INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 12) — Mark Richards is proud that driver Hudson O’Neal and the Rocket Chassis house car team captured the 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship, but that it came in the national tour’s winner-take-all, one-race playoff doesn’t sit well with the longtime team owner’s racing sensibilities.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series plans to return to a season-long points format in 2026, abandoning the four-driver Big River Steel Chase for the Championship playoffs used during the previous three seasons.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Dec. 11) — Rick Schwallie has spent more than two decades — nearly half his life — working with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, so he has the cachet to know what’s good for the national tour.

Daulton Wilson of Fayetteville, N.C., will drive full-time for Big Frog-Viper Motorsports in 2026, the team announced today during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis.

FloSports announced Thursday morning that it has acquired ownership of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The announcement was made jointly by FloSports CEO and co-founder Mark Floreani and Lucas Oil CEO Morgan Lucas.

AUSTIN, TX — FloSports is deepening its ties to dirt racing and investment in the sport with the acquisition of the storied Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) from Lucas Oil Products.  The acquisition represents a strategic step for FloSports as it continues to invest in and operate key motorsports properties and high-value sports IP.  The announcement was made today by FloSports CEO and Co-Founder, Mark Floreani and Lucas Oil CEO, Morgan Lucas.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series regulars are set to face off next season in a June 10 unsanctioned event at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, tentatively paying $20,000-to-win, track promoter Tristin Moran announced Saturday at the Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals in St. Louis, Mo.

JCM Motorsports has tapped Brenden Smith of Dade City, Fla., as its full-time driver for 2026, team owner Colten Miller told DirtonDirt on Wednesday ahead of the duo’s debut in Friday’s Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals prelim at The Dome at America’s Center.

Donald McIntosh of Dawsonville, Ga., fresh off his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year season, will join the Coltman Farms Racing team for a national touring schedule in 2026, the Maysville, Ga.-based team announced.

Riggs Motorsports will continue fielding a Dirt Late Model program for Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., in 2026 but not under the Longhorn Factory Team banner, team owner Scott Riggs confirmed Tuesday night to DirtonDirt.

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing this morning announced its 2026 schedule that features 58 events at 26 tracks across 16 states and new locations for two of the national tour’s biggest events. | 2026 Lucas Oil schedule

Extending his late-season hot streak to four wins in a row with a $50,000 sweep of the Peach State Classic at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway, Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., earned unanimous recognition as the No. 1 driver in the final DirtonDirt power rankings of the 2025 season.

A former multitime nationally touring winner will get his shot on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2026.

All things considered, Daulton Wilson performed respectably during The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s World Finals with the Viper-Big Frog Motorsports No. 58v team.

Decorah, Iowa-based Late Model team Skyline Motorsports today tapped 20-year-old Dallon Murty to run as a teammate to Tyler Bruening beginning in 2026. Murty replaces Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who left the team in September.