The Headline(s)
Nineteen-year-old Garrett Smith led all 100 laps to become the youngest Dirt Track World Championship winner in event history in a snoozer at Portsmouth.
How it Happened
2022 Dirt Track World Championship (Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series)
Where: Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, Ohio (streamed on MAVTV via Flo Racing)
Winner’s Purse: $100,000
After a trying season featuring multiple issues with the droop rule and rookie mistakes, Garrett Smith broke through in a major way, leading all 100 laps and weathering a flurry of late-race restarts to win the Dirt Track World Championship at Portsmouth, by far the richest and most prestigious win of his budding career.
19 year old @garrett_smith10 leads all 100 laps flag-to-flag to earn the biggest win of his career @PRPDirt in tonight’s 42nd annual @DTWCPRP, worth $100,000! pic.twitter.com/bTdeZUai7r
— Cole Perkins (@ColePerkins12) October 16, 2022
Smith, who was visibly emotional in victory lane, never was able to gap the field and came within a nose of losing the lead to Brandon Overton 14 laps into the feature before the first caution of the night flew. However, as the night went on and the track became bottom dominant, Smith remained composed and maintained his track position on the bottom, all the while enduring seven restarts in the final 20 laps as flat tires spoiled Saturday night’s feature.
Tim McCreadie clinched the 2022 LOLMDS title simply by signing in at Portsmouth this weekend. Garrett Alberson won the 2022 Rookie of the Year crown.
Success Stories
McCreadie didn’t add the Dirt Track World Championship to his resume, but simply by signing in for competition Friday at Portsmouth he clinched his second consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship. As much as it may diminish the stock of the LOLMDS, part of me hopes that the veteran joins the ranks of Jonathan Davenport, Chris Madden and Mike Marlar in dropping points racing for poaching big money in 2023. McCreadie finished second in Saturday’s feature and may well have won had the last two yellows not flown.
Congratulations to @PaylorMotorsprt and the whole @TimMccreadie crew! @LonghornChassis pic.twitter.com/2tgScIm5pm
— #LucasDirt 🏁 (@lucasdirt) October 15, 2022
Yes, Smith benefitted from a narrow racetrack and an outbreak of yellow fever that derailed the two most significant challenges for the lead he faced all night. But three items here. One, Smith saved his tire and hit his…
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