Daulton Wilson must face the hard questions. Since he buzzed off his poofy hair and the very look that’s earned him the nickname Big Perm, is he afraid he’s going to lose the moniker if the hair doesn’t grow back quick enough?

“Nah. It’s still Big Perm,” Wilson said through a laugh. “Just no hair right now.”

Whether jokingly or not, the Fayetteville, N.C., driver said he’s out with the traditional appearance and in with the buzzcut because his “luck needs to change.” Wilson did find some semblance of footing on Wednesday at Ocala, picking up a heat win, starting fourth, and running somewhat up front before fading to finish 14th.

“Yeah, the start of the night definitely was better,” Wilson said. “We got to put our whole night together. Right now we’re struggling with that.”

So far Wilson’s been meandering during the course of a feature and with the balance of his race cars more than he’d like. Through six Speedweeks races, he has finishes of 17th, 17th, ninth, 12th, 20th and 14th.

Starting from the outside lane on Wednesday didn’t help Wilson’s cause as he backpedaled from fourth to seventh on the opening lap.

“Definitely that was not the place to be. I was the first guy on the outside line,” Wilson said. “Before I could get in line, I was seventh or eighth. I just never got in the right lane. Didn’t have a great race car either. Things didn’t fall our way. Get shuffled out and get back in the line. That’s all there really was to it.”

If there is something Wilson can be decently proud of is that he has a pair of heat race wins, which only Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Marlar, and Jimmy Owens can say.

“We’re going to keep our heads down and keep digging,” Wilson said. “See if we can’t get it figured out before the end of Speedweeks.”

Odds & Ends

• After captivating Dirt Late Model nation on Wednesday in an upset bid at Ocala Speedway, Clay Harris knows more eyes will be on him Friday at All-Tech. Harris said he’s had “a few hundred” Facebook friend requests since Wednesday night; and if he doesn’t accept yours don’t take offense: “I’m hardly on (Facebook),” said Harris, who saw little track time in Thursday’s practice because he fought driveshaft issues (the U-Joint came apart inside the driveshaft)

Who is Clay Harris?

After Wednesday's upset bid at Ocala, the 22-year-old still very green to high-level Super Late Model racing is keen on making a name for himself.https://t.co/YovSaE1qfU

— Kyle McFadden (@ByKyleMcFadden) February 1, 2024

• Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., intends to roll with his Rocket Chassis over his Team Zero car for the second race in a row Friday at All-Tech. Shirley finished third at Ocala Speedway on Wednesday after results of 30th, 22nd, 20th and 13th in two races at Volusia, one at Golden Isles, and another at Ocala.
• Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., had an engine failure the first session of Thursday’s practice night. He spent the rest of the evening making repairs and putting a fresh engine in his No. 40B.
• Mark Whitener’s Super Late Model team is out of commission for at least through this weekend at All-Tech. Wrecking in Wednesday’s feature at Ocala mangled his Longhorn Chassis so badly he’ll need the car re-clipped. Whitener hopes to return to East Bay Raceway Park’s Winter Nationals.
• Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M., was happy with Thursday’s practice runs, putting himself inside the top two on five of the six sessions he took the track, leaps and bounds better than last year: “I could see my number closer to the top of the board in both sessions, and that’s big for me. Last year, we were a second off the pace.”
• Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., learned the limits of the often treacherous All-Tech half-mile on Thursday, “knocking the deck out of the car” early in the practice session: “That’s one way to make you learn how to run the bottom,” he said.

Georgia-Florida Speedweeks Coverage

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