CONCORD, NC (January 24, 2025) - “Peach State” fans will have a fresh face to cheer for in 2025, as Cedartown, GA’s Austin Smith is ready for a run at the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws Late Models.
Racing nationally against the best Late Model drivers in the nation has long been the target for Smith, and he decided that there was no better time than the present to pull the trigger and chase the dream.
“We were going to go to a bunch of the races anyway,” Smith said. “Swainsboro, Talladega, even the Florida races, we were coming to those, the Smoky Mountain race. There’s a bunch of them in my area that we were going to go to anyway, so it kind of made sense to just go ahead and do it all.”
He won’t be going at it alone though, as Smith has the full support of Shane Clanton and Capital Race Cars on his side. Not only does that mean he’ll have the equipment he needs to win, it also means he has the expertise of the 2015 Series champion to lean on as he navigates life on the road with the World of Outlaws.
“My dad and Shane, they joined together last year and became partners on this Capital deal,” Smith said. “He’s been there, done that. He knows the ins and outs, the dos and the don’ts. He’s passionate about this racing, he’s been around it his whole life, so he’s good to learn from. Yeah he’s stubborn, but he’s definitely a good one to have in your corner.”
In his limited World of Outlaws starts last season, Smith proved his ability to hold his own in two of the sport’s biggest events, making the Feature on Saturday at the Prairie Dirt Classic and on all three nights of the season-ending World of Outlaws World Finals. But competing against the Outlaws every weekend requires an entirely different level of preparedness and commitment, and Smith knows he’s in for a trial by fire in his freshman season.
“Racing with these guys is a totally different animal,” Smith said. “I don’t know that you have an advantage anywhere across the United States. Yeah, I could probably gamble on tires or something like that where maybe they don’t really know, but as far as setup, driving, equipment, things of that nature, they’re all the best of the best. It’s tough night in, night out no matter where you’re at.”
With the likes of Ethan Dotson, Daniel Hilsabeck, Jake Timm and Daniel Adam committed to the full World of Outlaws season, Smith knows he’s in for a heavyweight fight for this season’s top rookie honors. While that’s a battle he believes he’s capable of winning, the primary goal for 2025 is to continue the building process towards a long and successful career with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.
“We would love to win the rookie deal obviously, just as all the other rookies would,” Smith said. “Just getting out there and getting our feet wet racing with these guys, it makes you better. We’re looking forward to racing with them. Trying to build our notebook, trying to build our program, trying to build Capital as a whole. We’ve got Daniel [Hilsabeck] and Dennis [Erb Jr.] on tour also, which is going to be great help. We’ll just see what happens.”
Smith will kick off his first season with the World of Outlaws Late Models this weekend at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 24-25), followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). To find ticket information for both events, click here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap of the 2025 World of Outlaws Late Models season on DIRTVision.
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