Drake Troutman shared what his plans are moving forward in 2026 following his split from G.R. Smith Motorsports and he confirmed a rumor that he will compete with Jerry Foster, who also fields the No. 5 modified that he pilots it.
Troutman announced his split from G.R. Smith Motorsports on Wednesday telling Dirt Behind The Scenes, “It was more of a mutual decision to do it now rather than later. I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me and the opportunity.”
Additionally, the outlet also shared that “It has long been rumored that Jerry Foster, the owner of the #5 modified that Drake often wheels had been gearing up to go late model racing with Drake tapped as the driver, and this certainly seems to bring a little credibility to those rumors. Interesting turn of events mid season.”
Now, speaking to FloRacing’s Kyle McFadden, Troutman confirmed that rumor and announced he will join a new late model team being assembled by Foster.
Troutman said, “We are. But just to make something very, very clear, he didn’t call and beg me to come race for him. He was like, ‘We wanna come try this Late Model, if you wanna come drive it, I’d love to have you. If not, I know you already have a prior commitment. If you wanna keep doing that, I’ll find someone else to drive it. But I wanna give the Late Model a whirl.'”
Furthermore, he shared that Foster forming this new team is what lead to his split with Smith, “It’s something I gave a lot of thought about. And then I started leaning in that direction a little bit. That’s where I couldn’t give G.R. the commitment. That’s where it was hard. G.R. and his family were great to me.”
It is unclear when the new team will make its debut, but Troutman indicated that he will likely compete in his family owned No. 7 Longhorn under the new team’s banner as it works to get all its ducks in a row. Troutman shared, “I think [Foster will] let me drive my No. 7, but I’m not 100 percent positive. I think we’ll be back in a red-white-and-blue No. 7.”
“Me and Jerry have been together for so long. We’re two peas in a pod. Not that me and G.R. weren’t. I just figured we’d give it a shot,” he added.
Troutman made clear in a Facebook post addressing the split with G.R. Smith that “there is no bad blood…I have a lot of respect and very much appreciation for what GR and his whole family has done for my racing program. He gave me and my whole crew an amazing opportunity.”
“As for the keyboard warriors on either side of the story, the best thing to do is keep the drama out of it,” he added. “This racing deal is tough, it’s expensive and it’s a constant grind.”
“Again, I appreciate GR and his family and have a lot of respect for them. As far as me and my crew goes, we are racers… and racers race. We will be back soon
” he concluded.
As for G.R. Smith Motorsports, the team tapped Jake Timm to race for them through the World of Outlaws Late Models’ northern trip that concludes on July 4 with the Gopher 50 at Deer Creek.
Ruben Mireles, the voice of the World of Outlaws Late Models, announced in a preview for the series’ race at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, “Now, here’s the news going forward with that. Jake Timm will be running under the Team 22 Inc. banner for the near short future through the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 next weekend to continue to get owner points for the World of Outlaws Late Models while Drake Troutman looks for a ride.”
It’s been three years, but we’re finally set to go racing in Fergus Falls!@WoOben88 has all your tidbits from the I-94 pit area 👇 pic.twitter.com/QSJ9GFQ5C7
— World of Outlaws Late Models (@WoOLateModels) June 24, 2026
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