In 1988, Ted Johnson, the proprietor of the World of Outlaws sprint car series, sought to replicate his successful touring model in the late model discipline. He signed 12 elite drivers to a 21-race schedule spanning 17 venues from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma, launching what would become the dominant national stage for dirt late model competition. Despite a promising debut, the series went dormant after just two seasons, leaving the discipline without a unified national touring platform.
The World Racing Group revived the series in 2004, relaunching it as a full touring operation with a structured championship format. Since that revival, the series has grown steadily in scope, prestige, and technical sophistication, racing across more than twenty states. The series has also held events in Canada in previous years.
Cars competing in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series use purpose-built chassis designed specifically for dirt late model racing. The chassis construction is a competitive discipline in its own right, with numerous builders constantly pursuing innovations in geometry, suspension, and aerodynamics. Notable chassis constructors supplying the series include Barry Wright Race Cars, Black Diamond Chassis, Bob Pierce Race Cars, Capital Race Cars, Club 29 Race Cars, GRT, Longhorn Chassis, MasterSbilt, Rocket Chassis, Sweet-Bloomquist Race Cars, and Warrior.
Power comes from aluminum-head V8 engines typically displacing between 400 and 430 cubic inches, producing over 800 horsepower. The combination of high-horsepower engines and lightweight specialized chassis makes these cars among the most technically demanding dirt oval machines in motorsport.
The championship has been dominated by a relatively small group of elite drivers since the 2004 revival. Billy Moyer Sr. won back-to-back titles in the original 1988 and 1989 seasons. When the series returned in 2004, Scott Bloomquist claimed the inaugural revival title.
Brandon Sheppard holds the record as the series' most successful champion and feature winner, accumulating 89 victories and five championships. Josh Richards won four titles and 78 features. Darrell Lanigan took three championships and 74 victories. Bobby Pierce claimed two titles. Shane Clanton, Tim McCreadie, Rick Eckert, Steve Francis, Dennis Erb Jr., and Mike Marlar each won a single championship.
The full list of champions from the revival era runs:
2004: Scott Bloomquist
2005: Billy Moyer Sr.
2006: Tim McCreadie
2007: Steve Francis
2008: Darrell Lanigan
2009: Josh Richards
2010: Josh Richards
2011: Rick Eckert
2012: Darrell Lanigan
2013: Josh Richards
2014: Darrell Lanigan
2015: Shane Clanton
2016: Josh Richards
2017 through 2021: Brandon Sheppard (five consecutive titles)
2022: Dennis Erb Jr.
2023: Bobby Pierce
2024: Brandon Sheppard
2025: Bobby Pierce
Beyond the champions, the series has featured a deep field of elite competitors. Chris Madden recorded 40 feature wins, Jimmy Owens 21, and Brandon Overton 20. Jonathan Davenport, Shannon Babb, Brian Shirley, and Chub Frank are among the other prominent names in the series' all-time feature winner rankings. The Rookie of the Year award has identified future stars across each season, with Tim McCreadie winning the inaugural 2004 honor and Josh Richards taking the 2005 award before each went on to championship success.
The series competes at tracks across Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. This broad geographic footprint makes it one of the most extensively traveled national dirt racing tours in the United States.