Sin City Showdown: #FantasyDirt Primer for XR Super Series Duel in the Desert from the XR Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
I gotta admit, the XR Super Series is one of, if not, my favorite series. Their shows are always jam-packed with the upper-echelon of drivers, usually on days or weekends where all eyes will be on them, running compelling support classes, and the shows themselves are snappy and finish at a reasonable time. There isn't a whole lot to dislike, unless you're personally and financially invested in doing things the same way they've always been done.
I mean, c'mon, a show in the middle of November way out in Las Vegas, probably shouldn't be super compelling. Yet, here we are getting set for three nights of Late Model racing featuring Superman, the Georgia Bulldog, Big Sexy, T-Mac, the "O" Show, the Highside Tickler, Mr. Smooth, the Smooth Operator and a bunch more badass drivers. All told, there were 41 drivers entered as of last night. That doesn't even take into account the XR Super Series Karl Kustoms Stock Cars running an eye-popping $25,000, 100 lap Feature on Saturday Night. What ever "it" is, XR has "it." If you want to see what I mean, check out raceXR.plus this the few days. I feel pretty confident you won't regret it.
Additionally, this is the finale to XR's Triple-Double program. Which means that on Saturday, Jonathan Davenport, Tim McCreadie, Brandon Overton, Shane Clanton, Jimmy Owens, Kyle Strickler, Ross Robinson, Jeff Smith, and Brenden Smith have a chance to double their payout. That could be something to take into account throughout the weekend. Whether it be how provisionals are used or how hard a driver runs their equipment on Saturday, I have a hunch the Trip-Dub will play a role over the three days. On a side note, Chris Madden, Ricky Weiss, Dalton Wilson, and Max Blair are also eligble, should they arrive today. None of these drivers were present last night, so I'm not overly optimistic they'll be in attendance this weekend.
Given the locale of this race, it stands to reason that we would have some advance notice of who will be in attendance. Sure enough, the DirtDraft salaries for tonight's race have been live since at least yesterday. Also, the XR Dirt Track at LVMS doesn't run weekly or regular shows, so we don't have a pool of local drivers to dig through to find a hidden gem or two who could deliver plus-value. As such, I went a little hog wild and decided to researched each of the drivers currently available for selection. Hopefully, this will help us identify some drivers sporting below-average salaries worth considering.
Finally, I am hoping by providing some info for each driver, this article will be useful to you for the entirety of the weekend as the analysis is purely dependant on the driver's Thursday salary. That being said, I have organised by, and provided, Thursday's salary. As the weekend progresses, driver's salaries will change, some dramatically. We should look to use that to our advantage where possible.
The Track: XR Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
The XR Dirt Track at LVMS is a half-mile "clay" oval. Last night, it looked like a BIG track, but I'm not sold it will race entirely as big as it looks. As for composition, it's clay in the sense that clay contains minerals. From what I can gather, this track is unlike anything you'll find anywhere else. That might could mean that experience on the surface is a huge benefit, especially so given the fact that it's lightly raced and nobody is walking in with a particularly large notebook.
Format: Straigh-up
With 41, give or take a few, cars running this weekend, we're going to get split qualifying throughout. I'd also venture to guess we'll get 6 heat races, with the top 3 transferring all weekend as well. The heats will be followed by a pair of B-Mains taking only the Top 2 in each. XR also has a standard provisional for the fastest qualifier who does not transfer through a heat or B-Main. Finally, there is a provisional available to the driver highest in the points who does not transfer throughout the night. I should note there is a cap of 4 points provisionals per driver, so some guys may have exhausted theirs.
Points Standings: Because there we have a points provisional, it's probably helpful to know how the points standings look, yeah? I do know how to count, but I took the liberty of excluding drivers not in attendance.
2. Jonathan Davenport
3. Shane Clanton
4. Kyle Strickler
5. Brandon Overton
6.Jimmy Owens
10. Tim McCreadie
11. Brenden Smith
20. Bobby Pierce
24. Jeff Smith
28. Tim Vance
33. Chase Junghans
35. Cade Dillard
36. Tyler Bruening
39. Ross Robinson
61. Stormy Scott
73. Blair Nothdurft
81. Cody Laney
Last Year's Results: As I mentioned above, there isn't a ton of results to help guide us, so I've provided the results from last year in hopes they'll provide some insight. The number in parentheses indicates starting position.
11/12/2021
1. (1) 49 Jonathan Davenport
2. (3) 76 Brandon Overton
3. (4) 39 Tim McCreadie
4. (5) 32 Bobby Pierce
5. (7) 99R Josh Richards
6. (12) 1ST Johnny Scott
7. (17) 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr.
8. (22) 32B Cody Laney
9. (9) 14M Morgan Bagley
10. (6) 01 Chris Ferguson
11. (14) 13 Rusty Schlenk
12. (16) 91P Jason Papich
13. (19) 21JR Billy Moyer Jr.
14. (11) 15 Justin Duty
15. (10) 70 Jeff Smith
16. (21) 14G Joe Godsey
17. (13) 19 Jeff Schildmeyer
18. (15) 503 Jason Miles
19. (2) 21 Billy Moyer
20. (8) 2S Stormy Scott
21. (23) 14R Jeff Roth
22. (18) 99B Boom Briggs
23. (24) 14 Reid Millard
24. (20) 37 Rob Mayea
11/13/2021
1. (13) 32 Bobby Pierce
2. (8) 99R Josh Richards
3. (1) 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr.
4. (5) 21 Billy Moyer
5. (9) 1ST Johnny Scott
6. (6) 0 Scott Bloomquist
7. (7) 21JR Billy Moyer Jr.
8. (15) 14M Morgan Bagley
9. (11) 01 Chris Ferguson
10. (14) 91P Jason Papich
11. (18) 13 Rusty Schlenk
12. (16) 99B Boom Briggs
13. (10) 70 Jeff Smith
14. (21) 503 Jason Miles
15. (24) 74X Brody Montgomery
16. (22) 78S Steve Stultz
17. (3) 39 Tim McCreadie
18. (4) 49 Jonathan Davenport
19. (17) 15 Justin Duty
20. (19) 32B Cody Laney
21. (2) 76 Brandon Overton
22. (20) 46 Bricen James
23. (23) 37 Rob Mayea
24. (12) 14G Joe Godsey
Drivers: In lieu of the Who to Watch section, I'll list the drivers, their Thursday salary, and, since this is an XR Super Series Event, thier JB57 Report rank. An asterisk before a driver's name will indicate who I'm personally intrigued by heading into the weekend.
Jonathan Davenport $22,500 (9): C'mon, it's friggin' Superman! He'll be a high-end salary all weekend. Rightfully so! JD hasn't been quite as supernova hot as he was this summer, but he still did win the WoO World Finals last weekend. Before the World Finals finaley, Davenport had a couple of incidents with Tyler Erb on Night 1 of the World Finals, missing the feature. He followed that up with a 6th place finish Night 2. Prior to the World Finals, Davenport ran 15th with FloRacing Night in America at Tri-County, and 6th at DTWC with LOLMDS. You, me, and every other player is going to find a way to get JD on their roster at least once this weekend.
Bobby Pierce $22,300 (4):The Smooth Operator has a relatively light fall schedule, but he did win the Fall 50 at Florence on October 22nd. Before that Pierce finished 5th at 411 with FloRacing, won the FALS Frenzy, ran 13th with FloRacing at Tri-County and won at Atomic with FloRacing on Sept. 28th. The last time The Meddling Kid ran with XR, he fought mechanical gremlins and failed to make an appearance in the B-Main on Night 1 of the Kokomo Dirt Nationals, followed by a start and park on Night 2. Pierce won last years Duel in the Desert Triple-Double, banking a smooth $100K, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see him put together a solid weekend.
*Tim McCreadie $22,100 (6): The 2022 LOLMDS champ ran pretty well at the WoO World Finals, pulling down a 5th on Night 1, 7thon Night 2, and 4th in the Finale. T-Mac also ran second in the DTWC, won the LOLMDS event at Taladega, ran 4th at the Hillbilly Hundred on Sept. 29th and won the Jackson 100 at Brownstown on Sept. 24th. Last time out with XR, McCreadie ran 6th on Night 1 of the Kokomo Nationals and won the whole darn thing on Night 2. It should come as no surprise that Timmie is a threat to win every night this weekend, but I have a hunch that Saturday is going to be his best night and it will end in Victory Lane.
Brandon Overton $21,900 (12): Big Sexy has been relatively busy, compared to most of the drivers in the upper tier of salaries, with mixed results. Overton ran 4thon Night 1 of the World Finals, 15th on Night 2, and 11thin the finale. Before that, Overton won the National 100 at East Alabama Motor Speedway. Overton also won with the Ultimate Supers at Cherokee Speedway before being DQ’d for violating the droop rule, which isn’t a concern at Las Vegas due to XR wisely dropping that shenanigan of a rule. BO also ran 19th at the DTWC, 16thwith LOLMDS at the Talladega Short Track and 2nd at Tri-County with FloRacing Night in America. Last time out with XR, Overton ran 9th and 10th at the Kokomo Nationals. I was high on Ol' Gal's favorite late model driver last weekend and paid the price. I'm not nearly as high on him this weekend.
*Jimmy Owens $21,600 (7): The “O” Show ran decent at the World Finals, pulling down a 7th Night 1, 19th on Night 2, and 9th in the Finale. Before that, the Newport Nightmare ran 7th at the DTWC. The only other Super Late Model run for Jimmy in October was a dominating performance at 411 with FloRacing Night in America. At Kokomo, Owens ran 3rd on Night 1 and 11th on Night 2. Owens is always a contender wherever he runs and that is no different this weekend. Should his salary remain in the top-5 to top-10 range, he'll get a strong look from me.
*Shane Clanton $21,400 (16): Clanton most recently pulled down a pair of 2nd place finishes in preliminary action at the World Finals before running 7th in the finale. In the preceding WoO Midwest swing, Clanton recorded a 10th at Humboldt, 10th at 81 Speedway, and 10th at US 36 Raceway. Last time out with XR, Clanton won Night 1 of the Kokomo Dirt Nationals before running mid-pack, 15th, on Night 2. Those preliminary nights last weekend loom large to me when considering The Georgia Bulldog, as it's pretty difficult to run so well against a stacked field. While the Duel in the Desert field is no cakewalk, it's noticeably lighter than the World Finals. I'm probably rostering Clanton Thursday and banking on the good results continuing to roll in.
*Tanner English $21,200 (21): English jumps into the Viper Motorsports 96V for the first time at Duel in the Desert, replacing Max Blair. In the Riggs Motorsports 81E, English did win Night 2 of the World Finals, sandwiched between a 10th on Night 1 and 21st in the Finale. Before that, English ran 8th at Humboldt, 7th at 81 Speedway, and 25th/DNF at US 36 Raceway. Tanner’s other October results were quite solid with a pair of 3rd place finishes at the FALS Frenzy and an 8th and a 2nd in Iron-Man action at Ponderosa Speedway. I am tend to be a bit sceptical when a driver jumps into a new ride, as there is always a chance for hiccups, but English managed to go fast time in the first practice session last night before coming home 11th in the second session. I don't put too much stock in those results, but it at least indicates he's comfortable in his car. I'll be keeping an eye on Tanner all weekend and he might make an appearance or three in my lineup.
*Chase Junghans $21,000 (55): Junghans has not run a ton of Late Model races this year, but his last time out was quite impressive. Junghan won the WoO feature at Humboldt, then ran 4th at 81 Speedway, and 2nd at US 36 Raceway. Before that Junghans had a pretty solid night at Knoxville, another half-mile track like Las Vegas, pulling down a 10th on Night 1, 18th on Night 2, and 14th in the Knoxville Nationals Finale. Junghans also ran 17th at Eldora, yet another half mile track, in the World 100, with a 19th and 8th on the preliminary nights. Between the recent success, albeit at familiar tracks, and some solid results at half-mile tracks, I can shake the feeling that Junghans is going to have a stellar weekend. I'm a buyer at this salary range.
*Tyler Bruening $20,700 (30): Bruening’s schedule has been relatively light, at least the results listed on MRP, but of pretty high quality. From the Knoxville Nationals forward, here’s how Bruening has done: 7th in the B-Main on Night 1 of the Nationals, 5th Night 2, 2nd in the Finale after leading a good portion of the race (keep in mind Knoxville is a half-mile track), 14th and 13th with XR for the Kokomo Dirt Nationals, 4th at Davenport Speedway with the Malvern Bank/Hoker Trucking Super Late Models, 12th at the FALS Frenzy, followed by a 5th at Humboldt, 9th at 81 Speedway, and 3rd at US 36 Raceway (all WoO events). I might have talked myself into Bruening here, but I like what I am seeing.
Kyle Strickler $20,500 (26): Strickler was one of my WtW for the World Finals, but I don’t think his performance warranted that inclusion. Strickler made the feature all three nights, but only managed an 18th, 12th, and 25th. Before the World Finals, Strickler last ran his Late Model with FloRacing Night in America at Atomic bringing home a 6th place finish. His last time out with XR he brought home an 18th and 17th.
Cade Dillard $20,300 (40): This a tricky one. Personally, I like Dillard. It’s hard not to with a nickname like the Thriller, but his National Touring starts have been relatively limited. Dillard managed a 14th on Night 1 of the Topless 100 and 27th in the 100 itself. Before that, he ran 11th at Gondik Law Speedway with XR, a 9th with WoO for the Thursday Night show at Cedar Lake for the USA Nationals and a 10th in the Finale. With so little to go with, I think you lock Dillard in if he qualifies well and you look elsewhere if he doesn't. He's capable of outperforming this particular salary spot, but I'd want confirmation in the way of a solid qualifying position.
Stormy Scott $20,200 (31): Scott hasn’t run since September 16th at the Knoxville Nationals, so there’s not much to work with here. At the Nationals, Scott missed the Finale. He also doesn’t have a win on the season. At this price, I’m avoiding him. If Scott puts together a solid run on Night 1, I might could be persuaded to roster him on Friday or Saturday.
*Billy Moyer Sr $20,100 (268): Mr. Smooth has run a pretty light fall schedule. After running well in the early stages of the Knoxville Nationals, Moyer lost the engine and had to call it a weekend. Since, he’s logged a 10th and 9th at FALS Frenzy, a 22nd/DNF and 4th at Tri-City with the MLRA, followed by a 22nd at Humboldt, 2nd at 81 Speedway, and 23rd at US 36 Raceway with WoO. This salary feels just about right for Moyer, so if we don’t nuke an engine during Qualifying, I’m going to be giving strong consideration to including him in my lineup.
*Ross Robinson $20,000 (32): Robinson made his way out to the World Finals last weekend and had an up-and-down event. Night 1, Robinson came home 24th, Night 2 he finished 10th in a Last Chance Showdown, during Finale Night Robinson raced his way in through a LCS then proceeded to march forward 9 positions, ultimately finishing 12th. That alone makes me intrigued with Robinson at this salary.
Cody Laney $19,800 (982): This is an interesting one as Laney predominantly runs IMCA Modifieds. The thing is, he does that really well. Over both Modifieds and Late Model starts this year, Laney has 75 events, 13 Wins, 45 top 5s and 57 top 10s! In his six Late Model starts, Laney finished 9th, 18th, and 8th at the Wild West Shootout from Vado, 8th at Night 1 of the Fever Heat 100 and an A-Main miss on Night 2, and a Feature miss at Boone Speedway with WoO. Sitting at a below average salary, Laney is at least worth a look going into qualifying.
Jason Papich $19,700 (563): No, that’s not Earl Pearson Jr on the track, it’s Jason Papich! Papich is the car owner of EPJ and his ride looks mighty similar. Papich doesn’t race too much, but he has put together some decent results in his 15 starts in 2022, with a season best 2nd in a split feature at Lucas Oil Speedway with LOLMDS in April. Papich did venture out Talladega back in October, but failed to start the B-Main. Going into Thursday, I’m hard pressed to get excited. However, with three nights of racing on tap it’s not a stretch to think he might be worth an add at some point.
Blair Nothdurft $19,600 (163): Another driver with a light fall schedule, which would make sense for a driver based out of South Dakota. Since September, Nothdurft’s has a few touring series results, starting with a 9th with Malvern Bank Series at Lakeside Speedway, an 8th with LOLMDS from Lucas Oil Speedway, a 14th with WoO at Humboldt, and he failed to start the LCS at 81 Speedway (I am guessing that was a catastrophic failure since he missed US 36 too).
*Justin Duty $19,500 (214): I gotta admit, I’m intrigued by Justin Duty. MRP has him racing out of Oregon, yet he spent the better part of the summer racing in the Midwest, hitting up all the touring series events. The results might not have been what he had hoped for, but I respect the heck out the effort and would venture to guess it made him a better racer. As the summer progressed, the results got a bit better too. Duty managed to finish 19th at the Knoxville Nationals, finished 8th at Sycamore with MLRA, and then had a 14thand 15th at the FALS Frenzy. Call it a suspicion, but I think Duty has a chance to outperform his Thursday salary. From there, he might continue to be a solid plus value driver all weekend.
*Kip Hughes $19,400 (160): Hughes finished second in the Sooner Late Model Series points this season. In 37 races this season, Hughes has 6 wins, 25 top 5’s, and 30 top 10’s. Solid resume for sure. When WoO made their late Oct. Midwest swing to Humboldt, Hughes managed a solid 18th. Unfortunately, it would appear something went south at 81 as Hughes failed to start the LCS and didn’t make the trip to US 36. The resume being what it is, in conjunction with this lower salary, I’ll be interested to see how Hughes qualifies each night. He might end up being a sneaky add a night or two.
Tim Lance $19,300 (978): MRP has results going back to 2012 for Lance, yet with the exception of 2021 (34 Starts), Lance has no more than a handful of starts each season. I’m relatively certain Lance runs Billy Moyer Sr.’s car, but with the exception of an 18th with WoO at Bristol, it doesn’t look like Lance has advanced to another A-Main in his 8 starts. Being what it is, I am confused by this salary. If I am missing something, I’d welcome the education.
Rodney Sanders $19,200 (824): Sanders is one heck of a Modified driver, having won the USMTS championship 4 times and finishing a respectable 5th in the season standings this year. The Rocket isn’t just a modified driver though, as he’s made a handful of Late Model starts this season with wins at Clay County on September 13th, Murray County in Tri-State Late Model action on October 7th and 8th.
*Zane Devilbiss $19,100 (1530): Devilbiss is a pretty stout IMCA Modified driver with six such wins on the season. He also took down a Stock Car and Modified future win in the 2021 Duel in the Desert. Zane hasn’t run much in a Late Model this year, only breaking it out for the Eldora Million/Late Model Dream Weekend, failing to make a feature. What intrigues me a bit is that Devilbiss mentioned on the All Gas, No Brakes podcast last week that he is using this weekend to get prepared for running more Late Model races with XR next year. The competition will be stout, but if Devilbiss can qualify reasonably well, his experience at the Las Vegas dirt track and his future aspiration might hint at a solid showing at least one night this weekend.
*Jeff Smith $18,900 (441): Smith has only made 13 starts this season, but has managed to pull down a pair of top 5s and 5 top 10s. Smith managed a 9th place on Day 2 of the Colossal 100 with XR. Most recently, Smith secured an 8th place finish with Ultimate at Cherokee Speedway. All in all, he’s been pretty solid in limited starts. I don’t know that his results support a strong look, but if we find him high up the speed charts we can have some assurance in adding him to the lineup. Also, Smith is a Trip-Dub eligible driver and enters the weekend sitting 9th, of the drivers present, in season points so a provisional is in play too.
John Duty $18,800 (980): Well this will be quick, Duty has 4 events this year, 1 win, 3 top 5s, and 4 top 10s. All four appear to be local shows from Cottage Grove and Willamette.
Kent Rosevear $18,700 (731): Rosevear had a few feature appearance at the Wild West Shootout to begin 2022, but failed to place higher than 18th. Since then, he’s had 11 more starts split between a IMCA Modified and a Super Late Model with middle of the pack type results.
Jeff Schildmeyer $18,600 (693): Schildmeyer is billed as racing out of Las Vegas, so maybe we could say he’s working with a home field advantage? Not sure that is the case, but in 18 starts Schildmeyer has one win at Vado on September 3rd, 6 top 5s, and 8 top 10s. Most of those results appear to be in regular racing at Vado, so take them with a grain of salt. Even still, he won’t be completely out of his element and that stands for something way down here on the salary list.
*Amanda Robinson $18,500 (2112): Amanda is the crew chief and wife of Ross Robinson, which I think is super cool. During practice last night, fill-in announcer Mike Nuchols pointed out a few times that he’s witnessed Amanda out run Ross on occasion. As one might expect from a crew chief on a touring series (LOLMDS), Amanda hasn’t run many races. Yet, she did open the season with a 3rd place finish in RUSH Late Model action at Delaware International Speedway. Amanda even jumped into a Late Model at 34 Speedway in LOLMDS action and scored a 21st out of 22 cars. Amanda also ran 9th in practice session 1 last night and 13th in practice session 2, so I am thinking there's a real chance she makes a feature or two this weekend.
*Preston Luckman $18,500 (239): Luckman runs out of Coos Bay, OR, but that didn’t stop him from making 8 starts with the Hell Tour. Sure, Luckman only managed one top-10, but that at least represents a modicum of success against formidable competition. Luckman also has 7 wins in action around Oregon and Washington. If you’re inclined to take a calculated risk on your lineup to pack in some upper-tier drivers, you could much worse than Luckman.
Darren Coffell $18,400 (760): Coffell has done all of his racing out of the Pacific Northwest this year, failing to secure a win.
*Rob Mayea $18,400 (538): Mayea has 11 starts on the season, primarily in the Pacific Northwest, with 3 wins, 7 top 5’s, and 7 top 10s. Most recently, Mayea took down two victories at Desert Thunder Raceway in Utah in features with less than 10 starters. It does merit mention that Mayea made both Late Model features last year at the Duel in the Desert, with finishes of 23rd and 24th.
*Brenden Smith $18,300 (63): From the standpoint of finishes, Smith has had a tough season. But I have a hard time not respecting the heck out of 17 year old traveling the country and testing himself against the best of the best (top ten movie by the way). I feel confident in saying that the struggles of 2022 will lead to success for Brenden down the line. They might have already, with Smith taking down a 14th at National 100 from EAMS on October 29th. Also, Smith sits 11th in XR Super Series points, which could result in a provisional at least once this weekend. I’m not banging the table for Smith, but I do see a path to him ending up on at least one of my rosters through the weekend.
*Steve Stultz $18,300 (155): Color me intrigued by Stutltz, as he put together a nice little run of results in the middle of the summer. Starting with on June 24th, Stutltz pulled down a 10th and a 9thwith MLRA at Off Road Speedway, followed by an 8th at 34 Raceway on July 2nd. Stultz then managed to qualify for the Gopher 50 at Deer Creek with LOLMDS, finishing 24th. Then followed that up with an 18th in LOLMDS action at I-70 for the Diamond Nationals tune-up followed by a 23rdin the Diamond Nationals itself. From there, Stutlz has put together a solid run of mid-pack finishes with MLRA and Malvern Bank Late Models. All in all, it’s worth giving Stultz a look if the qualifying results put him on your radar throughout the weekend.
Dennis Souza $18,200 (936): Souza is another driver with his base of operations in the Pacific Northwest. His 2022 results consists primarily of weekly racing at Coos Bay, but I don’t see any wins.
Mercedes Abercrombie $18,200 (2239): Abercrombie runs locally at Vado Speedway Park, even rocking 5 wins at the facility. However, Mercedes hasn’t finished a race since winning on September 2nd.
Collen Winebarger $18,000 (1000): From what I can gather on MRP, Winebarger primarily runs IMCA Modifieds with 4 wins, 13 top 5s, and 16 top 10s on the season across all classes. From a Late Model standpoint, Winebarger has 3 starts consisting of 14th/DNF at Willamette Speed way on July 30th, a 4th in the Clair Cup on August 7th at Willamette, and a feature win on August 20th at Willamette.
Greg Schildmeyer $18,000 (1112): Another driver running primarily at Vado Speedway Park. Schildmeyer sports 18 events, 1 win, 6 top 5s, and 8 top 10s on the 2022 season.
Larry Rametes $18,000 (659): Rametes races out of the Pacific Northwest and has 8 events with 4 top 5s and 5 top 10s.
Shawn Deforest $18,000 (1426): Deforest has two Late Model starts on the season, coming home 6thand 7th at Souther Oregon Speedway back on August 12th– 13th.
Trent Elliott $18,000 (1442): Elliot has two starts, a 7th at Willamette on September 3rd and an 8th at Willamette on September 17th, on the 2022 season.
