WoO LMS Series Notes: $100,000 To Win At Cedar Lake

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — The list of dirt track events that pay six figures to the winner is an exclusive one, and the USA Nationals joins that club this weekend.

The 100-lap, $100,000-to-win feature at the end of three nights of racing (Thursday-Saturday, July 31-Aug. 2) is the highest-paying event of the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season and the richest event in the history of Cedar Lake Speedway.

The weekend begins with a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win, show on Thursday night. Friday’s program includes qualifying, heat races and a dash to set the lineups for Saturday, which features Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns and a Last Chance Qualifier before the main event.

DREAM COME TRUE

Brian Shirley took home $88,500 for his first Prairie Dirt Classic victory between the $50,000 winner’s pot and $500 for each of the 77 laps he led, making it the biggest payday of his racing career. Shirley had to wait two decades for that moment, but he may only have to wait seven days to reset that mark.

Cedar Lake has been a mixed bag for Shirley over the years, with plenty of solid runs mixed in with some lackluster nights and missed Features. His last few trips to New Richmond have trended on the positive side, with three top fives in his last six starts.

If Shirley can use the PDC victory to spark some more success in the second half of the season, he stands a chance at climbing several spots up the points table by the time World of Outlaws World Finals rolls around. The Bob Cullen Racing driver currently sits seventh, with Dennis Erb Jr., Tim McCreadie and Drake Troutman all within 72 points.

The upcoming schedule is right up Shirley’s alley as he looks to build momentum. After the tour leaves Cedar Lake, the next week of racing in mid-August includes stops at Highland Speedway and Maquoketa Speedway, where Shirley won last year, as well as Spoon River Speedway, where he’s a past DIRTcar Summer Nationals victor.

WELCOME BACK

A driver of Ryan Gustin’s caliber wasn’t going to stay out of victory lane forever, and a wire-to-wire win at Wilmot Raceway on Monday was all he needed to snap an 18-race drought.

Bobby Pierce’s runner-up meant Gustin gained minimal ground on the points leader, but a rough night for Nick Hoffman has the gap at 34 points between he and Gustin in the race for second leaving Wilmot.

Cedar Lake was a good track for Gustin in his Modified days – he’s a five-time United States Modified Touring Series winner there – but he struggled to match that speed in his first few visits in a late model. Something changed last year though, as Gustin won on Friday night and finished fourth in the 100-lapper on Saturday, blowing out his previous best of 13th in the USA Nationals.

STAYING HOT

Pierce may not have won a full-field World of Outlaws race over the weekend, but if his recent history at Cedar Lake is anything to go by, the winless streak might not last long.

The Oakwood, Ill., native has won the last two USA Nationals as well as a prelim night in both 2023 and 2024, adding up to four World of Outlaws wins at the track in the past two years. That makes him the winningest driver on this year’s full-time roster in series competition at Cedar Lake.

The three-eighths-mile has also been one of Hoffman’s weaker tracks, as the Mooresville, N.C., pilot has only one top five in his last six Cedar Lake starts. His best Saturday finish is an eighth from 2021 in Scott Bloomquist’s car, and he hasn’t finished better than 12th with Tye Twarog Motorsports.

This time around, Hoffman will be looking for a turnaround reminiscent of Gustin’s last year to avoid losing further ground in the title chase.

FORMER CHAMPS

In addition to Pierce, six other past USA Nationals winners are expected to battle for the first six-figure winner’s check in event history this weekend.

Tim McCreadie took the checkers in 2013 for his third of five USA Nationals top fives in his career. After a five-year absence from Cedar Lake, McCreadie returned last year driving for Rocket1 Racing and finished ninth in the main event.

Billy Moyer won the first two editions of the event in 1988 and 1989 as part of the original iteration of the World of Outlaws before collecting three more in 1990, 1992 and 1993. His five wins have him tied with Bloomquist for the most all-time.

Jonathan Davenport (2015, 2021, 2022) is aiming to get one step closer to catching Moyer and Bloomquist with a fourth USA Nationals win. “Superman” enters the weekend as the only six-figure winner in Late Model racing so far this year with his Dirt Late Model Dream triumph at Eldora Speedway.

Brandon Sheppard (2018) came up one spot short of his first crown-jewel trophy since reuniting with Rocket1 Racing last weekend at Fairbury. He’ll go for redemption at Cedar Lake, where he’s finished top five in six of his last eight USA Nationals starts.

Chris Madden (2019) will make his first World of Outlaws start since April in search of his second USA Nationals victory. He’ll do so behind the wheel of Kale Green’s machine, which he wheeled to two Southern Nationals Series wins at Wythe Raceway and Volunteer Speedway earlier this month.

Brandon Overton (2020) is looking for a breakout weekend at a place that has been good to him in the past. It’s been a tough season for the No. 76 team, as Overton’s 60 Late Model starts have only produced three wins and 17 top fives, the most recent of which came eight races ago.

Plenty of other big names are heading to Cedar Lake looking for their first taste of USA Nationals glory, including Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Garrett Alberson, Mike Marlar, Tyler Bruening, Jason Feger, Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Max Blair and many more.