Michael Leach said he would have made the same decision as Dalton Cook did on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway for the World 100.
On Saturday night, Dalton Cook had a left front tire going down during his heat race for the World 100, and he elected to stay out on the track during a restart with 2 laps to go while running in the fourth position. On the restart, Cook backed up his entry into turn 1 and got hit from behind by Dale McDowell. The two got connected as they spun sideways and McDowell’s rear hit hard into the outside wall. McDowell then got clipped in the left front by both Justin Haley and Justin Smith. Both Cook and McDowell’s nights ended following the wreck.
💥 A Heat Race #4 crash may have just ended Dale McDowell’s World 100 streak!#World100 🌍 | September 12 | Live on FloRacing 📺 pic.twitter.com/QOQoIDuxDO
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) September 13, 2026
Following the wreck, Cook explained his reasoning for staying out was based on the World 100s format, specifically the fact that only those who finish in positions 4th through 11th advance to a B-Main and if you finish 12th or worse your night is over.
He said, “The way the circumstances is, I actually got to hear Dale, and he’s really right. The problem is this format don’t let you just automatically go to a B-Main and just try, do what you can. It’s like you got to finish, I think, 11th in order to get to the B-Main.”
“And I’m like weighing it out,” Cook continued. “I’m like, ‘Well, you know, I got two laps left. I’ll probably get passed. I might struggle.’ So I’m just weighing, ‘Like, dude, I got to try to give myself a shot. I’m pretty good. Car is pretty good. We’re still in the game.’ It’s $5 grand to make the show. I know I’m not going to be out there fighting to win the race. I know where I’m at on the pecking order, but it’s like we had a legitimate shot to make the show. And it cost a lot of money to get up here and do this. And I’m like I can’t just not give it all I got to maybe try to get it.”
“If I had pitted and came in and got a tire, there really wasn’t much of an opportunity that I would even have got that B-Main shot,” Cook elaborated. “So it’s like I’m sitting fourth. I can give up tons of spots and ride around like a three-legged dog. I thought I could make that happen. It just didn’t happen.”
He reiterated much of his comments in a post to Facebook on Sunday afternoon, “World 
100 is in the books , made both prelims, got better over the course of the weekend putting us starting 3rd in the all important heat for the big dance. From the beginning of heat there was racing contact that cut the left front tire, was able to still maintain a good speed to stay in the transfer spot until late race caution with 2 to go.”
From there he explained his decision to stay out as well as why he chose to back up his entry into turn 1, “Considering the fact tire had been flat up until that point and was sustainable we stuck it out. Enter the corner on the final restart I check the fuel for a possible dirty air situation which is always normal to happen. Almost in same sequence as I did that I had contact from behind in the LR that resulted in a wreck.”
“UNFORTUNATELY one of the most popular drivers that we all root for ends up in the situation. . Hate it for them guys but didn’t matter if that tire had 30 pounds of air or zero I was entering that corner the same way and there just was an accident,” Cook continued. “I will catch some heat for being ‘that guy’ for playing a role of a competitor of his magnitude having misfortune I can take responsibility for that. But Dale always keeps it classy and I respect it and choose to leave it like that.”
Michael Leach made it clear he would have made the same decision as Cook if he were put in his shoes. On the most recent episode of Pit Bull, Leach said, “I would’ve stayed out there 10 times out of 10 with a left front flat. Maybe around [Prairie Dirt Classic] with a left rear flat maybe I’d have stayed out there, but like a left front flat? Hell yea, we’re going to let it roll.”
Leach reiterated that point saying he would stay out unless race control takes that decision away from him, “If they don’t we’re going to keep racing, the racers are. We’re going to keep racing. It’s really up to them. We’re going to stay out there no matter what. So if something is going to be done it needs to be a rule. No judgement call. None of that. It’s gotta be a clear rule front to back.”
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