The 2025 MARS Late Model Championship season kicks off this weekend, March 28-29, with the Nippy 50 at Maquoketa Speedway. Before we kick off the season live on FloRacing, let's take a look at schedule highlights, the expected driver roster, key questions and more for the 2025 campaign. 

Who Won The 2024 MARS Late Model Championship? 

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., cracked victory lane four times to steadily outrun Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., by 47 points for his second straight title.

When Is The 2025 MARS Late Model Season Opener?

March 28-29 at Maquoketa Speedway (IA) for the $7,500- and $15,000-to-win Nippy 50 presented by D&E Outside Services.

2025 MARS Late Model Schedule Highlights

• The Illinois-based circuit has a record 32 events across 20 tracks between Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.
• The tour's home track, Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway, hosts four events.
• First-time series tracks are Maquoketa (Iowa) Speedway and Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa.
• Among tracks returning to the schedule is La Salle (Ill.) Speedway for the first time since 2021 and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, back for the first time since 2016 on a slate that includes a series-record seven stops in the state of Iowa. 
• The tour’s April 16-17 visit at 34 Raceway is Slocum 50 weekend previously sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. 
• The richest is the Illinois Valley Showdown paying $25,000-to-win at La Salle on May 31. 
• Barring rainouts, 32 completed events would be the most ever on the circuit, surpassing the 31 events in 2001 under series founder Mooney Starr.

Rules And/Or Format Changes

None on the technical side. For the series championship, MARS has instituted a driver loyalty program where every race will count in the points race. A driver had been allowed to drop their worst two finishes prior to championship weekend.

2025 MARS Late Model Expected Driver Roster

Reigning champ Jason Feger, 2022 champ Ryan Unzicker, last year’s third-place finisher Justin Duty, Bob Gardner, McKay Wenger, Mark Voigt, Jake Little, Guy Taylor and Steve Stultz. Other possible regulars include Allen Weisser, Dale Markham, Shannon Babb, Frank Heckenast Jr., Trevor Gundaker, Tony Jackson Jr, Jeff Herzog and Daryn Klein, among others.

Key Question

With the tour’s busiest schedule yet (32 races across four states, up from 21 races in 2024) as it fills some of void left by the defunct MLRA series, how will that impact the number of series regulars?

Odds And Ends

• With backing from series presenting sponsor FK Rod Ends and a newly signed long-term deal with series streaming partner FloRacing, the MARS point fund increases to $80,000 from $35,000 a year ago. The champion receives $25,000 (up from $10,000), with the top-10 receiving points money including $25,000 to the champ, $15,000 to the runner-up and $10,000 for third (10th place pays $2,500). Drivers running every event but not finishing inside the top-10 in series points receives a Road Warrior bonus of $1,000. 
• The Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point fund pays back four spots with $2,000-to-win the winner. 
• New for 2025 is the tour’s driver loyalty program where a driver must enter every series event to remain eligible for the points fund, loyalty perks and ultimately series title. Driver loyalty perks, which begin after the sixth completed event (rainouts don’t count), include the top-five in points standings receiving $200 per event, sixth through 10th in points receiving $100 per event and positions 11th through 15th in points standings will receiving $50 per event. The top 10 in points will also one free pit pass per event beginning at the seventh race. 
• Iowa’s Maquoketa Speedway (March 28-29 opener) and Cedar County Raceway (April 17) are first-time MARS tracks. 
• April 5’s event at Charleston (Ill.) Speedway will be the first Matt Curl-promoted show outside Fairbury, the Wild West Shootout and the Kokomo Hoosier Dirt Shootout in 2020. 
• First-time MARS events for 2025: The second running of the Nippy 50 at Maquoketa on March 28-29, Slocum 50 weekend at Iowa’s 34 Raceway on April 18-19, the inaugural Illinois Valley Showdown at LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway paying $25,000-to-win on May 31 with $5,000-to-win semifeatures on May 30 and the Corn State Nationals on Sept. 12-13 at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway.