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The world of Outlaws CASE Late Models creates excitement at the Atomic Speedway

World of Outlaws
| Chillicothe-Gazette

CHILLICOTHE – The race for the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models title at the World of Outlaws World Finals makes a key stop at Atomic Speedway to close out August.

The series will make two nights in Chillicothe for the Fireball 50 on Friday and Saturday, August 23 and 24. Racing begins on Friday with 40 laps of the steep, 3/8-mile dirt track for $10,000. The finale on Saturday night will see drivers compete for 50 laps and $15,000 to be crowned the grand winner of the 16th race in series history at the track, dating back to 1989.

Modifieds and 305 Sprint Cars will join the series on Friday, while Sport Mods and the 305 Sprint Cars will make up the program on Saturday.

Here are the key storylines to watch out for:

Squirrel on fire: Brian Shirley had his best week with the World of Outlaws behind the Bob Cullen Racing No. 3S during the Illinois-Iowa tour in mid-August. The Chatham, Illinois native began the week with a win in his home state at the Beat The Heat 40 at Highland Speedway and then won both nights of the Hawkeye 100 weekend at Maquoketa Speedway. “Squirrel” passed Dennis Erb Jr. and Tyler Bruening to move into seventh place in the series point standings with nine races remaining to continue making up ground.

Sparks of the title hunt: The battles among the top five in the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models have made the early battles even more exciting. Driver Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, IL, leads the standings by 64 points over Nick Hoffman and 76 points over Bobby Pierce. Sheppard earned three top-10 finishes and a podium finish in Saturday night's feature race. Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, finished the weekend with a second-place finish in the Hawkeye 100 but lost ground to Sheppard as the week went on. Pierce, of Oakwood, Illinois, began the week with a podium finish at Highland, but a flat tire on Saturday night thwarted any opportunity to close the gap between him and Sheppard and finish the week.

Atommeister: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models visit Chillicothe for two nights of championship-impacting events with nine races remaining for competitors. In 2023, Mike Marlar and Pierce of Winfield, TN, won on the two nights of racing. Sheppard has one win at the track in 2022. Reigning Summer Nationals Champion Tyler Erb joins the “world's most powerful Late Models” at the track, where he has the most series wins of any driver. “Terbo” won three straight feature races at the track, with two wins in 2018 and a win in the World of Outlaws' return to the track in 2022.

Six points: While the series title battle remains heated between Sheppard, Hoffman and Pierce, another points battle in the top five shows a narrower points differential and a $40,000 gap in the season's points fund. Driver Cade Dillard, of Robeline, LA, has posted four consecutive top 10 finishes, including two top 5s at Highland and Maquoketa. He is currently fourth in the standings. Kyle Bronson rounds out the current top 5 in the standings after posting five top 10s in the last six races in August. Two of those finishes were podium results at Cedar Lake Speedway for the driver from Brandon, FL, who is just four points behind Dillard. Driver Ryan Gustin, of Marshalltown, IA, needs six points to overtake Bronson and Dillard and move into fourth place in the series standings with momentum. “The Reaper” has a streak of 12 top-10 finishes in the last 13 races, including eleven top-5 finishes and two feature wins.

The Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe is a 0.375 mile dirt track.

TRACK RECORDS: Atomic Speedway – 12.748 seconds by Jimmy Owens in 2015

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