Jonathan Davenport shared his thoughts about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returning to a traditional championship format for next year after three years of a couple of playoff formats.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series director Rick Schwallie announced the return during the series’ banquet in Indianapolis this past weekend saying, “For the 2026 season we are going to return to a traditional points format for next year and go away from the chase format.”

“We tried something,” he continued. “We wanted to elevate our program. We more than doubled our points fund in that time in those three years. We had clients like Big River Steel and ARP that helped us do that and really we wouldn’t be here over $1.2 million today if it wasn’t for that. So I don’t look back and think of that as any sort of failure by any stretch of the imagination. I really think it was a success that it took us to new places and a place that’s more lucrative for our race teams,”

“But I also think that we’re at a place that we’ve tried different formats, different tweaks to that format. Here we are three years later that we’re just going to return to a traditional format for next year and the points fund will remain the same,” he declared.

Jonathan Davenport reacted to the announcement telling FloRacing, “There’s pros and cons to both ways of doing it. I think the more traditional way, obviously, the season long deal, that’s where someone can’t catch a hot streak at the end of the year or somebody be good all year or wreck a car or have bad luck at the end of the year. I think it’s definitely a good thing for the sport to go back to be a true champion. To be able to win Florida all the way through the end of the year.”

Davenport was not the only one who approved of the series returning to a traditional full season championship. Rocket Chassis co-owner Mark Richards also approved. He told DirtonDirt.com, “We took advantage of it in ’23 with Hudson. It’s the way they set it up, but truthfully, it doesn’t feel like a championship when you win it that way.”

He also added that the traditional format “takes all the doubt and all the rhetoric out of it that ‘so and so had a better year.’ This way here, the guy that has the best year will win the championship, and I think it’s great for the sport.”

Mark Martin, who sponsors Davenport and the Double L Motorsports team, reacted to the news saying, “HELL YEAH”

HELL YEAH 🏁 https://t.co/o4i91Joc0M

— Mark Martin (@markmartin) December 13, 2025

Jeff Hoker, who sponsors a plethora of drivers and teams including Ricky Thornton Jr, Bobby Pierce, and Jason Feger, as well as promotes a number of races, also shared his reaction posting to Facebook, “Thank you Rick Schwallie and whoever else had a hand in making the right call in changing the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship points format. I’m all about trying to improve and make things better but I just don’t think this sport is the place for a ‘playoff’ format. These guys work too hard and spend too much money to throw all the marbles in one basket for 4 or 5 races. Well done boys !”

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