Lucas Oil takes our top spot, but the World of Outlaws is close enough to turn this ranking into a Saturday-night argument.
Ask ten dirt-racing fans to rank America’s leading Super Late Model series and you may get twelve different answers, along with at least one argument about tires.
That is part of what makes the sport so much fun. Unlike racing divisions built around one national sanctioning body, dirt Super Late Model racing is spread across national tours, regional championships and shorter miniseries. They do not all race the same number of events, visit the same territory or pursue the same kind of championship.
Deep Dixie Racing ranked the current series using five primary considerations:
- Strength and depth of competition
- Feature purses and championship money
- Quality and geographic reach of the schedule
- History and prestige
- Media coverage and accessibility to fans
This is a ranking of the series as they stand in 202 not an all-time history lesson and not a ranking of individual crown-jewel races. The World 100, Dirt Late Model Dream and other major events carry enormous prestige, but they are races rather than touring series.
With that understood, let the arguing begin.
1. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series earns the top position by bringing together the best overall combination of elite competition, championship money and crown-jewel events.
Its 2026 calendar contains 58 events at 26 tracks across 15 states. Twelve premier races offer at least $50,000 to win, culminating with the $100,000-to-win Dirt Track World Championship. The season-long points fund totals approximately $1.265 million, with $250,000 reserved for the national champion.
The regular field is loaded with drivers capable of winning anywhere in the country. Add the national stars who appear at the larger events, and very few races on the schedule offer an easy path to victory.
Lucas Oil gets the top spot, but this is no runaway. Its advantage over the World of Outlaws is measured in inches, not straightaways.
