Illinois Invasion Up Next for World of Outlaws at Illini 100
Photo by Emily Schwanke
FARMER CITY, Ill. — The kickoff to racing season in Illinois is finally here, and Farmer City Raceway is set to play host to the World of Outlaws Late Models once again for this weekend’s Illini 100.
The first 1/4-mile bullring on the 2025 schedule has earned a reputation of side-by-side, door-banging racing and unforgettable finishes, and this year’s edition of the springtime tradition is set to provide even more thrills.
The weekend gets underway with a practice night on Thursday, April 10, before a pair of full programs on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12. Friday’s show wraps up with a 40-lap, $12,000-to-win, Feature before the 60-lap, $20,000-to-win, finale on Saturday night.
Joining The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet on the program will be the season-opening races for both the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota and the MARS Modified Championship powered by Summit Racing Equipment.
Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:
WELCOME HOME: The “Land of Lincoln” is home to several members of this season’s full-time roster, and they’re all looking forward to their first chance of the year at a strong showing in front of their home crowd. Given recent history at Farmer City, they have good reason to be excited.
The last time a driver from somewhere other than Illinois won a World of Outlaws race at Farmer City was nine years ago, when Josh Richards got the job done in 2016. Since then, the list of drivers who have gone to Victory Lane at one of their home tracks includes Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Mike Spatola, Bobby Pierce and Nick Hoffman – who lived in Belleville, IL prior to moving south to Mooresville, NC.
For Pierce, a weekend on home soil could provide the perfect opportunity to build on his 30-point advantage on top of the standings. His three World of Outlaws wins in the last four seasons are merely the tip of his Farmer City iceberg. In his last 10 Feature starts at the track between World of Outlaws, DIRTcar Summer Nationals and MARS competition, Pierce has finished outside of the top five once and has a 3.1 average finish over that span.
While Hoffman’s first Late Model start at Farmer City came two years ago, his track record since then is nearly flawless. “The Thrill From Mooresville” has never finished worse than second in three World of Outlaws nights. That mirrors his numbers with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals, as he has also never finished off the podium in four Hell Tour starts at Farmer City.
However, neither of them have been turning laps around the bullring for as long as Brian Shirley, who made his first Summer Nationals appearance at the track in 2003 and debuted with the World of Outlaws a few years later in 2006. “Squirrel” won on Illini 100 weekend for the first time in 2017 before backing it up in 2019, and he’s added two wins each with the Hell Tour and MARS in the years since.
JOINING THE CLUB: One name missing on the list of Illinoisans with a World of Outlaws win at Farmer City is Carpentersville, IL’s Dennis Erb Jr.
The 2022 Series champion has partaken in 15 World of Outlaws races at the track since 2006. His fifth-place run that year was his first of four top fives, with the other three coming since 2019. While Erb has yet to add the Illini 100 trophy to his collection, he still knows how to win at Farmer City, as evidenced by Summer Nationals wins in 2009 and 2015 as well as a pair of Northern Allstars triumphs in 2004.
While Erb’s 2025 campaign may have gotten off to a slow start, a season-best sixth-place effort in the Saturday program at Swainsboro Raceway showed that things could be headed in the right direction for the No. 28 team. Erb finds himself in a logjam in the middle of the points table, with 42 points separating six drivers between seventh and 12th, so a solid weekend in familiar territory could vault him up several spots in the championship chase.
KEEPING PACE: The rest of the field has their sights set on breaking the Illinois stranglehold on Farmer City, and one of the leading candidates to do it is Ryan Gustin.
Gustin may be entering the Illini 100 without a Farmer City win, but that hasn’t fazed him yet this year – his wins at Volusia Speedway Park and Swainsboro were the first World of Outlaws victories of his career at both tracks. Gustin will need to keep the No. 19R at the front to avoid losing ground to Pierce and Hoffman at a track they both excel at, but “The Reaper” has done that in the past at Farmer City. His first trip to the track resulted in a podium effort with MARS in 2020, and he has a World of Outlaws top five to his credit from 2023.
What Gustin isn’t looking for, though, is a repeat of last year, when he finished 16th and 21st in two nights of action.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: This season’s MD3 Rookie of the Year Award battle is shaping up to be a season-long tussle between some of the brightest young stars in the sport, and the next chapter is set to be written this weekend.
Drake Troutman’s Swainsboro podium has him atop the rookie standings for the first time this season. The Hyndman, PA driver made his Farmer City debut in 2021 in a DIRTcar UMP Modified on the Hell Tour and came home fifth. Troutman’s first Late Model start at the track came in last year’s Illini 100, highlighted by a top-15 run on Friday night.
Ethan Dotson also made his first Farmer City Late Model starts at this event one year ago, making the Feature on both nights with Chris Bragg Racing a month before joining ASD Motorsports. And like Troutman, he’s also shown plenty of prowess in a Modified, winning in his only Farmer City start with the MARS Modifieds in 2023.
Peru, IL’s Daniel Adam sees this weekend as a chance to make his presence known in the rookie battle, as he relocated from North Carolina a year ago to position himself in the middle of the Illinois Late Model hotbed. In addition to a Summer Nationals top 10 last June, Adam was a frequent visitor to Farmer City on Friday nights last summer.
Hailing from the opposite side of the Mississippi River in Urbana, MO, Dillon McCowan has also been fast in his limited appearances at Farmer City. He finished second in a local show in 2023 in his first trip before bringing the No. 8 car home sixth with the Summer Nationals in 2024.
Rounding out the rookie class are Jake Timm and Austin Smith, both of whom are making their Farmer City debut this weekend.
DEFENDING THE FARM: Anytime the World of Outlaws full-timers roll into Illinois, they know they’ll have to wrestle the trophy away from some of the toughest regional competition in the country.
Reigning Series champion Sheppard has been racing at Farmer City since the dawn of his Late Model career at age 14, and it’s been one of his favorite places to wheel a race car ever since.
The New Berlin, IL native has three World of Outlaws wins at the track to his credit, although it’s been a while – the last one came in 2019. He’ll look to end that drought this weekend and grow his margin as the winningest driver in Series history.
Three-time and defending DIRTcar UMP Late Model national champion Jason Feger won 16 times across the region in 2024 on his way to the title, including one at Farmer City on May 31. The Bloomington, IL gasser finished top 10 on both nights of the Illini 100 last year and has his sights set on finally picking up a win in one of the state’s biggest races.
No one has won more races at Farmer City as of late than Fairbury, IL’s McKay Wenger. The No. 99 team won six times in 10 starts at the bullring last season and is on the hunt for his best World of Outlaws run since a seventh in the 2021 Prairie Dirt Classic.
Other staples of the Illinois scene expected to be in contention include Spatola, Shannon Babb, Frank Heckenast Jr., Ryan Unzicker and many more.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Thursday-Saturday, April 10-12 at Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, IL
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Bobby Pierce (1164 points)
2. Ryan Gustin (-30)
3. Nick Hoffman (-30)
4. Drake Troutman (-70)
5. Max Blair (-94)
6. Ethan Dotson (-98)
7. Cody Overton (-108)
8. Tim McCreadie (-110)
9. Tanner English (-120)
10. Dennis Erb Jr. (-140)
FEATURE WINNERS (5):
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 2
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
HEAT RACE WINNERS (18):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 6
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 5
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 5
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 3
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 3
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 3
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 3
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 2
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1
Garrett Smith – Madison, GA – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
LANDA PRESSURE WASHERS LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (17):
Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 3
Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – 2
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 2
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1
Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 1
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
Jackson Hise – Ocala, FL – 1
Trey Mills – St. Augustine, FL – 1
Austin Smith – Cedartown, GA – 1
PODIUM FINISHERS (11):
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 5
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 4
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 3
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 2
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGERS (8):
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1
Dennis Erb Jr. – Carpentersville, IL – 1
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (5):
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 3
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1
Tanner English – Benton, KY – 1
BILSTEIN POLE AWARD (5):
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 2
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1
FEATURE LAP LEADERS (9):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 70
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 66
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 44
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 41
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 41
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 18
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 17
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 16
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 11
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA, – 1
2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODELS SCHEDULE & WINNERS
Friday, Jan. 24 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Ryan Gustin (1)
Saturday, Jan. 25 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Garrett Alberson (1)
Thursday, Feb. 13 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Garrett Alberson (2)
Friday, Feb. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Devin Moran (1)
Saturday, Feb. 15 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Jonathan Davenport (1)
Friday, Mar. 14 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN / Bobby Pierce (1)
Friday, Mar. 21 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA / Bobby Pierce (2)
Saturday, Mar. 22 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA / Ryan Gustin (2)
Thursday, Apr. 10 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL (Practice)
Friday, Apr. 11 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Saturday, Apr. 12 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Friday, Apr. 25 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Saturday, Apr. 26 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Thursday, May 1 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Friday, May 2 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, May 3 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Thursday, May 15 / Raceway 7 / Conneaut, OH
Friday, May 16 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Saturday, May 17 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Sunday, May 18 / Bedford Speedway / Bedford, PA
Friday, June 20 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Saturday, June 21 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Monday, June 23 / Independence Motor Speedway / Independence, IA
Thursday, June 26 / I-94 EMR Speedway / Fergus Falls, MN
Friday, June 27 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
Saturday, June 28 / Norman County Raceway / Ada, MN
Sunday, June 29 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND
Thursday, July 3 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 4 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, July 5 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 11 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Saturday, July 12 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Friday, July 25 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Saturday, July 26 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Monday, July 28 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI
Thursday, July 31 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Friday, Aug. 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Saturday, Aug. 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Wednesday, Aug. 13 / Highland Speedway / Highland, IL
Thursday, Aug. 14 / Spoon River Speedway / Lewistown, IL
Friday, Aug. 15 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Saturday, Aug. 16 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Friday, Aug. 22 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Saturday, Aug. 23 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Friday, Sept. 12 / Needmore Speedway / Norman Park, GA
Saturday, Sept. 13 / Senoia Raceway / Senoia, GA
Friday, Sept. 26 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Saturday, Sept. 27 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Friday, Oct. 3 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS
Saturday, Oct. 4 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS
Friday, Oct. 10 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Saturday, Oct. 11 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Wednesday, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thursday, Nov. 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Friday, Nov. 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Saturday, Nov. 8 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
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