DirtonDirt Dispatches
Dispatches: Winger rolling on HTF circuit
Ashton Winger celebrates at Duck River. (Zackary Washington/Simple Moments Photography)
Among the latest notes and quotes from Dirt Late Model specials in late July and early August, including regional special events (look for World of Outlaws Late Model Series coverage of Cedar Lake’s USA Nationals elsewhere):
On a roll
Ashton Winger of Hampton, Ga., is scrawling his name all over the 2026 Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series season.
The 26-year-old’s latest shining moment on the regional tour came Saturday night at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn., where he outran veteran standouts Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., and Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., to capture the Deep Fried 75 finale. It was his fifth victory in the last seven Hunt the Front races contested over the past month-and-a-half.
This one was especially lucrative for Winger, who pocketed $15,000 to raise his soaring spirits even higher.
“Jeff Matthews, he makes all this possible,” Winger said of his Florida-based team owner while wearing a broad smile during post-race ceremonies. “I’m just really thankful and glad things are going our way right now.”
Winger is on arguably a career-best heater this summer. Since driving to a solid eighth-place finish in June 6’s Dream at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, he’s entered nine events and ripped off six victories — including all five of his Hunt the Front checkered flags this season — and two third-place finishes. His only blemish is a DNQ in last week’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series-sanctioned Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway after experiencing bad luck in a semifeature.
After grabbing the lead in Duck River’s headliner from Overton on lap 24 and controlling the remainder of the distance to defeat Marlar by 0.659 of a second, Winger soaked in the moment.
“My car’s just good,” Winger said of his Rocket Chassis that’s wrenched on by his father Gary. “I mean, I say it all the time. Obviously, I know you still got to do the right things in the car, but whenever your car is just so good … my dad has this thing so good. And my buddy Blade (Kearns) came this weekend and he helps out a ton and just took a lot of pressure off of me.
“I say it all the time — I have way more than I deserve, and I’m just a goofy redneck that likes to race cars and that’s all I know how to do.”
Winger’s Hunt the Front performance record this season shows five wins among seven top-three finishes in 10 points races. His worst runs are 11th in March 22’s points-season opener at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., and seventh on April 11 at Chatsworth’s North Georgia Speedway, demonstrating the consistency that has propelled him to a lead in the circuit’s standings that numbers 80 points over Joseph Joiner of Milton, Fla., with six races remaining on the schedule. — Staff and series reports
Runnin’ hard
Mike Marlar worked hard to emerge victorious in Friday night’s 40-lap Deep Fried 75 opener at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn. Brandon Overton made sure of it.
While Marlar led all but four circuits of the feature, Overton’s move to surge ahead on lap 33 put Marlar’s hopes for the $8,000 top prize in doubt. So the 48-year-old veteran from Winfield, Tenn., turned up the wick.
"The way we have to restart you’re just a sittin’ duck and it takes a lap or two to get your momentum on the high side,” Marlar said, reflecting on how he lost the lead to Evans, Ga.’s Overton. “He got back by me and I was like, ‘Man, I’m gonna have to really get after it here.’ Luckily it worked. We had a few close calls there with the wall but was able to keep it clean and get it to the checkered.”
Sailing his one-month-old Rocket Chassis around the quarter-mile oval’s outside lane, Marlar beat Overton to the finish line by 1.731 seconds for his second career triumph on the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series. It was a satisfying outing for Marlar in his home state.
“It was racy. The track was really fun,” Marlar said. “We raced obviously all over it, and it was a lot of fun coming down here again. I haven’t been here in a few years and I finally got back down here and it worked out good.”
Overton, 35, wondered if he made a strategic error when he took the lead on lap 33. He only paced one more circuit before watching Marlar power by him on the top.
“I mean, looking back now, it’s easy to say I should have just moved up,” said Overton, who decided to enter his Riggs Motorsports Longhorn in Duck River’s doubleheader to tune up for his return to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action next weekend. “But (Marlar) didn’t ever really come down there and chop me off, so once I did clear him a little bit, I moved up.
“I should have just got up there and started hammering it, you know what I mean, but it is what it is. Congratulations to Mikey. He was driving the hell out of that thing. So, we'll take our second and we'll go on to tomorrow.”
Marlar dedicated the victory to his late backer Mark Langenfelder, a Maryland resident who died July 10 at the age of 66. Langenfelder, who also sponsored such well-known drivers as Gary Stuhler and Tyler Erb, played a key role in Marlar’s obtaining his Rocket Chassis.
“This car is his car, you know — he helped us get a car and helped me and Ronnie (Delk) get our team started back (in operation this season),” Marlar said. ““We wouldn’t have this car without Mark, and I really appreciate him for that.
“We got a couple of wins in (the Rocket) now and I’m really enjoying driving it,” he added. “I can get up on the wheel in this thing and race, so I’m enjoying that.”
Marlar, who has five overall wins this season, will go for a sweep of Duck River’s Hunt the Front weekend in Saturday’s $15,000-to-win Deep Fried 75 finale. He won the race in 2023 for his only previous HTF triumph. — Series and staff reports
Streaming schedule
Among upcoming Dirt Late Model special and sanctioned events available via live streaming:
Thursday, July 30
• World of Outlaws Late Models USA Nationals prelim at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. (DIRTVision)
Friday, July 31
• Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn. (Hunt the Front TV)
• Camp Barnes Benefit Super Late Models at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway (Diamond State Digital TV)
• Comp Cams-Revival-Sooner Series at Thunderbird Speedway in Muskogee, Okla. (ArrowVision Live)
• POWRi Heartland Late Model Tour at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. (Racin Dirt TV)
• Crate Racin’ USA 604 Late Models at Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla. (Hunt the Front TV)
• American Crate Late Model Series at Hunt County Raceway in Greenville, Texas (RaceON)
Saturday, Aug. 1
• World of Outlaws Late Models USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. (DIRTVision)
• Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn. (Hunt the Front TV)
• Comp Cams-Revival-Sooner Series at Thunderbird Speedway in Muskogee, Okla. (ArrowVision Live)
• Coltman Farms Racing Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series at County Line Raceway in Elm City, N.C. (Big Sports TV)
• Malvern Bank East-West Series at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa (Dirt Crown TV)
• POWRi Heartland Late Model Tour at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. (Racin Dirt TV)
• American Crate Late Model Series at RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas (RaceON)
