The Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series announced it will make its debut in 2025 with 20 events across Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series logo
In a post to Facebook, the new tour shared that its ownership group is headed by Travis Scott and it has brought on Kelley Carlton as the “General Manager to handle the day-to-day operations of the new series.”
Both are veterans of the dirt late model racing scene with Scott beginning his career as an announcer with the Southern All Star Racing Series when he was 15. He then moved on to be the director of the Maxxis National Tour while continuing to announce various events and races.
Most recently, Scott was the voice of the Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series in its debut season. He currently serves as the Race Director for Hunt the Front.
Corey Hedgecock and Wil Herrington at Screven Motor Speedway during the Southern Nationals visiting in July 2024.
As for Carlton, he runs KELCAR Motorsports, which manages the Gateway Dirt Nationals and other premiere events such as Talladega’s Ice Bowl, and the Wild West Shootout.
He’s been an official for over 30 years and was previously the General Manager of the Southern All Star Racing Series as well as the ULTIMATE Super Late Model Series.
The field of super dirt late models during the 2024 Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track via FloRacing.com
Scott shared his enthusiasm for the debut season saying, “I am excited to have the opportunity to offer an excellent product to our region’s racers, tracks and fans. We have spoken with teams and tracks extensively, and we feel we have a good understanding of what the needs are of our region. I believe we have a great team assembled and we are eager to build partnerships with our host tracks for highly efficient and entertaining shows.””
Carlton also said, “As I start to look at winding down my career this was really a great opportunity to be able to work with Travis who has really been like a son to me since he was 15. He and I think a lot alike and have the same goals for our racing events. I am looking forward to building this program and being able to hand it off to Travis down the road.”
The Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Super Late Models at East Alabama Motor Speedway via FloRacing.com
The press release indicated that purses for the 20 races will range from $5,000 to $10,000 to win. It is tentatively expecting to have a $30,000 total point fund for 2025, but hopes it can increase it based on new sponsorships. Furthermore the series said it aims to feature events with responsible scheduling and sensible travel.
It also revealed that it partnered with HunthefFront.TV to stream many of the races both live and for replay.
Super dirt late models at Whynot Motorsports Park for the Fall Classic via FloRacing.com
As for rules, Carlton shared in the comments of the post that the series will have the “standard Super Late Model rules.”
Carlton also addressed a concern from one fan that an additional series in the south could eat away at car counts. However, Carlton assured the potential fan, “we ARE working together with other series. Just give us the chance to do it.”
The series plans to release a tentative schedule during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in December. One track that will likely be on the schedule will be Talladega given Carlton manages the track’s Ice Bowl event.
Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series’ 2025 announcement
What tracks do you want to see on the Southern Thunder schedule? Are you interested in this new series?