The top dirt late models across the country are ranked following Jonathan Davenport’s  $25,000 record setting 9th World Finals win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with the World of Outlaws Late Models Series.

These rankings focus on who is hot right now, based primarily on each driver’s last five starts rather than season-long points or reputation.

1. Jonathan Davenport

Jonathan Davenport came into World Finals as one of the favorites after his dominating performance last year that saw him win two of three races. While he did not match that performance this year, he was pretty close. Davenport finished 14th on Thursday night, but followed it up with a 2nd place finish on Friday night. Then when the big money was on the line, Davenport did what he does best. He went forward on the first lap and controlled the race from there never really being challenged.

Davenport’s performance at World Finals followed an off week, but the week before that, he was on the podium four times and collected two wins. He came up just a spot short to Jimmy Owens at Volunteer Speedway for the FloRacing Night in America Series with the official timing saying the margin of victory was .002 seconds. He then went south to Modoc Speedway and had a strong third place finish with the World of Outlaws. He followed that up with a win and held off a fast-closing Bobby Pierce, who eventually broke with five laps left in the race. Finally, he concluded the run at Cherokee Speedway on Sunday bringing home a $30,000 to-win Blue Gray 100 with the Southern All Stars.

In his last five races, Davenport has an average finish of 3.8. In his last two race weekends, his average finish is 3.4.

Davenport is back in action later this weekend at Senoia Raceway for the conclusion of the FloRacing Night in America Series on November 13 and 14th.

 Previous position: 2nd.

2. Ricky Thornton Jr.

Ricky Thornton Jr. saw his winning streak come to an end, but not before he extended it on Thursday night of World Finals. Thornton got the win in exciting fashion. Following a red flag for rain, Thornton drove around the bottom on the restart from 5th to 2nd. The next lap he was able to get around Brandon Overton and then paced himself to get to victory lane and earn his seventh win in a row.

Thornton continued to show impressive speed on Friday night. He drove from 18th to finish 4th. Unfortunately, on Saturday night, Thornton suffered a flat tire while leading his heat race and ended up finishing 11th. That buried him in a B-Main, where he would have started 15th. The team chose to end their night and save their equipment.

In his last five feature starts, Thornton has an average finish of 1.6 with the fourth place finish on Friday night being the only time he did not visit victory lane. To find a finish outside the Top 5, you have to go back to September to the World 100 where Thornton finished 16th in his Shootout race on Thursday.

Thornton is next scheduled to compete at Senoia Raceway with the FloRacing Night in America Series on November 13 and 14th. He’s currently 7th in points with the series.

Previous position: 1st.

3. Bobby Pierce

The narrative heading into World Finals weekend was that it was a place that Pierce had struggled at. However, he did what he had done so often this year. He overcame a couple of mediocre qualifying efforts and then ran from 11th to finish third in the Thursday night feature. On Friday night, he needed to finish 14th or better to lock up the World of Outlaws Late Models Championship and he brought it home 10th. With the Championship secured, that allowed he and his team to experiment a little more on Saturday and it worked out. He took advantage of Ricky Thornton Jr.’s misfortune in his heat race and then capitalized on the good track position to finish 2nd.

His performance at World Finals followed an very good weekend with the Outlaws at Modoc Speedway. He ran from 20th to 2nd on Friday night and then ran from 21st to 2nd and was pressuring Jonathan Davenport for the win before he had an issue with an oil belt that ended his night with just five laps to go. Before that he had a solid top 5 finish at Volunteer Speedway with the FloRacing Night in America Series.

Pierce’s average finish in his last five races is 7th with the 18th place at Modoc on Saturday night dragging it down. He has a median finish of 3rd.

Pierce and his team are back in action for the conclusion of the FloRacing Night in America Series at Senoia Raceway on November 13-14.

Previous position: 5th

4. Nick Hoffman

Nick Hoffman concluded his standout season with more strong performances at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for World Finals. Hoffman got his first ever World Finals win on Friday night and did so in dominating fashion, leading every single lap.

On Thursday, he was in the hunt for the win, but ultimately came up short in fourth, but put on a great show as he battled with Chris Ferguson.

Then on Saturday, he was slowly working his way forward, but got caught up in a spin with Chris Madden as they were trying to work their way around the lap car of Tristan Chamberlain. Hoffman would change tires and rally from the back of the field to finish ninth.

Before World Finals, Hoffman had two fourth place finishes at Portsmouth Raceway Park. At Portsmouth on Friday, October 30th, he had a chance at the win, but ultimately saw Ricky Thornton Jr. slide him following a late race restart and he finished fourth. 

At Modoc Speedway with the Outlaws at the end of October, he put together two fifth place finishes in a brand new car.

Hoffman has an average finish of 4.4 over his last five races with a median finish of fourth.

He will be in action this upcoming weekend at Senoia Raceway for the conclusion of the FloRacing Night in America Series on November 13-14.

Previous position: 9th.

5. Ryan Gustin

Ryan Gustin had a very solid conclusion to his World of Outlaws Late Models season securing a fifth place position in the points standings. On Thursday night, he brought it home 11th. He stepped it up a gear on Friday night and even briefly challenged Nick Hoffman for the lead while they got to lap traffic, but ultimately had a pinhole in one of his tires that allowed Jonathan Davenport to slip past him on the final restart and he settled for third. He then wrapped it up with a solid sixth place finish on Saturday night.

His World Finals performance followed two solid Top 5s at East Alabama Motor Speedway during the National 100, where he finished 3rd and 4th. Before that he also showed speed at Modoc Speedway and Cherokee, but was fighting some mechanical issues that started at Volunteer Speedway at the end of October. He finished with a 16th and a 2nd at Modoc and had a 21st place finish at Cherokee, but was running in the top three when he had a battery issue and saw his night ended early.

Gustin does not have anything listed on his schedule, but he is expected to compete at The Gateway Dirt Nationals with his preliminary night on Thursday, December 3rd.

Previous position: Not ranked.

6. Trey Mills

Trey Mills closed out his rookie season with the World of Outlaws Late Models in impressive fashion and almost stole the Rookie of the Year title from Daulton Wilson in the final three races.

Mills finished sixth on Thursday night after starting in 10th. On Friday night, it looked like he might get his best Outlaws finish of his career as he was running in third for much of the race. Unfortunately, he suffered a flat left front tire and then a caution came out forcing him to pit late in the race. He ended up finishing 21st.

On Saturday night, Mills drove from 11th to finish 5th. He deliberately worked the track using the middle lane as most everyone attempted to hug the bottom of the track. After picking them off, he would work his way back to the bottom and then wait for the next opportunity to strike.

Before World Finals, he had solid runs of 9th and 4th at Modoc Speedway. 

His average finish over his last five races is 9th with a median finish of 6th.

Mills will be in action at Senoia Raceway for the conclusion of the FloRacing Night in America Series on November 13 and 14th.

Previous position: Not ranked.

7. Dallon Murty

After a weekend off, Dallon Murty continued to turn heads with some very solid runs in his first World Finals appearance including a podium finish to cap off the weekend on Saturday night.

On Thursday night, Murty started 7th and ran around there for much of the race, but slipped back a couple positions on the restart right before the red flag. After the red flag, he dropped even further back and eventually ended his night early with a DNF.

However, the Skyline team put it behind them come Friday night and Murty drove to a sixth place finish after starting fourth. He continued to improve and by Saturday night he was battling Jonathan Davenport at the start of the race and Bobby Pierce toward the end eventually bringing it home in third for his best finish ever with the World of Outlaws Late Models.

The great finishes at World Finals come after a $20,000 win at West Liberty Raceway with the MLRA series. He also got back-to-back wins at Mason City Motor Speedway in the middle of October. Before that he podiumed twice with MARS Racing Series in their season finale weekend at Lucas Oil Speedway. He finished 2nd and 3rd.

In his last five races, Murty has an average finish of 7.4. However his median finish over the last five is 3rd.

Murty will next be in action for the Gateway Dirt Nationals. His preliminary night is Thursday, December 3rd.

Previous position: Not ranked.

8. Brandon Sheppard

Brandon Sheppard had a very consistent weekend during World Finals. He had 3 Top 10s with two eighth place finishes on Thursday and Friday night and a seventh place finish on Saturday night.

The reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion wrapped up the championship in the middle of October at West Virginia Motor Speedway with a 3rd in his preliminary feature and then a 2nd in the 100-lap Dirt Track World Championship race. 

After that he competed at Volunteer Speedway for the FloRacing Night in America Series race, where he finished 7th, and left with a 9 point lead in the championship heading into the final two races at Senoia.

Sheppard’s average finish over this last five races is 6.4. His median finish is 7th.

He will be in action at Senoia Raceway on November 13-14 as he contends for a Championship with the FloRacing Night in America Series.

Previous position: 3rd.

9. Cody Overton

Cody Overton headed west to compete at Arrowhead Speedway for the All-American Finals with the Nutrien Ag Solutions Revival Super Dirt Series and the Comp Cams All-American Super Dirt Series this weekend. He finished third on Friday night after coming from 23rd and then 8th on Saturday after starting 18th.

It was another weekend where Overton showed impressive speed. At the end of October he won the opening night of the National 100, but finished 18th in the main event. Before that, he had a DNF at Modoc Speedway on Saturday night with the World of Outlaws. However, he was leading when he suffered a right rear flat that sent him into the outside wall between turns 1 and 2. He won his first ever Outlaws race on Friday at Modoc Speedway after holding off Bobby Pierce.

Overton’s average finish over his last five races is 11.2, but it falls to 9.5 if you look at his last six. His median finish over his last five is 8th.

Overton will compete in the Gateway Dirt Nationals in December with his preliminary race taking place on Friday, December 4th. It would not be surprising if he competes close to home at Senoia Raceway with the FloRacing Night in America Series. However, it is not listed on his schedule on his website.

Previous position: 10th.

10. Chris Madden

Chris Madden had another solid weekend at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for World Finals. He started off with strong qualifying runs for both Thursday and Friday night. He qualified fifth in his group for Thursday and first on Friday. 

He won his heat race on Thursday and started fifth in the feature and brought it home in ninth. On Friday, he won his heat race again. He would start the feature in sixth and advanced one spot to finish fifth.

On Saturday, Madden won his heat race, but continued to have poor redraws. He started in fifth and was running in the sixth spot when he was trying to work his way around the lap car Tristan Chamberlain. After Chamberlain crossed him over heading into turn 3, Madden went to do the same, but unfortunately he made contact with seventh running Nick Hoffman and both drivers spun. 

Madden’s team then went to work in the hot pit, but were not given a lot of time to make repairs to the car and rejoined the field after it went green. He eventually brought it home in 17th after having a promising Top 10 run going.

Before the World Finals, Madden had a very good 2nd place finish at Cherokee Speedway in the Blue Gray 100 with the Southern All Stars and showed speed at Volunteer Speedway and Modoc Speedway. He finished 4th at Volunteer and again at Modoc on Friday night, but unfortunately had issues on Saturday night at Modoc and finished 21st.

Madden’s average finish in his last five starts is a 10.8, but weighed down by his DNF at Modoc and the spin on Saturday night at Charlotte. His median finish over his last five is 9th.

Previous position: Not ranked.

Dropped out: Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Tyler Erb, Josh Rice

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