Which Sprint Car Drivers Would Make Good Dirt Late Model Drivers?
Which Sprint Car Drivers Would Make Good Dirt Late Model Drivers?
Ahead of this week's Deuces Wild event at Golden Isles Speedway, we present a list of Sprint Car drivers who would be good Dirt Late Model racers.
It’s not too often the best drivers in Sprint Car and Dirt Late Model racing compete together on the same nightly program.
But when they do at events like this week’s Deuces Wild event converging the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and High Limit Racing at Golden Isles Speedway, it’s certainly a topic of conversation among dirt racing’s premier national divisions.
That said, we thought it’d be a fun idea to pinpoint and highlight five Sprint Car drivers that’d make good Dirt Late Model racers, and then on Friday do the same for five Dirt Late Model drivers that’d make good Sprint Car racers.
We’ve tried highlighting drivers who have yet to make a start behind the wheel of a Dirt Late Model. So, for instance, Donny Schatz who’s moonlighted in Late Models for a lot of his racing career doesn’t make the list. Tyler Courtney, who made his Dirt Late Model debut last year at Eldora Speedway, is also not included on this list.
First here are five Sprint Car drivers that’d likely make good Dirt Late Model racers if given the opportunity.
Brad Sweet
The Big Cat’s skillset that’s led him to five straight World of Outlaws championships would make for an intriguing transition to the Late Model world. Sweet’s propensity for pacing himself is an attribute that’d bode well in the fender cars. His background at California’s elbows-up bullrings would enable him to drive hard in a discipline controlled by Bobby Pierce and Ricky Thornton Jr., too. Sweet isn’t entirely foreign to fender machines either, as he tried his hand in NASCAR from 2009-13. With High Limit Racing potentially pairing up with the Lucas Oil Series more in the future, Sweet has to make the cross over at some point, right?
VIDEO: Brad Sweet discusses whether or not he'd ever race a Dirt Late Model.
Brent Marks
Standing above 6-foot, the Myerstown Missile looks more like a Dirt Late Model driver than the today’s prototypical Sprint Car racer. Marks is another driver whose versatility could serve him well in Late Models. As he’s matured into one of Sprint Car racing’s top talents, Marks has become a multi-dimensional driver, not becoming too dependent on the top nor bottom grooves of racetracks. Finding speed late in races through the middle is where many of Dirt Late Model racing’s heaviest hitters have won their share of Crown Jewels, like Jonathan Davenport at Eldora. Marks’ business partner, Allen Murray, is a former Dirt Late Model racer himself, so maybe there’s opportunity there for a crossover one day.
Logan Seavey
Wingless to winged Sprint Cars, NASCAR Trucks to ARCA, Midgets to Silver Crown cars, the guy has shown he can win in pretty much anything he sets his mind on. Surely Seavey would get up to speed in a Late Model fairly quick. Also, Seavey’s tested the Mark Richards-owned Rocket1 Racing machine before. It hasn’t led to anything more than that joyride of a test session, but maybe with enough convincing, Richards would run a second car for Seavey on a one-off occasion. That would be epic.
Logan Schuchart
The Shark Racing driver has a knack for excelling in dry-slick conditions and is one of the best pure racers in the Sprint Car game, developing a reputation for finding ways to the front of the field despite dirty air and the toughest passing conditions. That kind of car control and tactfulness would certainly suit the Eldora Million winner well in a Dirt Late Model, particularly at Eldora Speedway and tracks in his native Pennsylvania as well as the Southeast.
Rico Abreu
Who wouldn’t want to see Rico in a Dirt Late Model? Fans have been lobbying for it here of late, especially one spectator at December’s Gateway Dirt Nationals who requested Rico to race the indoor spectacle in 2024 when spontaneously interviewed as part of FloRacing’s event broadcast. When asked if he’d ever race the St. Louis mega event, Abreu laughed and said probably not. On the other hand, he never seemed opposed to wanting to try the fender machines.
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