CONCORD, N.C. — An unforgettable 2025 season for the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision has reached its conclusion.
The 10-month, 43-race journey took the series from the Atlantic coast of Florida to the plains of North Dakota, stopping at 28 different tracks in between.
Along the way, fans got to watch Late Model legends add to their legacy, longtime favorites return to top form and plenty of breakout stars have their moment in the spotlight.
VENGEANCE TOUR
On the final night of the 2024 season, Bobby Pierce was back in the pits loading up his hauler while Brandon Sheppard was on the frontstretch celebrating a championship. From that moment on, Pierce was on a mission to make it a different scenario in 2025.
Once the season got rolling, Pierce quickly established himself as the man to beat. Some of the early-season southern stops like Smoky Mountain Speedway, Swainsboro Raceway and Talladega Short Track aren’t known to be right up Pierce’s alley, but he left each one with a trophy just the same. The success continued in Pennsylvania with the Connor Bobik Memorial victory at Marion Center Raceway, giving Pierce a healthy advantage atop the standings going into the summer stretch.
June and July bore plenty of fruit for the No. 32 team with three wins and several more top fives, but Pierce reached his full potential when the calendar turned to August. The “Smooth Operator” went on a four-win tear that started with a home-state score at Spoon River Speedway, continued with a photo finish over Brian Shirley at Maquoketa Speedway and wrapped up with a weekend sweep of his first trip to Arrowhead Speedway a week later.
Pierce wasn’t at his best in the closing weeks of the season, but he didn’t need to be. His dominance throughout the 2025 campaign gave him a triple-digit points lead going into World of Outlaws World Finals, allowing him to clinch his second World of Outlaws championship early in the week before commencing the celebration on Saturday night.
T-MAC IS BACK
Prior to the 2025 season, there was some doubt over whether Tim McCreadie’s best days behind the wheel of a late model were behind him. The past few years had been a struggle for the 51-year-old Watertown, N.Y., native, but McCreadie wasn’t ready to call it quits.
Instead, he decided it was time to shake things up. A partnership was formed with longtime friend Boom Briggs that pit McCreadie in the seat of the Briggs Transport ride, one that now sported the No. 9 and a paint scheme honoring his late father, “Barefoot” Bob McCreadie. His schedule also took on a new look, as McCreadie signed up to race full-time with the World of Outlaws for the first time in a decade.
A rough start to the year buried McCreadie in the points chase, and the team immediately went to work on digging themselves out. A chassis change was determined to be the best path forward, and by late spring, McCreadie was back in the Longhorn machinery that much of his recent success has come in.
One of McCreadie’s first starts after the change came at Raceway 7, a place he had been fast at every time he unloaded in recent years. That trend continued in 2025, as McCreadie returned to victory lane exactly one year after his father’s passing on one of the most emotional nights of his career.
That performance was merely the start of McCreadie’s climb, as win number two came three days later at Bedford Speedway. Four more triumphs followed at Nodak Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, 81 Speedway and Boothill Speedway to bring his total to six, making him the second-winningest driver on tour in 2025.
TO THE BANK
No one who was at Fairbury Speedway on July 26, 2025, will ever forget that night. Especially not Brian Shirley.
Inclement weather may have resulted in the Feature rolling off after midnight, but the Illinois faithful weren’t going anywhere. They were treated to a classic Fairbury showdown around the bullring, and it all came down to a side-by-side duel between Shirley and Brandon Sheppard, with Shirley nosing ahead off the final corner to conquer his home state’s biggest race.
After spending two decades watching someone else parade across town to the Bank of Pontiac, Shirley finally earned his chance to drive the No. 3S down South Third Street. The PDC may have been Shirley’s only World of Outlaws win of the year, but it will forever go down as one of the most memorable of his career.
REAPER’S RICHES
When the lights shined brightest, so did Ryan Gustin.
The “Reaper” got off to a fast start with two wins in the first eight races, but the fifth-year Outlaw cooled off as he fought his way through a four-month win drought through the middle portion of the season. That came to an end with a win at Wilmot Raceway, a night that served as a kickoff to the biggest week of Gustin’s career.
At the end of Saturday night’s USA Nationals finale, Gustin was jumping into the infield pond at Cedar Lake Speedway after collecting the $100,000 prize for his first Late Model crown-jewel victory. His next massive payday followed two months later at Boothill Speedway, where he outdrove Pierce in the final laps to earn another $50,000.
COLTMAN CUP CASH
A new prize was on offer in 2025 with the introduction of the Coltman Farms Racing Cup, a miniseries designed to reward the top performers at the year’s biggest events.
Eight events paying at least $25,000 to the winner counted toward the Cup points chase, and Nick Hoffman emerged on top to claim the inaugural title. Two of his five wins on the year came in Cup events at Mississippi Thunder Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway, leaving him with $7,500 and a and a safe for his efforts, while Pierce earned $2,500 as the runner up.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
A talented trio of first-time Outlaws completed their first full tour in 2025 in pursuit of the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award.
Ethan Dotson drew first blood, taking the checkers at Farmer City Raceway to become the first rookie winner of the year and the second first-time winner following a pair of scores by Garrett Alberson at Volusia Speedway Park. Dotson ended his first season with the series in the top 10 in the standings, with two other podiums on his record.
Following several near misses in the opening months of the year, Drake Troutman was the next freshman to win at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park in June. That triumph, along with Troutman’s eight podiums, 15 top fives and 24 top 10s earned him top rookie honors in commanding fashion.
Jake Timm rounded out the rookie class of 2025 in his first full season in a late model. The former modified ace notched a best finish of fifth in his home state at Norman County Raceway in addition to five other top-10 runs.
SPREAD THE LOVE
A wide array of racers got a piece of the pie in 2025, with 16 different drivers winning at least one World of Outlaws race.
After announcing his return to Rocket1 Racing at the end of 2024, the pairing scored their first win since reuniting in the Illini 100 at Farmer City. It was Sheppard’s record-extending 88th World of Outlaws win and his fourth at Farmer City, tying him with Billy Moyer for the most all-time.
Across the state at Highland Speedway, Tanner English rolled to his first series win in three years in the Beat the Heat 40, which also served as Coltman Farms Racing’s first late model win at the national level.
More than two years after Dennis Erb Jr.’s latest series victory at 81 Speedway, his return to the “Sunflower State” produced another win two hours down the road at Humboldt Speedway. That run helped Erb solidify a top-five position in the points, his first since his 2022 championship.
Other drivers who stood in World of Outlaws Victory Lane in 2025 were Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Tyler Erb, Mike Marlar, Ashton Winger and Hudson O’Neal.
