Finally, Stormy Scott cracked victory lane in a dirt late model. Last Thursday, he won the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
“I’m still smiling because it was my first late model win — not only in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series, but ever,” said Scott, 31, of Las Cruces, New Mexico. “It is exciting to get the year going with a win. Now, the goal is to build off of that win.”
Scott arrived on the dirt late model scene two years ago after making a name for himself in modifieds. Noted crew chief, engineer, and car owner Kevin Rumley, a friend of Scott’s, convinced Scott to change chassis and shock manufacturers.
“Changing to Longhorn and using Bilstein shocks has made a big difference for me,” Scott said. “[Longhorn Chassis and Bilstein] have a lot of people around helping me — [fellow Longhorn/Bilstein racers] Tim McCreadie and Jonathan Davenport. We are all on the same package, which allows us to bounce things off of each other.”
However, don’t mistake Scott as merely copying what McCreadie and Davenport use setup-wise.
“Everyone tries to run the same equipment,” said Scott. “I found what works best for me, not anyone else. You have to set up your car for your driving style. Drivers look for that certain feel from their car, which can be completely different from what another driver and another car feel. When you find the feel that makes you comfortable, it will make you the best.”
Stormy Scott plans to race the full Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule with crew chief Adam Hanfoosh and tire man Kyle Dailey. He said the team has an opening for one more crew member.
“We are looking for someone who can do a little bit of everything on a dirt late model race team,” Scott said. “The position is still open. Life on the road lets you see the country and have a lot of fun along the way.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
