Tyler Carr/WoO photo
It is the third week in January and dirt late model racing is about to kick into high gear. Don’t fool yourself. It has been in high gear since the Covid-era.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wrapped up their season in October. The World of Outlaws Late Model Series finished up in November. Most regional series wrapped up in similar timelines. One would think the season is over and teams would be building for the 2026 season. Instead, lots of racing took place between the end of the World of Outlaws season and this week’s series opener at Volusia Speedway in Florida.
The weekend following the WoO finale, most of the top drivers and teams went to Senoia, Georgia for the Peach State Classic. After a few weeks off around Thanksgiving, a loaded field of cars headed to the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome in St. Louis. Most entrants sported new wraps for the event, an effort to sell new gear before Christmas. Over the past two weekends, a number of top drivers drove out west to race in the Wild West Shootout in Arizona, only to turn around and make the trek to Volusia for the Sunshine Nationals. Where is the offseason?
Last summer, another publication ran a story on the never-ending season in dirt late model racing. Most drivers quoted said they want more time off. Fans on social media asked why the World of Outlaws goes to Volusia twice when teams could use an extra few weeks off.
Following that story, Lucas Oil announced a revamped Speedweeks schedule for 2026. Instead of starting the season in late January, their schedule starts in mid-February. That gave teams an extra couple of weeks to prepare for the upcoming season.
Signs were pointing to a change in scheduling philosophy, but that was short-lived. As mentioned earlier, the World of Outlaws start this weekend. Other events outside of the Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws remain on the schedule from November through January.
Racers that race for a living will be racing if there are quality events on the schedule. The more they race, the more money they make. As long as the Gateway Dirt Nationals and other events remain on the schedule, the racers will support it.
What about the fans? Fans continue to support these events either by attendance or by streaming views. If people are watching, the races will continue.
The elephant in the room is burnout. Ask anyone that has done something for a long period of time, and they will tell you burnout is real. That applies to competitors and fans. Even the best of race teams seem to be looking for help on the road on a regular basis. Crew members will get burned out quicker than drivers because of the effort involved in getting those cars onto the track each night. Fans can suffer from burnout. NASCAR fans have suffered from burnout for years because they race 38 out of 39 weeks. If dirt late model racing continues this pace, how long before fans start saying they need a break?
One other point that has been overlooked is these added events gobbling up sponsorship. It takes sponsorship to make things go. The bigger events there are, the more difficult it is for race teams and regional series to get sponsorship. There is only so much money that goes around for a niche sport. In today’s climate, sponsorship is actually harder to come by despite the rise in popularity.
In the end, it will be the drivers and the race teams that will dictate how many weeks of racing takes place each year. Jonathan Davenport has already announced he will not follow either of the two national series. Will other drivers start to do the same? Time will tell.
