For all the late model racing fans out there, you probably have had your fix with all of the preseason action we’ve seen so far.
The Wild West Shootout and World of Outlaws’ opening couple of nights have certainly delivered early on, but we’ll have the full Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) season kicking off this weekend in Florida.
Did we mention the numbers their starting things off with?
The tour will go across three different tracks in Florida, racing on 10 of 13 consecutive days including two ‘off-nights’ that will be practices. It’s literally always race day.
A few stars on the tour have already gotten of to hot starts.
Jonathan Davenport started things off with a trifecta of wins in the Wild West Shootout.
It brought him a $25,000 paycheck for the finale win as well as a $10,000 bonus for winning half of the races out west.
Tyler Erb was no slouch in the two-week show at Arizona Speedway either. He took down the field twice and nearly stormed from P12 on Saturday to beat Davenport late.
He’s got his anger management class (penalty from the WRG) is out of the way, too, so he should have no worries about outside distractions this season.
Defending champion Jimmy Owens will have his work cut out for him. The driver of the No. 20 went to Volusia against the World of Outlaws and came home with a fifth-place finish on Saturday after a disappointing P27 in the opener.
Hudson O’Neal will be taking the tour in a new car at Double Down Motorsports, albeit sporting his No. 71 proudly.
On top of the heavy hitters and potential breakout stories like 2020 Rookie of the Year Tanner English, the 2021 Eibach Award race will be something fun to watch.
So far, there are just two confirmed entries that will be going for the newcomer’s trophy. Both have already captured a win this season, as crazy as it sounds.
Ricky Thornton Jr. got the early one out of the way, taking the No. 20RT to victory lane in Arizona ahead of his first full season with the tour.
Not to mention the high-side tickler Kyle Strickler rolling through his first win with the World of Outlaws on Saturday night in Volusia.
The pair will go up against each other every night starting this Friday when the series holds its first race of the season at All-Tech Raceway in Lake City, Florida.
All of the action can be seen on live Lucas Oil Racing TV. The schedule for the first portion of the season as well as the 2021 roster can be found below.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Winter Nationals Schedule:
| Jan 21 | All-Tech Raceway | Lake City, FL | Practice |
| Jan 22 | All-Tech Raceway | Lake City, FL | $12,000 |
| Jan 23 | All-Tech Raceway | Lake City, FL | $15,000 |
| Jan 24 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | Practice |
| Jan 25 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $5,000 |
| Jan 26 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $5,000 |
| Jan 27 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $7,000 |
| Jan 28 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $7,000 |
| Jan 29 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $12,000 |
| Jan 30 | East Bay Raceway Park | Tampa, FL | $15,000 |
| Feb 1 | Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | $10,000 |
| Feb 2 | Bubba Raceway Park | Ocala, FL | $10,000 |
2021 Confirmed LOLMDS Full-Time Entries
Jimmy Owens
Jonathan Davenport
Tyler Erb
Josh Richards
Tim McCreadie
Hudson O’Neal
Kyle Bronson
Devin Moran
Tanner English
Billy Moyer Jr.
Earl Pearson Jr.
Tyler Bruening
Stormy Scott
Ricky Thornton Jr. (R)
Kyle Strickler (R)
