In the Jack Dossey Motorsports shop, Jack Dossey III prepares his dirt modified race car for action. Dossey has raced this season on three Indiana tracks and two in Ohio.
(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTOS BY AL STILLEY)
(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTOS BY AL STILLEY)
This is an unusual view of the new JD3 dirt modified car, the second car in the team’s racing stable in Franklin Township.
| By Al Stilley Editor Franklin Township’s Jack Dossey III has enjoyed championship success on the Midwest’s pavement tracks. The third-generation driver won successive Jegs/CRA All-Stars Touring championships in 2017 and 2018. He was the 2014 track rookie of the year in CRA late models at Anderson Speedway and in the 2016 touring series. He raced in two ARCA Menard’s national championship races in 2018. And he joined the ARCA/CRA Super Series full time in 2019 in the familiar No. 20 Hart’s Auto Parts entry. Along the way, the Speedrome graduate became a crowd pleaser by earning ARCA/CRA most popular driver recognition for three years through 2019. He raced against many of the top drivers in NASCAR – Kyle Busch, Daniel Hemric, Eric Jones, and Noah Gragson among others – in CRA and ARCA events. But then came 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic. Dossey raced in a few events that year that was, indeed, unusual, for many reasons. “It was weird but more of an eye-opener,” Dossey reflected from the Jack Dossey III Motorsports shop in Franklin Township last week. “We were at home more than we were racing. We began to realize we didn’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars a weekend to go race, but what would we do? The CRA wasn’t playing out for us at the right time.” Dossey, 24, and his dad, record six-time World Figure-8 three-hour endurance champion Jack Dossey, and mom Jennifer Dossey looked around and thought about Legends Cars and possibly racing modifieds at closer dirt tracks, including Circle City Raceway at the Marion County Fairgrounds. In mid-2021, they made the move to cost-effective UMP Modifieds. The new challenges were huge. “Everything I ever knew about racing was on pavement; I’m still trying to forget that and learn everything about dirt because it’s the polar opposite,” Dossey explained. “I had always wanted to run dirt but the timing had never worked out. And we were burnt out on the traveling.” Dossey sold his three pavement late model cars within three weeks and entered the new world of UMP Modified racing. As he pointed out, no longer did they have to travel to a dozen pavement tracks, mostly outside Indiana, and could race at several dirt tracks within the state. They could save money on tire costs; no longer buying eight to 10 sets of tires for pavement events, including practice, qualifying, and the race. With the UMP Modified, they can buy two rear tires for each race. Since joining the dirt modified circuit, Dossey won the Sherley Unlimited Snow Company UMP Modified championship last year at Circle City Speedway. “We’re comfortable now,” Dossey said before preparing his familiar No. 3 modified for his next three races. “I’d like to see where this takes me. The goal right now: I want to win races and just have fun.” Dossey is more prepared for more racing this season on the tour and at Circle City Raceway after adding a second modified to his collection. “Racing is expensive, and as soon as we switched over to dirt, it really became more fun,” said Dossey, who has spotted for some long-distance pavement races since. “Some of the best talent is on dirt.” In 2021, Dossey ran eight races at Circle City Raceway. He has branched out to races at Brownstown and Kokomo and Eldora and Atomic dirt tracks in Ohio. Interestingly, the engine is larger in his dirt car than pavement car. Dossey is powered by 388- and 400-cubic inch motors which gives him power and torque to come off the corners on dirt at top speed. Having raced in the high-horsepower Figure-8 at the Speedrome and the paved high banks of Anderson and Winchester pavement tracks, Dossey still gets a thrill out of being behind the wheel even on dirt. “I’m an adrenaline junkie,” he proclaimed. “I get that adrenaline rush right before a race. I do feel like Superman because I just want to race.” He has discovered new sponsorships in his new dirt track ventures. “The sponsorships benefit them because we race close to home and close to their businesses,” Dossey observed. “When we were racing late models on pavement, most of the races were out of state. And that made sponsorships harder to find.” His major UMP modifieds are sponsored by Wahlburgers in Carmel, Everyday GSD podcast, and Earl’s Auction Company. Crew members include Kyle Dunigan, Kurt Gearlds, veteran Pete Harlow, his fiancé Kelsey and mom and dad, Jennifer and Jack Jr. Dossey also talked about his Bucket List. He would like to race a dirt Late Model and midget and sprint cars a few times – proof that racing is in his genes. His dad is a former USAC regional midget series feature winner at the Speedrome. So anything is possible. |  Stirring up the dirt, Jack Dossey III goes through a corner at speed at Circle City Raceway. (SUBMITTED PHOTOS)  Jack Dossey III, left, and dad Jack Dossey Jr. show off awards earned by the No. 3 Jack Dossey Motorsports modified that was first-in-class and overall Rising Star awards at 2023 Indianapolis World of Wheels. |
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