Using Lessons Learned From 2024, Troutman Looking to Close Out Rookie of the Year Campaign On Top at World Finals
Photo by Emily Schwanke
CONCORD, N.C.—Every driver loves to talk about the races they won. But the ones they can recall in even greater detail are the races they almost won.
The high point of Drake Troutman’s debut season with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision undoubtedly came at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park, the site of his first Series victory in June. But had things gone a little differently one year ago at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, that crowning moment could have come seven months earlier.
Against a field of more than 60 of the toughest competitors Late Model racing has to offer, the 19-year-old Pennsylvanian earned the pole position for the Thursday Feature at the 2024 World of Outlaws World Finals. Troutman held his own early on, keeping names like Ricky Thornton Jr., Chris Madden and Mike Marlar at bay for the first 22 circuits.
It wasn’t meant to be that night though, as Thornton eventually found a way by and cruised home to the checkers, leaving Troutman with a career-best second.
“I could tell you every lap about it,” Troutman said. “You don’t really sit back and think about the ones that you won, you think about the ones that you feel like got away. I felt like that was one that could have been a pretty big break for us. We went down there, had a motor that was about lapped out, she was getting pretty wore out. I feel like that was definitely one that got away, but we were still ecstatic at the time with the results that weekend. It was a solid weekend all around. I feel like this year, we’re going in a lot more prepared, better equipment. Hopefully, this year we can get her done.”
Showings like that in his own equipment caught the eye of G.R. Smith, who named Troutman as the newest driver for Team22 Motorsports for the 2025 season. Armed with another year of experience on the road and the best parts and pieces he’s ever had to work with, Troutman signed up for his first full World of Outlaws campaign intending to make waves. He’s done exactly that, scoring three Late Model wins on the year between the World of Outlaws and the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and enters Charlotte seventh in the standings with a 166-point lead in the MD3 Rookie of the Year chase.
“I felt like in a lot of aspects, we definitely met or surpassed our expectations,” Troutman said. “Over the last month or so, two months, we’ve been struggling here a little bit, but we changed some stuff around in our program and were able to get things going again. We had a lot of speed this past weekend down there at Whynot [Motorsports Park], just didn’t have a whole lot of luck to go with it.
“I think we’re all pretty happy and pretty excited for next year. We’ve got a little bit more of an idea on what we need to do to be better. That’s the biggest thing, just every year, try to keep on growing. We’re all young, it’s a young team, and even G.R.’s a young car owner. Every year, we’re going to try to be better, and G.R. has definitely done a good job at giving us the right equipment to get out here and do this deal to the fullest.”
Troutman’s bid for top rookie honors has come with an enjoyable dynamic, as his closest challenger throughout the season, Ethan Dotson, is also one of his closest allies in the pit area. The Team22 and ASD Motorsports haulers could be found parked next to each other night after night, with the two rising stars serving as each other’s biggest cheerleader through their first season on the road with the World of Outlaws.
“Me and him have been friends all through the Modified stuff,” Troutman said. “We feel like our racing careers have grown together, we both raced Modifieds together and now we get to race Late Models together on the national tour. I think we both had a mindset of, ‘Let the best man win.’ He had some bad luck this year, and if things changed around for him, it might have been a closer battle for sure. Him and his guys have done a hell of a job this year. Whenever we had bad nights, it seemed like they had good nights, and vice versa. It’s definitely been a good time racing with those guys, and they’ve helped us out a lot as well.”
Only one weekend remains in Troutman’s maiden World of Outlaws voyage, and it presents the chance to avenge his defeat from a year ago. As if he needed another reason to circle Charlotte on his calendar, World Finals is also Smith’s home event, residing 45 minutes from the track in Statesville, NC.
Troutman is set to debut a brand-new chassis at the event, which he shook down at the Longhorn Chassis test session at Charlotte last week. The team has also picked up local support from LakeHouse Wine Bar & Grill on nearby Lake Norman, which will be adorned on the side of Troutman’s new black ride throughout the week.
“Even though we only race [at Charlotte] one time a year, this is about as close as we get to his house,” Troutman said. “This weekend is really special to the whole race team, and aside from that, there’s probably 20, 30,000 people there. It’s definitely a really important weekend to take in, and you want to run good, you want to come with your best. I try to do that every weekend, but I feel like there’s definitely a little bit more effort to put in for this race.”
Beyond finishing his freshman year on a high note, Troutman is also focused on using World Finals as a launch pad into 2026. Having a clear view of what his future in Late Model racing looks like, Troutman is able to start working further in advance than he ever has before, and he believes the results will speak for themselves when the green flag flies at Volusia Speedway Park in January.
“We didn’t end up really getting things together until about the first of December, and I felt like we were more prepared than I’ve ever been in my racing career,” Troutman said. “This year, I feel like we’re already so much ahead of the ballpark for 2026. That’s why we’ve taken a week off here and there towards the end of the season here just because of getting things ready. It’s not really an offseason anymore, you race all year round. We’ve just been trying to pick our battles a little bit better here towards the end of the season to make sure that in 2026, we come out fully prepared and do everything as perfect as what we can get it.”
The 2025 World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season concludes at The Dirt Track at Charlotte as part of World of Outlaws World Finals, Wednesday-Saturday, Nov. 5-8, alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the Super DIRTcar Series. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live at DIRTVision.
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