Jeremy Shields – Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series PR
A national championship, a $100,000 winner’s payday, and lucrative bonus awards await as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heads to West Virginia Motor Speedway for the 46th Annual ARP Dirt Track World Championship presented by Summit Racing Equipment.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series competition is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, October 16–17, with racing beginning Thursday and entertainment kicking off Wednesday evening.
Brandon Sheppard enters the season’s final weekend with a narrow 45-point advantage over defending series champion Devin Moran. Moran tightened the championship battle with a charge from 15th to second in Saturday’s UNOH Clash on the Wabash finale at Eldora Speedway, while Sheppard finished sixth. Hudson O’Neal sits third in the standings, 140 points behind Sheppard.
Saturday’s finale will also settle the Big River Steel Bonus Program presented by ARP, with awards determined separately from the season-long national championship. Summit Racing Equipment will provide an additional $5,000 to the highest-finishing eligible driver in the Dirt Track World Championship. Eligibility includes the drivers who ranked first through 15th in the championship standings.
The five drivers who qualified for the first-through-fifth bonus division are competing for a $200,000 fund, paying $100,000, $40,000, $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000 in final bonus standings order. Moran leads that battle by just 20 points over Ricky Thornton Jr., with Sheppard, Brandon Overton, and O’Neal completing the group.
Another $50,000 is available in the division for drivers who ranked sixth through 15th at the eligibility cutoff. The top three in that division’s final bonus standings will receive $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively. Josh Rice enters the weekend leading Max Blair by 35 points, with Brian Shirley third, 80 points behind Rice.
The weekend marks the Dirt Track World Championship’s first visit to West Virginia Motor Speedway since 2010 and its first appearance on the facility’s reconfigured 3/8-mile oval. Known for its panoramic hillside seating, the Mineral Wells venue offers an amphitheater-style setting against West Virginia’s fall landscape. The track previously hosted the event in 1999, 2000, and 2010, with Steve Francis, Wendell Wallace, and Earl Pearson Jr. earning victories.
Racing begins Thursday, October 15, with a $5,000-to-win Steel Block Late Model feature and a $2,000-to-win Sport Mod feature. Friday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series program includes qualifying, heat races, and twin 25-lap features paying $5,000 to win. Saturday brings last-chance races, the Jim Dunn Non-Qualifier, and the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win Dirt Track World Championship. UMP Modified competition is also part of the weekend program.
All gates are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, with racing listed for 5:30 p.m. daily. Fans may begin placing chairs at 10 a.m. Thursday. On-site primitive camping is available, with limited Creekside availability.
A full slate of entertainment and fan activities will complement the racing:
Wednesday, October 14
• 7:30 – 10 p.m. – Live music with Corey Galbreath.
Thursday, October 15
• Racing activities.
Friday, October 16
• 4 – 5 p.m. – Modified Driver Autograph Session.
• 4 – 5 p.m. – DTWC Merch Treasure Hunt.
• Friday night – Racing activities.
• 9:30 – 11 p.m. – Gage Joseph LIVE Post-Race Pit Party.
Saturday, October 17
• Noon – 1 p.m. – Dirt Racing Outreach Church Service.
• 2 p.m. – Best Campsite Decoration Contest judging.
• 2 – 3 p.m. – DTWC Interview Sessions.
• 3:15 – 5 p.m. – Live music with Donnie Barney on the Backstretch Midway.
• 4 – 4:45 p.m. – Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Driver Autograph Session.
• 4 – 5 p.m. – DTWC Merch Treasure Hunt #2.
• Saturday evening – 46th Annual Dirt Track World Championship.
All times are Eastern and subject to change.
West Virginia Motor Speedway is located at 788 Speedway Road in Mineral Wells, West Virginia. Tickets and camping information are available at WVMotorSpeedway.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:
Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3
Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NRM NLMT2, (92) NRM NLMT3, (92) NRM NLMT4
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:
Friday, October 16: 1. $5,000, 2. $3,000, 3. $2,000, 4. $1,500, 5. $1,250, 6. $1,000, 7. $950, 8. $900, 9. $850, 10. $800, 11. $700, 12. $600, 13. $600, 14. $600, 15. $600, 16. $600, 17. $550, 18. $500, 19. $500, 20. $500, 21. $500, 22. $500, 23. $500, 24. $500 = $25,000 each x2 = $50,000 Total
Saturday, October 17:
46th Annual Dirt Track World Championship: 1. $100,000, 2. $25,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $8,000, 5. $7,500, 6. $7,000, 7. $6,500, 8. $6,000, 9. $5,500, 10. $5,000, 11. $4,200, 12. $3,600, 13. $3,000, 14. $2,900, 15. $2,800, 16. $2,700, 17. $2,600, 18. $2,575, 19. $2,550, 20. $2,535, 21. $2,525, 22. $2,515, 23. $2,500, 24. $2,500, 25. $2,500, 26. $2,500 = $225,000
Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Race: 1. $3,000, 2. $2,000, 3. $1,800, 4. $1,600, 5. $1,400, 6. $1,200, 7. $1,100, 8. $1,000, 9. $950, 10. $900, 11. $850, 12. $800, 13. $750, 14. $700, 15. $650, 16. $600, 17. $575, 18. $550, 19. $535, 20. $525, 21. $515, 22. $500, 23. $500, 24. $500 = $23,500
Previous Dirt Track World Champions:
2025 – Bobby Pierce
2024 – Bobby Pierce
2023 – Brandon Sheppard
2022 – Garrett Smith
2021 – Ricky Thornton Jr.
2020 – Brandon Sheppard
2019 – Brandon Sheppard
2018 – Josh Richards
2017 – Josh Richards
2016 – Brandon Sheppard
2015 – Scott Bloomquist
2014 – Scott Bloomquist
2013 – Brandon Sheppard
2012 – Jimmy Owens
2011 – Don O’Neal
2010 – Earl Pearson Jr.
2009 – Jimmy Mars
2008 – Brian Birkhofer
2007 – Chub Frank
2006 – Shannon Babb
2005 – Scott Bloomquist
2004 – Rick Eckert
2003 – Darrell Lanigan
2002 – Shannon Babb
2001 – Bart Hartman
2000 – Wendell Wallace
1999 – Steve Francis
1998 – Freddy Smith
1997 – Marshall Green
1996 – Billy Moyer
1995 – Jack Boggs
1994 – Ronnie Johnson
1993 – Freddy Smith
1992 – Ronnie Johnson
1991 – Freddy Smith
1990 – Jack Boggs
1989 – John Mason
1988 – Donnie Moran
1987 – Larry Moore
1986 – Billy Moyer
1985 – Freddy Smith
1984 – Jack Boggs
1983 – Freddy Smith
1982 – Charlie Swartz
1981 – Jim Dunn
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