HAMMERING HOME: Hammer Looks Forward to World of Outlaws Return to Farmer City
The Clinton, IL driver returns to his home track as a full-time Outlaw
FARMER CITY, IL – March 30, 2022 – Kyle Hammer’s journey into the unknown on his World of Outlaws rookie tour ventures to a land of familiarity this weekend.
The Clinton, IL driver gets his chance at a “home game” against the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models as the Series returns to Farmer City Raceway for the Illini 100 on April 1-2.
Hammer is eight races into his Rookie of the Year campaign and has shown promise this season with a top-five at DIRTcar Nationals.
While the two races at Cherokee Speedway didn’t go as hoped, he may have the upper hand at Farmer City. The Prairie State competitor grew up at the track, a facility his dad, Don, operated in the 2000s.
“Dad actually promoted the racetrack from [2005] to [2010], I think it was,” Hammer said. “That’s when I started racing, so he sold out of it, but yeah, we’ve always since I’ve been alive had a connection with Farmer City.
“Whether we were there every Friday or when we were there seven nights a week when Dad was doing the trackwork, we’ve always been around it.”
Those years that Don Hammer ran the day-to-day operations gave his son experiences he’ll never forget. Now he can show off his knowledge of the 1/4-mile bullring in front of friends and family, which excites the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender.
“The cool part is getting all of the friends there,” Hammer said. “None of them have been able to come to watch me run a Late Model since we really started in Florida and haven’t really been anywhere near home with it.
“For them to come, hang out, and just kind of make it like a family deal, everybody’s going to show up, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Hammer stated he likes the bigger, sweeping tracks, but added Farmer City still fits into his wheelhouse due to the way it races.
“It’s a bullring, but it’s not,” Hammer said. “It’s got such big sweeping corners, and it kind of fits my driving style. I don’t know if it’s just the amount of laps I’ve made there that makes me like it so much or just the driving style.
“Like I said, it’s a bullring, but you drive straight and smooth like you would a big 1/2-mile track, and that’s why it fits me so well.”
While Hammer has run several laps at Farmer City, he’ll be up against drivers who’ve been racing there since his dad’s promotional efforts and in-state rivals like Dennis Erb Jr. and four-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard. Also, the local heroes that race at the Illinois track on a weekly basis.
“You got all of the guys from Illinois,” Hammer said. “[Jason] Feger, [Kevin] Weaver, [Ryan] Unzicker, [Bobby] Pierce, all those guys. Then you also got [Shannon] Babb, who ran at a national level for a while, but still, he’s the local guy of the area, so you got a lot of them.
“I definitely feel like it’ll be the hardest area for us to go to.”
Hammer and the World of Outlaws make their first stop in the Midwest April 1-2 at Farmer City Raceway for the Illini 100, as he tries to defend home turf for the first time in his career.
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If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.
The World of Outlaws Case Construction Equipment Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Case Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), Swift Springs, and Wrisco–Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including Dirt Car Lift, Capital Race Cars, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, FIREBULL, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, Rocket Chassis, and Sea Foam.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.
Contact: Mike Warren, World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR Coordinator
Please contact mwarren@dirtcar.com to arrange driver interviews. To attend one of our events in person, submit your media credential request online.
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