Warsaw's Dylan Woodling races legendary Red Farmer
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
TALLADEGA, Ala. – It started as a joke about a week ago. Friday it became both reality and a night 19-year old Warsaw native Dylan Woodling may never forget. Before the ML Motorsports crew left for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Woodling – a crew member on the Warsaw-based team owned by Mary Louise Miller – joked with team manager Tony Barnes about racing on the dirt at the Talladega Short Track against the legendary Red Farmer. Farmer, believed to be 79 years old though he won't admit to anything, is a member of the famed Alabama Gang. He was voted one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers of all-time and is a long-time friend of those at ML Motorsports. Woodling is a dirt racer himself, he's been around it all his life with his father, well-known local racer Randy Woodling. Each year when the NASCAR circuit goes to Talladega, Farmer tries to find someone to have a "match race" against. Winning more times than not, Farmer has participated in the exhibition races against the likes of Tony Stewart, David Reutimann, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano - even the late Dale Earnhardt back in the 1990s. "I ran against Dale Earnhardt back in the 90s," said Farmer, who in Friday night's regular racing program finished second in his heat and eighth in the 22-car feature against drivers decades and generations younger than him. "Earnhardt came down here that year and won three out of four races," Farmer added. "He won the IROC race, the Busch (now known as the Nationwide) Series race, and the Cup race. Earnhardt told the reporters the only race he lost that weekend was at the dirt track when the old man beat him. I still have a pretty nice trophy from that race." Because ML Motorsports driver Johanna Long already had a scheduled appearance Friday night, the opportunity presented itself for Woodling to race against Farmer. And that's exactly what he did, in a car borrowed from Talladega Short Track racer Tyler Hurst. Woodling showed up at the 3/8-mile red clay track in blue jeans and a black Woodling Racing T-shirt. It wasn't long before he was wearing an extra driver's suit Farmer had in his hauler – the very Bass Pro Shops suit Stewart gave Farmer to wear in the Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway – and racing in a three-car, 10-lap race against Farmer and Jody Doles, a dirt racer himself and Stewart's property manager. "It was awesome," Woodling said of the opportunity. "Red is a legend, he's been racing for a long, long time. I joked with Tony (Barnes) about a week ago about getting a car and racing, but I didn't really think it would actually happen." Despite never having been to the track, and having never been in Hurst's car, Woodling led the first few laps, then went door-to-door with Farmer for a lap before the ageless legend went on to win. Woodling crossed the line second, finishing with a comfortable advantage over Doles. "I don't normally like slick tracks, but it was fun out there," said Woodling. "I've never been on red clay before, so that was a new experience. I wasn't really nervous, I was just excited to get in the car and race. The car felt good. It was a good car." Woodling impressed both his ML Motorsports teammates and Farmer. "I thought he did a pretty good job against Red," said ML Motorsports crew member Larry Carpenter, who also comes from a dirt racing background. "Red had to earn it. Dylan's never been here before, and Red has been racing here for years. Red didn't just go out there and blow by him." Said Farmer, "They call this place a hornet's nest, things happen so fast. When we were hot-lapping, I didn't push it. I watched Dylan, and he was fast and smooth. He knows what to do out there." Woodling is a student at University of Northwestern Ohio, a school geared toward racing. And when he's not at the track for the Nationwide Series races, Woodling heads to a variety of dirt tracks with his father. The younger Woodling said he enjoys helping the ML Motorsports crew in any way he can, but his real passion is being behind the wheel. "I love to race," said Woodling. "My goal someday is to get an opportunity to drive in NASCAR. It's really neat that there's a team in Warsaw, and that I can be a part of it. The shop is only like two miles from my parents' house." Whether or not Woodling is a NASCAR driver someday remains to be seen. What he does know, however, is Friday night he went door-to-door with one of NASCAR's greatest drivers of all-time.
