Lucas Oil regular Jonathan Davenport(49) racing with regional standout Donald McIntosh(7m)
Throughout much of the spring, the various regional series that sanction races in the southeastern portion of the country have had drivers who regularly compete on one or the other of the national tours to enter their events. This is a fairly common occurrence during the early months of any season due to the fact that the national series schedules tend to be a bit sporadic and also the fact that weather tends to cause a greater number of disruptions during the spring than any other time of the year.
As a result, regional racers tend to be a bit overshadowed by their more famous counterparts in those regionally sanctioned events. And perhaps more importantly, the drivers and teams with more experience and more resources at their disposal often win some of the higher paying races on the regional schedules.
To this point in the 2021 season, nationally known drivers such as Jonathan Davenport, Jimmy Owens, Hudson O’Neal, Tyler Erb, Cade Dillard, and Dirt Late Model Dream dominator Brandon Overton have won features that have been sanctioned by regional tours. With the exception of Overton(who it would be difficult to label as a regional competitor), all of these drivers are regulars on either the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series or the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. However, each has had the opportunity to step away from their regular gigs to race regionally and have done so successfully.
The Southern All-Star Dirt Racing Series has, to date, held 12 races contested under its banner. Of those, three have been won by national stars. Overton took a $10,000 payday away from Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC while Davenport earned $4,000 at Mountain Motorsports Park in Isom, KY and Erb collected $7,500 at Richmond(KY) Raceway.
It isn’t just that the national drivers win on these tours when they show up, they win the better paying races.
Lucas Oil driver Hudson O’Neal(71) racing with regional ace Randy weaver(85)
Just this past weekend, O’Neal grabbed a $5,000 paycheck at Smoky Mountain Speedway in a Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series feature. Davenport was the victor in an Iron-Man and Spring Nationals co-sanctioned event held at Tazewell(TN) Speedway that doled out $21,000 and Owens earned $10,052 from an Iron-Man and Spring Nationals co-sanctioned show at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN.
Overton has collected four winner’s checks from the Ultimate Super Late Model Series including one valued at $20,000 from Virginia Motor Speedway. Owens won a Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals feature at Smoky Mountain earning just over $10,000 while Overton was victorious with that mini-series at I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, TN.
All that said, though, consider that there is more to the story than just big stars from the national tours taking earnings away from regional drivers. The reality is that many of those higher paying regional series races would not offer as much prize money if it was not known ahead of time that the more well known drivers would be in competition.
Both track and series promoters are able to lure more fans to their events when they have the ability to advertise ahead of time that the likes of Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport and Brandon Overton will be racing on a particular night. Also, those drivers bring more attention to a track or a series that might encourage fans from afar to take a closer look for future reference. Further, having the top tier teams on hand offers regional drivers a chance to earn more recognition for themselves by beating those who might have been considered favorites at the beginning of the night.
Ultimately, having the bigger stars invade regional races has its plusses and its minuses for all involved. But now, with the two national tours keeping their regulars busy over the next few months with packed schedules and long hauls to and from race tracks, the regional series races will primarily feature their own set of regulars giving those competitors a chance to shine under the spotlight.
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