Landers back on dirt with new perspective

After spending more than seven months without sitting behind the wheel of a race car, Jared Landers said his priorities are more clearly in order.

But he also said he has missed racing and is ready to return to the track.

Landers, of Benton, was sidelined for the second half of the 2016 season because of injuries he suffered in a July crash. He was cleared to race in November, but a split from his former team left him searching for a 2017 ride.

He made his return to the track for a World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Kilgore, Texas, on March 26. This weekend, he will compete in the Bad Boy Mowers 98 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at Batesville Motor Speedway, one of his favorite tracks.

“I feel like I’ve turned a page in my life,” said Landers, 34. “I’m definitely excited to get back to racing. I’ve missed it.”

After several years spent making a name for himself in regional and national circles in modified racing, Landers was the Lucas Oil Series’ rookie of the year in 2011 and gradually became a contender to win with the series across the nation. By mid- July of last season, he stood third in the series standings and appeared ready to make a run for a national title. Then came the crash. On July 15 during a Lucas Oil event at Tri- City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., Landers was leading a heat race when his car hooked a rut entering turn three on the quick,

mile oval and barrel- rolled 3 ½ times, coming to a rest on the roof.

Landers climbed out of his crumpled car shaken and with a broken finger on his right hand, but he quickly joined his crew and helped as they thrashed to repair the car for the main event, in which he finished eighth. He won the Diamond Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., a night later.

But after he received a cat scan the next month, it was discovered Landers had suffered two torn carotid arteries in his neck.

“I felt fine even right after the wreck,” Landers said. “I had a headache and thought I might have had a slight concussion. But once they looked at the cat scan again, they noticed

something different, that there was something not quite right.”

To prevent more damage or a possible stroke, Landers was placed on strict orders of rest and no heavy lifting — and definitely no dirt track racing.

“It was tough,” he said. “Sitting around and doing nothing is not something I can really do very well. Also, I wasn’t making any money. I sold a bunch of modified stuff just so I could pay the bills.”

Being off the track also meant Landers was not making the long trips from track to track, which resulted in weeks away from home. He said he has enjoyed the extra time with his family.

Late in 2016, Landers split from the team owned by his father, Lance Landers.

“Dad and I decided it wasn’t the best for us to be racing together anymore,” Jared Landers said. “He had done so much for me over the years. But all of this money he had to spend for my racing … it was too much stress for the both of us. It was the best thing for us [ to split].”

Jared Landers met with famed late model car builder and crew chief Ronnie Stuckey, who connected him with Shreveport resident David Peterson, a team owner who also fields cars for Allen Tippen of Minden, La., and Shreveport’s B. J. Robinson, using Black Diamond Chassis built by Stuckey.

They struggled in their first outing together, finishing 23rd in the Outlaws event at Lone Star Speedway in March. But Landers said he was not deterred.

“I was in a new car for me, we were behind a little bit, and we missed on a couple things,” he said. “But I have all the confidence in the world in Ronnie.”