SEYMOUR, Tenn. — A tripleheader of action in the South, including the season’s first $50,000-to-win race, awaits the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series as they prepare for battle in Tennessee and Alabama.
The weekend kicks off on Thursday, April 20, at 411 Motor Speedway for the Seymour Showdown—a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Feature.
Joining the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models are the track’s Sportsman, Four Wheel Drive, and Crown Vic divisions.
Then, the Series moves south for its debut at Talladega Short Track for Alabama Gang 100 weekend—the same weekend the NASCAR Cup Series makes its first stop at Talladega Superspeedway.
The event starts with two split-field 20-lap features on Friday, April 21, each paying $4,000-to-win.
The top three in each feature will lock into the 60-lap, $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday, April 22—along with a spot in a dash on Saturday to determine the first three rows of the feature.
Every other driver will run heat races lined up by Friday’s finish on Saturday.
Along with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models, the USCS Sprint Cars will join the card, including an appearance from 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
CRUSA Modifieds will also race on Friday and the Hot Shots on Saturday.
Here are some of the key storylines to keep an eye on.
Madden’s Success
Chris Madden enters this weekend with the series points lead and will return to two tracks where he’s found past success.
The Gray Court, S.C. driver has three wins at Talladega and won the last time the World of Outlaws visited 411 in 2020. He’s finished in the top five in both Series events he’s entered at the Seymour, Tenn., oval.
If Madden wins a feature this weekend, it’ll be his 34th career World of Outlaws win and break a tie with series champions Scott Bloomquist and Tim McCreadie for seventh on the all-time wins list.
“Smokey” leads Brian Shirley by 14 points heading into Thursday’s event on the strength of three top 10s in four races.
A 411 Variety
The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models will visit 411 for the fourth time in series history on Thursday, April 20. In the three previous features, there have been three different winners.
Along with Madden’s win in 2020, Brandon Overton and Cory Hedgecock each have a series victory on the red-clay oval.
For Hedgecock, it was his first career World of Outlaws win. If a driver scores their first career win this weekend, they’ll become the 101st different winner in Series history.
O-Show and the Bulldog
Even though the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models haven’t raced at Talladega Short Track before, both Jimmy Owens and 2015 Series champion Shane Clanton have found victory lane at the track on multiple occasions.
Clanton has five wins at the Alabama track, including three Ice Bowl victories. However, his last win there came in 2011.
The “Georgia Bulldog” is two wins away from his 50th World of Outlaws triumph.
Owens has three wins at Talladega, including two national tour victories in 2007 and 2020.
But while the Newport, Tenn. driver had found success at Talladega, he’s had even more at 411, with eight wins since 2020.
If Owens can win at either track this weekend, it’ll be his 22nd World of Outlaws win.
Grabbing Momentum
Since the World of Outlaws Late Models last raced at Volusia, ten full-time drivers have found victory lane.
Along with Madden’s win last week, Bobby Pierce, Ryan Gustin, Cade Dillard, Kyle Bronson, Max Blair, Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., Johnny Scott, and Logan Martin each scored a victory at various tracks around the country.
Other than Pierce, who won at Volusia, all of them are searching for their first World of Outlaws victory of the 2023 season.