December 12, 2024 | By Lyndal Scranton

Better-than-ever Wells repeats Lucas Oil Speedway Late Model title

WHEATLAND, Mo. — After successfully repeating his Lucas Oil Speedway track championship in the Hermitage Lumber Late Model division, Justin Wells said the formula to success hasn’t changed with age.

The 47-year-old Wells drove to 11 feature wins in once again running away with the championship in 2024, a year after posting 12 overall victories. Asked the key to his success, Wells said it’s the same as when he was winning races 20 years ago.

“It’s hard work and effort combined, with a lot of good luck,” Wells said this week.

The member of the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation Hall of Fame, who won the first Late Model race at new Lucas Oil Speedway in 2006, said just like his runaway title in 2023 he didn’t begin the season with a grand plan of chasing a championship.

“Two years ago we won a race up there and said we weren’t gonna race for points then blowed up our (open Late Model ) motor and all we had was our weekly motor,” Wells said. “It worked out and we enjoyed it.

“This year I told everybody ‘I’m not racing for points.’ Well, some of my sponsors bought some suites up there and some other sponsors had some spots on the lake. The next thing you know, we go and win the first race and we’re hooked for the rest of the year.”

Wells joked that he’s “tried quitting - well, not quitting, but slowing down - a few times” over the years but keeps coming back to the driver’s seat. He was one of the creators of the Cash Money Dirt Late Model series a few years ago, but gave that up after a couple of years as it cut into his racing time.

“We got to promoting races for a couple of years and my racing suffered,” Wells said. “Every time I went to the track, we didn’t run good. We’re back to full focus and putting all our efforts and time in it and everything we’ve done has been good and it’s been fun to run good and be competitive.”

Wells showed the past season that he can still run up front with the open Late Model guys on the rare instances he takes his shot with finishes of third and fourth at the MLRA Fall Nationals over Labor Day Weekend at Wheatland. He said he could have made a run at a win had a timely caution come out late in his third-place run.

“I don’t know how many we could win in the super Late Model stuff, but I think we’ve got a shot at it,” Wells said.

Wells said he and his son, Cole, are looking to compete in as many open Late Model shows as they can within a reasonable travel distance in 2025. He’s not making any firm plans to gun for a Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series three-peat, but there’s always that chance.

If he does run weekly again, Wells has one big advantage. That’s the car he calls “Old Faithful, a 2006 TNT chassis that he’s driven to 116 feature wins. It’s almost unheard of for a car nearly 20 years old to still be active, let alone finding victory lanes.

“She’s a good one,” Wells said. “That’s the same car I was winning MARS races in back in 2009, 2010. Cars have a life span that is usually 2-3 years to get a lot of good out of them and maybe a couple of years after that. This car, it doesn’t matter what motor combination you put in there, it just responds to changes. I have no answer.

“It’s never gonna be for sale. When we quit racing, we’ll probably plant flowers in it.”

Gift cards, season pass renewals available: Lucas Oil Speedway is offering gift cards in any amount - which can be used in various ways from tickets, to concessions to the Track Treasures Gift Shop - just in time for Christmas.

Season passes for the 2025 season, good for admission to all dirt-track events, also are available at a $50 discount for renewals through Dec. 31. Those renewals are $700 for adults and $600 for seniors (ages 62 and over). After Jan. 1, 2025, renewals will be $750 for adults and $650 for seniors (62 and over).

New season-pass buyers maybe purchase passes starting on Feb. 1, at $750 for adults and $650 for seniors. Meanwhile, renewals for Show-Me 100 three-day reserved passes will be Jan. 1st through 31st with new Show-Me 100 passes going on sale Feb. 1.

Contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or email her at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

Weekly racing in the Pitts Homes and Realty Weekly Racing Series will feature five divisions - Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stocks, Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B Mods and Hickamo Country Store Super Stocks.

The 2025 season is scheduled to fire up March 22nd with March Full Body Madness after Open Test & Tune on March 15th.