Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Recap of eventful North-South weekend
On a weekend when Florence Speedway’s favorite son captured the $75,000 Sunoco North-South 100, our roundtable discusses that and more in the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Share your thoughts about Josh Rice’s career-richest victory.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: Amazing. Incredible. Electric. Dramatic. Emotional. Unforgettable. Rice’s triumph was all that and then some. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe it. I am so thankful I was there to experience the scene in person. I’ve attended a countless number of races over more than four decades, but I can honestly say I never witnessed something like Rice’s win. It seemed like the entire sellout crowd was willing their local boy to victory as he drove his heart out. The roar when he made his final, deciding crossover move on Jonathan Davenport off turn four with the checkered flag flying was louder than the engines. And the spontaneous celebration it set off was just wild — fans running around in the infield, jumping up-and-down in the stands, high-fiving and hugging each other. It was the unbridled reaction that comes when the home fans watch their team win a championship — that’s how overwhelming Rice’s popularity is at Florence. Just an all-time moment for Dirt Late Model racing.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: I love Kevin’s description of the intensity of fans cheering on a home-track favorite, especially a Kentuckian in a race that’s seen little Bluegrass State success. To pick out a single that the struck me most is Rice’s final move. In real time, it appeared when he drifted up to the cushion between turns three and four, it might cost him so much momentum that Davenport’s slider would give him the victory. But reflecting on the last lap, Rice was supremely confident he’d hit it just right, calling it “perfect” and knowing immediately he’d cross back under Davenport to win the race to the checkers.
Richard Allen, Motorsports Report: To me, the biggest surprise about Josh Rice winning is that it was his first North-South 100 victory. He's been so good at his home track over the course of his career that it seems as if he would have already won this crown jewel event by now. He had beaten the best of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series twice in the Ralph Latham Memorial at this track as well as winning the other big races there. As his pairing with JRR Motorsports gains momentum, this feels like one of those moments that will serve as a kick start to more success going forward.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: What an eventful race with a great storyline. There were several twists and turns and multiple times that Josh Rice was written off as even having a chance to win. I think Jonathan Davenport was written off as having a chance to win at least once, as well, but I don’t believe there’s any way Rice could’ve earned his richest career payday in a more unexpected fashion. I mean, I think we all thought he’d have a good chance at his home track — a place where he has 14 career special event victories now since 2021 — but not overcoming numerous obstacles.
In 10 years, what will be the most memorable episode from Florence’s jam-packed North-South weekend?
Turner: For the folks there? The Rice Brothers Ya’ll triumph and celebration. For those watching from afar? The frontstretch calamity that virtually guaranteed that eliminated some of the sport’s best drivers. Such crashes are rare — I can’t remember one of the same significance in a major event — but always a possibility if a car unexpectedly loses drive like with Dan Ebert’s situation. The width or layout of some tracks give a little more wiggle room, but the outside lane at Florence isn’t one of them. In reality, it’s remarkable there’s not more big pileups, but as we can see on immediate replays these days, it’s largely thanks to the amazing skills of onrushing drivers to avoid what appears to be a certain crash.
Allen: Even with the late race battle between Josh Rice and Jonathan Davenport and the wild crashes during the weekend, the thing that could very well prove to be the most memorable might be the enthusiasm of the fans all throughout and after the race. Rice was their clear favorite and their cheers and jeers were focused on his efforts and the efforts of those competing against him. The scene on the frontstretch during the victory lane interviews was one I won’t forget anytime soon. And the popular driver didn’t limit his celebration to the frontstretch as he stopped on the back straightaway and climbed atop his car after taking the checkered flag to allow those fans to cheer his triumph.
Clay: I want to say we’ll all remember how special of a victory it was for Josh Rice, especially the way he celebrated with the large crowd of his supporters; however, I think this year’s North-South 100 will be most remembered for the carnage it produced. Somehow, Dillon McCowan’s flip that sent him out of the ballpark and Michael Leach’s devastating rollover crash were merely appetizers to the weekend's destruction. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen two cars get upside down the same way as Jason Jameson and Trevor Landrum’s heat race crash, nor have we seen as big of a mess than the feature's frontstretch pileup.
Kovac: So much happened during the weekend, both good (last-lap semifeatures wins on Friday by Brandon Overton and Josh Rice) and bad (a strangely large number of wicked accidents including flips by Dillon McCowan, Michael Leach, Trevor Landrum and Jason Jameson and the massive restart crash early in the 100-lapper). But come on — nothing can compare with Rice shooting underneath Davenport exiting turn four to become a North-South 100 champion. The place erupted like never before. We’ll be talking about that very moment for much longer than a decade.
It’s hard to argue with success, but is there a way to make Florence’s big weekend better?
Allen: In my opinion, when something's working, don’t try to fix it. I don’t know if it’s the shape of the track, the way it’s prepped, or the dirt itself, or some combination of all of those things, but those who are in charge of Florence Speedway obviously have found the right formula as every race there proves to be entertaining. And more important than me loving the track, the competitors and the fans love it. I say don’t change a thing.
Clay: As I initially began to make a valiant attempt at explaining why the North-South 100 needs to be reduced to a two-day event, the more I realized that the three-day format may be perfect. Drivers are given two preliminary nights against a random group of competitors and their performance sets their starting spot in one of Saturday’s six heat races. Some could argue the invert should be reduced, or removed, from Saturday’s heats, but as a fan, I love seeing the fast guys having to earn their spots in the 100-lap finale. Personally speaking, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Kovac: Maybe put up a high-rise grandstand and add acreage to the property so more people can experience the weekend? That’s the one thing I can think of because the change to the event that I would have recommended if this question was posed a couple years ago has already occurred: shedding the modifiers as a support class to make the North-South 100 a single-division extravaganza. Crown jewel events should have all the focus on the Dirt Late Models, and that’s been the case at Florence for the last two editions of the North-South.
Turner: To be honest, any ideas that pop in my head wouldn't guarantee any improvement. The King family has tinkered with the format and purse over time, and it appears they’ve settled into rhythm that maximizes the event (it’s hard to imagine they could shoehorn more fans or campers onto the property). I’d prefer a full-field feature for Thursday and Friday, but obviously the twin-feature format guarantees more laps (and more money) for more competitors, so that change could lower the car count. One tiny thing could be a race two weeks earlier that’s a North-South qualifier, giving a local driver a starting spot in the 100-lapper.
Discuss a recent headline, result or driver outside of Florence’s purview.
Turner: I love that McKay Wenger, who typically stays close to his Fairbury home (and with good reason), has back-to-back victories outside Illinois. Not only that, he’s logged two first-time victories are further-flung tours, scoring Aug. 1’s triumph on the first-year Heartland Late Model tour in his first trip to Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., followed by Saturday’s Ultimate Heart of America Series victory at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind. Before this month, Wenger had only won outside of Illinois once in a Late Model with a 2016 victory at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway. Wenger’s No. 42 is road worthy!
Clay: Not often have we seen three drivers sweep weekend events across multiple regional touring series. Rusty Schlenk pulled off the feat in Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series action, winning at Michigan tracks I-96 Speedway and Butler Motor Speedway. Jesse Glenz used a late-race slide job by Pat Doar to sweep Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series stops in Wisconsin while Tad Pospisil accomplished a dominant sweep of Malvern Bank East-West Series co-sanctioned events in Nebraska. Not only were the sweeps worthy of being mentioned, but I found it interesting that they happened in each driver's home state.
Allen: Ashton Winger’s been red-hot with seven victories in his last 10 feature starts, including Saturday's Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series show at Southern Raceway. The No. 12 car has run so well throughout the season that its driver currently leads the standings on the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series and Southern Thunder tour. This seems to be a driver and team that have found their niche. Winger has always been fast, and that is translating to wins as he plays to his strengths.
Kovac: Ryan Unzicker is quietly putting together a real solid season. His MARS victory on Friday at Sycamore Speedway in Maple Park, Ill., was his third on the tour and fourth overall this season, and a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s series stop at Macon (Ill.) Speedway gave him 19 top-five finishes in his modest 26 starts in 2026. The Illinois veteran has also built a pretty solid lead in the MARS standings, putting him in position for his second career MARS title. He’s the last driver to beat Jason Feger for the MARS crown (in 2022), and he's put himself in position to do it again.
And look ahead to Batesville’s Topless 100 or another upcoming event.
Clay: I’m excited for La Salle (Ill.) Speedway’s big weekend of racing action featuring the MARS Championship Series. There've been five races completed since La Salle reopened last year, but none since last July’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals event. Not only am I grateful that the track is operational after a four-year hiatus, but I’m thankful to see it host racing since receiving damage during the Midwest's unusually wet summer. The MARS tour has been exciting this year and La Salle’s two-day program (twin $5,000-to-win semifeatures Friday before Saturday’s $20,000-to-win finale) is likely to draw the eye of some national touring regulars who aren’t going Batesville.
Allen: Something interesting to me about the bigger Dirt Late Model races, and I like this, is that they each have their own way of leading into the main event. The North-South 100 had two consecutive nights of split field shows that were used to set the lineups for Saturday’s heat races. The USA Nationals had a standalone feature night then a second night filled with qualifying and heat races before Saturday’s main event. Batesville will have a single night of split-field features prior to the Topless 100. Drivers and teams have to adapt to these formats in order to be successful. As far as the competition goes, this seems to be a race that favors veteran drivers as the last four winners have been Jonathan Davenport(2), Dale McDowell and Tim McCreadie. Perhaps their experience with the unique aspect of a topless car helps.
Kovac: I’ve never attended the Topless 100 nor seen a race at Batesville, but I’m headed to Arkansas this weekend to cover Mooney Starr’s event for the first time. I’ve been to the other nine events we consider Dirt Late Model crown jewels, so it’s time I add the Topless to my list. I’m not looking forward to the temperatures that are predicted for the two-day show (just over 100 degrees each day!), but I guess that means I’m about to get the full Topless experience. Hopefully I’ll see some quality racing that makes putting up with the heat worthwhile. I’m going to have my eyes especially focused on Jonathan Davenport and Brandon Sheppard, who will be looking for redemption after their North-South 100 fates (J.D.’s late loss, Sheppard’s involvement in the early wreck).
Turner: Oh Kevin, we may need to find you a portable air conditioner (or at least one of those hats with the built-in fan) … talk about the full Topless experience! I think Lucas Oil regulars may have a tough time keeping Jonathan Davenport from repeating at the home track for his Double L Motorsports team. In a pick-and-choose season, you know J.D. would make a few trips to Batesville (he’s won there twice already), so his third Topless victory in five seasons is a real possibility.
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