Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Solid rookie season for Nebraskan
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Jacob Anson (Inspiring Images)
A dirt racer most of his life, Jacob Anson has had a bit of a Goldilocks realization in recent seasons. The IMCA modified division had gotten too expensive for his tastes. A stint in the IMCA stock car division didn’t fit Anson’s driving style. But halfway through his rookie season in IMCA Late Models, the high-profile division is starting to feel just right.
The 35-year-old Albion, Neb., driver has clicked off four victories as IMCA’s winningest rookie racer and he’s in contention for track titles at U.S. 30 Raceway in Columbus, Neb., and his hometown Boone County Raceway. Among season highlights were back-to-back victories at U.S. 30 and Boone County as the calendar flipped to August.
“It’s the first time I've won Thursday and Friday since like 2015, so I was happy with that,” said Anson, whose first Late Model victory came in May. "I didn't expect to win my fourth or fifth night out and now have four (victories) in it, but so far it's going great and I'm happy with it.”
Anson has followed his dad’s tire tracks. When Anson was a boy, his father Dave was competing in the IMCA modified division. That’s the division where Anson launched his racing career as a 16-year-old.
“My dad started racing in '93, so I've been around it since then,” Anson recalled, “and then when my first year came up, he said, ‘We can get you anything you want. You want a hobby stock?’ At the time, he was driving a modified for another guy, so his (modified) was just sitting in the garage and I said, ‘No, I wanna race this.’ So that's what we ended up doing, just getting it ready for me to race for the following season and I actually raced against him my first year and then after that, he quit and just focused on helping me.”
During 13 seasons in the division, Anson collected 36 feature victories and three track titles before abandoning it for the stock car division, where he competed for five seasons with 10 victories and a track title. But Anson got the itch to change divisions again for 2026.
“In my opinion, the modifieds were getting out of hand on price, and we just can't afford to get a new car every year. I think that's what it takes to be competitive is you need a new chassis every year,” Anson said. “I just can't swing that.”
The switch to stock cars didn’t work out as well as he’d hoped.
“I personally think I drive a car pretty hard and a stock car has zero sidebite, so you have to really change your whole driving style to drive one of those cars. Like you can't drive them in as deep as like a modified or Late Model, and then you have to drive them in quite a bit straighter,” Anson said. “I just got sick of trying to make something work that I don't know if it was just me, driving style-wise, or just I don't have enough knowledge with a stock car.”
Looking for greener pastures, he bought a vintage Rocket Chassis from fellow Nebraskan Corey Zeitner and got up to speed quickly in the Late Models.
“This car is a 2019, so it's an older car, but from looking at it, I didn't think it had very many nights, and so far it's been (good),” Anson said. “It drives out like a mod and you have a little more tire and obviously a bigger wing, but it just fits me — my driving style — I think.”
It didn’t hurt that Anson's wife Amanda comes from Late Model roots and has worked in race director roles. Her father Ron Sutton was a former competitor with the Central Nebraska Circle Track Association that evolved into IMCA's Friesen Challenge Series and operated from 1999-2004.
“He was real excited and he just kept telling me, ‘Oh, it's just a big gokart. You’ll get it figured out in no time,’ ” Anson recalled.
Besides his father-in-law’s encouragement, advice from a multitime IMCA Late Model champion eased Anson’s transition.
“My biggest reachout was to Cory Dumpert,” he said. “I’ve known Cory for quite a few years, and I asked him if he'd kind of help us starting out, getting going in the right direction. And he said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ And so we took our springs and shocks over to him and had him smash them, and he called a guy that he knows with Rocket, and he said only (one shock) was a little bit off that he changed the numbers on that.
“Since then, if I have any questions on anything, he’ll tell me, you know, go this way or this direction with it. So he's been a really big help.”
Anson hoped for a single victory in his first season, but he’s easily outperformed that. He captured one of his U.S. 30 features by a whopping eight seconds over reigning IMCA champ and current points leader Zach Zeitner of Bellevue, Neb.
"I think it's a very competitive class,” said Anson, who seems himself staying in the division the next 10 seasons. “And personally, I don't know for sure, but I don't think Late Model chassis flex out as fast as modified. So I think I can get more than one year out of this car. I should be able to get hopefully two or three (seasons), especially while I'm only going to run like 30 nights a season.
“Still, tires are expensive, motors are expensive, shocks, but as far as the chassis, if you don't need to go spend $10,000 a year on a new chassis, then that's a big save for me.”
His main hangup with the Late Models? Realizing the nosepieces are more significant than in modifieds or stock cars, which ended his night early a few times.
“Since the noses are quite a bit larger than I'm used to, I hit some infield tires and folded the nose under, so then that was just the end of the night. So kind of a learning situation,” he said. "I would just catch the tire with the left front corner of the nose, and that's the lowest part to the ground anyway, so then it folds it under and you just can't drive it.
“We just kind of jack it up and let it wedge its way kind of up and do the best we can and help get it ready for the next night.”
An IMCA rookie title is unlikely because Anson doesn't race as often as most competitors. His weekly Thursday-Friday schedule at Columbus and Albion is plenty of racing for him.
"I could go to Norfolk at Off-Road Speedway,” Anson said, “but since I've gotten a little older and this is my 20th year racing, I like to take Saturdays and do something, go golf or do something with my wife and kid or just kind of have our own little weekend.”
Racing is a family affair. He met Amanda at Boone County and she attends races along with their 3-year-old son Haden. Anson’s parents, 59-year-old Dave and 58-year-old Rhonda, haven’t missed a single night of Anson’s career.
“That's kind of what we've always done as a family,” he said, “so that's just our thing.”
Weekly highlights
• Winning back-to-back nights in his home state, Tate McCollum of Ball Ground, Ga., won Aug. 14-15 events at Blue Ridge’s Sugar Creek Raceway and Chatsworth’s North Georgia Speedway in the Limited Late Model division.
• In the first completed event for Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., since June 20, Eddie Carrier Jr. of Fairmont, W.Va, won the $2,500 Bud Weigle Memorial.
• Drew Baker of Omaha, Neb., scored a two-victory weekend in IMCA Late Model action, winning Aug. 13 at U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus, Neb., and Aug. 16 at Park Jefferson (S.D.) Speedway for the Bill Kirk Memorial.
• Scoring his first Late Model victory in a Jerry Foster-owned car, Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., earned $4,500 in the Schaltenbrand Memorial at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
• Leading all the way, polesitter Lane Snook of Port Royal, Pa., earned $3,000 in Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway’s Free State 30 for Limited Late Models.
• Winning Aug. 16 at East Moline (Ill.) Speedway, Logan Veloz of Colona, Ill., notched his second victory of the season at the quarter-mile oval. He’s the only Late Model driver with a victory at the track next to eight-time winner Travis Denning.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Kelsi Pederson of East Grand Forks, Minn., notched her first Late Model victory Aug. 14 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. Pederson’s father Joey and brother Tucker also compete in the division and joined her in victory lane.
• With his $4,000 Carey Ruwe Memorial victory for Crate Late Models, Dustin Nobbe of Batesville, Ind., notched his first career Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway victory.
Weekly news briefs
• Rick Thoennes on Aug. 19 resigned as technical director for the WISSOTA Promoters Association, the board announced. Thoennes, who joined the WISSOTA staff early this season, “has been a great asset to the organization, overseeing the incredibly difficult job of ensuring all WISSOTA member drivers comply with the 2026 rulebook,” a board statement said. All tech-related questions should go to WISSOTA general manager Nikki Cook at (763) 238-0053.
• Buckshot Speedway in Clanton, Ala., which runs Crate Late Model divisions and occasional Super Late Model specials, has postponed racing “while we take some time to re-evaluate our racing program and address a few things behind the scenes,” promoters announced. Buckshot completed a May 15 Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series event but four other touring special event have been rained out or cancelled.
• Details for Oct. 9-10’s Tommy Bare Memorial at Natural Bridge (Va.) Speedway, have been announced with the Limited Late Model event paying $10,008-to-win. The preliminary night will be capped by a pair of $1,200-to—win 25-lap semifeatures with the top eight drivers locking into the weekend finale.
• Quincy (Ill.) Raceway has scheduled a $2,000-to-win Heartland Towing & Recovery dash during Aug. 30’s racing program. The top eight drivers in dash points throughout the season will start straight up in the Aug. 30 dash.
• Drivers at Pine Ridge Speedway in Guntown, Miss., on Aug. 29 will receive free pit admittance.
• Dusty Moore of Swanton, Ohio, announced that a mechanical failure has ended his Late Model season prematurely. His best finishes in nine feature starts are a pair of sixth-place runs at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, where he’s 12th in points.
• Hummingbird Speedway in Reynoldsville, Pa., has added the $4,000-to-win Dave Srock Memorial for Super Late Models on Sept. 19. The track also recently announced that Jay Knox and Robbie Leonard have taken over race directing duties from Brian Nestor.
• Bob King has closed Central Missouri Speedway in Warrensburg, Mo., and put it up for sale, saying his business interests won’t allow him time to operate the track. The track hosted the Ozark Limited Late Model Series on Aug. 1 while and Aug. 22 Malvern Bank West Series event has been cancelled with the track’s early August closure. Pub 13, the racetrack restaurant, remains open.
• Davenport (Iowa) Speedway has rescheduled Season Championship Night for Monday, Aug. 24, after an Aug. 17 rainout. It will mark the 63rd Monday event in track history. Logan Veloz of Colona, Ill., has an 18-point lead on Cruz Birkhofer in the IMCA Late Model division.
• North Central Arkansas Speedway in Flippin, Ark., which closed last season, is under contract to a new owner with details to be announced after the sale is completed later this month. The 27-acre property was listed by Beaman Realty for $500,000.
• Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway’s season ended with an Aug. 14 rainout; the season has concluded. The track plans to run again in 2017 with about 16 events starting in April through August.
• Amanda Anson has taken over as race director at U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus, Neb.; she was formerly race director at Boone County Raceway in Albion, Neb.
• Modoc (S.C.) Speedway cancelled Aug. 15’s race because of an uncertain forecast and conflicts with Swainsboro (Ga.) Raceway’s program, along with family health issue among the promotional team. The next Modoc event is Sept. 19 for the Jack Starrette Memorial on the Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series.
• Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio, cancelled Aug. 22’s race program with cleanup required from a recent storm that damaged the track fencing among other issues.
• Promoters of Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wis., have pledged to improve the track surface apologizing because it “has not met the standard we expect” during the 2026 season. A new track preparation team will take over for the rest of the season with the track “investing the time, effort, and resources necessary to restore our racing surface to the quality our competitors and fans deserve.”
• Adrenaline Motorsports Raceway in Boswell, Ind., is nearing a reopening with an overhaul of the facility that’s been closed several seasons. No race dates have been announced for the former Kamp Motor Speedway.
• Citing financial and personal issues, the Weisinger family announced last week that 2026 would be its lone season promoting Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The family that took over the track in November will end the season Aug. 21 with Season Championship Night at the 3/8-mile oval. Among the family’s biggest changes at the southeastern Iowa oval was shifting racing back to Friday nights and returning to IMCA. Lee County drew 29 Late Model competitors among seven completed events.
• Brandon Shelton, who through his Inspiring Images photography business provided racing photos at U.S. 30 Raceway in Columbus, Neb., died on Aug. 15.
Weekly points
DIRTcar (Supers): Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., has 2,273 points to lead Tanner English (2,180) and Mike Spatola (1,973).
IMCA (Limiteds): Zach Zeitner of Bellevue, Neb., has 785 points to lead Tommy Elston (779) and Drew Baker (763).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Shane Sabraski of Rice, Minn., has 1,551 points to lead Tyler Peterson (1,549) and Kevin Burdick (1,529).
American All-Stars (Crates): Brandon Fouts of Kite, Ky., has 590 points to lead Logan Walls (546) and Corey Almond (462).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Chace Pennington of Steens, Miss., has 598 points to lead Landon Mathews (589) and Spencer Moore (582).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Brady Walton of Greenwell Springs, La., has 589 points to lead Waylon Vining (587) and Shannon Lee (586).
DIRTcar (Crates): Braden Johnson of Taylorville, Ill., has 949 points to lead Chase Wilson (838) and Ryan Miller (763).
Gen X (Crates): Watertown, S.D., drivers Trevor Walsh and Blake Swenson are tied with 1,294 points with Parker Gilbertson third at (1,261).
RUSH (Crates): Devin Brannon of Winchester, Va., has retaken the lead with 1,336 points to lead Jeremy Wonderling (1,329) and Davein Kaiser (1,310).
Ultimate (Crates): T.J. Salango of Glen Daniel, W.Va., has 289 points to lead T.J. Hicks (249) and Brandon Adkins (233).
USRA (Crates): Lucas Peterson of Stockholm, Wis., has 5,324 points to lead Jason McFadden (5,210) and Josh Wahlstrom (4,538).
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Plymouth (Wis.) Dirt Track (Aug. 20): The track’s postponed Independence 30 pays $3,000-to-win for the Late Model division, which also runs Saturday on championship night for the Super Six miniseries.
Bedford (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 21): The Tyler Ritchey Memorial for Super Late Models pays $5,333-to-win for the 33-lapper honoring the driver who died earlier this season.
Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 21): Back to School Night is highlighted by a $5,000-to-win Super Late Model event topping a three-division program.
Tri-City Raceway Park, Franklin, Pa. (Aug. 21): Super Late Models top a four-division card with a $3,000-to-win event in a rare appearance for the division.
Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex, Markleysburg, Pa. (Aug. 21): The Ernie Jones Memorial pays $2,000-to-win for Super Late Models with Crates on the undercard. A Super victory gives a driver a guaranteed starting spot Saturday at Elkins Speedway.
Clinton County Speedway, Mill Hall, Pa. (Aug. 21): The Stroud Memorial for Limited Late Models tops a four-division card.
Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway (Aug. 21-22): Non-touring Crate Racin’ USA 602 competitors chase a $5,000-to-win purse in western Kentucky.
Elkins Speedway, Kerens, W.Va. (Aug. 22): The $5,000-to-win Bobby Hart Classic is the track’s biggest Super Late Model event of the season on Wall of Legends Night.
Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway (Aug. 22): A $4,000-to-win Super Late Model event is on the undercard of the $20,000-to-win Living Legends Dream Race for 410 sprints.
Lake View Motor Speedway, Nichols, S.C. (Aug. 22): The Larry Long Memorial pays $3,045-to-win for Limited Late Models on an eight-division program.
Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway (Aug. 22): FALS Cup event pays $2,500-to-win for the Super Late Model division.
Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway (Aug. 22): The Barry Miller Memorial pays $2,000-to-win for the Crate Late Model division on Back to School Night (students 18-and-under get in free).
Tri-County Racetrack, Brasstown, N.C. (Aug. 22): Limited Late Models will chase a $2,500-to-win purse along with a $300-to-win dash for the division. Purse boosts in all divisions were provided by High Creek Earthworks.
