Four-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion Earl Pearson Jr. shared how different the sport has become in just two years after he semi-retired and stopped racing full-time in 2024.

While Pearson semi-retired from racing in 2024, he stayed close to the sport working as an occasional official with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. He made his return to the driver’s seat earlier this year at Eldora Speedway during the Clash on the Wabash in a Longhorn Chassis out of the Longhorn Chassis stable. He failed to make the feature both nights. He finished 7th in the B-Main on Night 1 and then 3rd in the B-Main on the second night. He then piloted the Spire Motorsports No. 77 at Volunteer Speedway for the FloRacing Night in America race and brought it home 11th.

It was ahead of the race at Volunteer Speedway that Pearson spoke to StockCarReport.com about how much has changed in the sport since 2024. First, he discussed the difficulty level of trying to compete with drivers that are competing sometimes three or four times a week.

“It’s very difficult. You don’t forget how to do it. It’s just like riding a bicycle,” Pearson said. “But the cars are changing, the bodies are changing, the setups are changing, the tires. It’s endless on that side. But I’ve been involved with it. Traveling with the Lucas series and get to hang out with the guys here in the pits and watch and see what they’re doing. But it is a lot different than say two and a half years ago when I drove.”

“The cars, like I said, so much stuck more in the race track and that’s why you see a lot of the slide jobs nowadays. Is because the cars are stuck so good and they’re getting faster and faster. And it makes it harder to race, I think so.”

Photo by Josh James.

When asked on what the big difference is, Pearson elaborated, “The grip level, the aero. Ain’t no doubt when you get closer to a car, especially on a high-speed race track like Eldora. It is the aero and the cars are gripping the race track so much better. Their setups are getting better, the shocks are getting better, the chassis are getting better.”

“You know, every race, you’ve got 30 of the best and the crew chiefs are doing their job, and the crew, and the whole nine yards. And it just makes it tougher and tougher to race with them. And all this stuff costs a lot. There ain’t no doubt. Each time you unload these cars, it’s expensive nowadays. They got to go out there and do what they got to do. They got to pay bills, so that’s why you see a lot of these slide jobs. A lot of them don’t usually turn out like it should, but that’s the way it goes.”

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