Opening night at Lucas Oil Speedway was the ultimate good news/bad news outcome for J.C. Newell in the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod division.

Debuting a new Allen Autosports car, and without so much as a lap of practice, the 26-year-old from Buffalo didn’t know what to expect when he unloaded back on March 25.

“I was pretty nervous going into that weekend,” Newell said. “It was the first time I’d taken a new car out like that, with no practice. I was surprised for it to be as quick as it was.”

Newell led the first 11 laps in the feature and had a 1.5-second command when he suddenly slowed and pulled to the infield. What appeared to be a victory with his grasp disappeared in a blink.

“A maintenance issue on my end kind of cost us,” Newell said, noting a throttle linkage fell off the carburetor. “We were just excited to come right out of the box with the speed we had the first night, but definitely upset because we felt we gave one away. But we’d rather break leading than running 10th or something.”

Newell looks forward to getting into a regular racing rhythm, beginning with Saturday night’s Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series program. The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods are the headline class, running a 25-lap feature for $750 to win.

He’s also looking forward to getting back to regular contention at Lucas Oil Speedway, where he was fourth in USRA B-Mod season points in 2021 with one feature win and four other top-five finishes. Newell wound up fifth in the deep, talented USRA B-Mod division in 2020.

Last year saw a curtailed schedule after Newell and wife Lindsey welcomed son Deacon in February. Now 14 months, Deacon is enjoying his time around the track, probably destined to someday become a fourth-generation Newell racer.

“We also had some problems getting some engine parts and didn’t have our motor for most of the season,” Newell said of 2022. “So we ran a pretty limited schedule last year.”

Racing definitely is a family affair. Newell’s younger brother Dayton and dad Ben race Midwest Mods and his grandfather “Big J.C.” drove pavement cars until recent years. His father-in-law, Scotty Allen, is well known for both his driving and car-building skills. Allen, Ben Newell and “Big J.C.” all are members of the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation Hall of Fame.

J.C. Newell said he’s looking forward to racing with Allen some this season as Scotty gets a chance to compete in B-Mods.

“Just hopefully try and win some races,” J.C. Newell said of his goals in a new-look car that has a primary color of orange. He figured the new car was a perfect time to change up the appearance.

“My dad used to race an orange car back in the day and I wanted to do something bright and different and stand out,” J.C. said of the new look. “We had run red and white and it seemed like a lot of guys were in red and white. We just wanted to try something different.”

Newell’s sponsors include Prime Inc., Los Hermanos Mexican Restaurant, The Butcher Shop, Royal Heating and Air, Pomme Plumbing LLC, Bite Me Hooks, Scotty’s Signs & Wraps, KR Performance Fuels LLC, RACE Schock Service and Ruble Racing Engines.

The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods will headline Round Two of the Summit Weekly Racing Series presented by Townsquare Media and KIX 105.7 FM. The Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds and O'Reilly Auto Parts Medieval USRA Stock Cars also will be in action.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Kids' Pit Tour: Resuming this week will be the Frogs Jr Fan Club Pit Tour, led by flagman Mike Striegel. Prior to each weekly dirt-track racing program this season, Striegel will lead a pit tour on a large golf cart for youngsters ages 5-12 with the youngsters signing up for a drawing each week to be a part of the tour.

Striegel will drive them through the pits and stop and visit with various drivers where the youngsters can see the race cars up close, take pictures and collect autographs.

Kids can sign up for the Frogs Jr Fan Club on the south end of the Midway after gates open at 5 p.m. for a chance to go on the pit tour.

Ticket info:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (16 and up) $12
Adults (16 and up) $15
Seniors (62 and up)/Military $12
Youth (6-15) $5
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family Pass $35
Pit Pass $35

For information about any event at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2023 contact admissions director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

Continuing to crush it: Year after year, the USRA continues to attract more racetracks and dirt track racers through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. In the 2022 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, more than 50 of America’s finest dirt ovals host over 1,000 nights of racing.

USRA competitors can register online at MyRacePass today. Alternatively, you can call (515) 832-6000 to register by phone, or submit a completed USRA License Application by email at office@usraracing.com or fax (515) 832-7958. You can download the application at usraracing.com/downloads.

To learn more, check out usraracing.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USRA news delivered to your inbox.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Christie Door Company, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, KS Engineering, KSE Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allen Autosports Race Cars, ARMI Contractors, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DAY Motorsports, Duvall Electric, Gunshepherd.com, Innovative AutoGlass & Window Tint, PBM Performance Products, Star 1 Roofing & Construction, Stealth Thru Tubing, Texas Locomotive Solutions, TNT Auto Parts, YouDirt.com.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Edelbrock, Hooker Harness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers, Keyser Manufacturing, Landrum Performance Springs, MD3, Medieval Chassis, MSD, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

USRA RACETRACKS: 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Boothill Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Chateau Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Eagle Valley Speedway, Elk City Motorsports Park, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Legacy Speedway, Longdale Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Moberly Motorsports Park, Monett Raceway, Rapid Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Route 66 Motor Speedway, RPM Speedway, Sabine Speedway, Salina Highbanks Speedway, Sandia Speedway, Sports Park Raceway, Springfield Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Texarkana 67 Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, US 36 Raceway, Vado Speedway Park, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.