Jared Landers (born May 1, 1982) is an American professional
dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains
* Dust: a gener ...
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a dirt late model touring series owned and operated by Lucas Oil. The series competes on dirt ovals across the United States, primarily throughout the east coast and the midwest. The cars feature a purpose-bu ...
Landers started racing when his father, a former racer, opened a car sales business. The business sponsored sprint car racerTim Crawley, who built Landers a dirt go-kart. Landers stopped driving when he became an assistant of Crawley and Terrell Chastain, whom Landers' father's business also sponsored. When he turned 17, Landers returned to racing, driving a modified at Batesville Motor Speedway. open-wheel modifieds, Landers has over 100 wins in the discipline.
Landers later moved from
Batesville, Arkansas
Batesville is the county seat and largest city of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles (183 km) northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 10,268. The city serve ...
to
Welcome, North Carolina
Welcome is a census-designated place (CDP) in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,162 at the 2010 census. It is nationally known as the home of Richard Childress Racing.
In addition, Walker and Associates, Inc., a ...
. In North Carolina, he became friends with
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
driver
Clint Bowyer
Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''.
He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
, who invited him to drive for his late model team. Landers also connected with NASCAR drivers Austin and
Ty Dillon
Tyler Reed Dillon (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. He has also competed in the NASCAR Camp ...
, building the brothers a dirt modified.
In 2011, Landers started competing in the
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a dirt late model touring series owned and operated by Lucas Oil. The series competes on dirt ovals across the United States, primarily throughout the east coast and the midwest. The cars feature a purpose-bu ...
, winning Rookie of the Year.
In 2013, Landers made his NASCAR debut in the Mudsummer Classic at
Eldora Speedway
Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "The Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "The World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, it features permanent and ...
, NASCAR's first dirt track race since 1970. While racing for Bowyer, Landers met former NASCAR driver
Mark Martin
Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series s ...
, who assisted him in adjusting to a stock car for the Mudsummer Classic. Landers won his heat race after holding off
Matt Crafton
Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a three-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2013, 2014, 2019), in which he competes full-time, driving the No. 88 Ford F-150 ...
for the win; after starting second in the feature, he finished 12th. Landers later attempted the 2014 Mudsummer Classic but withdrew from the event.
Landers departed Clint Bowyer Racing after the 2014 season and moved back to Arkansas. However, he and Martin remained close and the two co-owned a team with Mark Martin Automotive sponsoring the cars. In 2015, the team hired
Scott Bloomquist
Scott Bloomquist (born November 14, 1963) is a nationally touring Dirt Super Late Model race car driver in the United States. Bloomquist was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
In July 2016, Landers was competing at
Tri-City Speedway
Tri-City Raceway Park (formerly known as Tri-City Speedway and Franklin Speedway) is a 1/2-mile dirt oval and a 3/8-mile track for karts, located in Oakland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, near the city of Franklin to the southwest. It ...
when his car flipped; the wreck tore his
common carotid artery
In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) (Entry "carotid" in key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)