DirtonDirt Dispatches
Dispatches: Marlar riding major heater
Mike Marlar in victory lane at Smoky Mountain. (Kevin Ritchie)
Among notes and quotes around the Dirt Late Model world heading into late August, including World of Outlaws Late Model Series action in Iowa, along with a streaming schedule of upcoming action (look for Northern Allstars coverage elsewhere):
Rocketing to glory
After continuing his sizzling summer stretch with a wire-to-wire victory worth $12,000 in Saturday night’s 50-lap Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series-sanctioned King of the Mountain feature at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn., Mike Marlar made sure he handed out hosannas for his success to one particular man.
“I gotta give a special thank you to Mark Richards,” Marlar said of the Rocket Chassis co-owner. “For the last month, man, racing’s been so fun. We’ve been good everywhere we’ve been, and if it wasn’t for him, I definitely would not be standing here.”
Marlar, 48, of Winfield, Tenn., has been back in the Rocket fold since late-June’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series weekend at Smoky Mountain, returning him to the Shinnston, W.Va.-based brand that he previously campaigned from 2011-15 and 2017-21. He won his third weekend out with his new red Rocket — a July 4 Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series event at Mudlick Valley Raceway in Wallingford, Ky. — and has just kept picking up steam since then.
While Marlar won three times from March-May in the Longhorn Chassis he was driving for car owner Ronnie Delk, he had slipped into a slump in which he didn’t finish better than 12th in his six starts before making the switch to Rocket. He needed a jolt, and reuniting with Richards provided it.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Marlar said of his struggles during the first half of 2026. “I couldn’t win, and (Richards) got me winning, so I really appreciate you, Mark. More than you know.
“You know, we go way back,” he added, “and I always do good when he helps me.”
Working closely with Richards, Marlar has gone on a heater. His first 10 starts with the Rocket yielded a modest single win among four top-five finishes, but since capturing July 31’s Hunt the Front feature at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn., he’s run off five wins and two runner-up finishes in his last eight starts. His lone blemish? Aug. 8’s Sunoco North-South 100 at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., where he was eliminated early by his involvement in a massive homestretch crash.
Marlar’s victories between Duck River and Smoky Mountain include a North-South 100 semifeature on Aug. 6 and Aug. 14-15 Ultimate Heart of America events at Kentucky’s Rockcastle Speedway and Richmond Raceway. The five triumphs have brought him $48,059 in winnings, super-charging his season.
There was no stopping Marlar in Smoky Mountain’s A-main. Veteran Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., drew no closer than a few car lengths of Marlar before settling for a second-place finish.
“My longtime car owner, Ronnie Delk, you know, he made the call to get us this car, and it was a pretty bold move to do what he did,” Marlar said of his Rocket machine. “It’s winning and doing good, so it’s heading in the right direction.”— Series and staff reports
O’Neal shines
The battle up front was fleeting, but it sure was a thrill.
As Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal and Brandon Sheppard raced three-wide for the lead early in Friday’s 40-lap Hawkeye 100 opener at Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway, fourth-place Ricky Thornton Jr. watched with awe.
“I’m like, ‘Man, hopefully my GoPro (in-car camera) gets this,” Thornton said. “It’s probably the best seat in the house.”
The three-abreast action was resolved on lap 14 with O’Neal surging ahead of McCreadie, who had led from the start, and dominating the remainder of the distance for a $12,000 World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph. McCreadie settled for the runner-up spot, 3.095 seconds behind, while Thornton placed third after swapping second with McCreadie twice and Sheppard slipped to fourth in the final rundown.
Driving Kevin Rumley’s Longhorn Chassis No 6, O’Neal was running third and just trying to “bide my time on that bottom and make a little move” when suddenly he found himself with an opportunity to overtake McCreadie and Sheppard. With Sheppard shooting to McCreadie’s outside in turns one and two on lap 12, O’Neal went to the bottom. The trio then stacked up three-wide through turns three and four with McCreadie switching lanes with Sheppard to run the top.
McCreadie barely led lap 13 with Sheppard and O’Neal underneath him. They stayed abreast through turns one and two and down the backstretch, but, with the slower Logan Zarin ahead racing toward turn three, O’Neal drifted up slightly and made contact with Sheppard. O’Neal then vaulted off turn four between McCreadie and Sheppard to assume command as lap 14 was scored.
O’Neal, 25, of Martinsville, Ind., directed his post-race comments on the frenetic stretch more toward his scrape with Sheppard than his breathtaking move to seize control of the race.
“I got into Shepp down the back straightaway and I didn’t know we were three-wide,” O’Neal said. “I was going to kind of go root out there into the middle and see if I couldn’t roll to the right side of one of them lapped cars … hopefully that didn’t mess (Sheppard’s) race up too much. I don’t think we hit hard, just a little bit.”
McCreadie, 52, of Watertown, N.Y., was left wondering exactly what had happened when O’Neal passed him.
“I thought I heard Sheppy a couple of times, so I tried to get that little bit of brown in the middle,” said McCreadie, whose second-place finish was his first podium run on the WoO tour since a third on June 28 at Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D. “And then when I moved all the way up, I thought, OK, we’re making some time … and lo and behold, Hudson showed up and went between us, I think, or something.
“It was a good, fun race and I’m happy for the team. Come home second against this stout field of cars, it’s a building block for tomorrow (the $25,000-to-win weekend finale).”
O’Neal’s win was his second of the week after a $20,000 score in FloRacing Night in America action on Wednesday at Mason City (Iowa) Motor Speedway. He also finished third in Tuesday’s FloRacing tour stop at Marshalltown (Iowa) Speedway, running his spectacular performance record this season in Rumley’s familiar machine to nine victories among 17 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes in 23 starts.
“Just beyond thankful to be in this position,” said O’Neal, who pushed his overall 2026 win total to 16 including his successes with the SSI Motorsports team. “It’s just an honor to be able to come out and do this part-time and then to be able to go back and do my amazing ride as well in the number 71.
“My life’s a lot of fun right now. I’ve never really been in this good of a position in my career and in racing. I’m just very fortunate to be where I’m at.” — Series and staff reports
Outlaws refugee
After a midseason driver switch, G.R. Smith Motorsports on Friday announced it would step away from its pursuit of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
The team tabbed Zack Mitchell of Enoree, S.C., for the ride on July 7 two weeks after Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., announced he was leaving Smith’s team to drive for Jerry Foster.
“When our deal came together toward the end of the season, our intention was always to finish out the entire tour,” said a statement on the team’s Facebook page. “However, a combination of crew availability and several other circumstances has made it clear that we need to make the decision that makes the most sense for our team at this time.
“This was a team decision, and we truly believe it’s the right move for us moving forward. We’ll still be racing with the World of Outlaws when it makes sense for us throughout the remainder of the year, while also focusing on putting ourselves in the best position to be successful at the races we attend.”
Smith, who gave up the seventh spot in WoO team points (Mitchell was just inside the top 50 in driver points), issued another statement later Friday to answer critics of the move.
"This schedule allows us to be home a lot more and race in front of our family friends and sponsors," said Smith, who was in his fourth full-time WoO season that started with Max McLaughlin before Troutman's 2025-26 run. He added that "Zack and I talked and decided we just wanted to go have fun (and) when weather is bad, we don’t have to drive 15 jours to a race when there are some in our area that weather looks good."
In a dozen Super Late Model starts overall since joining Smith’s team, Mitchell won Thursday in Schaeffer's Southern Nationals action at Toccoa (Ga.) Raceway over a seven-car field and had a best WoO performance of second on July 8 at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y. His next best WoO finish was 10th at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. — Team and staff reports
Streaming schedule
Among upcoming Dirt Late Model special and sanctioned events available via live streaming:
Thursday, Aug. 20
• Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals at Toccoa (Ga.) Raceway (FloRacing)
• Red Clay 602 Late Model Series at Toccoa (Ga.) Raceway (FloRacing)
Friday, Aug. 21
• World of Outlaws Late Model Series at Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway (DIRTVision)
• Northern Allstars Late Model Series at Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind. (Hunt the Front TV)
• Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway (Hunt the Front TV)
• Move Over Michigan Dirt Late Model Series at I-96 in Lake Odessa, Mich. (FloRacing)
• Heartland Late Model Tour-Revivial Super Dirt Series at Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kan. (Racin Dirt TV)
• Rogers-Dabbs Crate Racin’ USA 604 Series at Penton (Ala.) Raceway (Crate Racin’ USA TV)
• Northern Late Model Racing Association at Fix It Forward Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. (Dirt Race Central)
• Repairable Vehicles.com Tri-State Late Model Series at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa (Advantage TV)
• Rogers-Dabbs Crate Racin’ USA 602 Sportsman Series at Penton (Ala.) Raceway (Crate Racin’ USA TV)
Saturday, Aug. 22
• World of Outlaws Late Model Series at Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway (DIRTVision)
• Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn. (Hunt the Front TV)
• Northern Allstars Late Model Series at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway (Hunt the Front TV)
• Heartland Late Model Tour-Revivial Super Dirt Series at Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, Kan. (Racin Dirt TV)
• DIRTcar Super Late Models Blueberry Blowout at Elkins Speedway in Kerens, W.Va. (Sports Action TV)
• Living Legends Dream Race Super Late Models at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway (FloRacing)
• Rogers-Dabbs Crate Racin’ USA 604 Series at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway (Crate Racin’ USA TV)
• Repairable Vehicles.com Tri-State Late Model Series at Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D. (Watch FYE TV)
• Vanderlaan Northeast Crate Late Model Alliance at Brighton (Ontario) Speedway (GForce YouTube TV)
• Rogers-Dabbs Crate Racin’ USA 602 Sportsman Series at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway (Crate Racin’ USA TV)
Sunday, Aug. 23
• Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Model Tour at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa (IMCA TV)
Editor's note: Updates with second statement from G.R. Smith.
