Commentary: National Late Model Touring-Things To Watch For When The Snow Stops Flying

Aaron Clay Photo

When mother nature finally decides it's time to race, (this white stuff in the air can't last forever), we will be bearing witness to the deepest fields in National Late Model Touring history quite possibly. And I can't wait to finally start getting into the heart of the matter. 

There are, depending on how serious the intentions are, well over 30 drivers participating on national tours this year which is an amazing feat and smacks the notion of national touring being too expensive to partake in completely in the face. Where the money comes from who knows.  It could be several factors at work. 

Drivers have either wizened up or seen the rewards of touring for point fund revenue as a significant part of their income which makes touring possible, or the sanctions, specifically the World of Outlaw Craftsman Late Models, have enriched up their tow money programs. No matter what the reasons for increased participation are, it’s going to be an interesting year and there’s going to be some seasoned high level drivers coming home with a 8^th or 9^th place point fund check instead of a third or fourth place one. What to watch out for? See how many drivers actually end up with perfect attendance in late October or Early November.  If that’s 90% of what we saw committed across the board at the end of February, I’ll eat my hat.

Another thing I’m watching, will be the development of four intriguing drivers on the national tours this year. I’m watching to see how Bobby Pierce takes to his first taste of the grind that is national touring racing and Overton's second full season as well.  I want to see if they wear down or get better as the year goes along.  At the same time, I’m watching the continued development of Hudson O’Neal and Tyler Erb, and not for the reason you may be thinking. No, I’m watching to see who will start converting moments of brilliance into victories first.  These for drivers are very much the future of our sport, they are a huge part of the next generation, and watching development like that is a rare treat for any fan.

I’m keeping a sharp eye on weekly and regional car counts this year. I’d always kept a watch on them, but this year may do some quantitative analysis. I’m hoping to see Super Late Model racing taking a small step forward this year, but really have no idea how it’s going to go.

I’ll be watching to see who gets popped for tire juice first, and then tracking the excuses. I want to see how many times drivers come up with “ran over some fluid in the pits” or “lab was wrong” while explaining how they never knowingly raced with questionable rubber. The first driver that gets popped and actually admits “hey, yeah I did that looking for an edge” I’m going to give a trophy to for honesty.

 And I’ll also be watching to see where the engineers take us. What they can show us in terms of advancements in not speed, but safety and also cost reduction. They’ve done remarkably well in making the cars as fast as possible, now let’s see what they can do in other areas of the sport that are a little more important to some folks.  

Hoping you’ve got your list of things to watch for in 2018 ready to go, It’s going to be an amazing year!