MARYVILLE, TN (March 11, 2025) – Spring is in the air, and so is a return to racing for The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.
For the first time since 2022, the World of Outlaws Late Models are headed to Smoky Mountain Speedway for two nights of action in the World of Outlaws Tennessee Tipoff.
The weekend begins on Friday night with a 35-lap, $12,000-to-win, Feature before things go up a notch on Saturday, with a 50-lap, $15,000-to-win, main event wrapping up the program.
The World of Outlaws will be joined by Street Stocks and Front Wheel Drives on Friday and Sportsman Late Models and Mod Minis on Saturday.
Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:
NEW AND IMPROVED: The Outlaws have been a regular visitor at Smoky Mountain since 2004, but the version of the track welcoming the Series this weekend is a different animal from what they faced 11 times in the past.
A few months after the most recent World of Outlaws event on Labor Day weekend in 2022, work began to convert what was a 4/10-mile facility into a shortened 3/8-mile oval. In two seasons on the new layout, the track has put on plenty of thrilling shows and been praised by drivers and fans alike for its wide, multi-groove racing.
While this weekend marks the first World of Outlaws event on the new configuration, plenty of drivers have already gotten comfortable at Smoky Mountain 2.0. Six Super Late Model races have been held at the track since 2023 and five of them were won by a current World of Outlaws driver, with Ryan Gustin, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Brandon Overton splitting the trophies.
SINCE WE’VE BEEN GONE: In the three weeks since the Outlaws rolled out of Volusia Speedway Park, several teams have still been putting miles on the hauler and collecting checkered flags.
After a nightmarish Speedweeks, Brian Shirley made the trip to Springfield Raceway’s MLRA Founders Tribute event in search of a get-healthy weekend. He got exactly that, picking up his first win of the year on Feb. 28 before backing it up with another top five the following night.
Eight hundred miles to the east in Georgia, plenty of teams joined up with the Southern Nationals Series at Swainsboro Raceway and Senoia Raceway to build their notebooks ahead of the World of Outlaws events at both tracks later this year. Half a dozen Outlaws were in attendance on both nights, but Georgia’s own Cody Overton was the only one to find Victory Lane. “Lil’ Sexy” took the win at Senoia on March 1, his third of the year and second in a Super Late Model.
Six days later, Cade Dillard became the next Outlaw to grab his first Late Model win of the year, as “The Thriller” came out on top with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series at Boothill Speedway last Friday. Behind him, Ethan Dotson came home second for the third start in a row to complete the Outlaw one-two.
Elsewhere across the country, Dennis Erb Jr. stood on the podium for the first time in 2025 thanks to a third-place run on Feb. 28 in the Toilet Bowl Classic at Clarksville Speedway, while Daulton Wilson, Gustin and Jimmy Owens all brought home top 10s against the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series at I-75 Raceway on Saturday night.
DEFENDING ROCKY TOP: East Tennessee has produced some of the biggest stars in dirt Late Model racing over the years, and many of them will be in attendance to ensure the trophy stays in the “Volunteer State.”
The crop of locals will be led by one of the sport’s biggest legends – the “Newport Nightmare” Jimmy Owens. The 21-time World of Outlaws winner resides just over an hour north of the track and has been a regular in Maryville throughout his three-decade career.
Owens’ Smoky Mountain stat sheet is highlighted by two World of Outlaws wins in 2019 and 2022, the 2017 Mountain Moonshine Classic victory, as well as regional triumphs with the Southern All Stars and Spring Nationals.
Another Tennessean with countless laps around Smoky Mountain is Winfield, TN’s Mike Marlar. The 2020 Tennessee Tipoff winner has two top 10s in four starts on the 3/8-mile version of the track and enters the doubleheader fresh off a sixth-place Hunt the Front run at I-75 last weekend.
TROPHY HUNTING: Last month at Volusia, Thornton added a new piece of hardware to his rapidly-expanding trophy collection in the form of his first Big Gator.
Two wins and five top fives in six days were enough to build an insurmountable lead in the overall Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals points chase. That brought his Late Model win total to five on the year, more than any other driver in the country.
His Koehler Motorsports No. 20RT may have been sitting idle in the weeks since Volusia, but Thornton has been staying busy. The Chandler, AZ driver broke out his Micro Sprint for a pair of nights at the Southern Illinois Center and walked away with the Winged Outlaw win on March 1.
He’ll turn his focus back to the fendered car this weekend at one of his best tracks on the schedule. In four starts at the reconfigured Smoky Mountain, Thornton won three of them and finished second in the other. “RTJ” will aim to keep that impeccable 1.25 average finish intact this weekend and erase his four-point deficit to Gustin at the top of the points table.
BOUNCING BACK: Gustin and Thornton may be entering Smoky Mountain looking to keep the good times rolling, but many of their competitors are eager to hit the reset button after a lackluster showing at Volusia.
Brandon, FL’s Kyle Bronson didn’t have the home-state speed he would have hoped for, as he currently sits 13th in points with one top 10 in five World of Outlaws starts. Smoky Mountain could be the place for “Killer” to find his groove though, as he finished top 10 in his first time on the new layout last summer.
After failing to crack the top 10 in five starts at Volusia, Carson Ferguson is looking to get his MD3 Rookie of the Year bid back on track in familiar territory. The Lincolnton, NC driver made several starts at Smoky Mountain in the Paylor Motorsports No. 93 while racing regionally across the southeast before making the jump to the national level last season. Ferguson finished second in the Friday portion of the Mountain Moonshine Classic last June and sixth one night later, in addition to a pair of top fives on the old layout to his credit.
Ashton Winger’s return to the Series was filled with more than his fair share of attrition, as the Georgian left Volusia with a trailer full of wounded parts and no World of Outlaws Feature starts.
He found his footing with a pair of top 10s at Swainsboro and Senoia, and plans on starting his climb up from 29th in the standings this weekend. The Maryville, TN track is the site of a sixth-place run with Hunt the Front last year, and he won the Mountain Moonshine Classic in 2019 on the 4/10-mile surface.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Friday-Saturday, March 14-15 at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, TN
CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ryan Gustin (726 points)
2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (-4)
3. Bobby Pierce (-6)
4. Nick Hoffman (-12)
5. Max Blair (-16)
6. Ethan Dotson (-16)
7. Brandon Sheppard (-20)
8. Drake Troutman (-22)
9. Cody Overton (-24)
10. Brandon Overton (-32)
FEATURE WINNERS (4):
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
HEAT RACE WINNERS (15):
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 4
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 4
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 3
Garrett Alberson — Las Cruces, NM – 3
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 3
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 3
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 2
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1
LANDA PRESSURE WASHERS LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (12):
Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 3
Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – 2
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 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
PODIUM FINISHERS (10):
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 4
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 1
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1
FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGERS (5):
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
SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (3):
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 2
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
BILSTEIN POLE AWARD (4):
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2