Jimmy Owens(20) and Jonathan Davenport(49) need solid runs at Bubba Raceway Park
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule is a long one, for sure. And with that being the case, no driver is so far behind that a recovery cannot be made. That said, however, no driver who intends to run the full tour wants to come out of SpeedWeeks looking up at a significant points deficit after nine of the scheduled 56 races have been completed.
The series does offer an opportunity to avoid complete disaster in the early part of the season by only counting five of the nine races to be contested in Florida at All-Tech Raceway, East Bay Raceway Park, and Bubba Raceway Park. Allowing those who intend to be full-time contestants on the series to drop their four worst showings over the two-week period helps to keep regulars from falling too far behind right out of the starting gate.
Teams who have started poorly will have to sit on the knowledge that they are well down in the standings for well over a month considering that the next Lucas Oil race weekend won’t come until March 19th & 20th at Atomic Speedway in Ohio and Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway.
One thing to keep in mind is that these early races have featured entry by a number of teams that have no desire to run the full schedule with the LOLMDS. As a result, these competitors have taken points-paying positions in features and currently occupy places in the standings that they will vacate once the tour leaves the Sunshine State and travels all over the country.
Brandon Overton leads the standings now and has yet to declare whether or not he will stay on the tour. Brandon Sheppard currently ranks fourth in the standings but he is a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series regular and will drop back. Brian Shirley sits ninth in the points and will likely separate from the series in order to run a Midwestern-based schedule later in the season.
Six of those stated regulars will enter the final two races of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series portion of SpeedWeeks at BRP having already used up their so-called Mulligans. Posting solid results within the top-10 will allow these campaigners to forget about efforts that left them well back in the final feature rundowns of some races.
Mike Marlar: The Winfield, TN driver who is a former World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series champion announced his intention to run the full Lucas Oil schedule during the first event of 2021 at All-Tech Raceway.
Things stated well for Marlar as he finished 3rd at All-Tech then 9th in the first of six races held at East Bay. However, two finishes of 27th and a 30th place effort have dropped him to 11th in the overall rundown.
Marlar can wipe away that 30th and one of those 27th place runs with two good results in this pair of contests still to be held at Bubba Raceway Park. That would boost his overall total considerably. At the same time, two poor finishes on Monday and Tuesday would force the Ronnie Delk-owned team to keep those bad finishes on the books.
While he would not be eliminated from contention if he doesn’t do well at Bubba, Marlar could find himself in a hole he would rather not be in leaving Florida.
Ricky Thornton, Jr.: The Chandler, AZ native has declared his intention to pursue Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2021. Unfortunately for him and his SSI Motorsports team, their journey did not get off to a good start as the No. 20 machine failed to make the feature starting lineup in the first two events.
However, Thornton has rebounded by not only making the most recent five race but scoring three top-10 finishes to place him 13th in the standings. There are still results of 20th and 14th on his record that can be erased with better efforts at Bubba.
While a series championship may not be a realistic goal for this season, posting two more solid finishes this week would certainly set him up nicely to achieve his rookie aspirations.
Jonathan Davenport: The three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion appeared to be on a hot streak after winning three features during the Wild West Shootout held in Arizona earlier this month. But he and his Lance Landers-owned team have not found the going to be easy on the east coast.
An 8th place run at All-Tech indicated that at least some of that momentum from the desert had travelled across the country with the No. 49 Longhorn Chassis crew. However, five straight finishes outside the top-10 said otherwise until a runner-up result in the East Bay finale rescued the team’s week.
Davenport currently stands 15th in the Lucas Oil points rundown. Solid finishes at Bubba would allow for a couple of the four feature results in which he placed worse than 20th to be cleaned off of the Blairsville, GA driver’s stat sheet and would raise him in the standings.
Jimmy Owens: The four-time and defending series champ has not gotten off to the sort of start he would have liked up to this point. Tied with Davenport at 15th in the standings, he too has placed outside the top-20 on multiple occasions.
A 4th place effort at All-Tech seemingly jump started his title defense, but only one 10th at East Bay stood out among the other “nightmarish” finishes in Tampa. But as he showed last year, the Newport, TN driver is more than capable of running off victories in bunches. Still, he would no doubt prefer not to have a major deficit staring him in the face when his hauler heads north.
Placing better than their two worst finishes(23rd & 26th) would serve the No. 20 Ramirez Motorsports Rocket Chassis team well at Bubba on Monday and Tuesday.
Billy Moyer, Jr.(21) and Jonathan Davenport(49)
Billy Moyer, Jr.: The Batesville, AR racer currently finds himself 21st in the Lucas Oil standings. That placing is the result of three finishes of 21st or worse and two others outside the top-15. Moyer very much needs to replace two of those races outside the top-20 with two closer to the front at Bubba.
As is the case with most drivers, speed early in the night has translated to better finishes at the end of the night. Whenever Moyer is able to make the feature through his heat races and not have to go to a B-main or rely on a provisional, he typically performs better in the main event.
Unloading his Capital Race Car and running well in qualifying and the heat races will serve him well and assist in his climb up the standings.
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Kyle Strickler: After linking up with PCC Motorsports, the Mooresville, NC racer opted to seek a Rookie of the Year title with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2021. However, Strickler just hasn’t yet found the handle on the Rocket Chassis that team employs.
Earlier in the season Strickler won a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series feature at Volusia Speedway Park in his own Longhorn Chassis. Unfortunately, the team’s time at All-Tech and East Bay have been a major struggle.
As a matter of fact, Strickler has only made four features which means he has not yet reached the point of being able to drop a race. Those four main events have all resulted in finishes outside the top-20 which has left the No. 8 in the 30th position of the standings.
Two good finishes would do more than just improve their points position but would also inspire confidence going into the break from Lucas Oil competition.
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