GREENWOOD, La — The fall schedule for the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision once again includes a stop at Boothill Speedway, and the stakes are higher than ever.
Dirt late model racing’s newest $50,000-to-win event comes in the form of the Bayou Classic, culminating with a 70-lap main event on Saturday night, Oct. 11. The first half of the expanded two-day event includes a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win, World of Outlaws Feature on Friday, Oct. 10.
The USRA Factory Stocks and Limited Modifieds will join the Late Models on both nights.
STILL GOT IT
Last weekend’s trip through Kansas saw a pair of the tour’s most seasoned veterans find victory lane – one for the first time in a while, and one who continued his season of resurgence.
Dennis Erb Jr. ended his drought of more than two years when he held off Dustin Sorensen to win at Humboldt Speedway before following it up with a ninth-place run at 81 Speedway. That leaves him fifth in the standings with five races to go, 15 points behind Brian Shirley in fifth and 26 ahead of Drake Troutman in seventh.
A last-minute climb into the top five will likely require some improvement at both tracks remaining in 2025, as he finished ninth at Boothill one year ago and hasn’t collected a top 10 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in three years.
That trio is chasing the Saturday winner, Tim McCreadie, who sits fourth after his fifth victory of the season at 81 to make 2025 his winningest World of Outlaws campaign since 2013. “T-Mac” stands a chance at catching Ryan Gustin for third in points by season’s end, with 50 points separating the two.
The stat sheet favors Gustin at Boothill though, as he won the track’s inaugural World of Outlaws race last year while McCreadie has never turned a lap.
BOUNCE BACK?
Bobby Pierce left Kansas with a 108-point advantage in the standings, but over the past month, he’s struggled to find the speed that gave him a triple-digit lead in the first place.
After a fourth-place run at Humboldt, Saturday at 81 looked to be the day Pierce could get back on top for the first time since August. He went to the top of the board in qualifying, won his heat race, and drew the pole for the feature.
But then, Pierce was sent to the tail of the field prior to the start for unapproved adjustments made in staging and was only able to climb back up to 11th.
Pierce has only made two starts at Boothill, but the quarter-mile has fit him like a glove. He won his debut there with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series in March of 2024 before backing it up with a runner-up in World of Outlaws action in September.
The big money on the line on Saturday will provide more than enough motivation for the No. 32 team, as Pierce has already won three races paying $50,000 or more to win in 2025. He also has the Coltman Farms Racing Cup title to go for, as he trails Nick Hoffman by 62 points with this weekend and World of Outlaws World Finals left to decide a champion.
TOP FIVE TRAIN
There’s consistency, and then there’s the run that Brian Shirley has been on as of late.
The No. 3s has finished top five in the last eight World of Outlaws races dating back to the Aug. 14 event at Spoon River Speedway.
Of those eight, six of them have been podiums. The only thing Shirley hasn’t done in the past two months is win a race, with his emotional Prairie Dirt Classic triumph still standing as his only series win of the year.
Shirley’s Boothill debut a year ago started off strong with quick time honors in his qualifying group and a heat race win. The feature saw him fade from second to 10th though, an issue he’ll need to rectify this time around to keep the streak alive.
BACK IN THE BAYOU
Ethan Dotson and ASD Motorsports have traveled through plenty of uncharted territory in their first year on the road with the World of Outlaws, but Boothill is not on that list.
The team made their way to Louisiana as part of their pick-and-choose schedule in 2024 and were rewarded with an eighth-place starting spot in the main event, the second-best of Dotson’s World of Outlaws career at the time and his best with ASD.
The 50-lapper didn’t go his way with a 20th-place result, but the improvements came in March when Dotson finished second in the Ronny Adams Memorial.
If Dotson can replicate that showing against the World of Outlaws, he stands a chance at moving up from 10th in points in the closing weeks of the season.
The two drivers within range are Tanner English, who has never been to Boothill, and Cody Overton, who finished eighth in last year’s Bayou Classic.
THE MONEY
With $50,000 on the line, fans can expect an eclectic mix of invaders and regional talents to challenge the series regulars for the cash.
Leading that charge is reigning World of Outlaws champion Brandon Sheppard behind the wheel of the No. B5. The fourth-place runner at Boothill in 2024 has one series win on the year at Farmer City Raceway in April with Rocket1 Racing, while the family car has won twice this year with the MARS Late Model Championship and the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
Someone else looking for their second World of Outlaws win of the year this weekend is Tyler Erb, who took the checkers in the Friday portion of the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in May.
“Terbo” is fresh off a weekend sweep of the Gumbo Nationals at Greenville Speedway last weekend headed into Boothill, where his record includes a COMP Cams win from 2020.
It’s been four years since Cade Dillard last won a World of Outlaws race, but few places give him a better chance to end the drought than Boothill. The family’s history at the track goes back decades, and Dillard’s own legacy includes three COMP Cams wins in the last five years and a World of Outlaws top five last year.
