A three-peat, an upset, and home state victories highlighted the 2024 Legend Car Dirt Nationals on Saturday night. BAPS Motor Speedway, the host of the 28th running of the event, provided excellent competition and exciting racing throughout each of the four divisions.
North Dakota’s Ty Olson entered the weekend as the national points leader in the Young Lions Division, and the favorite to win the nationals. He set the fastest time in qualifying and held firm by winning his heat race. He jumped to an early lead over two-time defending Young Lions Dirt Nationals Champion, Ryan Zima, after a Lap 2 caution packed the field back together.
Olson used a higher line through turns three and four compared to a lower line in turns one and two, jumping out to over a second lead in front of Zima. However, the North Carolinian slowly began to cut into Olson’s lead beginning around Lap 10. Lap after lap, a tenth or two was cut off until Zima was less than one car length away from Olson on Lap 15.
With 10 laps to go on Lap 16, Zima drove his car to the inside of Olson entering the third turn. Each sawed on the wheel traveling through turn four with Zima emerging on the frontstretch as the leader. Now it was Olson’s turn to chase down the leader, but Zima slowly added tenths to the margin back to Olson.
A caution flew on Lap 19 for a stalled car on the exit of turn four. Zima did not go right away in the zone, opting to hold on a bit more through the turn. When he fired off, he slotted his Legend Car in front of Olson’s and as the duo slid through turns one and two, Olson ran into the back of Zima and nearly spun. His front bumper eventually fell off and required he had to pit during the Lap 21 caution.
Olson was now tasked with driving back through the field with just five laps to go, but only six cars separated him from Zima. But Zima drove away on the start and Olson only got to fourth. With the win, Zima joined Tim Brockhouse as the only two drivers to win three-straight Dirt Nationals Championship Features in a single division (Brockhouse, Masters 2010-13), as Zima was victorious in the previous two Young Lions Dirt Nationals at Fayetteville Motors Speedway (2022-23).
Unfortunately for Olson, he was later disqualified for a technical infraction during post-race inspection. As a result, Brady Ascherien from Wisconsin, is the provisional 2024 INEX Young Lions Dirt National Champion, after finishing fourth in Saturday’s Championship Feature. Other drivers in the top five were Tyler Rampmeyer in second, Cohen Henze in third, and elevated to fifth was Eli Geidel.
Pennsylvania’s own Colton Friese had a clear track ahead of him for most of Saturday’s Semi-Pro Championship Feature, with all the battling taking place behind him. A close championship battle between Noah Madler, who entered with a perfect 1900 points, along with Quade Schoonover (1894), Friese (1888), and Kody Machart (1882) was the closest multi-driver national points battle of the weekend.
Friese and Schoonover started on the front row with Machart on the inside of the second row and Madler on the outside of the third row. After two laps, they were all first through fourth, with Friese leading the way. But the race wouldn’t finish that way. Two cars tangled on Lap 3, resulting in a caution and restart. Machart gave Schoonover all he had on the restart as Friese placed his car in front of Schoonover to keep control. But another caution was displayed for a stalled car on Lap 4.
Another restart, another great jump for Friese who kept his Legend Car in front of Schoonover, as Madler passed Machart for third. New Mexico’s Cale Riggs had a near moment in turns three and four and almost spun in front of several cars. He saved the car from spinning and the field stayed green, while at the same time, Sierra Davenport entered the top five.
Friese’s lead wasn’t much as Schoonover and Madler were side-by-side right behind him. Madler worked the high side with Schoonover protecting the low side. Machart remained close by not letting them get away. With 18 to go, a caution flew for another stalled car, giving Friese an opportunity to breath and regroup after Schoonover was hot on his bumper.
On the restart, Schoonover prevented Friese from moving up in front of him, so Friese entered turn one low to keep the lead. Machart rocketed around Madler to the outside and hit Schoonover’s bumper. Schoonover got to Friese’s inside, but couldn’t make it stick as Friese gripped up off corner exit and led the lap. Machart moved to second, with Schoonover fighting to stay in front of Madler. The field was just getting going and Machart had firm control of second, just as the caution flew for a spin in turn two with 14 laps to go.
The restart was single file and Machart did not get the start he wanted as Friese was already two car lengths ahead as the field crossed under the flag stand and Schoonover was all over his bumper. The first championship hope was dashed when Schoonover slid up attempting to get in front of Machart. There appeared to be contact and Machart hit the wall and drastically slowed, but continued just to pull off the track.
From the tail end of the field after a disqualification during qualifying, Hayden Schumhl broke into the top 5 after the restart, trailing Sierra Davenport as Madler and Schoonover fought for second.
With eight laps remaining, Madler had the advantage in the national championship running third behind Schoonover with a potential victory for Friese keeping him level win third. Schoonover and Madler swapped positions a few times over the next few laps, but changed nothing except allow Friese to pull away. But that all changed with three laps to go when Schoonover bumped Madler the wrong way, sending him around and bringing out the caution. With both going to the rear, that lessened the pressure for Friese.
After three laps of racing, Friese won the Semi-Pro Championship Feature and is the provisional 2024 INEX Semi-Pro Dirt National Champion, following Madler’s 15th place finish, Schoonover’s 17th place finish, and Machart’s 19th place finish. Sierra Davenport finished second, followed by Logan Jones, Hayden Schmuhl, and Gage Madler. Schmuhl was also awarded the MPI Up on the Wheel award in the Semi-Pro Division, for gaining the most positions (16) from his original starting position.
Trouble struck the back half of the field on Lap 1 of the Pro Division Championship Feature, including one of the national championship contenders, North Dakota’s Preston Martin. Martin entered the weekend tied at the top with Minnesota’s Jackson Lewis with 1900 points apiece. Martin looked to be okay and continued.
The first 14 laps saw dirt novice Alex McCollum, who only made one previous dirt start in 2024, battle Tanner Jones for the lead. McCollum led most of the way, with Jones looking low often. Close behind was Lewis and Chase Singletary. Martin was mired in the middle of the field, desperate to gain positions as he was around the 12th position. Martin had a spin with 20 laps to go and continued. No caution was thrown but was now running at the very end of the field.
The front three broke away with Lewis hanging close to Jones and McCollum. Jones nosed ahead enough to lead one lap but McCollum went back to the lead the next time by. The caution was displayed for a second time for a single car spin, Singletary, spinning from fourth place.
The caution was immediately displayed again when Thomas Everson spun and Singletary stopped at his nose in turn two. This thwarted Jones’ fantastic start as he rocketed around McCollum, who did not travel through turn one well. As a result, McCollum was granted back the lead for the restart.
The second attempt to restart the race with 11 laps to go, McCollum fired off far better than before, keeping Jones behind him as Lewis battled teammate Weber for third. Martin took advantage of the rerack and slowly moved his way past cars in just two laps, but then disaster struck. While at the top of three-wide down the backstretch, Preston was pinched into the wall by his brother, Dauntee Martin. Preston would continue but finished 14th.
The race resumed, this time single file, with McCollum handedly entering turn one with control. McCollum and Jones separated themselves from the battle for third between Lewis and Weber. There was a moment where Jones stuck his car to McCollum’s inside but Jones wasn’t able to find the advantage through two sets of corners to complete the pass. One last look Jones had was when he rode into the corner on McCollum’s bumper but couldn’t do anything with it.
McCollum captured the victory, upsetting the field Pro Division field of racers. Jones finished second, Lewis was third, Weber fourth, and Jordan Miklas was fifth. With his third-place finish compared to Martin’s 14th, Lewis is the provisional 2024 INEX Pro Dirt National Champion.
The Masters Division racers spent the night chasing Devin Friese, after he passed pole sitter Michael King on the first lap. A caution for a spun car in turn four brought the caution out on Lap 2 but after the restart, the race went green for six laps before a second caution pulled the field back together.
The national championship battle included Jeff Schmidt, who was 24 points back from first place Donavin Wiest, but Glenn Mitchell was only 12 points behind Wiest. Friese had jumped out to a big lead, nearly 10 car lengths when a spun car in turn four brought the caution out. Mitchell found himself seventh and Wiest eighth at the time of caution, with Schmidt third. The championship advantage was in Wiest’s favor with 18 laps to go.
A big pileup in turns one and two on the restart necessitated the red flag to move cars out of the way. When the race attempted to restart again, Mitchell found himself in fourth quickly with Wiest sitting in eighth. Two laps later a stalled car slowed the race yet again, just as Jeremy Ott was putting pressure on leader Friese.
Friese and Ott shot out of a cannon on the restart, bumper to bumper as they separated from King and Mitchell, who battled for fourth.
Wiest moved his way into sixth, yet Mitchell couldn’t get around King for third. Up front, Ott worked and worked at Friese but couldn’t put his Legend Car in a position to attempt a pass, let alone attempt to clear for the lead. Friese would hang on and become the second Pennsylvania driver of the night to win, capturing his first Masters Division Dirt Nationals Championship Feature victory. Ott finished second, followed by King in third, Mitchell in fourth, and Robert Stough in fifth. Wiest crossed the line in sixth, a finish good enough to beat Mitchell in points and be the provisional 2024 INEX Masters Dirt National Champion.
MPI Up on the Wheel award winners were Tyler Rampmeyer (Young Lions), Hayden Schmuhl (Semi-Pro), Scott Musselman (Masters), and Zach Martinez (Pro).
The 2024 INEX Championship Nationals continues with the 33rd Asphalt Nationals, October 24-26, at Dominion Raceway in Virginia, concluding with the 28th Road Course World Finals at VIRginia International Raceway, November 15-17.
RESULTS
PRO DIVISION
CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 0-Alex McCollum[1]; 2. 24J-Tanner Jones[2]; 3. 7-Jackson Lewis[4]; 4. 8W-Michael Weber[3]; 5. 44J-Jordan Miklas[11]; 6. 27-Logan Carbaugh[7]; 7. 21-Steven Partin[5]; 8. 471-Austin Wiest[8]; 9. 14Z-Zach Martinez[17]; 10. 75-Chase Singletary[6]; 11. 8-Jacob Owens[14]; 12. 4-Thomas Everson[15]; 13. 53-Bill Diehl[16]; 14. 77-Preston Martin[9]; 15. (DNF) 64-Griffin McGrath[13]; 16. (DNF) 99-Dauntae Martin[10]; 17. (DNF) 29-Ryan Braseth[12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24J-Tanner Jones[1]; 2. 7-Jackson Lewis[2]; 3. 21-Steven Partin[3]; 4. 27-Logan Carbaugh[4]; 5. 471-Austin Wiest[6]; 6. 44J-Jordan Miklas[5]; 7. 64-Eric Blumer[8]; 8. 4-Thomas Everson[7]; 9. 14Z-Zach Martinez[9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 0-Alex McCollum[3]; 2. 8W-Michael Weber[4]; 3. 75-Chase Singletary[1]; 4. 77-Preston Martin[2]; 5. 99-Dauntae Martin[5]; 6. 29-Ryan Braseth[6]; 7. 8-Jacob Owens[8]; 8. 53-Bill Diehl[7]
Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 24J-Tanner Jones, 00:21.889[14]; 2. 75-Chase Singletary, 00:22.031[12]; 3. 7-Jackson Lewis, 00:22.062[7]; 4. 77-Preston Martin, 00:22.065[10]; 5. 21-Steven Partin, 00:22.125[17]; 6. 0-Alex McCollum, 00:22.163[4]; 7. 27-Logan Carbaugh, 00:22.166[6]; 8. 8W-Michael Weber, 00:22.264[13]; 9. 44J-Jordan Miklas, 00:22.342[15]; 10. 99-Dauntae Martin, 00:22.465[16]; 11. 471-Austin Wiest, 00:22.485[2]; 12. 29-Ryan Braseth, 00:22.545[9]; 13. 4-Thomas Everson, 00:22.565[11]; 14. 53-Bill Diehl, 00:22.611[3]; 15. 64-Eric Blumer, 00:22.621[5]; 16. 8-Jacob Owens, 00:22.678[1]; 17. 14Z-Zach Martinez, 00:22.777[8]
SEMI-PRO DIVISION
CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 7-Colton Friese[1]; 2. 51-Sierra Davenport[9]; 3. 5J-Logan Jones[5]; 4. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl[20]; 5. 700-Gage Madler[18]; 6. 01-Chance Gilbert[11]; 7. 44-Dalton Friese[7]; 8. 96-Cale Riggs[4]; 9. 6-Richie Dobson Jr[12]; 10. 7W-William Wetzl[19]; 11. 27G-RJ Garay[13]; 12. 21-Kelby Friese[10]; 13. 24R-Brian Rampmeyer[15]; 14. 126-Dustin Wiles[8]; 15. 800-Noah Madler[6]; 16. 75M-Ben Morrow[16]; 17. 18-Quade Schoonover[2]; 18. 25N-Chris Nicoll[17]; 19. (DNF) 7K-Kody Machart[3]; 20. (DNF) 04-Adam Meyer[14]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Colton Friese[1]; 2. 800-Noah Madler[2]; 3. 7K-Kody Machart[6]; 4. 51-Sierra Davenport[4]; 5. 21-Kelby Friese[3]; 6. 01-Chance Gilbert[5]; 7. 6-Richie Dobson Jr[8]; 8. 24R-Brian Rampmeyer[7]; 9. 75M-Ben Morrow[9]; 10. 25N-Chris Nicoll[10]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Quade Schoonover[1]; 2. 96-Cale Riggs[3]; 3. 5J-Logan Jones[6]; 4. 44-Dalton Friese[5]; 5. 126-Dustin Wiles[8]; 6. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl[10]; 7. 04-Adam Meyer[4]; 8. 27G-RJ Garay[9]; 9. 700-Gage Madler[2]; 10. 7W-William Wetzl[7]
Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 7-Colton Friese, 00:22.122[11]; 2. 18-Quade Schoonover, 00:22.150[14]; 3. 800-Noah Madler, 00:22.220[6]; 4. 700-Gage Madler, 00:22.242[13]; 5. 21-Kelby Friese, 00:22.355[19]; 6. 96-Cale Riggs, 00:22.395[7]; 7. 51-Sierra Davenport, 00:22.556[15]; 8. 04-Adam Meyer, 00:22.565[9]; 9. 01-Chance Gilbert, 00:22.585[20]; 10. 44-Dalton Friese, 00:22.650[3]; 11. 7K-Kody Machart, 00:22.696[10]; 12. 5J-Logan Jones, 00:22.756[12]; 13. 24R-Brian Rampmeyer, 00:22.871[17]; 14. 7W-William Wetzl, 00:22.935[2]; 15. 6-Richie Dobson Jr, 00:22.971[4]; 16. 126-Dustin Wiles, 00:22.987[18]; 17. 75M-Ben Morrow, 00:23.028[16]; 18. 27G-RJ Garay, 00:23.060[1]; 19. 25N-Chris Nicoll, 00:23.451[5]; 20. (DQ) 59S-Hayden Schmuhl[8]
MASTERS DIVISION
CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 12-Devin Friese[2]; 2. 10-Jeremy Ott[3]; 3. 22K-Michael King[1]; 4. 1OZ-Glenn Mitchell[8]; 5. 14G-Robert Stough[5]; 6. 19-Donavin Wiest[9]; 7. 19J-Jeff Schmidt[4]; 8. 79R-Scott Richardson[14]; 9. 5S-Scott Houdeshell[6]; 10. 11R-Scott Musselman[18]; 11. 01-Dusty Riggs[11]; 12. 3-Scott Montgomery[12]; 13. 9-Rick Hartwig[10]; 14. 90-Scott Spidle[13]; 15. 01X-Mike Gilbert[16]; 16. 11-Doug Fawley[20]; 17. 69-David Braxton[23]; 18. (DNF) 64J-Ezekiel Hanger[19]; 19. (DNF) 53-Keith Meyer[17]; 20. (DNF) 26-Shaun Abney[7]; 21. (DNF) 00-Eugene Drew[22]; 22. (DNF) 33-Kirk Martin[15]; 23. (DNF) 77-Michael McKinley[21]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 22K-Michael King[3]; 2. 19J-Jeff Schmidt[1]; 3. 26-Shaun Abney[5]; 4. 9-Rick Hartwig[2]; 5. 90-Scott Spidle[8]; 6. 01X-Mike Gilbert[6]; 7. 64J-Ezekiel Hanger[7]; 8. 00-Eugene Drew[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 12-Devin Friese[1]; 2. 14G-Robert Stough[2]; 3. 1OZ-Glenn Mitchell[3]; 4. 01-Dusty Riggs[4]; 5. 79R-Scott Richardson[6]; 6. 53-Keith Meyer[5]; 7. 11-Doug Fawley[7]; 8. 69-David Braxton[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 10-Jeremy Ott[1]; 2. 5S-Scott Houdeshell[3]; 3. 19-Donavin Wiest[4]; 4. 3-Scott Montgomery[2]; 5. 33-Kirk Martin[6]; 6. 11R-Scott Musselman[5]; 7. 77-Michael McKinley[7]
Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 19J-Jeff Schmidt, 00:22.339[5]; 2. 12-Devin Friese, 00:22.385[22]; 3. 10-Jeremy Ott, 00:22.411[4]; 4. 9-Rick Hartwig, 00:22.437[7]; 5. 14G-Robert Stough, 00:22.455[12]; 6. 3-Scott Montgomery, 00:22.552[6]; 7. 22K-Michael King, 00:22.582[9]; 8. 1OZ-Glenn Mitchell, 00:22.613[3]; 9. 5S-Scott Houdeshell, 00:22.689[20]; 10. 00-Eugene Drew, 00:22.709[11]; 11. 01-Dusty Riggs, 00:22.749[1]; 12. 19-Donavin Wiest, 00:22.778[23]; 13. 26-Shaun Abney, 00:22.782[17]; 14. 53-Keith Meyer, 00:22.896[14]; 15. 11R-Scott Musselman, 00:22.923[15]; 16. 01X-Mike Gilbert, 00:22.931[21]; 17. 79R-Scott Richardson, 00:22.979[2]; 18. 33-Kirk Martin, 00:23.126[19]; 19. 64J-Ezekiel Hanger, 00:23.161[16]; 20. 11-Doug Fawley, 00:23.228[13]; 21. 77-Michael McKinley, 00:23.255[18]; 22. 90-Scott Spidle, 00:23.364[10]; 23. 69-David Braxton, 00:23.763[8]
YOUNG LIONS DIVISION
CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 4-Ryan Zima[3]; 2. 5-Tyler Rampmeyer[7]; 3. 88-Cohen Henze[4]; 4. 7A-Brady Ascherien[6]; 5. 19-Eli Geidel[10]; 6. (DNF) 9G-Grady McGrew[8]; 7. (DNF) 55-Colton Brock[9]; 8. (DNF) 14T-Talyn Neuman[2]; 9. (DNF) 7H-Hunter McElroy[5]; 10. (DQ) 7T-Ty Olson[1]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7T-Ty Olson[1]; 2. 14T-Talyn Neuman[4]; 3. 7A-Brady Ascherien[3]; 4. 5-Tyler Rampmeyer[2]; 5. (DNF) 55-Colton Brock[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Ryan Zima[1]; 2. 88-Cohen Henze[3]; 3. 7H-Hunter McElroy[4]; 4. (DNF) 9G-Grady McGrew[2]; 5. (DNF) 19-Eli Geidel[5]
Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 7T-Ty Olson, 00:22.254[7]; 2. 4-Ryan Zima, 00:22.275[8]; 3. 5-Tyler Rampmeyer, 00:22.370[10]; 4. 9G-Grady McGrew, 00:22.391[6]; 5. 7A-Brady Ascherien, 00:22.616[4]; 6. 88-Cohen Henze, 00:22.644[5]; 7. 14T-Talyn Neuman, 00:22.649[2]; 8. 7H-Hunter McElroy, 00:23.182[9]; 9. 55-Colton Brock, 00:23.264[3]; 10. (DNS) 19-Eli Geidel