BARBERVILLE, Fla. — For the first time since early November, it’s race week for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.
As it has every year since 2021, the season begins at Volusia Speedway Park during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, Jan. 22-24.
A practice night on Wednesday will give teams an opportunity to knock the rust off before Thursday’s opening night, which features a 35-lap, $12,000-to-win, World of Outlaws main event. Another 35-lapper will follow on Friday before the stakes are raised on Saturday, which will see drivers race 50 laps for $20,000 in the Sunshine Nationals finale.
Crate Racin’ USA DIRTcar Pro (604) Late Models and 602 Late Models will also be on the card on all three nights to round out the “Late Model Palooza.”
CHASING THREE
Only four drivers in the history of the sport can call themselves a three-time World of Outlaws champion – Billy Moyer, Darrell Lanigan, Josh Richards and Brandon Sheppard. By the end of the year, Bobby Pierce wants to make it five.
Eleven weeks after wrapping up his second championship at World of Outlaws World Finals, the chase for a third title in four years begins this week at Volusia. The “Smooth Operator” is a four-time winner at Volusia, but all four have come in February at Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.
With his first win of 2026 under his belt from Sunday at the Wild West Shootout, Pierce will look to build on that momentum and earn the first straw hat of his career this week.
CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGERS
Breathing down Pierce’s neck is a hungry crop of drivers looking to start their own dynasty at the top of dirt late model racing.
Leading that charge is Nick Hoffman, who ended 2025 only 56 points behind Pierce after a strong end to the year at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
It was the best points finish of his three-year World of Outlaws career, and a strong start at Volusia – a place he’s won at twice in a Late Model and dozens of times in a DIRTcar UMP Modified – could go a long way toward putting him in prime position come World Finals.
One of the other primary threats also has a No. 9 on the side of his car, as Tim McCreadie is back with Briggs Transport for another full-time World of Outlaws run. “T-Mac” got off to a lackluster start a year ago while he was working through chassis changes and other growing pains in his new surroundings.
Now that he’s coming back with the same combination he finished 2025 in top form with, McCreadie will be ready to start the new season with his first Sunshine Nationals victory and his first Volusia score in three years.
Ryan Gustin is looking to claim the season opener for the second year in a row. Last season’s Sunshine Nationals win was his first of five with the World of Outlaws in 2025, tying his single-season high. The “Reaper” has already gotten his 2026 campaign off to a hot start, scoring three top fives in six starts at the Wild West Shootout.
HELLO, MY NAME IS
Over the past few weeks, plenty of new and returning names have announced their plans to tackle the full World of Outlaws schedule in the year ahead.
Leading that charge is Tyler Erb, who will be a full-time Outlaw this season for the first time since 2018. “Terbo” has never reached victory lane at Volusia, but has stood on the podium three times at DIRTcar Nationals in 2017, 2024, and 2025.
The roster also includes a quartet of MD3 Rookie of the Year candidates, and two of them will begin their maiden World of Outlaws season in their home state. St. Augustine’s Trey Mills began his driving career at the Volusia go-kart track, competed in the track’s 602 and 604 Late Model divisions on his rise through the ranks, and ran his first super late model race at the track in 2022 at age 13.
Residing four hours south in Clewiston, Fla., is Eli Johnson, who will race a super late model at Volusia for the first time this week. He has been there in a 604 Late Model though, picking up a top 10 in “Fab 5” weekly racing last March.
Logan Zarin is set for his second trip south to Volusia this week after making his debut at the track two years ago at DIRTcar Nationals. That event only yielded one Feature start in five nights, but he’s confident in his ability to use what he learned to make improvements in his Volusia return.
The latest addition to the list of first-year Outlaws is Daulton Wilson, who is starting his first full season driving for Florida-based team owner William “Augie” Burttram and Big Frog/Viper Motorsports. The Fayetteville, N.C., native has been an annual staple at Volusia since 2022, and while he has four DIRTcar Nationals top fives, Wilson has never finished better than 17th at Sunshine Nationals.
VOLUSIA 2.0
Ten months after Volusia was coated in truckloads of dark gumbo clay, super late models will hit the track for the first time in competition at Sunshine Nationals.
However, that doesn’t mean the entire field will be flying blind. Drake Troutman and Ethan Dotson finished 1-2 in Modified action at last year’s Emil and Dale Reutimann Memorial, and both will be looking for more of the same as they begin their sophomore seasons with the World of Outlaws. Volusia has also hosted several late model test sessions in recent months, with the likes of McCreadie, Mills, Brandon Overton and more all turning laps on the new dirt.
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES
With Sunshine Nationals serving as the first event of the season for many teams, fans will get their first look at several new pairings that shook the late model world during “Silly Season.”
After Ricky Thornton Jr. collected his first win of the year in the Adam Family Motorsports ride at Central Arizona Raceway, he’ll return to his usual seat at Koehler Motorsports with a familiar face on the wrenches.
Anthony Burroughs reunited with Thornton last month at the Gateway Dirt Nationals and will officially begin his first campaign as part of the Koehler camp at Volusia. The Thornton-Burroughs duo won 56 races together at SSI Motorsports between 2021 and 2024 – including a stellar 34-win season in 2023 – and will look to rekindle that magic starting this week.
Chris Madden will also start a new chapter at Sunshine Nationals, as the Gray Court, S.C., native will begin his stint as driver of the Infinity Chassis house car at Wells Motorsports.
“Smokey” enters the week as a four-time Volusia winner, with his most recent victory coming in 2023.
One of the nation’s top regional talents is set for his first season at the national level in 2026, as Cory Hedgecock will make his first start in the Billy Hicks Racing No. 79 on Thursday night. The two-time World of Outlaws winner at 411 Motor Speedway has never been to Volusia in a super late model, but has a Sunshine Nationals record of five top fives in eight starts in a 604 Late Model.
