Logan Rumsey scores World of Outlaws Pro Series opening round win at Volusia Speedway Park

The World of Outlaws Pro Series: Powered by iRacing kicked off the 2024-25 season on Monday night with 35 of the best dirt oval racers at Volusia Speedway Park. Logan Rumsey made his presence known right away, scoring the opening round victory in the Super Lates in dominating fashion, his third career iRacing World of Outlaws Pro Late Model victory, and fourth iRacing World of Outlaws win overall.

Rumsey qualified into the Feature race on qualifying speed, a new wrinkle to the format this season. His lap was good enough for third best, but following an invert of those locked in on qualifying, he started sixth in the Feature race. It didn’t take long for the championship runner-up in 2023 to make his way to the front, and once he got there, he never looked back for the remainder of the caution-free event.

“I didn’t expect everyone to go down to the bottom like that on the start,” Rumsey explained post-race. “Me and JD Brown just ran the top around them and got to the lead really early. From that point, I was just trying to save my tires a little bit. I knew Kendal Tucker and (Blake) Matjoulis were on a little bit different setup, so their tires would come in later in the race, so I was just trying to save my stuff a little bit so I could compete with them at the end. It seems like it didn’t really matter. It was good the whole race and I kind of checked out there at the end.”

Rumsey, a two-time winner last season and runner-up by a single point to the eventual Late Model champion in 2023, Evan Seay, now has the advantage over the field after one race. Seay, who failed to qualify for the event entirely by finishing 51st in the Qualifying Series points the week prior, will have a huge hole to dig out of, as well as five races in the 410 Sprint Cars to contest, if he wants to defend his title from last year.

QUALIFYING

Nathan Waddell set the quick time: 14.693 seconds

A new wrinkle to the points format this season includes both Championship points and automatic transfers to the Feature from qualifying, as well as an invert. The top-eight qualifying times every race will forego all other pre-feature activities, including Heats and Last Chance races. Nathan Waddell set the fastest lap, collecting 25 points towards the championship, but would start eighth following the invert. Kendal Tucker, who wound up eighth, took a share of 17 points and inverted to the pole position for the Feature race.

Volusia Qualifying Top 8:

1. Nathan Waddell
2. Robbie Buchanan Jr
3. Logan Rumsey
4. Dylan Yeager
5. JD Brown
6. Tanner Tomasi
7. Dustin Price
8. Kendal Tucker

HEATS

Everyone from ninth on back in qualifying were sorted into three Heat races of up to nine cars each. This year, only the top-three would transfer to the Feature from the Heats, and everyone else would fend for themselves in the Last Chance races.

Heat 1 saw Talan Willis taking the checkers from Trevin Lane. Heat 2 had more of the same, with Blake Matjoulis taking victory over Steven Gaines. Ethan Johnson was able to win from the pole in Heat 3.

Heat 1 Transfers:

1. Talan Willis
2. Trevin Lane
3. Chase Barbara

Heat 2 Transfers:

1. Blake Matjoulis
2. Steven Gaines
3. Tyler Orr

Heat 3 Transfers:

1. Ethan Johnson
2. Caleb Durgan
3. Brady Thompson

LAST CHANCE RACES

Only four spots remained among the 16 drivers still not qualified for the Feature race.

The first LCQ saw Coy Vlies win from the top spot, but behind that was a slugfest for second. Deisel Jones had it, but fell out early. James Starry and Matthew Selby fought for it and got together, allowing Joey Lingron, from seventh on the grid, to take the final transfer. In the second and final LCQ, Jesse Enterkin, Mike Augustine, and Christopher Joy pulled away from the rest of the pack, leaving the likes of James Edens in the dust. On the last lap, Augustine made the move for the win, and Enterkin held off Joy for the final transfer spot.

Last Chance 1 Transfers:

1. Coy Vlies
2. Joey Lingron

Last Chance 2 Transfers:

1. Mike Augustine
2. Jesse Enterkin

FEATURE RACE

Tucker led the field to the green, but as Rumsey pointed out in his post-race interview, he was able to quickly get to the front from the top lane on Lap 7. That would be it for the overall victory, as Rumsey went on to lead the remaining 44 laps caution-free. The hot battle then shifted to third, where many of the top drivers began to converge mid-race.

Waddell, from the eighth starting spot, made his way around JD Brown first, moving into the third position and hoping for more. His hopes would soon be dashed by both Matjoulis and Willis, both up from the fifth row on the start. Waddell settled in to finish fifth, and for the rest of the show, Matjoulis and Willis went to battle. It came down to inches, but the former champion, Matjoulis, was able to succeed for the final podium position.

Feature Race results from WORLD OF OUTLAWS PRO SERIES, Race 1 at VOLUSIA are as follows:

WORLD OF OUTLAWS PRO SERIES Points following Race 1 at VOLUSIA are as follows:

1. Logan Rumsey, 122
2. Kendal Tucker, 112
3. Nathan R Waddell, 111
4. Blake Matjoulis, 107
5. Talan Willis, 104
6. JD Brown, 103
7. Tanner Tomasi, 96
8. Ethan Johnson, 95
9. Dylan Yeager, 95
10. Tyler Orr, 84

The next race will utilize the 410 Sprint Car, and will be contested at Weedsport Speedway. None of these 35 drivers are locked in for the next race, they will have to qualify in over the course of this week in the World of Outlaws Pro Qualifying Series official races, where the top-35 will be invited to race in the next race.

We could have a completely different lineup, or exactly the same. It could mean the return of the most recent iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion, Aiden Forster, or Ryan Avila, or perhaps even Alex Bergeron. We’ll have to wait and find out who make it in.

Race #2’s broadcast at Weedsport will once again be live at 8:00 pm ET next Monday night, live on DIRTVision and all of iRacing’s social channels.

The driver roster will be set each week through qualifying races that are open to all members with a Class A Dirt Oval license. These races will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8PM ET, and the top 35 point scorers will be invited to the iRacing World of Outlaws Pro Series league each week for the Monday night main event. After the Monday show, the league is cleared out, and the process begins again. Points will be tracked as normal across those 10 main events to crown the series champion. For details on how to qualify, visit www.iracing.com/woo-pro-series/qualifying.

For more information on the series, visit www.iracing.com/woo-pro-series. For more information on the World of Outlaws, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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2024-25 World of Outlaws Pro Series | Race Preview | Race 1: Volusia