Arkansas drivers idled by pandemic
From the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, essentially every motor sports event and facility in the world has been shut down — from this month’s Indianapolis 500 to dirt tracks, drag strips, and karting or motocross facilities in Arkansas.
For top professional drivers such as Kurt Busch or Helio Castroneves, the shutdown keeps them off the track, but it does not pose a huge financial issue thanks to multimillion-dollar contracts and endorsement deals.
The same cannot be said for Greenbrier’s Jordon Mallett and Batesville’s Billy Moyer Jr.
Mallett and Moyer are among a handful of drivers in the state who rely on their performances on the track to provide most or all of their livelihoods.
“With everything shut down, it’s hurting us pretty bad,” said Mallett, who was starting his second season
racing full-time with the American Sprint Car Series national tour. “There’s always plenty of things that you can work on and improve. But it gets boring. In the first week or so, you say, ‘This is not too bad. We can catch up on a few things.’ But then it’s not very good anymore.”
Moyer, 32, the son of Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer, began driving dirt late models in 2006 and has done so professionally pretty much ever since, even while working to earn a business management degree from Arkansas State University in 2010.
In addition to the race purses he earns, Moyer said he relies on many things connected to his racing operation.
“That’s how I pay bills,” he said. “I prepare shocks for guys, and I will help guys set up their chassis for them. So it’s racing or selling parts and stuff, and when you’re not racing, you’re not selling anything. Plus, you’re not selling T-shirts or anything like that at the track.
“Plus, I’m wired different, I guess. I can’t sit still very long. I’ve probably organized the shop and the hauler three or four times.”
The 2019 season was the worst of Moyer’s career. He bounced among several series throughout the season and competed in 65 events, not counting rainouts. Of those, his only top-five finish was a second in a Midwest Latemodel Racing Association event in April at Caney, Kan. It is the only season in his career in which he did not post a victory.
“We had a really lousy year, which was one of the reasons I was looking forward to getting things going this year,” Moyer said.
The 2020 season had opened with promise in January and February while racing with the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil Late Model Series national tours in New Mexico and Florida. Highlights were third- and sixth-place finishes with the Lucas Oil Series at Gibsonton, Fla., and a ninth with the series at Lake City, Fla. In his final weekend of racing before the shutdown, he finished third with the Arkansas-based Comp Cams Super Dirt Series at Greenwood, La.
Mallett opened the 2020 season with the ASCS national tour’s western swing with races at Peoria, Ariz.; Merced, Calif.; and Petaluma, Calif. He has yet to post a top-10 finish, but he is seventh in the series standings and is coming off a satisfying 2019 season.
“We ran ninth in the [ASCS] national points last season,” he said.
“Early on, we wanted to make sure we made it to every show and finish inside the top 10 in points, and we did all that.”
Mallett, 26, won national titles with the United Sprint Car Series in 2017 and 2018. But moving to the ASCS national tour last season was a step up in competition, he said, and a new set of challenges.
“We ran about 50 races last year not counting rainouts,” said Mallett, who began racing sprint cars at age 16. “Of those 50, there were four tracks that I had ever been to in my life. So it was a tough learning curve, but we’ve got a notebook full of notes and we’re looking forward to this year with a lot more knowledge.”
Last season on the ASCS national tour, he posted top-five finishes at Lawton, Okla.; Salina, Kan.; Elma, Wash.; Sapulpa, Okla.; and Billings, Mont., where he also grabbed an ASCS regional tour victory in July.
“When you’re racing against a bunch of other guys that do it full time, they don’t miss a beat,” Mallett said. “As soon as they unload the car from the trailer, they’re good enough to win. So when you’ve never been there before, you have to work to be as competitive as them.”
Mallett and his wife Madison have owned their racing operation since 2016, which they took over from his parents, Steve and Jonie Mallett. Jordon Mallett, whose father is also his crew chief, said he is able to make ends meet during the shutdown thanks to his grandfather.
“I’m very blessed in that my grandfather owns a small business — farm and dirt work kind of business — so I have always had that as a fall back,” he said. “If racing didn’t pan out or if I couldn’t make racing work, I could always go back to work for him. He had some places where he was a little short-handed, so I just picked back up and started working for him during the week now that we’re on pause with everything else.”
When racing does return, Mallett said he is ready.
“We’ll always keep, basically, three cars on the ready. Then we have access to one or two more if needed,” he said. “It’s not very fun with a fully-stocked rig sitting here with three cars in it and motors, tires and everything in it ready to go down the road. It’s just sitting here parked, waiting for the green light. When that happens, we’ll be ready to roll out of the driveway.”
For Moyer, the green light flashes on this weekend. Federated Auto Parts Raceway — a one-third mile oval in Pevely, Mo., that is co-owned by former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader — is hosting a $5,000-to-win late model event Saturday with stiff restrictions for fans. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Lucas Oil Series will reopen its tour with a pair of races paying $7,000 to win at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. Moyer said he plans to attend both.
“Now we can get in the shop and actually work on stuff and know where we’re going,” Moyer said. “You can get your shocks and tires ready for a track you’re going to instead of just working and passing time and not knowing when you’re going to be able to use it.
“I mean, I hate to load up and leave my family. But that’s how I try to make a living — to get back out there and beat somebody and win a race, make a little money and go down the road to the next one.”