Chris Madden opened the DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park with a weekend-long display of speed in Wells Motorsports’ No. 44 Infinity. He posted the fastest lap in Wednesday practice — quicker than the official track record — then topped qualifying and won his heat, making the Wells–Infinity debut competitive from the start. In the 35-lap feature Madden led every lap.

He survived a scare on lap 12 when Tristan Chamberlain slowed with a broken oil pump belt that briefly threatened the field. Late in the race Nick Hoffman slipped by through Turns 1–2 with four laps remaining, but Madden executed a crossover move to retake the lead, opened a gap and held off challengers, including withstanding a green-white-checkered restart after Jake Timm spun off Turn 4.

The victory marked Madden’s 40th World of Outlaws Late Models win at Volusia — the same track where he earned his first two series victories about two decades earlier — and his first WoO Late Models triumph since July 2025. The result provided a strong launch for the Wells–Infinity partnership and came against a competitive field that included Brandon Sheppard, Dennis Erb Jr. and Ricky Thornton Jr., who finished among the top five.

Sources