Cardwell Steals iRacing World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series Opener in Photo Finish at Fairbury

In the iRacing World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series, the world’s best dirt oval sim racers get 50 laps to showcase their skills in the feature in hopes of taking the checkered flag. On Monday night at Fairbury Speedway, Evan Seay led 49 of them—but not the one that mattered most.

2020 series champion Hayden Cardwell broke a trend that had previously seen rookie and first-time winners kick off the series with victories by outdueling fellow series veteran Seay on the final lap in a photo finish to take the victory. 2019 champion Blake Matjoulis completed a veteran-heavy podium, with polesitter Damian Kiefer the top-finishing series rookie in fourth.

The World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series returned after a one-year hiatus with a changing of the guard expected at the front of the field thanks to several new names. Kiefer set that tone out of the gate by qualifying first and pulling out a one-second advantage over Cardwell in Heat 1, but veterans Seay, Kendal Tucker, and Logan Rumsey would score the next three heat victories. More surprising were some of the names that would miss the feature with disappointing heat and LCQ results; James Edens, Alex Bergeron, and Drew Hopkins were among the returning drivers who would start their season watching 20 others do battle in the main event.

Just two cautions at Lap 26 and Lap 44 would bunch up the field in the main, but neither would lead to a DNF. The latter couldn’t have been better for Cardwell, though, as Seay had extended a lead of more than two seconds at the time. Coming off the restart, Cardwell would take full advantage, remaining on Seay’s bumper the whole way before finally making the winning move coming to the checkered flag.

Monday night’s broadcast was also a celebratory moment for the World of Outlaws, iRacing, and Monster Games, as the first teaser clip for World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing was revealed. The Monster Games-developed title marks World of Outlaws’ return to the console gaming world for the first time in two decades, as well as the debut of iRacing assets on a console title, and will be coming to Xbox and PlayStation consoles on September 27. For more information on World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing, visit worldofoutlawsgame.com.

iRacing World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series results from Fairbury Speedway were as follows:

iRacing World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series points through one round are as follows:

1. Hayden Cardwell, 77
2. Evan Seay, 75
3. Blake Matjoulis, 70
4. Damian Kiefer, 69
5. Kendal Tucker, 66
6. JD Brown, 59
7. Dylan Yeager, 56
8. Barrett Bishop, 55
9. Logan Rumsey, 51
10. Zack McSwain, 50

The iRacing World of Outlaws ButtKicker Late Model Series season continues on Monday, August 1 at 9PM ET with a visit to Wisconsin’s Cedar Lake Speedway. As always, the action can be streamed live across iRacing social media platforms and DirtVision. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

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