CONCORD, N.C. — Only four races remain until World of Outlaws World Finals, and half of them are set to take place this weekend in the “Sunflower State.”
The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision is headed to Kansas for the first time in two years, starting with the second Series appearance at Humboldt Speedway for a 40-lap, $12,000-to-win, contest on Friday, Oct. 3.
From there, it’s off to Wichita for 81 Speedway’s Ed Gressel Tribute, which pays $20,000 to the winner of the 50-lap main event.
NASTY NICK
With seven race nights remaining in the season, Nick Hoffman has a 116-point gap to Bobby Pierce that he needs to erase if he wants to be crowned champion. That may seem like an insurmountable task, but one thing is for certain – Hoffman isn’t going down without a fight.
“The Thrill From Mooresville” has caught fire over the last seven weeks, racking up three wins and 10 top fives in his last 12 late model starts.
Two of those victories have come in his last four starts, including his fifth World of Outlaws win of the year at Needmore Speedway and the C.J. Rayburn Memorial at Brownstown Speedway last weekend.
Last time he was in Kansas, Hoffman came up just short of victory lane at 81 with finishes of second and third with the series in 2023. Humboldt will be a new adventure though, as Hoffman has yet to turn a lap around the quarter-mile bullring.
TROUBLE AT THE TOP
On the other side of the championship battle, Pierce comes into the home stretch of the season looking to turn the page on a September to forget.
After winning 29 of his first 73 starts in 2025, the Oakwood, Ill., native has gone 10 races without a win since his World of Outlaws double-up at Arrowhead Speedway in August. A runner-up at Needmore was one of the few bright spots in a month that included only four top fives, two of them coming in split-field action at the World 100.
A return to Wichita could be the key to getting the train back on the tracks, as Pierce has won two of his four starts there – one in a split-field preliminary event with the World of Outlaws in 2023, and the other with the MLRA the year prior. And like Hoffman, Pierce has yet to compete at Humboldt in his late model career.
HEARTLAND HEROES
Kansas is known for hosting some of the premiere events in dirt modified racing, and Ryan Gustin has won more than his share of them.
The “Reaper” has eight United States Modified Touring Series wins to his name between the two tracks on this week’s agenda, with five coming at Humboldt and three at 81. His success isn’t limited to the open-wheel ranks though, as Gustin also owns a MLRA win at Humboldt and scores with NCRA and MARS at 81. He’s also had some good runs in World of Outlaws action, with a pair of top fives at 81 and a ninth in the lone previous series race at Humboldt in 2022.
It’s been a boom-or-bust stretch for Gustin in recent weeks – he finished a career-best fifth in the World 100, but that’s his only top five since his $100,000 payday at the USA Nationals in early August. With Tim McCreadie closing within 72 points in the race for third in the standings after a podium at Senoia Raceway, Gustin could use a few more “boom” nights in the final month of the season to solidify his position.
MOD MAFIA
Gustin is far from the only Outlaw with plenty of past modified experience to lean on this weekend.
Jake Timm won a USMTS event at Humboldt last year to go along with his five podiums with the Series at 81. His fellow Minnesota gasser, Dustin Sorensen, has racked up four top fives at Humboldt and a trio of top 10s at 81.
The driver Sorensen is trailing for the final spot in the top 10, Ethan Dotson, has a Kansas record that includes a best of sixth in five USMTS starts at Humboldt. He’s never been to 81 in a modified, but he was strong in the last World of Outlaws race there two years ago, finishing sixth in split-field action and ninth in the main event.
Brent Larson did plenty of modified racing prior to hitting the road with the World of Outlaws in 2018, with a handful of those starts coming at Humboldt and 81. His best finish between the two tracks stands as a fifth with USMTS at 81 in 2015, while he also finished eighth with the World of Outlaws in 2023.
CHASING ANOTHER CROWN
The story of late model racing in Kansas wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the state’s only World of Outlaws winner, Chase Junghans.
The Manhattan, Kan., native picked up the most recent of his four Series wins at Humboldt in 2022, leading every lap in the process. Junghans is also a force to be reckoned with in Wichita, with a pair of World of Outlaws top fives in 2017 and 2022 and a NCRA win in 2012 highlighting his resume there.
His last series appearance at Arrowhead Speedway in August turned into one of his best weekends of the year with finishes of 10th on Friday and 12th on Saturday, and he’ll be hungry for more when the nation’s best invade his home turf this weekend.
