Since the release of the 2021 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models schedule, the Bristol Bash, April 8-10, has been one of the most anticipated events on the calendar.
It’s the first time in history “The Most Powerful Late Models on The Planet” take on the famed half-mile, known as the “Last Great Colosseum.”
Friday, April 9, the Series will run a 40-lap Feature, paying $10,000 to win. Then, they’ll run another 40 laps on Saturday, April 10, with the winner collecting $25,000.
Teams will also have a practice session on Thursday April 8.
The DIRTcar UMP Modifieds will accompany the World of Outlaws Late Models on all three nights.
Kyle Strickler enters Bristol top of the point standings, leading three-time defending champion Brandon Sheppard by 24 points. He remains the only repeat winner after the first nine races of the season.
If you can’t make it either night, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS Subscription for $39/month.
Fans can also watch a special pre-race show Thursday night FREE on DIRTVision from 6pm to 9pm (ET). It’ll also be free on Facebook Live and Youtube Live.
The show will be hosted by Matt Yocum and Ashley Stremme with pit reporting from Georgia Henneberry.
Here are the top stories to follow this weekend:
Cutting The Deficit: Entering the Illini 100 last weekend, Kyle Strickler had a 66-point lead over three-time defending champion Brandon Sheppard. Now it’s down to 24 points after Sheppard’s two top-five runs, and a 13th- and 16th-place finish by Strickler.
While Strickler has more wins (2), Sheppard enters Bristol with the most top-10 finishes of all drivers in the first nine races (6).
The last time Strickler, of Sinking Spring, PA, had a top-10 finish, was in February during the DIRTcar Nationals. If that trend continues, there could be a new points leader by the end of the weekend.
Waiting For Lift Off: Despite the two top-five finishes at Farmer City Raceway, Brandon Sheppard is still struggling to get his first World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Feature win of the season. This is the longest he’s gone without a win to start the season in his career. His longest streak previous was four races during his rookie season in 2017.
While he did win at Cherokee Speedway this season, that was a special event and didn’t count as an official Series victory.
The New Berlin, IL will look to win big at Bristol this weekend. Along with breaking his winless streak and earning him a historic win at the iconic track, he would also claim his 70th career World of Outlaws victory – then putting him only seven wins behind the all-time win record.
He and his Rocket1 Racing team should have a good idea of what it takes to get around the half-mile track after making 156 laps during a test session in March. He was second fastest overall behind Ricky Weiss. Both of them ran laps in the 15.2 second bracket – four seconds faster than the NASCAR Cup cars– with an average speed of 125mph.
The Need For Speed: The bad news for Ricky Weiss is that he’s been struggling of late with his Sniper chassis. The good news is he knows he has a fast car at Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the March test, the Headly, MB driver was fastest overall with a 15.266 second lap.
Weiss is fifth in the standings, 96 points back of Strickler. A couple of good finishes this weekend could put him within striking distance of the top spot.
The Quest for a Second Win: Friday and Saturday won’t be the first Late Model races on Bristol’s dirt surface this year.
The speedway held two races during Bristol Dirt Nationals last month, won by Chris Ferguson and Jonathan Davenport.
Davenport will look to capture that glory again this weekend and take home the iconic gladiator sword trophy with the Outlaws. He has one top-five finish with the Series this season, finishing third at the “Tennessee Tip-off” at Smoky Mountain Speedway in March.
Southern Comfort Zone: It’s a home state weekend for 2004 Series champion Scott Bloomquist, of Moorseburg, TN, and Jimmy Owens, of Newport, TN.
“Black Sunshine” already has two wins at the track. They both happened the last time dirt was on the speedway in 2001.
Owens hopes to keep his momentum rolling with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models. He won a twin 25-lap Feature last month at Cherokee Speedway, as part of the Rock Gault Memorial. However, like Sheppard’s win, it didn’t count as an official World of Outlaws victory. He and Bloomquist will be on the hunt for their first official Series win of 2021.
This Week at a Glance
When and Where
April 8-10, Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN
About the Track
Bristol Motor Speedway is a 1/2 mile high-banked oval.
Online: https://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com
On the Internet
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Series
Twitter – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels
Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month
Around the Turn: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series on Friday, April 23, will visit Richmond Raceway, before moving east to Brushcreek Motorsports Complex April 24.
Visit www.richmond-raceway.net or www.brushcreekmotorsports.com to buy tickets for either event.
Feature Winners: (7 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Kyle Strickler, Sinking Springs, PA-2
- Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-1
Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-1
Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1
Chris Madden, Grey Court, SC-1
Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1
Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-1
DRYDENE HEAT RACE WINNERS (25 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Chris Madden, Grey Court, SC-3
Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-3
Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-3
Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-3 - Kyle Strickler, Sinking Spring, PA-2
Devin Moran, Dresden, OH- 2
Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-2 - Dale Mcdowell, Chickamauga, GA- 1
Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-1
Darell Lanigan, Union, KY-1
Parker Martin, Milledgeville, GA-1
Ross Bailes, Clover, SC- 1
Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga-1
Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-1
Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1
Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN-1
Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ-1
Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-1
Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN-1
Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL-1
Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL-1
Taylor Scheffler, Waukesha, WI- 1
Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1
Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL- 1
Kevin Weaver, Gibson City, IL-1
Last Chance Showdown Winners (15 drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Ricky Weiss, Headingly, MB -2
Dale Mcdowell, Chickamauga, GA-2
Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-2 - Ross Robinson, Clover, SC- 1
Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA-1
Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-1
Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN-1
Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-1
Brandon Overton, Evans, GA- 1
Dennis Erb, Jr., Carpentersville, IL-1
Mike Norris, Sarver, PA- 1
Stacy Boles, Clinton, TN-1
Kyle Strickler, Silver Springs, PA-1
Rick Eckert, York, PA-1
Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-1
PODIUM FINISHES (17 drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Podiums
- Kyle Strickler, Sinking Spring, PA – 3
Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-3 - Devin Moran, Dresden, OH – 2
Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL – 2
Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA – 2 - Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN – 1
Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY – 1
Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN – 1
Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chandler, AZ – 1
Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA – 1
Brandon Overton, Evans, GA – 1
Chris Madden, Grey Court, SC-1
Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1
Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-1
Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL-1
Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1
Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1
HARD CHARGER (4 drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.
- Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL – 3
- Ricky Weiss, Headingly, MB – 2
Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS – 2 - Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA – 1
SLICK WOODY’S QUICK TIME Award (8 drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTs
- Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL – 1
Kyle Strickler, Sinking Spring, PA – 1
Brandon Overton, Evans, GA – 1
Devin Moran, Dresden, OH – 1
Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL – 1
Donald McIntosh, Dawsonville, GA- 1
Taylor Scheffler, Waukesha, WI- 1
Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-1
2021 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & Winners
No./ Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Thursday, Jan. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Bronson (1)
2. Saturday, Jan. 16 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Strickler (1)
3. Wednesday, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Strickler (2)
4. Thursday, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Devin Moran (1)
5. Friday, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brandon Overton (1)
6. Saturday, March 6/ Smoky Mountain Speedway/ Maryville, TN/ Chris Madden (1).
7. Friday, March 26 / Cherokee Speedway / Gaffney, SC / Jimmy Owens/Brandon Sheppard
8. Friday, April 2/Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/ Mike Spatola(1)
9.Saturday April 3/ Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/Bobby Pierce(1)
