Dustin Walker Continuing to Chase His Dream in Third World of Outlaws Season
CONCORD, NC (January 8, 2025) – Competing at the highest level of dirt Late Model racing has always been the goal for Polk, MO’s Dustin Walker.
With his daughter and crew chief Lacey in tow, Walker is ready to continue battling against the best in his third full-time season with the World of Outlaws Late Models in 2025.
“We enjoy doing it,” Walker said. “That’s the biggest thing. If my daughter gets tired of traveling, I guess I won’t do it anymore. We enjoy doing it together.”
Both father and daughter have been through a trial by fire over the past two years with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet, but Walker said he’s especially proud of Lacey’s growth as one of the youngest crew members on tour.
“It’s funny, when we pit next to people that don’t know us and she tries to jump in and help, people try to move her out of the way,” Walker said. “And then Ryan [Gustin]’s guys are like ‘Hey, she probably knows more than all these other people put together, just let her work.”
Traveling the country as a small family-run team is what makes racing enjoyable for Walker, but it’s also what makes it challenging. Increasing work obligations compared to the past two years will limit Walker’s ability to focus on racing between events, an issue he hopes to resolve by bringing on additional team members this season.
“Only reason we need more crew help is just because I’m busy with work,” Walker said. “We’re back to rock drilling for the power co-op down here. So, we’ll probably have to find somebody who can drive my hauler, because there’s going to be some of these weeks where I’m going to have to fly back and forth.”
If a lack of crew help didn’t present enough of a challenge, Walker also had to spend much of last season learning the ins and outs of his new Longhorn Chassis machines after switching manufacturers early in the year. With an up-to-date notebook in hand at many of the tracks on the schedule, he feels prepared to make his third season his best one yet.
“Since we switched chassis, we’ve felt better,” Walker said. “Some of the results aren’t there because we figured it out too late in the night. You need to unload and be better. We definitely feel better about it.”
A prime example of Walker’s newfound confidence is Volusia Speedway Park, where the season will commence at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). As a product of bullring racing across the Midwest, the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” was unlike anything Walker had ever competed on when he made his first appearance there in 2023. Since then, he’s become a fan of the high speeds and looks forward to kicking the year off in strong form.
“This is going to be the first time I’m actually excited about going there,” Walker said. “The first year, we went there with all new stuff. Never been anywhere that big. Weren’t that great, updated that car and weren’t that great last year. But we got in a Longhorn and a different shock package and we’re just better at bigger places. We didn’t really have any great results at Charlotte, but we had a couple of things that were just wrong. Went to a different bird cage and had the wrong arrangement of stuff.
“Once we straightened that out for our [Last Chance Showdown] that night we were pretty good, started 16th and made it to fourth or fifth. So, for me that was pretty good. We’re just hoping to keep making the baby steps.”
The 2025 World of Outlaws Late Models season begins with six nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park, beginning with DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). To find ticket information for both events, click here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap of the 2025 World of Outlaws Late Models season live on DIRTVision.
EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/
TRACK INFO: https://volusiaspeedwaypark.
FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), Simpson Performance Products (Preferred Safety Gear Partner), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Toyota (Official Vehicle), and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Evolve Transporters, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), MD3, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Swift Springs, WELD Racing, and Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Bilstein, Capital Race Cars, Dirt King Simulators, FAST 1 Speed Shop, FIREBULL, Gorsuch Performance, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, 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.
Sources: Spence Smithback, World of Outlaws Late Model Series PR