The Scoop
SAMMY MARS – CARVING HIS OWN NICHE IN THE DIRT LATE MODEL WORLD
Posted on: Friday August 22, 2025
Sammy Mars poses next to his No. 28 MB Customs ride at The Hill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Aug. 14.
Sammy Mars is looking to carve his own niche into the regional and eventually the national dirt late model scene.
The 21-year-old college student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Mars is a second-generation racer whose dad Jimmy Mars earned multiple DLM feature wins and titles, including the $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream at the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio in 1997.
Jimmy Mars (left) poses with Sammy Mars in victory lane at Cedar Lake Speedway. (Blake Christensen photo)
Jimmy Mars retired from racing after the 2022 season following a storied career. Sammy is currently in his fifth year of racing dirt late models. He started racing karts at the age of 5, and first climbed behind the wheel of a crate late model at the age of 12. Big shoes to fill? Perhaps. “Growing up, we always knew I was eventually going to race someday like Dad did,” Mars said. “Being compared to him is something that I’ve simply learned to deal with. It’s been with me my entire life. But basically, I more or less put that pressure upon myself to perform and get good results for my team and myself personally.”
The 2025 campaign hasn’t always been kind to Sammy Mars, and the “lows” have outnumbered the “highs” of his campaign. “We’ve had a lot of speed, but no wins to show for that speed,” Mars admitted. “We flipped a car down in Pevely, Missouri, and had a couple of other bad wrecks. We junked a car at Cedar Lake earlier this summer, and we’ve had some other bad luck like flat tires and broken suspension parts. But, you just have to keep on digging.”
Mars is studying manufacturing engineering at UW-Stout. When he’s not in school, Sammy helps run the shipping and receiving department at his dad’s well-known chassis building business MB Customs. “When I’m off the clock, I work on my own race car, so I’m pretty much at that shop 24/7 it seems,” Mars confessed.
Away from the track, Mars does enjoy other hobbies. “I’ve met quite a few non-racing friends at school, and I picked up other interests like golf and baseball,” said Mars, who also played football in high school. “We like being on the lake, too. We play with jet skis, and tubing and what not when we’re not racing or working on race cars.”
Sammy Mars on the throttle in World of Outlaw late model action. (World of Outlaw photo)
With the team based in Menominee, Wisconsin, Mars hasn’t hitched his ride to any particular series – yet. He’s located in the heart of WISSOTA country, and has a WISSOTA-legal car and an open car at his disposal to hit the bigger-paying races that make sense for them to hit in the region. The team weighs travel costs, along with the payoff and the location when deciding when and where to run. Earlier this month, on a Thursday night, Mars opted to travel east to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to compete in a Dirt Kings late model tour event. That, instead of a World of Outlaw event in Iowa. “It all depends what we’ve got going on at the shop as to when and where we run, and I enjoy checking out new tracks like we did at Sturgeon Bay,” Mars said. “When we go to a new track, we do so with absolutely no expectations whatsoever.”
Mars can most certainly “hold his own” in WISSOTA country, and admits that a top ten finish when he travels with the World of Outlaw or Lucas Oil national tours is truly considered a “win” of sorts for his 28 team. “I’d say we run roughly half the time with our open motor car, and half the time with this WISSOTA-type stuff,” Mars explained. “”We’ve raced with both Lucas, World of Outlaws and even hit some DirtCar Summernationals stuff, too. We’re all about the regional and national stuff when it makes sense for us. It’s definitely humbling when you run against the best in the country on those national touring deals. And when you do run well against those guys, it makes it that much more satisfying. So, when you do go home, you almost always feel you have a car good enough to win with.”
Mars future plans include eventually racing for a living full time on one of those national touring series. “Someday that is the goal, whether or not it’s five or ten years from now,” Mars admitted. “But everything has to fall in place, first. You’ve got to have the right people in your corner, especially if you’re going to be on the road for a long stretch.”
Mars readily admits he’s fortunate to be in a position where he’s got an ample inventory of cars, motors and other parts his team has been able to accumulate over the years. What Mars doesn’t want to do is join one of these national touring deals simply to be a field-filler. “We’re only going to do this when we feel we have a chance to win every night we are out there,” Mars admitted. “We won’t go run that national stuff just to be there. We’re picking and choosing when and where we race now, and that plan currently suits our business well with regards to where we are located at, and when we can get away from the shop.”
It’s no secret the world of dirt late models is an ever-evolving loop of technology. “That technology changes sometimes in a matter of weeks, not months,” Mars admitted. “And when you go on the road, you learn and you learn fast. You see what other guys are doing. Like my Dad says it’s like a big game of “King Of The Hill.” Someone gets on top, and everyone else is always trying to rip them down. With the advancements of these cars, there is always a ton of stuff that needs to be maintained to remain competitive. It’s always a challenge to not only get to the top, but it’s even tougher to stay up there.”
Mars’ team of pit crew members include Dad Jimmy Mars, Uncle Chris Mars, Jeff Harrison and Mike McRae,
Mars’ 2025 team of marketing partners includes Veit, Deppe Enterprises, MB Customs, CMD Race Shocks, TL. Sinz Plumbing, Armi Contractors, Mid States Hydraulics, Accurate Construction, Structural Buildings, Shackleton Tree Service, Mikesell Insurance, Ghost Energy Drink, VP Race Fuel, Deah Communications, Keyes Chevytown, Joe Provo Racewear, S & S Transport, Forged In Dirt, Pro Power Race Engines, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Swift Springs, Baileigh Industrial, Wehrs Machine, Wiles Drive Shafts, Champ Pans, Performance Bodies, Wildwood, FK Rod Ends, Speedwerx, Sweet Manufacturing, QuarterMaster and AllStar Performance.