BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Less than two weeks have passed since the opening week of the 2026 World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, and another round of action at the half-mile track is already on the horizon.
As has become tradition over the past two decades, Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals will conclude with six-straight nights of Late Model racing at Volusia Speedway Park.
The week begins with three full programs under the DIRTcar Late Model banner, with a pair of $7,000-to-win shows on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 9-10, before a split-field night on Wednesday, Feb. 11, including three Features paying $5,000-to-win each.
Points-paying World of Outlaws competition begins with two $12,000-to-win main events on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 12-13, before DIRTcar Nationals concludes with a $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday, Feb. 14, followed by the presentation of the Big Gator trophy to the weeklong champion.
GATOR HUNTING
Ask anyone who’s won one, and they’ll tell you about how the Big Gator is one of the most unique and prized trophies in their collection.
The golden reptile was first awarded to Dennis Erb Jr. in 2012, and since then, eight more drivers have hoisted it on stage on Saturday night. Last year, the title went to Ricky Thornton Jr. after he won twice, stood on the podium four times and never finished worse than sixth in six races.
That achievement placed Thornton’s name alongside Erb, Josh Richards, Scott Bloomquist, Shane Clanton, Chris Madden, Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie as drivers who can call themselves Late Model Big Gator champions.
However, none of them have won it more than Sheppard, who has earned top honors on three occasions in 2019, 2020 and 2024.
Thornton, Erb, Madden, Sheppard, Moran and McCreadie will all be in attendance looking to add another one to the trophy cabinet, while the pits will be filled with plenty of other contenders looking to stop them and collect their first Big Gator.
SO FAR SO GOOD
Thanks to his finishes of second, fifth and ninth at Sunshine Nationals, Nick Hoffman trails only the event champion Sheppard as the de facto World of Outlaws points leader entering DIRTcar Nationals.
Hoffman’s speed at Volusia should come as no surprise considering he has an entire corner of his race shop dedicated to displaying the dozens of Gators he’s collected over the past 15 years. But he would gladly trade all of them for a World of Outlaws championship trophy to put in that spot at the end of the year, and the road to a potential title is off to the right start.
On the other hand, two-time and defending champion Bobby Pierce didn’t get off to the start he dreamed of with runs of ninth, 10th and sixth at Sunshine Nationals. That leaves him fifth in the standings, 18 points behind Hoffman.
Given the points format which only counts a driver’s five finishes across the eight scheduled races at Volusia and Hendry County Motorsports Park, they won’t have a clear picture of where they stand until the Florida slate is complete.
STILL GOT IT
Hoffman wasn’t the only driver with a No. 9 on his door that started 2026 on the right foot, as Tim McCreadie became the first World of Outlaws full-timer in the win column with his Saturday triumph at Sunshine Nationals.
The contrast to the start of his 2025 campaign couldn’t be more apparent. Last year, McCreadie finished in the top 10 only once in the first seven races of the season while adjusting to his new Briggs Transport team and wheeling a chassis he never felt entirely comfortable in. This time around, he’s back in his tried-and-true Longhorn Chassis fresh off a six-win campaign last year.
If he can maintain his current level of speed and consistency long-term, McCreadie will have every reason to believe that a second World of Outlaws championship – 20 years after his first – is within the realm of possibility.
DUST YOURSELF OFF
While plenty of drivers are going back to Volusia looking for more of the same, just as many are aiming to rebound from a rough outing at Sunshine Nationals.
Daulton Wilson may have had the best week of the five MD3 Rookie of the Year candidates, but he knows there’s more in the tank than the best finish of 12th they laid down last month. “Big Perm” has finished in the top five four times at DIRTcar Nationals since 2023, and Volusia is a home game for his Big Frog/Viper Motorsports team, with owner William “Augie” Burttram residing an hour away in Ocala, Fla.
Much like Wilson, Trey Mills is also looking to turn up the wick at DIRTcar Nationals after failing to crack the top 20 in the first three nights of his rookie season. The St. Augustine, Fla., native has grown up racing at Volusia and is a former winner in the crate late model ranks, and is set to continue searching for a taste of super late model success.
ANYONE’S GAME
If the first month of the 2026 dirt late model season proved anything, it’s that picking the winner each night has never been tougher.
Twelve late model races have been contested so far this year across the national and regional levels, and 10 different drivers have reached victory lane. The only team to do so more than once doesn’t even compete full-time, as the K&L Rumley Enterprises No. 6 won twice at the Wild West Shootout and once at Sunshine Nationals with Hudson O’Neal behind the wheel.
The “New Deal” will be back at Volusia for DIRTcar Nationals looking to add to that total, but he’ll do so with his full-time team at SSI Motorsports for the first time in 2026.
If O’Neal’s fourth win of the year comes next week, it would make SSI the third different team he’s won with at Volusia in four years following Rocket1 Racing in 2023 and 2024 and Rumley Enterprises last month.
This year’s list of winners is still missing plenty of the sport’s top names, including Ryan Gustin, Tyler Erb, Drake Troutman, Devin Moran, Brian Shirley and more, but they’re all ready to head south to Volusia with the goal of eliminating the goose egg.
