Devin Moran(9) represents the young stars on the Lucas Oil Series while Shane Clanton(25) is one of the established veterans
Without question, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series can count some of dirt racing’s top veteran drivers among its touring regulars. Former series champions such as Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport, Josh Richards, and Earl Pearson, Jr. are not only some of the sport’s biggest current stars but will go down in history as all-time greats. Further, crown jewel race winners such as Tim McCreadie, Shane Clanton, and Mike Marlar are top drivers who have or are expected to complete the full series schedule during this current season.
However, a look at the top of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings reveals that the tour is also stacked with plenty of younger talent to go up against those grizzled veterans. As a matter of fact, only Richards and Clanton were able to score wins of those listed as long-time stars during the time the series recently spent in Florida. As a result, the positions at the very top of the current standings are occupied by drivers under the age of 30.
29-year-old Brandon Overton leads the Lucas Oil standings
Because it may seem as if Brandon Overton has been competing at the highest level in Dirt Late Model racing for a long time, it can be easy to forget that the Evans, GA native has yet to turn 30 years old. Although it may not yet be known whether he and his Wells Motorsports team will run the full LOLMDS schedule, he currently leads the series standings and picked one $12,000 win this past week at East Bay Raceway Park.
Overton has never taken on the full schedule on this particular series but he is a former Rookie of the Year on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. There is little doubt that if he decides to remain on the tour, this driver and the No. 76 Longhorn will be a force for the veteran regulars as well as the young guns to reckon with throughout the 2021 season.
However, there are several younger up-and-comers who have already stated their intention to run the full series schedule.
Hudson O’Neal
At just 20 years of age, Hudson O’Neal has certainly established himself as a top Dirt Late Model driver. And his time spent so far during SpeedWeeks has done nothing to diminish that reputation. The second generation racer steered his Roger Sellers-owned Double Down Motorsports Rocket to one victory at East Bay Raceway Park last Monday night. And because of his remarkable consistency at All-Tech Raceway, East Bay, and Bubba Raceway Park, the Martinsville, IN native now holds down the second spot in the Lucas Oil standings.
26-year-old Devin Moran might not have won a feature during the Lucas Oil portion of SpeedWeeks but his five top-5 finishes have him placed third in the overall standings. Like O’Neal, this second generation rising star has already established himself as a regular front runner with these early races simply confirming that fact. Like the other younger stars mentioned in this piece, it is likely that this driver and his Tye Twarog-owned Longhorn will be a contender on the series all year long.
Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Ricky Thornton, Jr. may only be on the fringes of the youth movement at the age of 30, but after spending several seasons building his reputation as an ace in the Dirt Modified ranks, he is a newcomer to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Despite getting off to a slow start during SpeedWeeks, this SSI Motorsports Longhorn driver finished strong with a victory at Bubba Raceway Park and a total of five top-10 results that have placed him 7th in the series rundown.
Thornton showed last season that he is capable of winning big races by capturing two $20,000-to-win main events, one each sanctioned by the two national touring series.
And last but certainly not least among the young racers who left their mark on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series during SpeedWeeks was Tyler Erb. The 24-year-old New Waverly, TX native earned two feature wins at East Bay in his Best Performance Motorsports Rocket to go along with two checkered flags he had already collected from FK Rods Ends Arizona Speedway back in January during the Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout.
However, Erb finds himself a bit further back in the standings(13th) despite those two East Bay triumphs and a total of five top-10 finishes due to a penalty handed down by the series. The driver of the No. 1 machine was disqualified from Friday night’s race at East Bay following a cool-down lap run-in with fellow competitor Mason Zeigler, the fiery racer was made to include that race in the record books as one of his five finishes that were ultimately tallied by the series and counted toward the driver’s point total.
Tyler Erb
Yes, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series has some of the top veteran racers in the sport of dirt racing on their tour. At the same time, a number of the sport’s rising stars can also be counted among the regulars. And those young guns definitely showed during SpeedWeeks that they will be a formidable force not only in 2021 but for a long time to come.
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