Pierce and his father, Bob, English is trying to establish a family-run team alongside father Terry that can compete for the long haul.
“The model team right now is Bobby. Any team that stays together that long, like the (Jonathan) Davenports (who’s with Double L Motorsports) … the good teams stay together for 10-plus years. That's why they dominate. Other people might come in on a flash here or there, but the majority of them, they're good because they've been together for so long. That's what I'm trying to build.”
After stints with Riggs Motorsports (December 2019-November ’22), Viper Motorsports (November ’22-April ’24), and Coltman Farms Racing (April ’24-December ’25), English now has a race shop of his own in Benton, Ill., complete with a built-in apartment for crewmen. It's another investment designed to keep his operation growing alongside his father and brother Justin, who travels with English to most races.
“I've built multiple programs, I feel like, and kind of got uprooted every time,” English said. “I was to the point where it was either start my own deal or be done because I was tired of that. I put 100 percent of my effort into building other people's stuff, and at the end I was left with nothing.
“I knew when I built my shop, that was a big investment into me. I wasn't going to leave that. I thought the next step was building my own team. Even if I don't race somewhere down the line, I've got something I can work out of. I feel like I've set myself up for success.”
Running his own operation also comes with business decisions rather than maximizing every on-track result.
After logging 12 feature starts in his first AK Race Car, English relied on his second chassis for the entire 23-race Hell Tour. Those miles — and the wear they created — ultimately influenced his decision to start-and-park on the tour's final night at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio.
“It deserves a freshen up for sure. It's getting tired,” English said. “I feel like some of that's hurting our performance here recently. It probably needs a new rear end and stuff like that. We ain't been back to the shop in two weeks. It's tough to keep everything spot on when you're on the road all the time.”
That mindset could also shape what’s next.
English may skip this weekend's MARS Championship Series events at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway and Charleston (Ill.) Speedway to rest and regroup ahead of July 24-25’s Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway — something he wants to be “100 percent ready for” — and the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway.
The decision would consequently end his MARS title pursuit. He enters the weekend fourth in points, 120 markers behind Ryan Unzicker, but believes the extra time to recover and freshen his equipment could better position his team for a nationally-focused free-lance schedule the rest of the season.
Longer term, he'd like to spend next year racing a national-caliber schedule before potentially returning to a national tour in 2028.
“I think one more year of getting stuff built up and then I would probably be prepared, but that is a goal,” English said. “If not follow the tour, just run a national-level schedule.”
His biggest hesitation, however, remains Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, which can chew up and spit out many national touring hopefuls, and with an extended schedule stretches travel time.
“What really kills the opportunity to do that is Speedweeks,” English said. “That's such a big money deal. It could kill you in the first month. I could run a World of Outlaws series right now if not for Speedweeks. I now have the equipment to do it. It's just that first lick is what gets you.”
But before turning his attention to Fairbury, Cedar Lake and the possibility of expanding his schedule nationally, English is looking forward to something he hasn’t experienced much this summer — time home.
“I thank my family, my wife, daughter, putting up with me being gone for a month, and when I was home, I wasn't really home either,” English said. “It's going to be nice to go home. You know, just spend some time with them.”
