McDowell
Scores Popular Victory at Smoky Mountain Speedway
(June
20, 2026) Dale McDowell led all 60 laps of the Mountain
Moonshine Classic on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway,
earning a popular hometown victory and collecting $30,000 for
his 11th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The victory was McDowell’s first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series triumph triumph since winning the Topless 100 in 2023 and
his first Series victory at Smoky Mountain Speedway since 2016.
Devin Moran charged from seventh to finish second after passing
Friday night winner Brandon Sheppard on lap 45. Moran closed the
gap in the closing laps but crossed the finish line 1.113 seconds
behind McDowell. Sheppard rounded out the Big River Steel podium
in third after finishing second for the first 44 laps of the race.
Jake O’Neil recorded the best Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series finish of his career with a fourth-place effort after running
inside the top five throughout the event. Chris Madden completed
the top five. |
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Sheppard
Sweeps Opening Night of Mountain Moonshine Classic
(June
19, 2026) Brandon Sheppard completed a clean sweep Friday
night at Smoky Mountain Speedway, leading all 40 laps of the opening
night of the Mountain Moonshine Classic to earn his fourth Lucas
Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The New Berlin, Illinois driver earned $10,000 for the victory
after setting overall fast time, winning his heat race, and capping
off a perfect evening in Wieland Victory Lane. The win marked
the 40th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of Sheppard’s
career.
Sheppard crossed the finish line 1.342 seconds ahead of Dale
McDowell, who finished second. Garrett Alberson rounded out the
Big River Steel podium in third. Chris Madden and Sam Seawright
completed the top five. |
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Henry,
Arp, & Bunch are 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees
(June
3, 2026) The Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of Fame has
announced the class of 2026. This year, the SMS Hall of Fame was
separated into its own entity to acknowledge those that were successful
primarily at Smoky Mountain Speedway. The current hall of fame
has been renamed to the East Tennessee Racing Hall of Fame and
will have their own inductees. This year’s class for the
Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of Fame is John Henry, Kenny Arp,
and Bill Bunch.
John Henry put on a show on and off the race track in the Modified
4 Cylinder class. Henry did not mind mixing things up with drivers
on the track and with track officials off the track. Kenny Arp
was another successful driver from the Modified 4 Cylinder ranks.
Arp won numerous races and track championship, most of them at
Smoky Mountain. Bill Bunch was a successful engine builder that
built engines from late models to four cylinders. His engines
were responsible for countless wins and track championships. Bunch
also served a track tech director.
These three will be inducted on Saturday, August 22 during intermission
of the of the Hunt The Front Hall of Fame Classic. Each inductee
or their family will receive a letter and additional information
about the ceremony.
Lester
Weeks Memorial Postponed by Heavy Rainfall
(May
30, 2026) The Topless Outlaws Late Model Series sanctioned
'Lester Weeks Memorial' - scheduled for Saturday, May 30 at Smoky
Mountain Speedway - has been rained out. Heavy overnight rains
left no other option than to postpone the race. Track and series
officials will see if a suitable make-up date can be found. The
next events on the racing calendar at Smoky Mountain Speedway
will be June 19-20 when the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns
to the Maryville, Tennessee venue for the 'Mountain Moonshine
Classic.' Details will be coming soon!
Skip Arp
Dominant in Saturday Night Shootout Win
(May
2, 2026) Skip Arp dominated round #2 of the Saturday
Night Shootout in a night full of crazy action. Arp won the pole
for the 25-lap feature. Arp zipped to the lead, but that was wiped
out when a crash in turn 4 on the first lap reset the field. Bobby
Giffin and Jed Emert made contact causing Giffin to land on his
top. With the track being blocked, Noah Phillips, Jason Manley,
and others were also involved. None of the drivers were injured.
When the race resumed, Arp once again took the lead over Eric
Orr. Orr spent most of the race battling Ryan King for second.
King finally took the spot. Later, Orr lost third to Jason Manley.
Manley tracked down King to overtake him for second. Meanwhile,
Arp cruised to victory.
In the sportsman feature, Jed Emert held off challenges from
Jesse Lowe in taking the win. Adam Mitchell rounded out the top
three. |
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Skip Arp
Returns to Racing with Smoky Mountain Victory!
(April
11, 2026) Skip Arp missed the entire 2025 race season
after serious work injury sidelined up. Arp made his return my
winning Saturday’s Mountain Late Models feature. Arp got
the best of pole sitter Bobby Giffin and set sail in a dominating
fashion. Giffin finished second and Cameron Weaver was third.
Ross White picked up his first ever win at Smoky Mountain Speedway
by winning the 604 Late Model feature. White had Hayden Cardwell
in two for the first half of the race but pulled away late. Jensen
Ford powered his way to finish third.
Cody Courtney was the winner of the sportsman late model feature.
Courtney battled Maddox Manley for the initial lead. Adam Mitchell
got by Manley for second. Manley and Chandler Hickman for several
laps before the two made contact coming off turn 2. Both cars
slid toward the infield knocking both cars out of the race. Mitchell
Childress finished third. |
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Bobby Pierce
in Right Place at Right Time for $20,000 Tipoff Win
(March
14, 2026) The old saying of being in the right place
at the right time paid off for Bobby Pierce in Saturday’s
World of Outlaws Tennessee Tipoff. (MRM Racing
Photo)
Pierce started on the outside of the front row alongside pole
sitter Chris Madden. It was Madden who grabbed the lead with Pierce
and Overton battling for second. Madden had firm control of the
race throughout much of the first half of the race. Overton ran
down Madden and used the outside line to get around Madden on
lap 37.
Overton looked to be in firm control until lap 48. Dennis Erb
Jr. made contact with another car and was sitting in the middle
of the track going into turn 3. Before the caution could be displayed,
Overton t-boned Erb in a violent crash. Madden also caught a piece
of Overton’s car and sent him spinning and out of the race.
Pierce inherited the lead and held off Nick Hoffman to win and
collect $20,000. Ricky Thornton was third. |
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Smoky Mountain
Speedway Releases 2026 Schedule
(December
26, 2025) Smoky Mountain Speedway has released the schedule
for the 2026 season. The schedule has a number of special events
as well and Saturday Night Shootout events for the local racers.
The season gets started on Saturday, March 14 when the World of
Outlaws Late Model Series returns for the $20,000 to win Tennessee
Tip-Off. The monster trucks return on March 28 and 29.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be back on June 19-20
for the Mountain Moonshine Classic. Racing gets started on June
19 for a $10,000 to win race and is capped off on June 20 for
a $30,000 to win race.
The Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series will visit on Saturday, August
22 for the King of the Mountain Fall Classic. It will also be
the annual Hall of Fame night.
The Topless Outlaws Late Model Series will make two visits. The
first is on Saturday, May 30 for the Lester Weeks Memorial. The
second visit is on Saturday, September 5 for the Roger Kerr Memorial.
The American Big Rigs return on Saturday, August 15. The Best
Plumber 604 Series will accompany the American Big Rigs. The Best
Plumber 604 Series will also be racing on Saturday, April 25.
The Cumberland Plateau and Mod Minis will both be in action on
Saturday, July 18. There are also several Saturday Night Shootout
races scheduled throughout the season.
