CONCORD, N.C. — A huge week of Late Model racing in the Midwest is on the horizon.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision is gearing up for a stretch of four races in five nights across two tracks in Iowa and Wisconsin.
First up is the first midweek race of the 2026 season, a visit to Independence Motor Speedway on Tuesday, April 28, for a 40-lap, $12,000-to-win, showdown.
Following a travel day on Wednesday, one of the region’s marquee events lies ahead on Thursday-Saturday, April 30-May 2. Mississippi Thunder Speedway has become a favorite among fans and drivers in recent years, and the Dairyland Showdown has risen in stature right alongside it.
The festivities begin with a pair of 30-lap, $10,000-to-win, shows on Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s 50-lap, $40,000-to-win, finale, the highest-paying World of Outlaws race of the season thus far.
BATTLE RAGES
The way the championship battle has gone so far, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the points lead changed hands four more times this week.
Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce have remained neck-and-neck since the season began in Florida, and the gap sits at two points entering Independence. Last time the Series raced at the Iowa facility two years ago, Pierce picked up the win while Hoffman finished third.
Both men are former winners at Mississippi Thunder, as Hoffman won once in each of the last two years while Pierce was victorious in 2022. Even when they aren’t winning, they’re still running up front – it’s been three years since either of them finished off the podium in Fountain City.
WELCOME HOME
Ryan Gustin is getting his first chance of the year to race in his home state at the perfect time.
The Marshalltown, Iowa native hasn’t been pleased with how he’s started his sixth full-time World of Outlaws season, as he’s sitting sixth in points and is still searching for his first Series win of the year. Gustin had yet to win anywhere in 2026 until April 17, when he topped a Northern Allstars Late Model Dirt Series race at Paragon Speedway to generate some momentum.
But “The Reaper” wasn’t done there. Seven days later, Gustin met up with the MARS Late Model Championship at Brownstown Bullring on Friday night and bagged another trophy. Saturday’s agenda led him to Farmington Empire Speedway for a duel with the Midwest Late Model Racing Association, which he won to collect an additional $5,000 and extend his win streak to three ahead of his return to the World of Outlaws circuit.
After years of racing at Independence in a Modified, Gustin made his first Super Late Model start there with the World of Outlaws in 2024 and finished seventh. Mississippi Thunder has been the better track of the two for Gustin historically, as he won a World of Outlaws race there two years ago to go along with his five United States Modified Touring Series victories at the track.
TERBO TIME
Tyler Erb may not have been racing full-time with the World of Outlaws over the past several years, but the Dairyland Showdown has still been an annual stop for the Best Performance Motorsports team just the same.
The New Waverly, Texas, native’s first trip to Mississippi Thunder in 2022 resulted in a pair of top fives. He collected another one in 2024, then broke through in the Friday portion of last year’s event for his fourth World of Outlaws win and first at somewhere other than Atomic Speedway.
Like Gustin, Erb is also seeking his first series win of the season.
The two are locked in a close points battle for the last spot in the top five, with Erb leading Gustin by five points ahead of his Independence debut on Tuesday night.
STOMPING GROUNDS
Outside of the July weekend at Deer Creek Speedway, Mississippi Thunder is as close as Dustin Sorensen gets to home while racing with the World of Outlaws.
The Rochester, Minn., driver is rolling into his home region ninth in points with 16 races complete in his third full-time season. Sorensen capped off Speedweeks with four-straight top 10s in Florida, but he proceeded to stumble a bit in the March southern swing. He’s made modest gains as of late, finishing 12th or better in his last three starts.
His rookie World of Outlaws season included a 13th-place run at Independence, while he has a best finish of sixth in five feature starts at Mississippi Thunder. He does have two Late Model wins there with the Wisconsin-based Dirt Kings Late Model Tour to go along with his pair of USMTS triumphs.
SUPERMAN WATCH
A refreshed, independent schedule for Jonathan Davenport will take him north for four nights against the World of Outlaws this week.
The Blairsville, Ga., driver will get his first look at Independence on Tuesday, but he’s become fond of Mississippi Thunder in the few appearances he’s made there. Davenport scored the Friday win in his first Dairyland Showdown in 2022 but hasn’t made any planned visits since. That was until last year’s Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway rained out early enough for Davenport to pivot and make the eight-hour drive north to Mississippi Thunder for the Saturday finale, in which he finished ninth.
Other names expected to hit the track this week include Tyler Bruening, Dallon Murty, Jake Timm, Chad Simpson, Chris Simpson, Garrett Alberson, Cade Dillard and many more.
