Drivers planning their delayed launches to the season should look elsewhere than Magnolia Motor Speedway if they're trying to ease into competition.

Chad Thrash anticipates a stout lineup for Thursday’s Magnolia Mayhem 40 at the Columbus, Miss., oval, where most special events draw large, competitive fields. Last year’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Clash at the Mag drew 39 entrants, while the Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100 drew 35. The 2018 versions drew 28 and 57 cars respectively. National stars Mike Marlar (2019 Clash at the Mag; ‘19 Cotton Pickin’), Dale McDowell (2018 Cotton Pickin’) and Hudson O’Neal (2018 Clash at the Mag) were the winners of those four events.

Watch the Magnolia Mayhem 40 LIVE on FloRacing!

Hall of Famer Billy Moyer, who topped a field of 60 to win last Saturday’s Karl Chevrolet 50 at I-55, along with touring stars Jonathan Davenport, Tyler Erb, Cade Dillard, Billy Moyer Jr., Ashton Winger, Stormy Scott, and regional standouts Michael Page, Morgan Bagley and Rusty Schlenk are among drivers expected to enter. They’ll be met by a strong home state contingent that includes Thrash, Brian Rickman, Rick Rickman, Spencer Hughes, Dean Carpenter and Scott Dedwylder.

“I told (announcer) Ben (Shelton) last night when he was texting me, ‘Man this race is gonna be harder to make than the freaking Lucas Oil race.’ Nobody’s been able to race,” Thrash said. “There’s nothing else going on so I figured there’d be a bunch of people to show up at it trying to get to Pevely (Missouri for Friday’s World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series event at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55). Yeah, it will be a lot like the Cotton Pickin’. I mean it’s gonna be a good race. I felt like it will be 15 to 20 really, really heavy hitters there, and 10 or 15 really good local guys there.”

As Magnolia welcomes competitors — but not spectators — to Thursday’s race, which will be streamed live on DirtonDirt.com and FloSports, Thrash, who just finished up a new Rocket XR1 and managed to get in a few test sessions feels better about his odds compared to Magnolia’s previous major events.

“We tested at Magnolia and Whynot (Motorsports Park in Meridian),” the Meridian, Miss., racer said. “It was good. We learned a lot about this new car real quick and that’s got us pretty pumped up and ready to go too. I just had some stuff I had done to the other car that I hadn’t done to this car and we did it and the last time we tested, I was a lot more comfortable with that.”

In seven Super Late Model special events at Magnolia last year, Thrash, the three-time and reigning Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series champion, found victory lane twice, winning a MSCCS event in June and a Comp Cams Super Dirt Series race in September. Two of his 18 career Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series victories have come at Magnolia Motor Speedway.

“The best thing that’s gonna help this weekend is that they haven’t raced just like us,” said Thrash. “I mean we tested about three or four times, so I mean where normally we’ve only raced 10 or 15 times whenever they show up and they’ve raced 40 or 50, now we’re all gonna have about the same amount of racing under our belt and it makes more of an even playing field.”

Thrash thinks the tire rule could help the Mississippi regulars as well.

“You know the tire rule is all the same now. We ain’t got to worry about the different right rear tire like we used to run,” Thrash said. “With us being on the same tire we’re used to, it’s gonna make it a different race for the locals because it’s the tire we run every week. It’s not a tire … I mean, when the Lucas guys come, we had to put a different right rear tire on, and it was a different construction and stuff than what we’re used to and it was kinda hampering the car a little bit for me. It was a different tire.”

Regardless of the tire rule, Magnolia's surface rarely disappoints.

“It’s generally because you can race on it three- or four-wide and nobody ever touch,” Thrash said. “It’s really a good place that promotes racing most of the time, sometimes it gets locked down and one lane, but that’s typical dirt track racing. You aren’t gonna hit it perfect every time. But I mean mostly, part of it is because you can race on it and not have to worry about getting torn up or anything like that.

“I think it’s just because it slows down and puts it more in the driver’s hands. I mean that place there, it starts out fast when you qualify. By the time you’re heat racing and stuff you gotta be able to slow down and be smooth. You can race pretty good on it. I normally don’t qualify too well. They all make fun of me because I can’t qualify, so I usually race better than I qualify.”

Thrash said he thought Magnolia promoter Johnny Stokes, known as Dr. Dirt for his track-prepping prowess, may have few tricks up his sleeve in preparation for Thursday’s $5,000-to-win event, Mississippi’s first Super Late Model race of the season. He added that picking up a win would easily compare to winning the Clash at the Mag or the Magnolia State Cotton Pickin’ 100.

“That time we was up there (for practice) it was dirty and never cleaned up,” Thrash said. “We was all about the same up there on that stuff. But it will be different. He’s changed it up since we’ve practiced up there. He’s took the tires out of the infield and dug some kind of ditch around the infield. I haven’t seen it since he’s done that.

“With the guys that’s gonna be there and outrun them, it would mean a lot to win it. That would be like basically winning the Lucas Oil race or Cotton Pickin’ to me. It’s not gonna be no slouch race, even though it’s just $5,000. It’s not gonna be no little slouch race. It’s gonna be a race.”