Drake Troutman shared what his plans for the beginning of 2027 are as he looks to take on a full year with his new Jerry Foster team and chase a national tour.
Troutman split from G.R. Smith Motorsports in June and joined the newly formed JFR Motorsports team owned by Foster. Foster has owned Troutman’s No. 5 Modified since 2023 and the duo have won some of the biggest Modified races out there including the Gateway Dirt Nationals in 2024 and the $100,025 to-win Modified World Championship at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in May 2025.
The team made its debut at Selinsgrove with a fifth place finish and has been steadily improving ever since with wins at Lernerville and Port Royal in weekly competition. In national competition the team made the North/South 100 and finished 21st. They followed that up with 15th and 19th place finishes at Port Royal for The Rumble by the River.
During the World 100 at Eldora Speedway, he made the feature all three nights. On Thursday, he finished 15th and then 12th on Friday. On Saturday for the main event, he finished 24th. He traveled west to Indiana for the FloRacing Night in America race at Lincoln Park Speedway and finished 13th.
This past weekend, he returned to World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park where he finished 11th in Last Chance Showdown #2 on Friday night, but was on the podium on Saturday night with a 3rd place finish.
He then won at Coles County Speedway on Sunday night for the track’s Road to the Dome event. That win not only locks him into the Gateway Dirt Nationals, but secures him a spot in the A-Main during his qualifying night.
At the end of June, it was reported by FloRacing’s Kyle McFadden that the team was leaning towards competing with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, but they had not made a decision as yet. McFadden stated, “As for 2027, Foster said he’s leaning toward following the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, though the team’s touring plans remain fluid.”
That decision is still up in the air and will depend on how the team performs during Speedweeks. While at Eldora, Troutman shared with StockCarReport.com, “We’re just going to go to Speedweeks. We don’t really have anything set in stone. We’re just going to go to Speedweeks and go run everything and end up seeing where we come out in points and stuff, I guess.”
Speedweeks begin at the end of January with the World of Outlaws Late Model sanctioned Sunshine Nationals from January 28-30. The Outlaws then head south to Hendry County Motorsports Park for the two-day Swamp Cabbage 100 from February 5-6. After heading south, they will go in the opposite direction for the inaugural Gulf Coast Winter Nationals at Southern Raceway from February 12-13. There is a Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series race on February 11th. Finally, the Outlaws conclude their Speedweeks portion at Volusia during the DIRTcar Nationals. The Outlaws sanctioned races are February 18-20.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series then picks things up after the conclusion of the Outlaws’ schedule. They will race at All-Tech from February 25-27 then head to Ocala for racing from March 2-6. The races there on March 2-3 are non points paying races. Finally, they conclude their Speedweeks at Golden Isles with racing action from March 10-13. The March 10th race is non-points paying race.
While Lucas Oil is competing at Ocala, the Outlaws will be at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi from March 5-6. So whether or not Troutman will race with Lucas or the Outlaws will likely be determined at the beginning of March and whether he stays down in Florida or chooses to head to Mississippi.
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