5/19/2025
Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series
McDowell Fends Off Owens to Win HTF King of the Mountain at Smoky Mountain Speedway
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (May 17, 2025) — Racing just one day before his 59th birthday, Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., delivered a masterclass in veteran racecraft to score a $15,000 victory in Saturday night’s King of the Mountain at Smoky Mountain Speedway. The 50-lap feature marked the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series’ return to the East Tennessee oval, with McDowell outdueling fellow veteran Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., in a thrilling mid-race battle before edging him by 0.493 seconds at the finish.
“I had a little bit different right-front tire on, so I was definitely better on long runs and not as good on the short runs,” McDowell said. “I just had to play defense there at the end, but the longer runs I could kind of get away, or (his brother) Shane would tell me I’d get away.”
McDowell, who started from the outside of the front row, led the first 21 laps before Owens grabbed the top spot. But the Hall of Famer wasn’t done — he regained the lead for good on lap 28 and held off repeated challenges from Owens through the closing laps.
The win marked McDowell’s second HTF Series victory of 2025 — his first came at Talladega Short Track on April 5 — and his third career series triumph overall.
Owens, the previous night’s winner at Sugar Creek Raceway, extended his streak of podium finishes to six straight overall and closed within eight points of series points leader Zack Mitchell, Enoree, S.C., who finished third after starting from the pole. Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., debuted a new Infinity Race Car and finished fourth, and Ricky Weiss of Headingley, MB was fifth.
McDowell’s Shane McDowell Racing Team Zero machine is powered by a Clements Chevrolet engine and backed by Reece Monument Company, Cometic Gaskets, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Bath Masters, and others.
For full results, visit https://www.htfseries.com/schedules/event/541932. For more information on the HTF Series, visit www.htfseries.com or follow the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series on social media.
Submitted By: Chelsie Riddle
