It's not completely out of the ordinary to see asphalt cars racing on the dirt. The ARCA series has been doing it for years and the NASCAR Truck Series made a huge splash when they began visiting Eldora Speedway in 2013.

Around the country, some other series and cars are able to go back and forth between surfaces. None of those have quite compared to what happened at Rockford Speedway after the dirt invasion of the World of Outlaws Series just prior to Fourth of July Weekend.

With clay over the normal asphalt surface of the track, and a major cleanup scheduled, the track originally gave their Late Models the following Saturday night off. However, some of the Late Model drivers got an idea while they were watching their home facility get covered by dirt. Why can't we try this?

Even though asphalt Late Models and Dirt Late Models have become heavily specialized toward their surface, a group of Late Model drivers at Rockford Speedway wanted to get in on the action. Thus, the Stock Car Dream 33 was born.

The Background

Rockford Speedway is one of the oldest and most historic facilities in America. The track held its first event in 1948, and came under ownership of the Deery family in 1959. It was one of the first NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in the country and continues to be the only NASCAR-sanctioned facility in the state of Illinois.

The track holds one of the longest-running and most famous annual events the National Short Track Championships. Dick Trickle won the first NSTC in 1966. Since that time the event has seen other stars emerge such as Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Ted Musgrave, Rusty Wallace, Rich Bickle, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Travis Kvapil, Jamie McMurray, Todd Kluever, Erik Darnell, and Scott Wimmer.

Much in the spirit of the patriarch, Hugh Deery, Rockford was not afraid to try something out of the ordinary in covering their surface with dirt and welcoming the World of Outlaws. Thankfully, there was already a template in place as several tracks had tried this before, including NASCAR-sanctioned Elko Speedway just hours up the road in the shadow of the Minnesota's Twin Cities. The agreement was reached mere months before the race, and both World of Outlaws events were very well attended, as was the Dream 33.

The Idea

Rockford had an open policy in regard to those who wanted to view the dirt track takeover as it happened. Not surprisingly, several of the weekly racers decided to watch their track transform into a temporary dirt facility. Among those drivers were top Late Model runners Michael Bilderback, John Reynolds Jr., and Kyle Shear.

"We talked about it for a couple of weeks and didn't think it was going to actually happen," Shear said of bringing their Late Models to race on the dirt.

In racing sometimes it just takes the right person to overhear a plan, and toss a little money toward an event to make it happen. Enter local car dealership Kar Korner, who decided to get involved if the drivers could make it happen.

"We put it out there and asked who was interested," Shear recalled. "Tim Sargent took the ball and rolled with it. He got a hold of the Deerys and they were all for it. It went from a crazy idea drinking some beer on the wall to now here we are."

So just five days before it was to happen, drivers took to social media to recruit and show their intent to compete in the Dream 33. The idea was well received by fans and drivers alike. To the credit of those who organized, they kept the plan simple keep the weekly Late Model rules and run the regular weekly Late Model tires. The organizers also decided to open up the rules a bit to allow certain Sportsman cars to compete. They were vigilant not to let too much of the dirt technology creep into the cars and the event.

With a plan in place the question was who would be brave enough to bring their asphalt Late Models (and Sportsman) onto the dirt?

The Preparation

With just a few days to get ready, drivers began prepping their machines. Some had an idea of what to do, some didn't. Thankfully for Shear, a few races at Eldora on Johnny Sauter's NASCAR Truck team gave him some plans of where to start.

"The nice part about that is a trend is a trend in asphalt racing. Then when you go to dirt, it's still a trend," he said. "You just have to apply it differently. I was able to take some of the things I learned and apply it to this."

The major trend all of the drivers seemed to follow was to jack up the car. The Late Models normally sit at a four-inch ride height. A quick survey of the drivers showed the ride heights were anywhere from five-and-a-half inches to six.

"It's a lot about ride heights and where to set air pressures and stagger; no locker in the rear end. Things like that," Shear said. "We wanted to keep it off the ground and keep the ride heights up there. We don't want to dig in. I even thought about taking off the rocker panels, but I decided to leave them on and if they hit, they hit."

Aside from that, Shear turned to a few friends with dirt cars who run locally. He wanted some advice on a car that was closer to his Late Model rather than that which he learned working on the NASCAR Truck.

"I was told that you want the right front outside of the right rear so we took the left-side rim and put it on the right rear and the right-rear rim on the left rear. I was told that would help the car drive to keep the left sides in line and the right rear in," he said.

One thing Shear and his fellow competitors were sure to do was protect their race cars. Asphalt Late Models are not designed to put up with the stresses of dirt so Shear took extra care in covering the grill and protecting the valence. "Basically we made sure we got it up in the air and we took some screen from a screen door, cut it out and taped it right onto the grill screen. That just stops some of the bigger chunks getting through and plugging up the radiator."

Shear and several others put a shield on their hood to protect the windshield and leave a window to see through. Several other drivers went all out and removed the windshield for a screen, as well as taking out the back window.

"I didn't want to take out the windshield and cake the whole inside of my car," Shear said. "I figured I'd put that on and hope for the best. If I can't see by the end of it, then I can't see."

The Tire

Because of the timing, and the lack of dirt knowledge by most of the competitors, the organizers decided to stick with their normal asphalt tires. The tire which the Big 8 Series (and Rockford Late Models) compete on is a treaded Hoosier eight-inch. Grooving and siping were not allowed for the event.

"You can see it's got some tread vertically," Shear said as he displayed the tire. "I think that will have some side bite in it, but having forward traction is going to be the big struggle."

There were several other options for the Sportsman type cars including an eight-inch Hoosier slick and a grooved eight-inch American Racer.

The Challenge

Shear wasn't the only competitor on hand who had no dirt experience. Many of the younger Late Model drivers simply wanted to try it for the first time.

"I have no idea what I'm getting into. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to turn one. I'm hoping I'll be behind someone who has a small idea of what to do."

That's where Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Famer Bill Prietzel stepped in. Shear began his career racing against Prietzel in the Mid-American Stock Car Series where Prietzel is a three-time Champion. Prietzel was an ace Dirt Late Model racer and even won a Mid-American Series race on the dirt in 2010.

"I guess if I'd say anything you'll need a bunch more rear brake," Prietzel advised Shear.

"I've watched the trucks at Eldora and the way they drive is how we used to drive Dirt Late Models 25 years ago we didn't have all of this geometry and I think this is what this will be like today," Prietzel added.

If the challenge of being on dirt wasn't enough, Prietzel had competed on asphalt in the very same car the night before. He won twin 15-lap features in the Sportsman event with the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series at LaCrosse Speedway in western Wisconsin. Prietzel and his wife Jan drove across the state back to Milwaukee, made the changes to the car, then towed down to Rockford.

"We're all here to have fun," Prietzel said. "That's the reason I'm here. It's neat. It's fun to do different things. I'm all in."

Perhaps Shear put it best right before anyone even hit the track. "We may not be smart, but at least we can say we have fun"

The Event

There wasn't much time to get acclimated to the new surface. After packing the track, the Late Models/Sportsman received four laps of practice in groups of four. A total of 16 entrants were brave enough to give the event a try. Several other weekly divisions were trying the dirt, as well including the Hornets (4 Cylinders), Road Runners (8 cylinders) and Original Sixers (6 cylinders).

In looking at the track, Shear wasn't sure where drivers would go. When on the asphalt, drivers tend to stay up high, especially in the turns. The World of Outlaws drivers were bottom feeding during their events on what normally would be the apron of the track.

"If you're down there during an asphalt weekly show, you're getting lapped. I don't know what the groove is going to be," Shear said. "I've got a feeling we're going to be down pretty low, especially driving off in to the first corner because a lot of us don't know what's going to happen. From there we'll probably start moving up to see if it works."

The competitors for the Stock Car Dream 33 were given a chance to qualify. Shear was first on track and completed a lap of 18.5 seconds, which held up as fast time. Typical quick times around the quarter mile are at a minimum five seconds faster. However, the field was set, the heat races were entertaining, and the Dream 33 rolled out shortly after intermission.

Sargent, who was a major organizer of the event, was one of the few drivers in the field with significant dirt experience. Having begun his career on the dirt, Sargent looked at home from his front-row starting spot. He took off from the rest of the pack and would not be caught.

Much like Shear had predicted the drivers stayed in the low groove. Although the track had been in rough shape for the World of Outlaws races, it remained smooth and steady for the Dream 33. Drivers from deep in the pack moved through, including John Reynolds Jr., who finished Second and Michael Bilderback, who started dead last and finished Fifth. Shear finished Sixth.

The race saw just three cautions two for a single car spin and one for debris.

The Aftermath

When walking through the pits after the races, it was hard to find a competitor without a smile. There were several Late Model drivers in the stands who had considered the event, but decided to spectate when they noticed track conditions earlier in the week. It seemed as though those drivers had some regret in not participating.

Although Sargent was the driver of the day, and had plenty of celebrating to do, the aftermath for some of the mid-pack drivers caught our interest. We checked back in with Shear to see exactly what he thought.

"I feel like the car reacted really well, I was surprised at the grip we actually had," Shear said. "I think everyone went a little too stiff. We all chose to error on the side of caution to make sure we didn't hit the race track, but all in all it felt pretty good. The asphalt tires were a challenge, but I liked that challenge. It made it a little more exciting for not only the drivers but the fans. We were all smiling and laughing with each other after the race so anytime you have that (especially at Rockford) you know everyone had a good time regardless of the tire or the car."

One of the most important questions is in regard to the protective measures Shear took. Did they keep the car protected? Was there any damage taken by the car from racing on the dirt surface?

"I haven't gone back through the car yet, I only unloaded and cleaned it but from what I saw I really didn't see much of anything damaged just a tire mark and a pushed in right front nose. I think the car handled it well."

It seemed unanimous among the drivers that the experiment was well worth while. Some were happy just to have the experience. Some are already plotting what to do if the event ever happens again.

"I have a lot of things I would like to try differently. My car was way too tight but it was hard to judge how big of changes to make," Shear said. "My dirt notebook has started and I hope we get to try these asphalt cars on dirt again in the future. Everyone that ran by the end of the night I think had a pretty good handle on things. All in all I think we came with a setup that was close to what we needed. We just needed more track time to fine tune it."

See all 95 photos Eventual Winner Tim Sargent was one of the main organizers of the Dream 33. He began his racing career on dirt and his past experience paid big dividends.

See all 95 photos Mid-American Stock Car Series type Sportsman were allowed to join the Late Models to compete. These cars are based on a stock metric frame and weigh around 250 pounds more than the Late Models

See all 95 photos The Rockford Sportsman cars were able to join as well. These cars are similar to Mid-American cars, but face more restrictions in engines and suspension.

See all 95 photos Kyle Shear put this deflector in place to keep dirt from covering the entire windshield.

See all 95 photos Shear put some window screen over the front grill to keep the "bigger chunks" of dirt out.

See all 95 photos A switch of the left rear and right rear rims was suggested to Shear to keep the left side in line keep the right rear in.

See all 95 photos Shear and many others decided to raise their ride heights to keep from hitting the surface.

See all 95 photos Some drivers modified their windshields to include a screen.

See all 95 photos Some decided to go with the full screen.

See all 95 photos Some also decided to take out the back window.