Column: Grueling Upper Midwest Stretch Continues For World Of Outlaws Late Models

Column By: MIKE WARREN / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – SUPERIOR, WI – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models are gearing up for one of its toughest weeks of the season. The Series will race four times over six days in three different states.

The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will run four 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Morton Buildings Features, putting $40,000 on the line if one driver can win them all.

The grueling stretch starts with the first mid-week race of the season on Tuesday, July 13, at Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, WI. Then, the Series moves west on Friday, July 16, with a visit to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND. It’s the only trip to the Peace Garden state in 2021.

On Saturday, July 17, the World of Outlaws makes its final trip of the season to Minnesota with the Series’ first visit to I-94 Sure Step Speedway in Fergus Falls, MN.

The Northern swing finishes on Sunday, July 18 with the Rumble at the Red Cedar at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, WI.

Here are the top stories to follow this weekend:

Rocket Consistency: One of the keys to winning a championship is consistency, and that’s how Brandon Sheppard finds himself at the top of the standings—64 points ahead of Chris Madden.

The New Berlin, IL driver only has two wins this season, but has more podium finishes than any other driver (12). That includes a second and third place finish last weekend at Jackson Motorplex.

The “Rocket Shepp” also has more top fives than any other driver (16) and is tied with Madden for the most top-10s (21).

Sheppard found past success on the Northern swing last year, reaching Victory Lane the last time the Series visited Gondik Law Speedway and River Cities Speedway.

Championship Experience: When the Series moves North, it means Brent Larson gets to race close to his Lake Elmo, MN home.

But he also has more experience than any other World of Outlaws driver heading into Tuesday’s race at Gondik Law Speedway. Larson is the 2007 track champion at the Superior, WI facility.

He has some momentum after a top-five finish on Friday night at Jackson Motorplex. If he can use that along with the number of laps he has at the track, it could put him in position to get his elusive first World of Outlaws victory.

Madden Momentum: Another driver with momentum heading into this four-race week is Chris Madden. The Gray Court, SC driver scored two top-fives at Jackson Motorplex, keeping his trend of consistency going in 2021.

“Smokey” has more wins than any other driver this season and is second behind Sheppard for the most top-fives (15).

While Madden has been consistent, he still trails Sheppard by 68 points in the chase for the championship. He’s finished behind Sheppard in five of the last six races and will need to turn that around to keep his title hopes alive with 24 races to go.

Erb is Rolling: While Sheppard and Madden have been consistent all season, Dennis Erb Jr. has made impressive strides over the last eight races.

Since the start of June, Erb is tied for the most Series wins (2) in that time span with Brandon Overton. The Carpentersville, IL driver has also collected four top fives in the span, and finished in the top-10 in seven of the last eight races.

Erb’s consistency vaulted him into the top-five in the Series standings—24 points behind fourth-place Ricky Weiss.

If the “One Man Band” can keep his hot streak going, he could find himself moving up another spot by the end of the week.