Kelley Carlton (pictured) and Travis Scott pledged their new Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series will fill a void. Series such as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws used to frequent states such as Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The two believe the demand for super late model racing in those areas still exists.
“Based on talking to race teams and tracks, it is what they need,” Carlton said of the series. “Outside, it may look similar to other series, but internally we will be doing things that will be important to racing, the tracks, and the drivers in the long run.”
Carlton, who was recently named to be inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, has a wealth of experience running and promoting series. Scott started as an announcer with Carlton’s efforts. He became the Director of Race Day Operations for the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series earlier this year. They hope to apply their years of experience to create a series sensible for all those involved. That starts with the schedule of 20 or so races.
“Responsible scheduling is the number one way to make an event successful,” said Carlton. “If there is another event within a two-hour radius, it will take away fans and sponsors.
“We are working with Hunt the Front and will make sure we don’t have a schedule that conflicts with the Lucas Oil or World of Outlaws schedules,” said Carlton. “We’ll be working with Southern All Stars. Ray Cook [promoter of the Spring Nationals and Southern Nationals series] and I are really close.”
The series plans to have a point fund that pays $30,000, with expectations of it growing further. They intend to offer purse structures that benefit everyone involved, from tracks to racers.
“We will work hard with our tracks on their purses — and we will bring sponsors on board,” Carlton said. “We’d like to see the purse structure be more equitable in the middle and back of the pack — we need all those racers. We’ll pay $500 to start for a $5,000-to-win feature and $700 to start for a $10,000-to-win feature. We’re working with sponsors to get even more incentives for drivers.”
Carlton also plans to make a tire rule that makes sense, allowing both Hoosier and American Racer brands.
“We anticipate being on harder tires that last longer,” said Carlton. “The Hoosier 1350 was the tire in this region forever. It lasted long and worked on sandy, dry slick, or heavy tracks.”
The Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series plans to make more announcements in the near future. Stay tuned.
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.
