Coming off Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year honors, Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., announced Friday he’s taking his up-and-coming talents in 2025 full-time to Team 22 Inc., the G.R. Smith-owned operation based in Cornelius, N.C.

The driver that swept through last year’s Sunoco North-South 100 action at Florence Speedway with three consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series wins won’t be sweeping this year’s crown jewel weekend, but Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., was a single position shy of Thursday’s second semifeature victory in an eventful 25-lapper that saw him fall back as far as 18th.

There were so many helping hands surrounding Michael Norris’s damaged race machine Friday at Lernerville Speedway, the hometown favorite stepped aside for a moment to gather himself. | RaceWire

Drake Troutman’s raw emotion Friday in Lernerville Speedway victory lane told the story of the Firecracker 100 prelim.

The second night of the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway took place Frirday with a pair of 25-lap, $5,000-to-win semifeatures, preliminary action that preludes Saturday's 100-lap, $50,000-to-win finale.

Drake Troutman sat perched on his driver’s side door Friday night with his legs still dangled in the cockpit and crossed arms laid across the roof of his No. 7 Longhorn Chassis as he stared into the distance of Clinton County Speedway’s pits.

Drake Troutman didn’t mince words when describing Wednesday’s shortcoming at the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.