The Auto Racing Journal: dirt racing

Showing posts with label dirt racing. Show all posts

Sunday, February 15, 2026

DIRT RACING

FULL RACE: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Friday Feature at All-Tech Raceway 2/20/26

DIRT RACING

Winter Nationals Saturday | Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series at Ocala Speedway 2/28/26 | Highlights

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World of Outlaws Late Model Series | Volusia Speedway Park | February 14, 2026 | HIGHLIGHTS

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𝑯𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺: USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars | Ocala Speedway | February 14, 2026

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Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds | DIRTcar Nationals Night #1 | Feb. 11, 2026 | HIGHLIGHTS

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LIVE: Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals Win & In

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imca.tv | LIVE LOOK-IN | Boone Speedway | Boone, IA | September 4th 2025

MORE

Bloomquist wins with three wheels! #LucasDirt (2018, Show-Me 100)

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FIND MY BOOKS ONLINE

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE

More entries from TARJ

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• OOH! OOH! The stereophonic huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!

Saturday, December 2, 2023

THE RACING JOURNAL

The Racing Journal ran for 11 weeks in 2008

REMEMBERING THE RACING JOURNAL

SHORT-TRACK RACING AT HICKORY

I knew a lot about auto racing before this year — I've written (or co-written) four books about it and have covered it since 1986. But I've learned a ton more since The Racing Journal opened in mid-March 2008.

Mostly, I've learned about drag racing, although I've picked up some knowledge about dirt racing, and I'll cover the Daytona Prototypes this weekend at Virginia International Raceway.

And it hasn't been easy. I struggled to find Ace Speedway near Altamahaw, N.C. I nearly got run over in the pits at 311 Speedway in Pine Hall, N.C. I walked until my legs felt numb below the knees at Piedmont Dragway below Greensboro. I had a terrible time finding a place to sit down at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C. And I got soaking wet last week at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Speedway in Concord.

But overall it's been a blast. I was born to cover auto racing — I'm good at other sports and non-sports, but I'm best at racing. I immediately realized that in the '80s when I started covering Hoss Ellington's Winston Cup team in Wilmington, N.C. I didn't know a lot about racing then, but even then I knew I had a knack for it. I've enjoyed writing about other subjects, but I've stuck with racin'.

My best stories for TRJ have been about some guys who were struggling to get on-track at Farmington Dragway, my Piedmont Dragway feature on Todd Tutterow, my feature on South Boston Speedway promoter Cathy Rice, and my feature on Rockingham Speedway reopening. My worst features for TRJ? You'll have to read the paper to find them. I can't say. I don't know if I have any.

I've always been a good photographer, but I struggled a bit with photography when I started taking on-track racing pictures in March. I was always a tad slow in snapping the pictures, or I'd take them a bit too early. I've begun to catch up, and I'm proud of my best pictures. My lousy pictures, well, I'll delete them from the digital camera.

We're beginning to find an audience for TRJ, which is a weekly publication of the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal. TRJ covers auto racing as far west as Hickory Motor Speedway, as far north as Virginia International Raceway, South Boston Speedway, Wythe Speedway and other tracks in southern Virginia, as far east as Ace Speedway and Piedmont Dragway, and as far south as Rockingham Dragway and Rockingham Speedway. People are beginning to look for us.

We don't try to "cover" stories. People already know who won the race last Saturday; I try to give them a feel for what it was like to be there. And I let you know about the drivers and the people behind the scenes. I may even get a scoop now and then.

We've done some good stuff since mid-March, and my goal is to get a LOT better.

NOTE: Because of the economy, The Racing Journal was cancelled after 11 issues. It was disappointing; I was born to do that job.

Obvious factoid, I got the name of this blog from The Racing Journal.

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Finding my books online

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE