Zack Mitchell has signed on to drive the No. 22* car full-time for G.R. Smith Motorsports in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, giving the team a new driver-team pairing for the rest of the 2026 season and beyond. Mitchell’s first race with the organization is scheduled for Wednesday night at Stateline Speedway.

Mitchell replaces Drake Troutman, who left the team on June 23. Jake Timm filled the seat in four races during the northern swing before Mitchell joined the lineup. G.R. Smith Motorsports entered the move sixth in the World of Outlaws owners standings, four points behind Cooney Motorsports in fifth.

Mitchell arrives with a strong resume in late model racing. He has won four Ultimate Super Late Model Series championships and the 2017 Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series title. He was also in contention for the 2026 Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series championship before taking the World of Outlaws ride, and his first week with the team also includes races at Sharon Speedway on July 10-11.

World of Outlaws driver Emerson Axsom was fined $500 and placed on probation for the remainder of the 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season after a physical altercation at Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, June 27. The incident happened off track before the event’s drivers meeting and involved physical contact.

Axsom drives the No. 27 Sprint Car for Klaasmeyer/Petry Motorsports. The sanction was issued under a World Racing Group rulebook provision covering altercations that lead to physical contact.

Bobby Pierce extended his dominant World of Outlaws Late Model Series run Tuesday at Norman County Raceway, leading every lap of the 50-lap feature and completing a perfect six-race sweep of the northern swing. He finished more than five seconds ahead of Nick Hoffman, with Ryan Gustin third, Tim McCreadie fourth and Jonathan Davenport fifth. The victory was Pierce’s sixth straight World of Outlaws win, tying the series all-time streaks set by Darrell Lanigan and Josh Richards, and left him one win short of the first seven-race run in series history.

Pierce entered the Minnesota races on a five-race swing winning streak and had won 15 World of Outlaws features this season. He has won nine of his last 10 starts and is within reach of the series single-season win record of 18. His June surge included 10 wins in 11 races, his first Dirt Late Model Dream victory at Eldora Speedway and $271,500 in earnings. The win also increased his championship lead over Hoffman to 76 points.

The northern swing is wrapping up with four races in Minnesota, starting at Norman County Raceway and continuing with the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway on July 2-4. Norman County’s race paid $20,000 to win, while Deer Creek will pay $10,000 to the winner on Thursday and Friday and $40,000 on Saturday. The Deer Creek weekend is also set to include fireworks, concerts, autograph sessions and other fan activities, with Hoffman, McCreadie, Dennis Erb Jr. and Dustin Sorensen among the contenders.

Persistent thunderstorms and rain in the Spring Valley, Minnesota, area forced the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Deer Creek Speedway to cancel the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 before it could be run at Deer Creek Speedway. Officials said the weather made travel unsafe for drivers and fans during the holiday weekend. No reschedule date was announced, and the series said it still expects to return to Deer Creek for the Gopher 50 in 2027.

The World of Outlaws had been scheduled to race at Deer Creek on July 2-4, with drivers competing for $10,000 on each of the first two nights and $40,000 to the winner of the finale. Advance ticket buyers will receive a face-value credit in their MyDirtTickets.com accounts valid for two years, while refund requests for tickets are available through July 30 and camping refund requests through July 31. The cancellation drew added interest because Bobby Pierce entered the week with a five-race win streak and 15 World of Outlaws victories in 2026, Nick Hoffman had won both previous World of Outlaws races at Norman County Raceway, and Minnesota native Dustin Sorensen was seeking his first series win at Deer Creek after a career-best third-place finish there in 2023.

Sheldon Haudenschild reached a career milestone Saturday night at Cedar Lake Speedway, winning the World of Outlaws Federated Auto Parts Independence Spectacular for his 50th series victory. He became the 19th driver to reach 50 World of Outlaws wins and did it in his 685th career feature start. Haudenschild said the milestone had extra meaning because he grew up watching his father, Jac Haudenschild, race.

Haudenschild took control late in the 35-lap feature, passing Michael “Buddy” Kofoid with two laps remaining after using momentum off Turns 3 and 4. The race featured three different leaders before Haudenschild secured the win. Kofoid finished second for the second straight night and moved into a tie with Carson Macedo for second in the standings. Garet Williamson, Chris Windom and Bill Balog finished third through fifth.

The win was Haudenschild’s second career victory at Cedar Lake and his fourth this season with KCP Racing. Forty-six of his 50 World of Outlaws wins have come with Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing. KCP Racing has now extended its streak of top-seven finishes to 15 consecutive races.

David Gravel swept Friday night’s Federated Auto Parts Independence Spectacular opener at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin, leading every part of the program and every lap of the 35-lap feature for his second straight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory. Driving for Big Game Motorsports, Gravel was fastest in hot laps and qualifying, won his heat race, drew the pole for the dash and won it, then held off Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in the main event.

The win came one week after Gravel’s $300,000 BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals triumph and gave him seven victories this season. It was also his third career win at Cedar Lake, and it moved him to within one point of Kofoid and Roth Motorsports in the 2026 standings.

Kofoid rallied from eighth to finish second, Bill Balog was third for his best World of Outlaws result at Cedar Lake, and Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth.

Buddy Kofoid and Roth Motorsports have built one of the strongest operations in sprint car racing around chemistry, trust and a long run together on the road. Kofoid has won 28 races for the team and leads the 2026 World of Outlaws series with eight victories, and he has said the people around him have made the No. 83 car championship-caliber.

Crew chief Dylan Buswell, car chief Nate Knotts and tire specialist Gage Tyra are central to that success. The team says each came into sprint car racing through a different path, with Buswell arriving from Australia, Knotts joining after time with Keith Kunz Motorsports and Tyra beginning his tire work in California. Kofoid has said the group’s willingness to work hard and rely on one another has helped sustain the winning culture, and that the close-knit travel lifestyle makes the team feel like brothers.

Dennis and Teresa Roth own the team, and Todd Ventura is credited with assembling the core group behind the program. Roth Motorsports is still seeking Dennis Roth’s first World of Outlaws championship, and Kofoid and the team are continuing that title chase at Cedar Lake Speedway’s Federated Auto Parts Independence Spectacular in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series heads into July with its busiest stretch of the season, a 24-day run that includes 13 races at eight tracks across five states and one stop in Canada. The series takes the Fourth of July off before the packed month begins, and six of the July events are part of the Summer of Money promotion, with each paying at least $20,000 to the winner and one offering a six-figure prize.

The month opens July 9 at Hartford Speedway with the Pure Michigan Showdown, marking the series’ return to Michigan for the first time since 2019. A June race date in Michigan was canceled because of weather, making the Hartford event the state’s first scheduled World of Outlaws stop in several years.

David Gravel is one driver to watch at Hartford Speedway. He has won the last two races there and will return with Big Game Motorsports as the series begins a demanding July slate.

David Gravel won Saturday’s BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals finale at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota, earning $300,000 in a record payday for a World of Outlaws sprint car race at the track and the largest purse in World of Outlaws history. Gravel won his heat race, advanced through the King of the Hill format to start on the pole and led all 40 laps, then held off Tyler Courtney to secure the victory.

Courtney finished second after challenging late in the feature and earned $50,000, falling one position short of the $100,000 High Bank Bounty and a potential $400,000 total payout. Donny Schatz finished third and earned $25,000, while Giovanni Scelzi and Buddy Kofoid rounded out the top five.

The win was Gravel’s sixth of the season and the 126th World of Outlaws victory of his career. It also ended a 12-race winless stretch for Big Game Motorsports.