When California native Ethan Dotson moved to the East Coast this year, he quickly found victory lane. However, he endured a hard hit into the wall at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina, last weekend. Thankfully, Dotson emerged from the wreck uninjured.
The crash occurred during a heat race for the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series.
“I hit a rut and the nose folded under the right-front tire, causing the car to go into the wall,” Dotson, now of Maysville, Georgia, said. “It was a hard hit, but the Longhorn chassis held up very well.”
Dotson sat in a ButlerBuilt full-containment seat, with Hooker Harness belts. He wore a Bell helmet paired with a HANS device.
“My car will need a front clip for sure,” said Dotson. “We’re stripping it down and putting it on a jig to see if the center section is bent.”
Dotson, originally from Bakersfield, California, made a name for himself racing IMCA modifieds. He recently moved to the Southeast to race full-time for Coltman Farms Racing.
“It was a huge step,” Dotson said of his move. “There are a lot more competitive cars in late model racing. Setups on a late model have to be perfect all of the time. Racing is more of a team effort—and you have to have a crew that is on top of their game.”
Soon after arriving on the East Coast, he raced in the Hunt For The Front Dirt Series at the Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama. On the first night, he time-trialed first, won his heat, and finished fourth in the feature. The next day he won the feature.
“Whenever a driver gets a new ride, that first win is most important,” said Dotson. “With a new team, it’s all about getting people to believe in you.”
During the winter, Ethan Dotson will complement his late model driving with a modified from Longhorn Chassis.
“We’ll be competing in UMP modified races, with tough competition,” Dotson said. “The UMP modifieds have bigger engines. It will be a different challenge than IMCA modified racing.”
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.
