Dirt Late Models May Be Outside Of The Spotlight In American Motorsports, But They're Firmly Entrenched At Tracks Across The Country
Dirt Late Models put their unique stamp on motorsports. Photo by Tony Hammett
Judging from the races broadcast on television, it would seem a safe assumption that a majority of stock car racing in this country is run on pavement. All the competition in NASCAR, as well as other series, certainly lends that impression, but it is simply not the case. If you are lucky, you might be able to find a taped dirt stock car race, but that's about it.
Stock car racing began in the '30s in a primitive manner, and the sport continued to mature until World War II began. A vast majority of racing was done on dirt, and that trend continued following the war.
When stock car racing gained stature in the late '40s, virtually all the venues had dirt racing surfaces. There were certainly no paved superspeedways around during those days. The competition consisted of running nearly stock street cars in rough-and-tumble action on short dirt ovals.
During the first year of the NASCAR sanction in 1949, all eight of the Grand National races were run on dirt. In 1950, there was only one pavement race, and only 10 pavement races out of a total of 75 events the following two seasons. If there hadn't been dirt tracks during NASCAR's formative years, it could have been much later before the sanctioning body was organized.
During those early days, teams would most often run the same car on both racing surfaces, with few changes.
Up until the mid-'60s, the pavement and dirt stock cars remained somewhat similar, using modified street cars and hopped-up powerplants. But it was during this period that the birth of the Dirt Late Model (DLM) concept took place. It involved a true racing machine with a custom frame that was optimized to run on the rear-end-loose dirt ovals.
Through the ensuing decades, a tremendous evolution took place, and the modern Dirt Late Model stock car became a pure racing machine highly endowed with advanced technology. It is essentially the Nextel Cup version of a dirt race car.
A measure of the dirt popularity in this country is in the number of dirt tracks nationwide.
Much of the DLM action is sideways. Photo by Tony Hammett
"Right now, there are 773 dirt tracks as compared with only 249 that are paved," says Allan Brown, publisher of the National Speedway Directory.
It should also be noted that a high percentage of those tracks have some form of Dirt Late Model competition as the premier class.
Not all of the DLMs are the Super Late versions with 800hp engines sitting under their hoods. Therefore, for economic reasons, many local dirt tracks have lower classes of cars using the same type of chassis with a lower-powered engine.
Mark Richards, the head man at DLM-builder Rocket Chassis, says, "I would estimate that there are as many as 8,000 of them out there of all types. The Dirt Late Model is the most popular of all the race car types in the country."
Dirt Late Model Sanctioning Bodies
These cars have one strong characteristic not found in pavement machines, allowing Dirt Late Models to be raced in nearly every state. That is, with few exceptions, the cars are governed by common rules, thus allowing a team to run in just about every part of the country with only minor, if any, changes to the cars. A variation in engine rules is the most common difference among regions, as the bodies are typically the same from area to area, with an occasional variation on spoiler height.
For Dirt Late Models, there are three main sanctioning bodies, each governing different sections of the country.
The UMP (United Midwest Promoters) group sanctions DLM racing in 17 states and certain sections of Canada. It oversees some 1,200 drivers, five traveling series, and sanctions the huge Summer Nationals event, which features 28 races in 30 nights. UMP head man Sam Driggers indicated that the marathon show has become known as the "Hell Tour."
Body panels are basically straight, making repairs easier. Photo by Jeff Huneycutt
Next is the longstanding IMCA group, headed by Kathy Root, which sanctions weekly DLM racing primarily in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. "Our biggest event for the Dirt Late Models is the Pepsi Nationals held in Burlington, Iowa, which pays $10,000 to win," Root says. "One difference that we have with the other large sanctioning bodies is that we use a spec engine. I think a problem that we are facing is the engine cost situation, which keeps a lot of teams from participating. The cost of gas for getting to the races is also a concern these days." She adds that the IMCA group is also fielding an inaugural crate engine Late Model Series this season.
Terry Woeltz, the head man at the WISSOTA Promoters Association, says that his series sanctions weekly racing in Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, along with two tracks in Canada. In all, there are over 300 drivers participating with WISSOTA.
In addition, there is also a WISSOTA traveling series, the Tri Star Late Model Challenge. And like IMCA, WISSOTA is also trying a pilot program for a crate engine Late Model series.
National Traveling Series
There are two Dirt Late Model traveling groups in which many of the nation's top drivers ply their skills at tracks around the country. The groups include the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
The exposure of the Dirt Late Model is best displayed by the numerous traveling series traversing the nation and playing to thousands of enthusiastic fans. The major traveling series can be categorized by the particular part of the country where they compete.
The North
Selected major groups in the North include the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series (MACS), the United Late Model Series, and the Independent Racing Series.
The latter series is starting its first year of operation under Dean Miracle. He explains that the DLM hotbed area of Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia has room for another series.
"I am not here to mess up somebody else's series," Miracle says. "I schedule races when others are not running, and when a traveling series is in the area, I don't run at all.
"I want to make it easy on the teams. For that reason, I use Columbus, Ohio, as the focal point with all shows within six hours driving."