The hottest debate to begin the 2025 Dirt Late Model campaign is this: Who should be the No. 1 Dirt Late Model driver from the outset of the spring season?

The 26th season of the Midwest Auto Racing Series, otherwise known as the MARS Late Model Championship Series, commenced Friday with the season-opening Nippy 50 at Iowa's Maquoketa Speedway, the Jeff Hoker-promoted event that debuted last season.

The hottest debate to begin the 2025 Dirt Late Model campaign is this: Who should be the No. 1 Dirt Late Model driver from the outset of the spring season?

Now that Georgia-Florida Speedweeks have come and gone, I've decided to evaluate 15 top Dirt Late Model drivers — specifically the top six in points on last year’s national tours and three wild cards picks — from the popular wintertime series.

BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 14) — As soon as Bobby Pierce parked his battered car in the pit area following a dismal 25th-place finish in Friday’s 35-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature at Volusia Speedway Park, he climbed from the cockpit and headed straight for his trailer. He wanted to check the replay of the DIRTVision broadcast to confirm what he thought about the incident that had dive-bombed his bid.

The Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts concluded Sunday at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, where the six-race miniseries culminated with a $25,000-to-win program.

The 2025 Dirt Late Model season continued with this weekend's Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, where nearly 50 Dirt Late Model drivers compete in the six-race miniseries bookended by $25,000-to-win programs.

VADO, N.M. (Jan. 5) — Surveying the progress of his burgeoning Dirt Late Model career, Bobby Pierce makes a point of trying to exceed his accomplishments from the previous season. The 28-year-old from Oakwood, Ill., can only blame himself for making that extremely difficult in 2025.

After a thrilling last-lap pass Sunday evening at Vado Speedway Park, track-dominating Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., immediately wanted to review exactly how he’d captured the all-Illinois showdown with Brandon Sheppard in the second round of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout.

The 2025 Dirt Late Model season begins with this weekend's Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, where nearly 50 Dirt Late Model drivers compete in the six-race miniseries bookended by $25,000-to-win programs.

Bobby Pierce thought he missed the mark twice in Saturday’s opener of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Vado Speedway Park.

The 2025 Dirt Late Model season begins with this weekend's Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, where nearly 50 Dirt Late Model drivers compete in the six-race miniseries bookended by $25,000-to-win programs.

The 2025 Dirt Late Model season begins with this weekend's Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, where more than 50 Dirt Late Model drivers are expected to compete in the six-race miniseries bookended by $25,000-to-win programs.

The 2025 Wild West Shootout at Vado Speedway promises an exciting start to a new year of dirt track racing.

Dirt Late Model racing's indoor spectacle, the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals at The Dome at America’s Center, takes over Downtown St. Louis for the eighth running of the mega event this week.