Troutman is the last driver to win at Volusia Speedway Park, having earned his first Reutimann Memorial victory in November
Drake Troutman has a hectic week of racing planned before jumping into the grind of the 2026 World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season.
His initial plan was to make his annual trip west to the Wild West Shootout prior to heading to Volusia Speedway Park for DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals. Then another idea was brought up: ‘Would you be interested in running the Chili Bowl?’
Team22 Motorsports owner G.R. Smith has been a longtime friend of Shane Hmiel, the former NASCAR and USAC competitor who has remained involved in the sport as an owner and driver coach. Hmiel also has ties to Oklahoma-based team owner Grady Chandler, and together, the trio laid out a plan for Troutman to dip his toe into the Midget waters on the division’s biggest stage.
“It was right around the time of the World 100, [Hmiel] mentioned possibly doing something,” Troutman said. “Shane was a hell of a wheel man, Grady was too, and they’ve got really good equipment. It’s something that I’ve talked about doing for probably three, four years, always wanted to go out. It was really just an opportunity that opened up that we tried to capitalize on.”
There was just one small problem – Troutman had never even sat in a Midget before, or any other type of open-wheel race car. In an effort to get up to speed prior to battling more than 300 of the best drivers in the sport, Troutman flew to Tulsa, OK shortly after World of Outlaws World Finals for a test session at Port City Raceway.
Upon hitting the track, it didn’t take long to realize he was in for a challenge unlike anything else he’s taken on before.
“The car is really good, the car’s definitely better than the driver was,” Troutman said. “Drove it like a little girl there for a little bit, I was a little nervous. Got into the throttle a little bit harder, and really, the harder you drive those things, the easier it feels like they are to drive. We got going there and finally started to put some somewhat competitive laps down.”
Should Troutman’s first visit to the SageNet Center go well, he wouldn’t be the first Late Model star to find success early on in his Midget career. Most notably, Tim McCreadie finished top 10 in the Saturday Feature in his Chili Bowl debut in 2005 and won the event one year later. Nick Hoffman has also made waves in his five trips to Tulsa, with a best finish of fifth in three preliminary night Feature starts and two Saturday B-Main appearances in 2022 and 2024.
“Obviously I want to go out and run good,” Troutman said of his expectations going into the event. “I’m not doing it just to go out for the hell of it. But at the same time, I’m going in pretty open-minded, too. I mean, that’s a really, really tough deal out there, and it’s not in my realm. It’s not like I go out and race a Midget every once in a while. It’s the first time racing it and the second time I’ve ever sat in one. I’m going out a little open-minded, but at the end of the day, it ought to be a fun weekend, a good experience, and I really just hope to make the best of it. If we could put that thing in the show, that would be a win.”
Despite his enthusiasm for his Midget debut, Troutman wasn’t keen on missing out on the Wild West Shootout, an event that stands as a valuable opportunity to turn laps at the start of a new season before championship points are on the line. That led Troutman to the same conclusion Kyle Larson famously came to in 2024 – doing the double.
After making the cross-country tow from Pennsylvania to the Wild West Shootout’s new home at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, AZ, Troutman will unload his Late Model for a Friday practice night, followed by two race nights on Saturday and Sunday. Once that’s over, it’s off to the airport.
“We’re going to race the Late Model in Arizona, then I’m going to fly back to the Chili Bowl on that Monday to hang out, watch, and just get the gist of things,” Troutman said. “Then I’m going to race that Tuesday, and then I’ll end up flying back.”
At the end of Troutman’s Chili Bowl prelim night – which will be made extra challenging by the fact that he’ll miss practice on Sunday, meaning his first laps around the Expo will be in his Heat Race – he’ll have less than 24 hours to return to Arizona for the next round of Wild West Shootout competition on Wednesday.
Following a well-earned day off on Thursday, he’ll return to action for the final stretch in Arizona starting on Friday. That brings up a crossroads of whether Troutman will return to Tulsa for championship Saturday, which he says will be a game-time decision based on his results on Tuesday.
Regardless of what Saturday brings, Troutman will be back in Arizona for the final night of Late Model competition on Sunday. Then comes a 2,000-mile trip in less than three days from Arizona to Florida.
The 2026 edition of DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals gets underway with a practice night on Wednesday, Jan. 21, which leads into the first three nights of the World of Outlaws season on Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 22-24 – culminating with Saturday night’s $20,000-to-win Feature.
Upon arriving at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile,” one of the week’s top storylines will be the new gumbo clay that was laid down in March. Unlike most Super Late Model drivers competing next month, Troutman has already competed and won on the new Volusia surface in his DIRTcar UMP Modified at November’s Emil & Dale Reutimann Memorial. He helped close out Volusia’s 2025 season with a win, leaving him optimistic about starting his second season with the World of Outlaws on a high note.
“The track was really good down there, I felt like it was kind of how it used to be,” Troutman said. “The first year I went down there, it had that black dirt on it. Whenever it’s hooked up, it’s fast, but it’s greasy. And whenever that thing blows off, it’s really slick. I think it’ll be really technical, and I think it’ll definitely keep us on our toes more like the old Volusia.
“I mean, we raced from the inside wall to the outside wall down there at that Modified show. I’m excited to get back there with our Late Model stuff for sure.”
Troutman will begin his 2026 season with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision at Volusia Speedway Park during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 22-24) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 12-14), followed by the Swamp Cabbage 100 at Hendry County Motorsports Park (Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21). Get tickets and more information for all three events by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.