WOODSTOCK, GA – Jan. 20, 2021 – For the past 16 years, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series took a couple of weeks off after DIRTcar Nationals before jumping into the most intense tour in motorsports.

Not this year.

Four days after DIRTcar Nationals concludes, The Greatest Show on Dirt will begin its “Dirty South” Swing at four new events – Feb. 12 at Dixie Speedway, Feb. 13 at Talladega Short Track, Feb. 19 at Magnolia Motor Speedway and Feb. 20 at Revolution Park Speedway. Tickets are available for all four events by clicking HERE.

Dixie Speedway, in Woodstock, GA, has graced the Series’ schedule three times prior; the last in 2007. Mark Kinser won the first two events in 1999 and Joey Saldana won the last in ’07. So when the stars of the World of Outlaws make their way to the 3/8-mile track, they’ll all be chasing their first victory there.

Sheldon Haudenschild, who had a career year in 2020 with his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team, was one of the standouts on 3/8-mile tracks. He won at three different 3/8-miles and had an average finish of 3.5 throughout the seven events. After a fourth-place finish in points, he’s poised to challenge for the 2021 championship – against the likes of two-time defending champion Brad Sweet – and could get a head start on that at Dixie.

“There’s no doubt in any of our minds that that’s where we can be and that’s what we’ll strive for,” Haudenshild said about being in winning contention for the title. “I think as long as we’re winning races and stay consistent there’s no reason we can’t be there at the end of the year.”

The day after Dixie, the Series will make its 12th appearance at the Talladega Short Track – just outside of the Talladega Super Speedway – in Eastaboga, AL and its first appearance since 2011. In that last trip to the 1/3-mile track, David Gravel picked up the win.

“Talladega Short Track was a blast back when I was there and I’m excited to get back,” Gravel said.

He returns to the Series full-time in 2021 to go after his first Series champion, piloting the Big Game Motorsports #2 car.

Continuing its trek through the south, the World of Outlaws will make its debut at two new tracks the following weekend. First, on Friday, Feb. 19, it’ll make its debut at the 3/8-mile Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS. The track opened in 2004 and has hosted several Sprint Car and Late Model races since.

“We’re looking forward to having the World of Outlaws race at the speedway and make their return to Mississippi,” said Johnny Stokes, Magnolia Motor Speedway promoter. “It should be a pretty good show here.”

Then, the Series will make its return to Louisiana for the first time since 2004 when the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars debut at Revolution Park Speedway. The state-of-the-art facility, in Monroe, LA, is a 3/8-mile asphalt track but will have dirt put down on it for the event, which it did for a Late Model event in 2020.

By the end of this two-week swing, the Series will already have seven races under its belt as it kicks off its epic 90-plus race season. These early events will set the stage of who your top contenders for the year will be and form an early shape of what is sure to be another exciting championship battle.

-Friday, Feb. 12 – Dixie Speedway – Event Info/Tickets
-Saturday, Feb. 13 – Talladega Short Track – Event Info/Tickets
-Friday, Feb. 19 – Magnolia Motor Speedway – Event Info/Tickets
-Saturday, Feb. 20 – Revolution Park Speedway – Event Info/ Tickets

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

GATOR COLLECTOR: Kasey Kahne relishes Volusia success as owner, driver
Kahne plans to compete for Kasey Kahne Racing in the 50th DIRTcar Nationals

BARBERVILLE, FL – Jan. 19, 2021 – Florida has been kind to Kasey Kahne.

You might recall his two wins at Daytona International Speedway – during a NASCAR Duel race in 2010 or his Xfinity Series win in 2014. But 20 miles East of the famed track is where the three-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion car owner has collected the most trophies in the sunshine state.

That track is Volusia Speedway Park, in Barberville, FL – which will host the 50th DIRTcar Nationals Feb. 2-13.

Kahne, the driver, has one win at the half-mile track in 2002 with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Kahne, the car owner, has six DIRTcar Nationals championships and 13 wins overall at Volusia – between drivers Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman and Joey Saldana.

“I’ve always liked Volusia,” Kahne said. “I’ve always liked watching the racing there and driving when I’ve been able to race there. [Kasey Kahne Racing] has won a lot of races over the years down there. It’s fun to have a lot of gators (trophies) and be in Victory Lane down there. It’s a neat place to start the season for sure.”

The day after his win in 2002, Kahne made the overnight drive to North Carolina to test a then NASCAR Bush Series car at Rockingham Speedway in preparation to start his NASCAR career. Three years later, Kasey Kahne Racing was formed.

When he first started the team, while there were always aspirations for wins and championships, Kahne just wanted to provide his team with the best equipment he could and be there for them as an owner. That’s led to three World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championships and 185 Series victories.

“I always just wanted to watch the guys go and watch them win,” Kahne said. “Give them the best opportunity I could from an owner’s standpoint and see what they do with it. Over the last few years, they’ve done a lot. It’s been a lot of fun, whether I was watching on DIRTVision, which I did, I don’t know how many hundreds of races. Now, to be at more of them and watch their success, it feels good to be a part of that. Winning never seems to get old. We want to do a lot more of it from both teams.”

Both KKR cars – the #49 of Brad Sweet and the #9 of James McFadden – finish first and second in the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals points, respectively. For Sweet, Volusia Speedway Park has proved to be one of his best tracks in his tenure with the team. He has two DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator championships and seven wins overall at Volusia – five with the World of Outlaws.

“For whatever reason, it’s definitely one of my best tracks,” said Sweet, the two-time defending Series champion. “We’ve definitely struggled there in the past here and there. I think it says a lot about our guys and our race team that they bring a really fast car there every year. It’s the first week of the season and you can see the teams that haven’t meshed yet or aren’t as well prepared and the teams that have been together are going to come out of the box a little stronger. That’s going to give us an advantage. And for whatever reason, it’s been a good racetrack for me.”

The key to KKR’s success at the track stems from their offseason preparations. When the 2020 season ended, Kahne said the crew has been working in the shop all season long to get ready for 2021.

“I feel like our cars have always been good right out of the box at those types of tracks,” Kahne said. “Early in the years, our KKR cars have always been fast in the beginning of the season. For whatever reason. And I think our drivers have been good and I’ve always enjoyed racing at Volusia with Daryn and Brad and Joey.”

He’ll join Sweet on track this year at Volusia, he said, as he plans to drive the team’s #9 car when McFadden can’t.

Kahne initially had no plans to drive a Sprint Car last year, but no plans turned into one race. Then, one race turned into 11.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” Kahne said about stepping back behind the wheel. “It’s been good. Last year, I didn’t plan on doing it a whole lot but with COVID and how things worked out, I ended up doing a lot more races and liked it. I always liked being in a Sprint Car and being a part of that. I always enjoy working on the car and being with the teams and things like that. That’s been a lot of fun the last couple years, as well. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success here recently. It’s fun to be part of it and traveling with the guys.”

After claiming another DIRTcar Nationals title and another World of Outlaws championship in 2020, Kahne is excited about the prospects of 2021 for his KKR team and kicking off the season strong at Volusia.

“I feel really good about where KKR is and where our engine program is,” he said. “I think we made some nice gains there late in the season, which will show at Volusia. I was talking with Brad and he’s ready to go. He’s always putting the work in and wants to win a lot this year. I like hearing that. The cars are coming together. The guys have been here nonstop since the season ended. Definitely, no one has backed down. It’s going to be a fun season.”

For tickets to the 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

READY TO PASS THE BAR: Parker Price-Miller joining World of Outlaws full-time in 2021
PPM Racing will join the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car tour with Price-Miller for his rookie season

CONCORD, NC – Jan. 14, 2021 – Parker Price-Miller has never shied away from his desire. If you asked him where he wanted his career to go, his answer was always the same: the World of Outlaws.

More specifically, a full-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series driver.

This year, the Kokomo, IN driver is making that a reality. Teaming up with his dad, Scott Ronk, Price-Miller – known as "The Law Firm" – is taking their PPM Racing team on the full 90-plus race tour and will run for Rookie of the Year.

“I pretty much ran the whole thing last year with Phil (Dietz and Dietz Motorsports) and I kind of got the feel and taste of it,” Price-Miller said. “I realized running with the Outlaws you make a lot more money. You’re getting paid more position-wise than any other series and the with the points fund. It just kind of all made sense. I’ve always wanted to do it. It all happened at the right time.”

Price-Miller has 126 starts with the World of Outlaws and two wins – his most recent with Dietz Motorsports at 34 Raceway last year. He parted ways with Dietz before the end of the 2020 season, leading to his need for a ride in 2021. With the majority of good rides already taken and most teams requiring a driver to bring something to the table, Price-Miller said his dad’s thought was: instead of bringing funding to another team, they should bring it to their own.

Before driving for owners like Bernie Stuebgen­ – who owns the Indy Race Parts team – and Philip Dietz – current crew chief and part-owner of Jason Johnson Racing – Price-Miller ran for his dad up until 2017. With primary sponsorship from Chalkstix and support from a variety of others, Price-Miller is making his dream become a reality himself, piloting his own #19 Sprint Car.

Having spent a year watching Dietz manage his own team, Price-Miller said there was a lot he learned that he can implement in his own team.

“I learned more about the in depths of the team; running the team and behind the scenes stuff,” he said. “Phil was very good with that. Kind of learning how to race with the Outlaws night in and night out. I had always done it here and there. Racing with the 14 team every night with the Outlaws, I learned how hard it is to go up and down the road with these guys every night. It was a big learning curve. I don’t think I’m done learning yet. You learn every day. I definitely think I learned a lot that I can bring to the table this season.”

He’s tapped Grant Boyum as the team’s crew chief. The up and coming crew member has achieved great success with drivers like Aaron Reutzel, helping him earn several victories – including a World of Outlaws win at Perris Auto Speedway – and All Star Circuit of Champions titles.

With him and two other experienced crew members in his corner, Price-Miller is confident he’ll be competitive and be in contention for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year title battle against Reutzel and Brock Zearfoss.

“Definitely would like to win as many races as we can,” Price-Miller said. “But you also have to be realistic. We’d like to win a few races. I think right now I’d like to maintain top-10 in points and take what we can get. We’re not going to push ourselves to do more than what we’re capable of.

“As a team, I think we’re going to be really good. As a team, I don’t think we’re going to show up and always run the Last Chance Showdown and be a field filler. We’re going to be a contender. In the back of my head, I have high expectations for us. But I also have realistic expectations and don’t want to think too high, also.”

The biggest challenge he foresees is being prepared for the full 10-month tour. While he was at every World of Outlaws event last year, the Series was able to only run 54 races due to COVID-19 putting a halt on racing at the beginning of the season. Now, they’ve got to be prepared for a longer, non-stop season. However, it’s nothing they’re going to shy away from.

“It’s way different than just getting prepared for Florida and then having two months off and then go run whenever you want,” Price-Miller said. “Now, we’re got to be 100% ready for the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park and go race 90 times a year and be prepared and ready for anything.

“It’s a new learning curve. We’re all excited for the experience.”

Price-Miller and PPM Racing will kick off their 2021 season Feb. 5-7 at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. For tickets to the event, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

LEARNING CURVE: Mason Daniel hoping to make most of knowledge learned in 2020
Danny Lasoski returns as Daniel’s mentor to guide him through another World of Outlaws season

CONCORD, NC – Jan. 13, 2021 – Mason Daniel will enter his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars at Volusia Speedway Park a different driver.

At the beginning of his rookie season last year, Daniel – 19 years old at the time – had only a handful of 410 Sprint Car starts and had yet to run a full tour with mentor and crew chief Danny Lasoski. Now, he knows what he’s gotten himself into.

“When you step up and run with the Outlaws, they’re just the best,” Daniel said. “They’ve been doing it longer than I’ve been alive. It’s just getting up to their speed and earning their respect on the track, being a clean driver. Racing hard and racing clean. I think that’s something I had to get used to; how hard they race each other and how good they are compared to other series. It was a big learning curve. We took our losses, but we’re looking forward to 2021.”

In 54 races, Daniel made 24 Features last year and earned a career-best finish of 11th at Lawton Speedway in September. It wasn’t until about halfway through the season that he began to feel comfortable.

The team made the switch to Eagle Chassis – a chassis Lasoski has had a long history with and a lot of success in – and hit upon adjustments with it that gave Daniel confidence in his cars.

(RELATED: AHEAD OF ITS TIME: THE CAR THAT PUSHED THE LIMITS FOR LASOSKI, SPRINT CAR RACING)

“We found some other stuff that me and Danny found that I like, set up wise, that we’ll hopefully start off the bat with and be competitive,” Daniel said.

“We got rid of everything else that we started the beginning of the season with. This year, we’re starting with how we ended last season.”

The 2021 season will kick off with three days of racing, Feb. 5-7, at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. Daniel made two of the three events at Volusia last year. He finished 15th and 23rd, respectively. However, he has one of the best mentors he can ask for when it comes to learning the tips and tricks of the half-mile speedway.

Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, has 19 wins overall at Volusia – three of them with the Outlaws.

“That place just fit me for some reason,” Lasoski said. “Even when it was locked down it was really good and when it slicked off you had to be really technical. It’s probably one of my favorite three tracks in America.”

Drivers such as Sheldon Haudenschild, Jason Sides and Daryn Pittman helped Daniel throughout his rookie season, he said. But the driver he leaned on the most was always Lasoski. The World of Outlaw champ comes with years of experience and a career of 122 victories – many of which came at tracks still on the current World of Outlaws schedule.

Having that knowledge to pull from at any time gave Daniel confidence going into tracks he never visited, which were the majority of them on the schedule last year. This year, that level of confidence shifts into a new gear. He has the laps and has an idea of what to expect.

With that confidence and growing chemistry with Lasoski, Daniel is hoping for a more competitive season.

“You want to be more competitive than you were the week prior,” Daniel said. “It’s hard sometimes. You get into a slump and have to push through it. We have a good program going into [this] season. I think everyone is excited. Just try to be more competitive than we were last year. That’s all we can do.”

For tickets to the 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision

NEW YEAR READY: Jason Sides Looking For Normalcy In 2021
Sides Motorsports will look to field two cars on a part-time schedule again with Tim Kaeding
 

CONCORD, NC — Jan. 8, 2020 — Jason Sides can’t slow down.

The two-month racing hiatus, due to COVID-19, and shorter schedule last year threw him off his rhythm. Every plan, every move, every mentality was thrown into a blender, leaving crumbs to be reassembled.

When the 90-plus 2021 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series schedule was released, Sides was pleased to see a full slate of racing and a chance to return to “normalcy.”

“Not that it’s a military- or Army-like deal, but with the Outlaws you’re on a set schedule from the beginning of time when the schedule comes out,” Sides said. “You know what you’re doing and where you’re going. When all that happens, it throws a big wrench in the program. When you get back to normal and how the schedule is supposed to be it's simpler.

“The more racing you do, the more everything improves. When you’re off for an extended period of time, not that you forget how to do it, but it’s a little bit off when you get back to it.”

Sides ended the 2020 season with four top-10 finishes and an 11th place finish in the championship standings – two spots better than the year prior.

Along with trying to find a rhythm last year, Sides Motorsports also juggled trying to find crew members for the second half of the year. Sides and long-time crew member Stephen Fairfield parted ways last year, leaving Sides to put together a team of various part-time crew members in each reason.

For the time being, that continues to be his plan for the 2021 season. The search for a full-time crew member is nothing like it once was. Right now, he said he's “winging it.”

“We’ve been looking. It’s getting harder these days,” Sides said. “Years ago, you had guys begging to come out and do the whole Series and want to work. It’s a lot harder these days to find crew guys that want to come out, have a CDL, are interested in it and want to do it. It’s hard to find those guys now.

“That’s why a lot of times I’ll have different people help in different parts of the country. They don’t want to be out all the time, but they want to help. They just can’t be out all the time. A couple of weeks here and there. Different ones help out in different places.”

His biggest need for extra hands is when he brings out a second car, which he still plans to do, at times, this year. Sides’ driver of choice will, again, be Tim Kaeding, who earned three top-10 finishes in 11 starts last year in the #7 Sides Motorsports machine. According to Sides, Kaeding already has a full schedule next year, but they’re still looking to find times for Kaeding to run a second car throughout the season.

Sides admitted that running one car, after having two out the week before, feels like a breeze. It’s not hard for them to run two cars, but it requires more hands and can get hectic in hurry-up situations. However, he said, it’s still beneficial to have a second car. Especially when the second driver is Kaeding – a 21-time World of Outlaws winner.

“I wouldn’t say we drive the same, but he (Kaeding) can tell me when it’s getting slick here for the next Heat Race or something,” Sides said. “Or I can help him out a little bit. Give some pointers about the racetrack. He can go look when I’m getting ready and I can go look when he’s getting ready. It actually helps a lot to run two cars.”

He’s expecting a tougher field of full-time cars with the World of Outlaws this year with the addition of drivers like three-time All Star Circuit of Champions titleholder Aaron Reutzel and PA Posse member Brock Zearfoss, along with the growth of drivers like Sheldon Haudenschild and Jacob Allen. That’s not changing his approach, though. To Sides, he said it just makes him want to run harder and beat all of them.

He’ll try to do so when the 2021 season kicks off Feb. 5-7 at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. He has one win at the half-mile track in 2011.

In general, he’s just looking forward to being able to get back into his normal rhythm of not slowing down.

“I’d just like to get back to racing and back to a normal life,” Sides said.

For tickets to the 50th DIRTcar Nationals, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

NEW YEAR READY: Jason Sides Looking For Normalcy In 2021
Sides Motorsports will look to field two cars on a part-time schedule again with Tim Kaeding
 

CONCORD, NC — Jan. 8, 2020 — Jason Sides can’t slow down.

The two-month racing hiatus, due to COVID-19, and shorter schedule last year threw him off his rhythm. Every plan, every move, every mentality was thrown into a blender, leaving crumbs to be reassembled.

When the 90-plus 2021 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series schedule was released, Sides was pleased to see a full slate of racing and a chance to return to “normalcy.”

“Not that it’s a military- or Army-like deal, but with the Outlaws you’re on a set schedule from the beginning of time when the schedule comes out,” Sides said. “You know what you’re doing and where you’re going. When all that happens, it throws a big wrench in the program. When you get back to normal and how the schedule is supposed to be it's simpler.

“The more racing you do, the more everything improves. When you’re off for an extended period of time, not that you forget how to do it, but it’s a little bit off when you get back to it.”

Sides ended the 2020 season with four top-10 finishes and an 11th place finish in the championship standings – two spots better than the year prior.

Along with trying to find a rhythm last year, Sides Motorsports also juggled trying to find crew members for the second half of the year. Sides and long-time crew member Stephen Fairfield parted ways last year, leaving Sides to put together a team of various part-time crew members in each reason.

For the time being, that continues to be his plan for the 2021 season. The search for a full-time crew member is nothing like it once was. Right now, he said he's “winging it.”

“We’ve been looking. It’s getting harder these days,” Sides said. “Years ago, you had guys begging to come out and do the whole Series and want to work. It’s a lot harder these days to find crew guys that want to come out, have a CDL, are interested in it and want to do it. It’s hard to find those guys now.

“That’s why a lot of times I’ll have different people help in different parts of the country. They don’t want to be out all the time, but they want to help. They just can’t be out all the time. A couple of weeks here and there. Different ones help out in different places.”

His biggest need for extra hands is when he brings out a second car, which he still plans to do, at times, this year. Sides’ driver of choice will, again, be Tim Kaeding, who earned three top-10 finishes in 11 starts last year in the #7 Sides Motorsports machine. According to Sides, Kaeding already has a full schedule next year, but they’re still looking to find times for Kaeding to run a second car throughout the season.

Sides admitted that running one car, after having two out the week before, feels like a breeze. It’s not hard for them to run two cars, but it requires more hands and can get hectic in hurry-up situations. However, he said, it’s still beneficial to have a second car. Especially when the second driver is Kaeding – a 21-time World of Outlaws winner.

“I wouldn’t say we drive the same, but he (Kaeding) can tell me when it’s getting slick here for the next Heat Race or something,” Sides said. “Or I can help him out a little bit. Give some pointers about the racetrack. He can go look when I’m getting ready and I can go look when he’s getting ready. It actually helps a lot to run two cars.”

He’s expecting a tougher field of full-time cars with the World of Outlaws this year with the addition of drivers like three-time All Star Circuit of Champions titleholder Aaron Reutzel and PA Posse member Brock Zearfoss, along with the growth of drivers like Sheldon Haudenschild and Jacob Allen. That’s not changing his approach, though. To Sides, he said it just makes him want to run harder and beat all of them.

He’ll try to do so when the 2021 season kicks off Feb. 5-7 at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. He has one win at the half-mile track in 2011.

In general, he’s just looking forward to being able to get back into his normal rhythm of not slowing down.

“I’d just like to get back to racing and back to a normal life,” Sides said.

For tickets to the 50th DIRTcar Nationals, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

CHAMPION’S MIND: Brad Sweet Relaxed, Focused In Hunt For Third Championship
The two-time defending champion will target wins more than points in 2021 with Kasey Kahne Racing
 

CONCORD, NC — Dec. 31, 2020 — Points circled Brad Sweet’s mind and formulated his judgment for the past two years. The attempt of a risky move on track was overruled by a cautious calculation that saw a championship as the reward for his efforts.

That mentality worked in 2019 and 2020, giving the Grass Valley, CA driver back-to-back championships. But in 2021, he’s throwing caution to the wind.

With his name now etched in the record books alongside icons like Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser, Donny Schatz and Jason Meyers as a multi-time champion, Sweet isn’t going to let the worry of points get in his way of fighting for wins.

“I feel really good,” Sweet said. “I feel like I’m in a really good place mentally. My life has a good balance. I have a good race team. Kind of in a good place to go out there and enjoy the moment and try to go after wins and not worry about points and things like that where I think we’ve let that control us in the last two years and take some of those wins away that, you know, I was being cautious and making sure that we finish and things like that.

“You really want to take those chances and get the wins. I really feel like next year, with the schedule the Outlaws have put together, and the big money races and a lot of promoters are stepping up and the purses are up, it’s a good opportunity for us to go out there and really show what we can do.”

When the 2021 season kicks off Feb. 5-7 at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals, they’ll get to show what they can do at one of Sweet’s best tracks. In 34 Series starts at the half-mile speedway, Sweet has five wins, 16 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s. He hasn’t finished worse than fourth in his last seven starts there and won his second DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator championship in 2020.

“It says a lot about our guys and my race team,” Sweet said. “They bring a really fast car there every year.”

With his KKR team of crew chief Eric Prutzman and crew members Andrew Bowman and Joe Mooney returning for another year together, Sweet stated that gives them an advantage heading into the season opener.

“You can kind of see the teams that haven’t meshed yet or aren’t well prepared,” he said. “The teams that have been together are going to come out of the box a little better. I think that gives us an advantage going to Volusia. I think we can go to Volusia and be just as strong, or maybe stronger.”

Going in with a second champion under his belt has bolstered the team's confidence, too.

When Sweet claimed his first championship in 2019 by four points over 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz – the closest points battle in Series history – he said it was sheer relief. Then, winning his second was validation. Especially with what he had to overcome.

He had four DNFs this year – three in a row. It was the first time since 2013 – before Sweet was full-time – that he had that many DNFs continuously. It cost him the points lead for several weeks, but after his last DNF at Knoxville Raceway, Sweet went on a run of 21 top-10 finishes in the final 24 races of the year. The three finishes outside the top-10 were all 11th – one due to an engine issue.

With that streak and eight wins on the season, Sweet was able to comfortably claim his second title.

He’s confident he and his team have cracked the formula on how to claim their third championship in a row. It starts by focusing on winning in Florida.

“Being a two-time champion, I feel like I know what we need to do to win the points,” Sweet said. “As long as we just keep doing what we’re doing, we feel like we’re the best team out there and we have a lot of confidence going into this season with what we were able to overcome in 2020 and even the year before.”

Get tickets to the Feb. 5-7 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park by clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

CONFIDENT CONTENDER: Sheldon Haudenschild Eyes 2021 Championship Hunt
The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing driver will look to build off a career year, starting at the 2021 DIRTcar Nationals
 

CONCORD, NC — Dec. 18, 2020 — The final 20 races of the 2020 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season might have teased a new championship contender for 2021.

In those few months, Sheldon Haudenschild claimed the most wins – five of his seven for the year – and, if not for two incidents of bad luck that took him out of the race, he would’ve earned more points in that time span than 2020 champion Brad Sweet.

So, are he and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing crew prepared to go after the championship next year?

“Definitely,” Haudenschild said with certainty. “That’s our goal. If we can get going a little sooner in the year and get a lot of races… you know, pretty short season this year. We skipped a lot of tracks I feel like we’re good at. Looking forward to ‘21 and hopefully going to a full schedule and getting all the races in. Just trying to mimic the end of our year and turn it into a full year next year. Hopefully, we can do that.”

While the 2020 season was shorter than intended due to COVID-19, the Wooster, OH native was able to turn it into a career year. In his three previous full-time seasons on the World of Outlaws tour, Haudenschild had collected seven wins and never finished better than seventh in points. He ended this season with seven wins and a fourth-place finish in the championship standings. He also ended the year with a single-season career-high 28 top-five finishes and 239 laps led – second only to Kyle Larson’s 278 laps led.

The 27-year-old credits much of his 2020 success to the reunion of him and crew chief Kyler Ripper. Their chemistry was established years ago when Haudenschild drove his own #93 car and Ripper was the crew chief. A friendship was birthed, along with a healthy working relationship.

With Ripper back by his side, after a few years apart, Haudenschild said he’s having fun on race days again. It’s created a good working environment for the entire team and made a positive impact on their results.

“Chemistry is a big part of it,” Haudenschild said. “When we show up to the track, we have a really good race car and a guy who only thinks about it. Ripper has done a really good job of that and communicates with me really well and lets me know what is going on. I’m able to tell him what I feel in a good way and we’re able to hash things out and get it figured out for the better.”

With the crew he has now, made up of Ripper, Nickolas Goodfleisch and Drew Brenner, Haudenschild said he’s able to enter each race confident he has a good handling car. It’s a key component to his mentality of being able to run the car as hard as he needs.

He’s watched 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz and two-time Series champion Brad Sweet benefit from that confidence for years. Now, he said he and his SJM Racing team are looking to mimic what the championship teams have done in their own way.

To be a champion Haudenschild knows it’s about having a strong season year-round. Not just in the last 20 races.

“Obviously, if you can win one in Florida (at Volusia Speedway Park during the season-opening DIRTcar Nationals) that helps to get the year going,” Haudenschild said. “A lot of times I feel like if I can get through Florida consistently and feel good with my race car and then head out west, I feel like there’s no doubt in my mind we can be right there. Anything can happen out west. I feel like I have a lot of strong tracks out there. I feel like our confidence will be good going out west with me and Ripper.”

Haudenschild picked up his first career World of Outlaws win at Volusia Speedway Park in 2018. Last year, he finished 11th, eighth and fourth, respectively, in the three season-opening races. He and the rest of the stars of the World of Outlaws will kick off the 2021 season Feb. 5-7 at the half-mile Florida track during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals.

With a career year behind him, Haudenschild is confident he and his NOS Energy Drink-backed team can hit the ground running at Volusia and contend for the 2021 championship.

“There’s no doubt in any of our minds that that’s where we can be and that’s what we’ll strive for,” he said. “I think as long as we’re winning races and stay consistent there’s no reason we can’t be there at the end of the year.”

For tickets to the Feb. 5-7 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, click here.

If you can't make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

TURNING 50: Sprint Cars Continue Key Role In DIRTcar Nationals History
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars headline the Feb. 2-7 Sprint Week during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals
 

BARBERVILLE, FL — Dec. 15, 2020 — While Sprint Cars didn’t grace Volusia Speedway Park until 1981, they had a key role in the growth of the Florida track and a strong presence during the 50 years of the DIRTcar Nationals.

The speedway started life as a sandy quarter-mile track in Barberville, FL, before Benny Corbin, a Sprint Car driver with a love for dirt racing, saw the potential for something greater.

Corbin, a Korean War veteran who became known as “the father of short-track racing in Volusia County,” purchased the property in 1968 and birthed Barberville Speedway. The track went through multiple transformations under his ownership from 1968 to 1982, including the track’s expansion to its current half-mile configuration. And over time its name went from Barberville Speedway to Volusia County Speedway and then to its current title Volusia Speedway Park.

His passion for the sport led to the creation of big events like the DIRTcar Nationals and his love for Sprint Cars made it inevitable the open-wheel machines would eventually turn laps around his track.

That became a reality for the first time on Feb. 9, 1981, when the World of Outlaws became the first series to bring Sprint Cars to Volusia. Doug Wolfgang conquered the event, holding off “The King” Steve Kinser for the win.

The Series didn’t return to Volusia until 2005 after that, but Sprint Car racing stayed vibrant with the All Star Circuit of Champions making its debut in 1983. The regional touring Series ran at the speedway from 1983 to 1991 before taking a three-year break.

In the All Star’s first decade, Kenny Jacobs won the first event at the track on Feb. 15, 1983, and claimed another in 1989. Steve Kinser won his first race at the speedway in 1984 and Wolfgang became the first repeat winner at the track in 1987.

Jacobs, Bobby Davis, Jr. and 2001 World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski won twice at the track during that period – the start to Lasoski’s Florida dominance.

The All Stars returned to the track in 1995 and ran there until 2003 before taking another year off. Dave Blaney, who won the World of Outlaws championship in 1995, won the first race back. Lasoski continued his winning ways, claiming two victories there with the All Stars that year, as well.

In the All Star’s 37 events at Volusia between 1995 and 2003, Lasoski won 12 of them. That time period also saw drivers such as Jac Haudenschild, Joey Saldana, Craig Dollansky, Lance Dewease, Kasey Kahne and Jason Johnson pick up their first win at the track.

Sprint Car racing returned to the track in full force in 2005 with the World of Outlaws and All Stars competing at the Florida venue during the same week, as they'll continue to do so in February. The All Stars were absent in 2013, but the World of Outlaws have competed at Volusia Speedway Park every year since their return in 2005.

Lasoski won five races at the track in that 16-year period and racked up 19 wins in total – between the All Stars and World of Outlaws. In 2000, while driving for Tony Stewart, Lasoski won all four events at Volusia in a unique chassis designed by Jerry Russell, from Eagle Chassis, and himself, which was outlawed after that week due to its radical design.

“That place just fit me for some reason,” Lasoski said about Volusia Speedway Park. “Even when it was locked down it was really good and when it slicked off you had to be really technical. It’s probably one of my favorite three tracks in America.

“Just racing there, in general, was fun. From the ‘90s up until now, obviously, the track prep now is so superior than what it used to be because of the equipment, but even back in the day they would give us a top and a bottom and we’d put on a great show every year we went down there.”

The only driver to best Lasoski’s record is 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who currently has 22 victories in total at Volusia Speedway Park. His most recent victory at the track came during the World of Outlaws 2020 season-opener during the DIRTcar Nationals. A win during the DIRTcar Nationals in 2021 would mark Schatz’s 300th career World of Outlaws victory.

Drivers such as Dollansky, Saldana, 2013 World of Outlaws champion Daryn Pittman and two-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet also emerged as continuous Volusia winners. All four have claimed DIRTcar Nationals championships, as well.

For many years, DIRTcar Nationals winners were awarded a golden eagle, but the Florida event took on a new life when the trophy switch to a golden gator in 2012, and the DIRTcar Nationals champion was award the “Big Gator” trophy. Since then, the Sprint Car Big Gator champions have included:

–Sammy Swindell (2012)
–Daryn Pittman (2013, 2015 & 2019)
–Paul McMahan (2014)
–Brad Sweet (2016 & 2020)
–David Gravel (2017)
–Donny Schatz (2018)

“For whatever reason, it’s definitely one of my best tracks,” said Sweet, who has seven wins in total at Volusia. “We’ve definitely struggled there in the past here and there. I think it says a lot about our guys and our race team that they bring a really fast car there every year. It’s the first week of the season and you can see the teams that haven’t meshed yet or aren’t as well prepared and the teams that have been together are going to come out of the box a little stronger. That’s going to give us an advantage. And for whatever reason, it’s been a good racetrack for me.”

For the 50th DIRTcar Nationals in 2021, the All Star Circuit of Champions will run on Feb. 3-4 and the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will run Feb. 5-7.

The half-mile track has produced thrilling races each year and set the stage for epic championship battles. Schatz, Sweet and Logan Schuchart won the three season-opening races for the World of Outlaws during the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals and ended the season as the top three drivers in points.

While the Sprint Cars didn’t grace Volusia Speedway Park until 1981, they’ve continued to be one of the most exciting parts of the DIRTcar Nationals every year since.

For tickets to the Feb. 2-13 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

PREVIOUS WORLD OF OUTLAWS VOLUSIA WINNERS
February 9th, 2020 — Logan Schuchart
February 8th, 2020 — Brad Sweet
February 7th, 2020 — Donny Schatz
February 9th, 2019 — Daryn Pittman
February 8th, 2019 — Daryn Pittman
February 11th, 2018 — Donny Schatz
February 10th, 2018 — Donny Schatz
February 9th, 2018 — Sheldon Haudenschild
February 19th, 2017 — Donny Schatz
February 19th, 2017 — Donny Schatz
February 17th, 2017 — Jason Johnson
February 14th, 2016 — Brad Sweet
February 13th, 2016 — Donny Schatz
February 12th, 2016 — Brad Sweet
February 15th, 2015 — Brad Sweet
February 14th, 2015 — Donny Schatz
February 13th, 2015 — Daryn Pittman
February 16th, 2014 — Steve Kinser
February 15th, 2014 — Donny Schatz
February 14th, 2014 — Brad Sweet
February 17th, 2013 — Danny Lasoski
February 16th, 2013 — Terry McCarl
February 15th, 2013 — Daryn Pittman
February 19th, 2012 — Donny Schatz
February 19th, 2012 — Craig Dollansky
February 18th, 2012 — Danny Lasoski
February 13th, 2011 — Jason Sides
February 12th, 2011 — Steve Kinser
February 11th, 2011 — Steve Kinser
February 7th, 2010 — Steve Kinser
February 6th, 2010 — Donny Schatz
February 8th, 2009 — Donny Schatz
February 7th, 2009 — Joey Saldana
February 6th, 2009 — Donny Schatz
February 10th, 2008 — Danny Lasoski
February 9th, 2008 — Jason Meyers
February 8th, 2008 — Craig Dollansky
February 11, 2007 — Daryn Pittman
February 10th, 2007 — Kerry Madsen
February 9th, 2007 — Donny Schatz
February 10th, 2006 — Joey Saldana
February 9th, 2006 — Chad Kemenah
February 13th, 2005 — Steve Kinser
February 11th, 2005 — Jeff Shepard
February 9th, 1981 — Doug Wolfgang

PREVIOUS ALL STAR VOLUSIA WINNERS
February 6th, 2020 — Aaron Reutzel
February 5th, 2020 — Brad Sweet
February 7th, 2019 — Brad Sweet
February 6th, 2019 — Shane Stewart
February 8th, 2018 — Donny Schatz
February 7th, 2018 — Donny Schatz
February 16th, 2017 — David Gravel
February 15th, 2017 — Donny Schatz
February 11th, 2016 — Donny Schatz
February 10th, 2016 — Dave Blaney
February 12th, 2015 — Daryn Pittman
February 11th, 2015 — Greg Hodnett
February 13th, 2014 — Joey Saldana
February 16th, 2012 — Craig Dollansky
February 15th, 2012 — Danny Lasoski
February 10th, 2011 — Sammy Swindell
February 9th, 2011 — Sammy Swindell
February 4th, 2010 — Joey Saldana
February 3rd, 2010 — Craig Dollansky
February 5th, 2009 — Stevie Smith
February 4th, 2009 — Donny Schatz
February 3rd, 2009 — Donny Schatz
February 7th, 2008 — Donny Schatz
February 6th, 2008 — Wayne Johnson
February 5th, 2008 — Donny Schatz
February 8th, 2007 — Tim Kaeding
February 7th, 2007 — Jason Solwold
February 6th, 2007 — Joey Saldana
February 8th, 2006 — Donny Schatz
February 7th, 2006 — Danny Lasoski
February 10th, 2005 — Kraig Kinser
February 9th, 2005 — Fred Rahmer
February 8th, 2005 — Terry McCarl
February 8th, 2003 — Lance Dewease
February 7th, 2003 — Jason Johnson
February 6th, 2003 — Joey Saldana
February 10th, 2002 — Kasey Kahne
February 9th, 2002 — Danny Lasoski
February 8th, 2002 — Lance Dewease
February 11th, 2001 — Danny Lasoski
February 10th, 2001 — Craig Dollansky
February 9th, 2001 — Joey Saldana
February 8th, 2001 — Dale Blaney
February 13th, 2000 — Danny Lasoski
February 12th, 2000 — Danny Lasoski
February 11th, 2000 — Danny Lasoski
February 10th, 2000 — Danny Lasoski
February 7th, 1999 — Frankie Kerr
February 6th, 1999 — Billy Pauch
February 5th, 1999 — Kevin Gobrecht
February 4th, 1999 — Greg Hodnett
February 8th, 1998 — Kenny Jacobs
February 7th, 1998 — Danny Lasoski
February 5th, 1998 — Danny Lasoski
February 4th, 1998 — Danny Lasoski
February 9th, 1997 — Dale Blaney
February 8th, 1997 — Gary Wright
February 7th, 1997 — Gary Wright
February 6th, 1997 — Gary Wright
February 5th, 1997 — Terry McCarl
February 11th, 1996 — Jeff Shepard
February 10th, 1996 — Danny Lasoski
February 9th, 1996 — Dale Blaney
February 8th, 1996 — Dale Blaney
February 7th, 1996 — Dave Blaney
February 12th, 1995 — Danny Lasoski
February 11th, 1995 — Danny Lasoski
February 10th, 1995 — Jac Haudenschild
February 9th, 1995 — Keith Kauffman
February 8th, 1995 — Dave Blaney
February 8th, 1991 — Robbie Stanley
February 6th, 1991 — Keith Kauffman
February 9th, 1990 — Robbie Stanley
February 9th, 1990 — Joey Allen
February 7th, 1990 — Rocky Hodges
February 12th, 1989 — Kenny Jacobs
February 11th, 1989 — Frankie Kerr
February 10th, 1989 — Keith Kauffman
February 9th, 1989 — Steve Stambaugh
February 8th, 1989 — Bobby Davis, Jr.
February 7th, 1988 — Danny Lasoski
February 6th, 1988 — Rocky Hodges
February 5th, 1988 — Jimmy Sills
February 4th, 1988 — Danny Lasoski
February 3rd, 1988 — Rocky Hodges
February 1st, 1987 — Doug Wolfgang
January 31st, 1987 — Bobby Davis, Jr.
February 15th, 1984 — Tim Green
February 14th, 1984 — Steve Kinser
February 15th, 1983 — Kenny Jacobs

NEXT STEP: Jacob Allen Aiming For Next Level Success In 2021
The Shark Racing driver looks to build off a successful 2020 season
 

CONCORD, NC — Dec. 11, 2020 — Jacob Allen meandered his way to the group of drivers waiting to take part in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash draw at Huset’s Speedway. Upon joining them, Kyle Larson turned to Allen and asked, “Have you made every Dash? I feel like I always see you here.” To which Allen responded with his iconic enthusiastic smile and chuckle.

ROOKIE NO MORE: Wayne Johnson Excited For 2021 After Finding Year-long Issue
The 2020 Rookie of the Year has found a new abundance of confidence for his Sophomore season
 

CONCORD, NC — Dec. 9, 2020 — Wayne Johnson ended the 2020 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season rejuvenated and eager to start 2021.

The Oklahoma-native won the 2020 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award – becoming the 38th driver in the history of the Series to win it – but that’s not what excites him most.

With two races remaining at the end of the 2020 season, Johnson, who struggled to find speed for the majority of the year, discovered the Jacobs Ladder mounts on the chassis he’d used for the past year and a half were off. Once fixed, Johnson said “the warm and fuzzy feeling” he’d been searching for all year with his car was finally there.

“Shane Stewart drove the car that night (at Cedar Lake Speedway) and said something was wrong with it,” Johnson said. “We could never put our finger on it. Once I figured it out, the car really drove good at Kokomo and then at Charlotte.

“I brought (veteran crew chief) Rob Hart in to help me. I kept blaming it on the tires. Just couldn’t figure it out. The week from Pennsylvania to Kokomo, we came home, I gave the boys a couple of days off and I took the car apart myself and got to measuring. Some Jacobs Ladder mounts were off and that’s not something you usually check anymore because the car builders have that in check. Anyway, found some stuff that was wrong, fixed them, and found speed.”

While the fix was worth celebrating, it also presented an issue. The majority of notes recorded by Johnson and the Two-C Racing team throughout their first full-time World of Outlaws season became irrelevant. Now, they’ll have to start from scratch, again, in 2021.

However, that hasn’t diminished Johnson’s newfound confidence in his cars and himself.

“I was starting to doubt myself. I really was,” Johnson said. “Did you forget how to do this? Then, I felt so much better in the car. But I had beat myself up the whole season. I didn’t come into this thing thinking we were going to win a championship or 25 races or anything like that. I just felt like if we came in to be competitive and start building off of that, at some point the stars would align and everything would work out; we could win a race. We weren’t even in the hunt. There was a lot of turmoil in the team. We just thought we were going to be better. I think next year, right out of the gate, we’ll be better.”

Johnson ended his rookie season with one top-10 and a 12th-place finish in points. And while Johnson, at 49 years old, was a rookie for running his first full-time season with the Series, he entered the year with 152 World of Outlaws starts. Because of that, he never thought of himself as a rookie and didn’t think much of trying to win the Rookie of the Year title. He’d even stated he’d like to tie for the honor with his rookie competitor Mason Daniel and have the tiebreaker go to Daniel.

But once the season ended, and Johnson received his Rookie of the Year Award, his outlook on winning the title changed. Along with his name, every Rookie of the Year winner – such as 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, two-time and defending champion Brad Sweet and two-time champion Mark Kinser – grace the plaque.

“After seeing all the names on the list and just thinking about Kevin Gobrecht, you know, losing his life to the sport that we love, it kind of hit home then and I really thought, “You better cherish this and take this in as a moment,” Johnson said. “There’s not a lot of guys on that list. It meant more after I really sat down and thought about it. Before then, I was just trying to get going and get the results that we needed or felt like we wanted and try to be better. Never really thought about the rookie thing until the day of the banquet and they handed me that plaque and I started reading it. It was like, “Wow, this is pretty cool.”

One of Johnson's biggest takeaways from his rookie season is learning to manage the long schedule, which nearly doubles for 2021 as the Series looks to return to a normal 90-plus race season. Not only was he and the team traveling to new places they had never been, but they also had to learn to live with each other for about 10 months straight.

(RELATED: 2021 Schedule: Huge Payouts, New Venues, Iconic Events Highlight 2021 World of Outlaws Season)

Johnson compared living on the road with his crew like marriage and admitted there was tension within the group at times, especially when they were running bad.

“You all have to live in the same spaces and travel together,” he said. “Honestly, that’s been the biggest hurdle. We’ve always done that on a smaller scale, running the 360s (Sprint Cars). Everybody’s emotions have been masked with everything going on this year, too. I think the biggest thing for me is that. Is making sure the team is functioning together and working as a team and knowing just how tough it is now. I knew it was tough, but I thought going into 2020 that we could be competitive and run upfront. It opened my eyes that we had a whole lot of work to do to get better.”

The team brought in a couple of crew chiefs throughout the year, which helped take some burden off of Johnson, who was making the calls on what to change with the car, but also showed him that he knew what he was doing. They also caused a bit of stress within the team, he said, as the chemistry wasn’t there.

Johnson won’t have an official crew chief for 2021 but said crew member John Ivey will have an expanded role. He’s worked with Johnson since 1998 and returned to working on a car full-time for the first time in 20 years this season.

He’ll start the 2021 season Feb. 5-7 at Volusia Speedway Park for the 50th DIRTcar Nationals with the same car he ended the 2020 season with but will have three brand new cars waiting to guide him through his Sophomore year. And while there is still a lot for him and the Two-C Racing team to learn, Johnson is confident they’ll be at the competitive level they expected to be this year.

“Do I feel like we can come out and run for a championship? Probably not,” Johnson said. “But we can definitely come in and be competitive where we just weren’t competitive this year. It stems from the stuff we had wrong. As a driver, I feel like I can get the job done. Todd and Kelly (Carlile, owners of Two-C Racing) have given me all the equipment to do it.”

For tickets to the Feb. 5-7 50th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

NEW OPPORTUNITY PART I: Philip Dietz Relishes Owner, Crew Chief Role For 2021
The two-time World of Outlaws Crew Chief of the Year will be taking on a bigger role with Jason Johnson Racing

CONCORD, NC — Dec. 2, 2020 — Philip Dietz looks natural in the most challenging situations.

He enjoys it.

Serving as the crew chief for two cars, owning one of them, working with three drivers and winning with all three this year earned him his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Crew Chief of the Year Award – his first came in 2016 while working with Jason Johnson.

“It did get really busy for all of us to manage both teams, but it was a lot of fun,” said Dietz, who was crew chief for Jason Johnson Racing’s #41 car and his own Dietz Motorsports #14 car. “I really enjoyed it. I like new challenges and that was certainly one of them. It was a lot of fun for me.”

Next year, he’ll face a new challenge that he’s dreamed of. He and his wife, Brooke, have taken co-ownership of Jason Johnson Racing, while Bobbi Johnson takes a step back to spend more time home with her son Jaxx. Dietz will remain crew chief of the #41 car, which will run full-time with Carson Macedo.

“I’m very excited for it,” Dietz said. “It’s been a goal of mine, a dream of mine, to own a Sprint Car team one day. I never really anticipated it to be this big; to own a World of Outlaws team. It is certainly an honor. Two years ago, we were really uncertain of the direction of JJR, whether it would be a one-year deal, multi-year deal, we were just kind of taking it one year at a time and doing what was right for everyone.

“Obviously, it takes a lot of sponsorship to make it happen. If you can’t put all of those pieces together, it is impossible to go out and keep it going on a full-time basis. That was really tough for us. Obviously, with Bobbi, and with Jaxx in school now, we knew there was going to come a day when she couldn’t travel as much and want to scale back and be home and be a mom. And Jaxx is at that age now where he’s getting more involved in sports. It’s really important for her to be here (in Missouri) and be involved in all of that stuff.”

Dietz will be responsible for directing all the daily racing operations, strategy and sponsorship partner relations at JJR. Johnson will focus on operating the merchandise side of the business.

Running Dietz Motorsports this year and previous lessons learned from his late-cousin, Jason Johnson, have helped prepare Dietz for his new leadership role at JJR.

“I’ve learned a lot from the marketing side, dealing with sponsors, balancing a checkbook and making sure we have all of the parts needed to go out and be competitive,” Dietz said. “From that standpoint, it has taught me a lot of new things. I was involved with Jason and Jason Johnson Racing in previous years. He did teach me a lot of things and shared a lot of information. So, when I went into it, I wasn’t blindsided. I kind of knew a little bit about the business and understood the business. Certainly, a challenge to go out and do it on my own.”

He proved this mastery of juggling many items at a time without fear this year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the racing world, Dietz had planned on only running his Dietz Motorsports team on a part-time basis. But after a two-month break, he decided to run the team every weekend, doubling his crew chief responsibilities for about all 54 events.

That still resulted in Dietz getting his first win as a car owner with Parker Price-Miller at 34 Raceway, picking up seven wins with David Gravel driving the JJR #41 car, one win with Shane Stewart driving for JJR and running for the team championship with JJR before settling for a runner-up finish.

A notebook helped keep his changes and ideas organized, and his crew on both teams never missed a beat, but Dietz admitted 2020 was “pretty crazy to be honest.”

“The biggest thing was just keeping up with both cars,” Dietz said. “I guess just the work load itself in a timely manner. On an average night, it wasn’t that bad.  There were certain situations throughout the year, I know Dodge City, Kansas (Dodge City Raceway Park) is one that sticks out where the show was rushed a little quicker than normal. There was no [Last Chance Showdown]. That night was a little hectic. It made it tough to keep up with both cars and make the changes we needed to make with both of them and make them better for the Feature.”

One of the easiest parts of the challenge was meshing with each driver's personality, he said. Dietz already had a full year under his belt with David Gravel – who started driving for JJR in 2019 – and was able to work well with Price-Miller and Shane Stewart – who won in his debut driving the JJR #41.

“Overall, I felt like it went really smoothly,” Dietz said. “As far as working with drivers, I felt like that worked out really well. David and I already had a system down where he would come in and give me his feedback and I could make adjustments fairly quickly. For that to remain the same and bring on the challenge of working with a second driver with Parker, that kind of made it tricky. But Parker did a job good. I really enjoyed working with him. Excellent driver. Gave great feedback. It wasn’t so much the personalities or the feedback from drivers that made it tricky. It was more of a time issue, trying to make sure we had everything done for when that eight-minute horn blew.”

Next year, he’ll reunite with 2019 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year winner Carson Macedo. The duo won in their debut together during the second night of the 2018 360 Knoxville Nationals. Macedo, of Lemoore, CA, ran six World of Outlaws events for JJR that year, filling in for Jason Johnson who died earlier in the year. His best finish with the team was a fourth-place run at Eldora Speedway.

“I’m lucky to be able to land on my feet with Phil and Bobbi and the whole JJR team,” said Macedo, who lost his ride with Kyle Larson Racing, which closed at the end of the season. “I think they’re a very well put together organization. They’ve worked really hard over time to build a really good package during the few years they’ve been on the Outlaw tour. I’m excited to be a part of another good opportunity.”

To Dietz, Macedo’s driving style is like Johnson’s, which made it easier for him to watch the car and have a good idea of what needed to be changed to make it better. He said he’s excited to work with Macedo again and believes that JJR can carry the moment from this year into 2021 and be a championship-contending team.

“What’s nice, both of my (crew) guys, Clyde and Nate, they committed to staying on next season, so I think that’s going to make this go a lot smoother during the offseason, in terms of building cars and getting everything prepared,” Dietz said. “On top of that, we’re bringing in a driver like Carson Macedo, who already knows what to expect from me and I know what to expect from him. I feel like we’re going to jell really quickly. We’re going to keep working away, working hard at it. I feel like the key to success is preparation and I feel very confident with everything we have going on and for next season. I feel like we’re going to roll into the first race and probably be more prepared than we have been in previous years, so I’m really excited for that.”

(In PART II, we’ll explore what Carson Macedo learned during his time driving for Kyle Larson and what his expectations are with JJR for 2021.)

The team’s first race of the 2021 season will be at Volusia Speedway Park during the 50th DIRTcar Nationals. For tickets, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.