Before the calendar flips over to 2022, it’s time to take one last look at the year that will soon be in the rear view mirror. Our look back at both the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series are already posted so now its time to recall what happened on the regional Dirt Late Model tours that inhabit the southeastern portion of the country.
Here are our quick re-caps of what happened on a few of the regional Dirt Late Model tours in 2021:
Jensen Ford was the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series champion
Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series– Jensen Ford of Johnson City, Tennessee led the standings on this Chris Tilley-promoted series throughout much of the season. The 34-year-old driver steered his TNT Race Car to one series win when he took the checkered flag at Wartburg(TN) Speedway on June 4th. That win combined with a Southern All-Star Dirt Racing Series victory garnered at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee on April 17th paved the way for this driver’s best season in Super Late Model competition.
Along with his lone Iron-Man win, Ford rode a wave of consistency to the championship by earning a total of eight podium finishes on this series. The No. 83 machine also ran solidly enough on the Scheffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series to claim fourth-place in the final standings with that summer-based circuit.
Dale McDowell won his second Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals title
Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals– Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Georgia collected his second consecutive title on this Ray Cook-promoted series after having also grabbed the championship in 2019(2020 was cancelled). The 55-year-old member of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame scored one Spring Nationals triumph at Crossville(TN) Speedway on April 30th driving a Team Zero Race Car to go along with four other trips to victory lane with his Shane McDowell Racing team.
Following a Southern All-Star Dirt Racing Series win at Smoky Mountain Speedway on September 25th, McDowell announced that he would soon undergo surgery for prostate cancer, thus ending his 2021 season. According to posts made by the @smcdowellracing account on Twitter, the driver’s recovery is going well and the team expects to be back in competition at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida on January 20-22, 2022.
Donald McIntosh was the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals champion
Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals– Donald McIntosh of Dawsonville, Georgia used a string of consistency to just edge Dale McDowell and deny the veteran driver of a sweep of the two Ray Cook-promoted series. The 28-year-old driver of the Blount Motorsports Rocket Chassis did not win a SoNats feature in 2021 but the Maryville, Tennessee-based team earned seven top-5 finishes including a set of three consecutive runner-up results.
McIntosh did not go winless all season as he did take a trophy away from a Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series feature at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia in September. But at the end of the season, Blount Motorsports owner Larry Garner announced that he was selling all of his equipment for the purpose of getting out of the sport.
McIntosh has stated on Facebook that he intends to race in a few big events in 2022 driving his own equipment.
Payton Freeman won the Southern All Stars championship
Southern All-All Star Dirt Racing Series– Payton Freeman of Commerce, Georgia joined the historic list of drivers who have been crowned as a Southern All Stars champion. The 19-year-old Capital Race Cars driver scored two wins along the way with the first coming at Tennessee’s Clayhill Speedway on May 1st then at I-75 Raceway on August 21st also in the Volunteer State.
Freeman won the title of the longest running regional Dirt Late Model tour in his first full-time season as a Super Late Model pilot. The young driver had simply hoped to use the 2021 season as a learning experience but instead collected the hardware for winning a championship.
Cla Knight was the Ultimate Super Late Model champion
Ultimate Super Late Model Series(Southeast)– Cla Knight of North Augusta, South Carolina held off Anthony Sanders to earn the Ultimate championship trophy. The 26-year-old driver picked up a series win early in the season at Lancaster(SC) Speedway then used a string of consistency to achieve the feat in his Barry Wright Race Cars machine.
Michael Brown was the Carolina Clash champion
Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series– Michael Brown of Lancaster, South Carolina had to go down to the last race of the season to claim the Carolina Clash championship as he just beat out Jeff Smith for that title. The Rocket Chassis driver did not win a feature on this series during the season although he did claim an Ultimate Super Late Model Series victory at Lancaster Speedway.
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