The World of Outlaws Late Model Series begins a four-race, five-night Midwest swing April 28 with a midweek 40-lap, $12,000-to-win program at Independence Motor Speedway. The tour observes a travel day April 29, then moves to the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway from April 30 through May 2.

Mississippi Thunder will host two 30-lap, $10,000-to-win programs on April 30 and May 1, followed by a 50-lap, $40,000-to-win finale on May 2. The Independence card is supported by the Karl Chevrolet Premier Late Model Tour alongside IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars; the Mississippi Thunder dates will feature USRA Northern Lights Modifieds, concentrating prize money and points opportunities across three consecutive days.

The purse structure amplifies the championship fight. Championship leader Nick Hoffman arrives at Independence with 2,198 points and a two-point lead over Bobby Pierce. Tim McCreadie, Daulton Wilson and Tyler Erb sit third through fifth, with Erb holding a five-point advantage over Ryan Gustin for the final top-five spot. Gustin, racing in his home state and riding a three-race win streak on other tours, remains sixth in series points and has yet to record a World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory this season. The entry list will mix series regulars and short-track entrants, including Dustin Sorensen, Jonathan Davenport, Chad Simpson and Chris Simpson.

Brad Sweet led every lap from the pole to win the Knoxville Raceway opener for the Premier Chevy Dealers NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws event, taking the non-stop 25-lap main in the Paul Silva/Silva Motorsports No. 94 and collecting $12,000. He separated from the field late and finished more than two seconds ahead of David Gravel.

David Gravel, J.J. Hickle, Justin Henderson and Ryan Timms pressured Sweet early, and on lap two Gravel mounted a strong high-side surge to challenge Sweet in traffic. Sweet held the point throughout, Gravel settled for second, and Timms finished third, 0.042 seconds behind Gravel. Brent Marks was fourth and J.J. Hickle was fifth.

The victory was Sweet’s 93rd World of Outlaws feature win and his first at Knoxville since June 2019. The win extended Sweet’s streak to 15 consecutive seasons with at least one World of Outlaws feature victory, tying him for the fourth-longest run, and marked his third win in eight 410 Sprint Car starts this season. Gravel’s runner-up effort was his 10th podium of the season and extended his points lead in the World of Outlaws standings. Buddy Kofoid posted the Race//Ready Hottest Lap of the Night, and the Knoxville opener drew a 65-car field, one shy of the non-Knoxville Nationals one-day record of 66 set in 1979.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series framed May as a crucial tune-up stretch ahead of the summer season, promoting a 10-track, six-state swing as “The Greatest Show on Dirt.” Organizers in Concord, North Carolina said the May slate is designed to give teams opportunities to take notes and fine-tune setups as the series moves into its busiest months, while keeping fans engaged at several fan-favorite venues.

The schedule opens May 1 at Attica Raceway Park with the Kistler Engines Classic and continues May 2 at Sharon Speedway. A midweek Gettysburg Clash is set for May 5 at Lincoln Speedway, followed by the Hershey Sprint Car Experience on May 7. The Morgan Cup at Williams Grove runs May 8–9. The #LetsRaceTwo program at Eldora is scheduled for May 15–16; Eldora has hosted the World of Outlaws series 242 times and Steve Kinser has 41 World of Outlaws wins there.

The rescheduled Hy-Vee Perks 40 is set for Jacksonville on May 19. Huset’s Speedway will host the Stars and Stripes Salute on May 24 with a $20,000 winner’s prize, presented as a prep event for the June BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals. The Don Mack Classic at River Cities is May 29 and the month closes May 31 with the Magic City Showdown at Nodak, where hometown driver Donny Schatz, among the all-time leaders with 317 World of Outlaws victories, has earned multiple wins. The May slate combines traditional marquee stops and regional showcases as a ramp-up toward high-stakes summer finales.

Knoxville Raceway will open the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season with the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash on April 24-25. The two-night Clash is expected to draw a large field and will be the tour’s first visit to Knoxville this season.

Knoxville is scheduled for nine World of Outlaws nights, making it the tour’s most-visited track. The Premier Chevy Dealers Clash consists of at least two legs, with the second leg set for June 12-13. The series will return for the Stars and Stripes Salute on May 23, and Knoxville will host the 65th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s on August 12-15.

Published schedule notes and previews emphasize Knoxville’s central role on the calendar and continued sponsorship and event branding by NOS Energy Drink and Casey’s. Promotional coverage uses local nicknames, “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” and “The Greatest Show on Dirt,” and previews referenced Knoxville regulars and a “High Limit” appearance for the Clash weekend.

Officials from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and Talladega Short Track canceled the Alabama Gang 100, scheduled for this weekend at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama. The decision followed consultation with Precision Weather Service and forecasts of widespread thunderstorms and heavy rain Friday night into Saturday. Officials cited safety, logistical concerns and the high cost of travel for teams as reasons for not running the event.

Organizers said participant and crew safety took priority and confirmed the Alabama Gang 100 will not be rescheduled; no alternative dates or contingency plans were provided. Talladega Short Track said it will refund purchased tickets, pit passes and camping spots and provided a phone number and email for fans with questions. The cancellation affects teams, fans and support personnel who had planned to travel.

The World of Outlaws tour will resume at Independence Motor Speedway on Tuesday, April 28, and then move to Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the Dairyland Showdown April 30–May 2.

Organizers postponed the original April date and rescheduled the Hy-Vee Perks 40 to May 19 in Jacksonville, Illinois. Tickets purchased for the original April running will be honored at the May 19 event.

The tour is also scheduled to stop at Knoxville Raceway on April 24-25 for the opening leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash. Tickets for that event are available.

To reduce travel disruption among Midwest dirt tracks, the tour will follow a condensed late-May sequence. The World of Outlaws is scheduled at Knoxville Raceway on May 23 and at Huset’s Speedway on May 24 for the Stars and Stripes Salute, with each event paying $20,000 to the winner.

Tyler Courtney, an Indianapolis native, won the World of Outlaws 40-lap feature at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana after late contact with Michael “Buddy” Kofoid that spun Kofoid on the white flag. Courtney survived a green-white-checkered restart and held off Emerson Axsom for the victory. It was Courtney’s sixth World of Outlaws win and his second at Tri-State.

Courtney started fourth and charged to the lead early. Kofoid rallied from as low as 10th and had been seeking a fourth straight victory, and the two drivers traded heavy contact in the closing laps. Under the white flag Kofoid attempted to drag-race under Courtney, made contact and spun, and finished 19th.

Emerson Axsom recorded his first podium of the year in second, Sheldon Haudenschild was third, Brady Bacon fourth and Garet Williamson fifth. In points action Kofoid remained third while series leader David Gravel extended his championship advantage to 80 points.

Hunter Cornell’s rapid rise as a young crew chief and his partnership with driver Drake Troutman have become a focal point of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Cornell, 22, of Berlin, Pennsylvania, is in his second season as crew chief of the G.R. Smith Motorsports No. 22 in the World of Outlaws and in his fifth year working full time in racing as of April. Coverage has cast Cornell and Troutman as best friends moving up together, and Cornell has built a reputation as one of the tour’s better-known young crew chiefs.

Cornell and Troutman grew up around Pennsylvania short tracks and began working together before Cornell finished high school, after Cornell spent two months in Troutman’s family-owned No. 7 shop. The pair continued their long-running working relationship through the end of 2024. When Troutman, 20, earned a rookie World of Outlaws ride with G.R. Smith in 2025, the team hired Troutman and Cornell as a package deal and moved both to the national tour for Troutman’s rookie campaign.

On track, Cornell helped guide Troutman to his first World of Outlaws win at Pevely in 2025 and assisted on decisive late-race moves that produced victories at Port Royal and Lernerville. The 2026 World of Outlaws Late Model Series is scheduled to resume April 24–25 at Talladega Short Track with the Alabama Gang 100, where the pair will look to build on their early successes.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series added Kings Speedway in Hanford, California, to its 2026 California swing, scheduling the Central Valley Clash for Sept. 22. The Kings date sits between the Dennis Roth Classic at Stockton (Sept. 18–19, an $83,000-to-win event) and consecutive World of Outlaws stops at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield (Sept. 25) and Ventura Raceway (Sept. 26). Tickets for the Central Valley Clash are on sale, and World of Outlaws races will stream live on DIRTVision.

Kings Speedway is a historic 3/8-mile oval that ranks as the fourth-most visited California venue in World of Outlaws history with 38 all-time stops, and it had been closed for the 2025 season. The venue first hosted the series in 1985 when Jeff Swindell won, and the most recent World of Outlaws victory at the track was by Carson Macedo in 2024.

One More Time Promotions, led by Bubby Morse and Don Chambers, has taken over operations, prepared the facility and will reopen the track for racing. The announcement restores a longtime World of Outlaws stop and fills out the California swing’s schedule ahead of the 2026 season.