Concept
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is a top dirt racing series in the U.S. where drivers compete in specially designed cars on dirt tracks. It's known for exciting races and talented drivers.
Concept
dirt racing
Dirt racing is a type of motorsport where cars race on dirt tracks instead of paved roads. It can be more challenging due to the uneven surface and changing conditions.
Concept
Formula 1
Formula 1 is a top-level car racing series where very fast cars compete on special tracks. The cars are built with the latest technology to go as fast as possible.
Concept
NASCAR
NASCAR is a type of car racing that happens mostly on oval tracks. The cars used are specially built and look like regular cars, but they are designed for speed and safety.
Concept
IndyCar
IndyCar is a racing series where cars have open wheels and are designed for speed. They race on different types of tracks, including circular ones and those with turns.
Term
setup
Setup is how you adjust a race car to make it perform better on the track. It involves changing things like how high the car sits and how the tires are inflated to get the best results.
Term
packer
A packer is a small piece that helps adjust how high or low a car sits. It can make a big difference in how the car drives during a race.
Term
fine tuning
Fine tuning means making small adjustments to a car to help it perform better. This can involve changing things like how the tires are set up or how the suspension works.
Term
banking
Banking is when the sides of a racetrack are sloped or tilted. This helps cars go faster around corners because it helps keep them stable while turning.
Company
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports is a famous racing team in NASCAR, known for winning many races and championships. They have several cars and drivers that compete at a high level.
Concept
kart racing
Kart racing is a type of racing that uses small go-kart vehicles. It's a popular way for new drivers to learn how to race before moving on to bigger cars.
Concept
Lucas Oil series
The Lucas Oil series is a set of racing events that are sponsored by a company called Lucas Oil. It includes different types of races and is a place where many drivers compete to show their talent.
Car
Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger is a type of truck that can carry heavy loads and is great for both work and fun activities. It's known for being tough and dependable, which is why many people like to use it for different purposes.
LIVE
Rev it up and welcome to Cars Yeah! Show number 2549. Be prepared to be inspired.
This is Cars Yeah! Where you'll enjoy interviews with inspiring automotive enthusiasts. I'm founder
Mark Green and I've handed the keys to this car over to Ginger Baker Rust who's a lifelong enthusiast.
Ginger's here to provide you with a fuel injection of automotive inspiration. So get in,
sit down and buckle up and get ready for a fun ride here on Cars Yeah!
Hello inspiring automotive enthusiasts and welcome to Cars Yeah! Today we are coming to you from the
beautiful small town of Heinemann, Pennsylvania with one of the hottest shoes in dirt racing
whose name is Drake Trotman. Hello Drake and welcome to Cars Yeah! Do you have it in gear
and are you ready to release the clutch? I'm ready to go. All right Drake please share something
about yourself that most people may not know. I played a lot of sports in school you know I
wrestled and played football, played baseball and uh I ended up putting us off to all that stuff to
get racing full time. Tried to juggle them both for a while but they just got to be too much and
if I wanted to I wanted to really create something out of racing and you know I had to had to put my
my focus and my mindset all of that so uh that's what we did. Well how did you get started in racing
I mean when did you start I know you know especially when you're racing at the level that you are
at only 20 years old you generally you start three or four years old at go-karts. I actually got
my first go-kart whenever I was for my third birthday you know my grandfather raced and then
and then my dad raced and you know I just been around it all my life and decided that you know
this is what I wanted to do and and I've always had a true love for it and so I got into a modified
whenever I was I was 11 years old and we started racing a lot it was a full-time job really for
me to get good for me and uh you know I love love every minute of it like I said I'm just really
grateful for how things have went and how the stars have all aligned for me and and it's it's
been really humbling. Well I'll tell you what I watched you let this past weekend run the real
American beer world of outlaws late model series at I-55 Speedway in Peevely, Missouri and man you
hammered down you are one of those racers that when I watch Runder you remind me of a combination
of Larry Phillips and Scott Bloomquist and a little bit of smoke Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson
all kind of tied into one with a Lou Brian Garth Brooks kind of mind and and sound and
man you were killing it out there absolutely killing it. A lot of my listeners haven't been
around dirt racing and I want to be able to explain what is so special about dirt racing
can you tell me about that? You know the biggest thing that I tell everyone and and you know this
isn't a shot at NASCAR or a shot at even like spring car racers you know I feel like dirt
light model racing is really interactive versus where like you don't really see the NASCAR guys
throughout the day you know in the pit area or or if you do you know the tickets are so expensive
that it's just hard to get into something like that to interact with you know for the drivers to
interact with the fans where I mean dirt racing is somewhat on the cheaper side you know to get
them to the pits and and the drivers are out all day and they're all working on their stuff and
I just feel like it's more of a blue-collar atmosphere and I think that's what's so special
about it just because you can you can interact with the race fans throughout the day you know
all the drivers go to the souvenir trailers at least once a weekend sometimes once a day
and hang out and interact with fans you know it's just I feel like that's what's keeping dirt racing
alive more than anything. Well and it is it's a very special place and you're right it is
and for me dirt racing is part of that still that raw form of racing you know there's not
a lot of raw form of racing left and and I don't want to take away from anything because
there is so much technical things that go into building a light model and building a dirt car
most people again don't understand that you know they understand that with NASCAR and NHRE and
IndyCar and F1 and all those things they you know they think about the technology but they
don't understand that in order for you to do what you do to get that car around the track
and you're fighting dirt and mud and rocks and other drivers and the car and the you know the
weather conditions people don't understand how difficult it is to drive these cars number one
but number two what it takes actually technically to build these cars can you talk a little bit
about that as a driver because and then also because I also know that you work on your own car
which is very rare these days again I feel like a lot of people about the easiest way to put it
just think that we're just a bunch of dumb rednecks at the end of the day you know and
but I mean there's a lot that goes into it there's a few engineers up there but you know most of us
don't have engineers to go with and so you know the crew and and the drivers are so hands-on and
I mean it's as far down the setup stuff as a 16th inch packer in the right front just to keep from
you know bottoming out your frame which I mean you know the 16th of an inch is like that's really
it's basically the width of my fingernail yeah yeah so it's so hard to try to to hit your setup
right every night and even just then in the car itself driving it you know the way that you got
to adapt if you don't hit your setup the you know the way that you wanted to I feel like that's one
of the unique things about dirt racing is you can kind of work around the car that might not be great
and still make it decent for the night there is a lot that goes into it I mean there's
thousands and thousands of bolts on these race cars and if one of them breaks or if one of them
falls off you know your night's done so you know it's it's really really a lot of fine
tuning that goes into it and the way that you put them together and so many small details can add up
to you know running first that night or running 21st exactly and when if people have never seen
a late model go around a dirt track I mean you guys generally run on three eighths miles generally
and with a little bit of banking sometimes and sometimes it just flat as can be but man I've
seen you guys up on you know two wheels you know going around the corner and again people just don't
understand the how hard it is to drive these cars yeah it truly is physically it'll wear you out
really you know I've raced some asphalt stuff before and with an asphalt car I feel like it's
a lot about you know the way that you hit your setup right we try to do it ourselves and it just
didn't really work out for us you know we didn't have any any idea about asphalt stuff so we just
stuck with the dirt routes and and we have a pretty good idea on what we need to do and when we
need to do it and like I said it's just something that you can kind of maneuver not so much a bad
car but you know an average car and make it decent for the night to try to get through well let me
give the listeners a little bit more of an introduction for you and so we can learn a
little bit more about you. Drake Troutman driver for the team 22 race team owned by G.R. Smith
who is known as the equivalent of Hendrick Motorsports in dirt racing is one of the hottest shoes on
dirt running over 140 races in the 2025 season including the real american beer world of outlaws
late model series and numerous other dirt series around the country. Troutman comes off a winner
this past weekend landing in victory lane winning the real american beer world of outlaws late model
series event at I-55 Speedway in Cleveland Missouri and currently sits fourth in points.
In 2024 Drake had 21 wins and nine different states and over 120 events all across the country.
At 20 years old Drake knows that it takes a certain kind of person in this game of dirt racing
he knows that his life consists of working on the car and racing the car and that's it.
It is endless hours to make sure your race car is as good as it can be
traveling up and down the road having family and friends that support you
and to have a group of amazing sponsors and a team owner who's dedicated to providing an
opportunity of a lifetime. Drake let's go a little deeper in the corner and share with us
more about your journey into the motorsports world you know we talked a little bit more
about how you got involved in kart racing and then modified in your early years.
How did this go to where you ended up with team 22 and you're with an amazing team and
the top team in in the dirt world. Yeah for sure I you know I always done my stuff
earned modifies and then I'm buying a late model and and I had a lot of really good sponsors come
on board to help us out you know I ran my own stuff for the first two years and and in a late
model you know and so hard to take in you know just everything costs so much you know it's just
like any person's daily living but you know everything costs so much to go out here and
do this deal and race full-time and we just really can't justify it anymore. So I kind of had a
game plan last year that I wanted to go and race the Lucas Oil series and just try to do the best
that we could and turn as many heads as what we could. At the end of the season there GR ended
up calling me and and gave me an opportunity of a lifetime really. Of course I accepted it and
you know I couldn't be more grateful for for him you know in my corner and and for everything that
he's done for us it's been a real dream come true and and that's something I've always you
know always worked for is to try to get a ride you know one day and I sure didn't think it'd be
this soon but it all worked out and like I said just really appreciative for for everything he's
done for us. Yeah that has to be amazing because you know in all of racing as we know you know
right now it is very difficult to get a ride and it's very difficult to get sponsors it's very
difficult to just stay in this game. I want people to understand that you know you said dirt race
season is less expensive you know than asphalt but I want people to understand that this is not a
cheap sport you know it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars a season just for one dirt car and you
know so for you to be able to give that opportunity especially with somebody like GR I mean they are
the top of the game and they are top of the top of the top and it had to be absolutely amazing
to get that kind of call. Yeah it surely was I mean I feel like there's really about 10 teams
out there in the dirt world that you know is top of the line has the motorist has the car has a nice
hauler GR is definitely in that category of one of the top 10 I feel like. He's given me everything
that I need to go out and run good you know sometimes it puts a lot of pressure on me as a driver
and trying to run the race team up to the capabilities that I know it's you know capable
of of course you know that comes with anything I mean if you're a football player you're going
out there and you're hired because you need to go perform you know a race car driver and I'm hired
to go out and perform in one races so it's a lot of pressure that comes with it but GR is really
laid back and cool with me and and you know he's done it himself for years you know he understands
what goes into it and what it takes and that you're gonna have bad nights and you're gonna have
good nights that you know that makes my life a little bit easier just knowing that he understands
how it goes oh yeah he's set in the seat I mean he's very well known in this game not only for
being a team owner but being a driver yeah you hit the jackpot with GR I gotta say for sure yeah
definitely got very lucky so Drake throughout your life I know that there are people who were
great inspirations or who have been great for inspirations for you would you share with us
a key mentor who helped you be successful and who's been the most influential person in your life
that's hard to pick really it's uh I've had so many great people from family to other drivers
other crew members friends it's helped me out so much along the way to get to where I'm at and
and really I just gotta thank them all but I would say that the true one would definitely be uh my
dad he was the one that kind of pushed me to to be the best that I can be and uh you know don't
get me wrong he was really hard on me but I'm grateful that he was and and it's definitely uh
it put me into a situation that you know I know how to carry myself I guess as best as I can and
and how to deal with situations and how to deal with business stuff and you know he's definitely
helped me out so much along the way well you mentioned that your dad and your grandfather
race they were both dirt racers correct yeah what did they race were they open will modify
a late model what was their they both race late models well that's good well third generation
and that's always the best getting over the hood a little bit with a challenge can you share
with us a typical challenge failure obstacle that you faced you know whether in your personal
life or now it's business life you know racing to business tell us how you overcame that situation
and what did you learn there's been so many of them over the last couple years really it's uh
I actually lost my dad whenever I was 16 and uh he passed away so you know he was pretty young
he was only 39 whenever he passed and we were actually out racing and he ended up getting
sick out on the road and uh he passed away from covid then later that week so I don't really
know how I would have you know taken it but he told me you know whenever he was in the hospital
he wanted me to get back racing as soon as possible so he had something to watch you know
and you know it was tough just going to the shop and and seeing how you know me and him
build everything up and and you know I don't have my best friend anymore you know what I mean so
you know that was really hard on me and and still is but I mean I know if he was here I'd still be
racing and and we you know be trying to do the same deal and I feel like that's just that much more
of a building goal for me just knowing that you know I got I got something else that really worked
for too because you know I feel like we kind of want to prove you kind of feel like you ride with
you in the car huh yeah for sure yeah well I know when you got out this weekend in victory lane
I saw you it was really late at night but I saw you look up and you know and and give thanks and
I'm sure that that was partially looking up and say I did a dad yeah now it's yeah it's uh it's
it's tough you know it's uh he was he was definitely my best friend and we always had goals to go out
and compete on the an outlaw tour the Lucas or whatever it may be and and just to know that
you know we've kind of made it and we're being competitive now with them guys and and winning
races it's it's definitely a huge part in my life that's missing but it's a it's a huge void that's
filled knowing that he isn't here and we're still we're still out there you know getting it done so
you know just definitely really grateful for that and and like I said there's so many people
helped us out along the way to take and get to where we needed to be and so many people stepped in
and fill voids that just from people to talk to to helping me out it's been really really humbling
to say at least well I mean you're only 20 years old and and so my next question is about a bucket
list you know what would you like to still accomplish in this next chapter you're at the Mecca at
this point and you're almost there but uh what's next just dirt racing is everything to me I don't
have any interest in going to NASCAR or or anything like that I mean my future is definitely a dirt
layout model racing and that's where I want to be I'm the type of person that no matter how many
races we could win or or if we eventually want them all I always want to strive to be better and
I would say the biggest thing is just keep on grinding it out and you know hopefully one day
be be somewhere on the record but well I think you are well on your way and to be with those guys like
I said with the the ones I mentioned the beginning of the show I I've seen a lot of racing and a
lot of wheel holders and I'll tell you after watching you man you definitely got it for sure
I appreciate it you're welcome let's talk about a special vehicle in your life share a great memory
or experience about a vehicle that's very special to you or it's been special to you in your life
well I got a holler that me and my dad it got together and my mom and um you know after we lost
him we kept racing out of this holler I mean we did the entire Lucas oil tour with it we did the
summer nationals tour with it back in 23 and this thing is just really not fit to go up
down the road the way that we needed it to be and we've been out here uh two years ago on the summer
nationals tour and I mean it's 100 degrees outside and the first week we were out here both of
our ACs and the truck quit working and the second week our generator quit so I would say that that
probably one of the most aggravating but humbling and funny stories that I probably have about a
vehicle well and it's probably pretty special to you like you said and I don't bet you're not getting
rid of that thing and if you're like other racers you're very superstitious about things like that
oh yeah no it's uh it's definitely uh it's a sentimental thing of course but uh you know it's
just me and a bunch of kids that they got here and raced together and you know that's a another
really cool part about GR's you know whenever we did this deal he wouldn't let anyone else take
his hollers you know back to their place you know for him to trust me at 19 years old at the time
to take you know his million dollar holler and half a million dollars worth of equipment back
to Pennsylvania knowing that I'm 19 and my full-time crew guy's only 20 and I got two other younger
boys that are you know 15 and 16 that work for me I don't know I don't know if he's nuts if he's
crazy I don't know if he just has that much trust in me like that was really cool when shared that
you know he did have a lot of trust in me and and um of course you know we try to take care of
things as good as what we can and and uh respect this stuff you know more than what we'd even respect
our urns so but no it's definitely definitely uh truly a dream come true to to be able to race for
GR and have a holler that is very functionable going up down to rare I mean this thing's super nice
and I feel like that's one of the parts about us that you know we didn't have a whole lot and the
way that we were racing you know just made it that much harder and uh now that we do have this stuff
it's life's a dream going up and down the road and this stuff well it's interesting that you mentioned
that your crew is made up of 15 16 and 19 is that what you said 18 19 so one boy's 15 now the other
one's 16 I'm 20 and then my full-time guy I got with me is 21 so that's just the we're just a bunch
of young ins and and uh you know but I love it I mean it's awesome and and they're all really good
workers I mean they bust their ass and and um you know I couldn't be more thankful for them guys
either because if we're up until one two three four five in the morning they're gonna be up to one
two three four five in the morning you know so they're really good workers they're willing to learn
you know of course I'm still learning every day too so we're just all learning together and you
know I always I'm the type of person that I like to look into the future and you know that's another
thing about GRs you know he's one of the youngest car owners out there and people don't really realize
that you know and I feel like you know my team's the youngest team out there that's on a national
tour right now so you know I try to look forward five six years down the road and I'm like man
like we keep on we keep on staying together here and and we could I feel like we could truly have
something special absolutely amazing that you guys are kicking ass the way that you are and you guys
are so young and the dedication that I saw with your crew this past weekend is just absolutely
amazing I had no idea I mean I knew they were young but I had no idea that they were that young
and most kids you guys's age are playing video games and have no clue what they're gonna do in
life and you know can't even get off the couch you know these days um or off their phone and man
you guys were busting you absolutely are busting it so congratulations on that and wow I cannot
imagine I can only imagine what you guys's future looks like let's talk a little car psychology
if you were a car well what would you be and more importantly why now this isn't
what you want to be but instead how you perceive yourself manifested as a vehicle
I would say that we're probably about like a Ford Ranger that's like not just me but like my whole
team like we uh we work hard and uh we're a little bit ragged out right like I mean we're not you
know by any means the most clean cut people so I would probably put ourselves into the aspect of
a Ford Ranger so that's a great answer that's a great answer all right I am writing a blank check
okay for an ultimate drive with no limitations if I could wave a magic wand and arrange for you
to go on the ultimate drive what vehicle would you be in and whom would it be with could it be
a boat it could be anything you want it's the ultimate drive I don't know I mean I'm not too
much of a fancy person but I would say that if I had one shot I probably want to take a yacht
around around the nation just one time like go anywhere I could go with it for as long as I could
go just uh just to experience it like I'm really fascinated with like water and stuff like I love
being in the water and going to the beach and stuff which I mean I never get to go of course
because we're we're always racing and working on our stuff but I enjoy that kind of stuff and
I definitely take all my boys with me uh just uh you know out of respect and appreciation of how
much they work you know for me so that would that would probably be my my answer so how big you got
small yacht like you know the big like I mean huge oh no we're going big I mean if we got a blank
check and and we're going to be on this thing for a while we're definitely getting big one great
well one of my questions is who would be driving so would you want to drive this
shot or would you just want to let somebody take it over and just let you guys flow oh no
definitely let us float yeah I don't want to drive yeah we'd be we'd be we'd be sunk or
stuck or something I don't know which one it be but yeah I wouldn't be good you'd say okay I'll
stick to driving race cars but I'll let somebody else drive me on a yacht that is I love that answer
I don't know that anybody has ever answered that with that that is great I love it let's talk about
giving back I mean I know already that just from watching you and your crew you know that you guys
really help each other but let's talk about you and specifically what are some of the ways that
you've helped others or given back and now this could be you know in your life your racing career
anything you know I love helping people out from racing to really anything like I just like to
help people just how I am you know I guess in a racing aspect like I love helping people out with
their cars like I got a lot of friends that bring their cars to me and I'll get through them or set
them up or whatever so that would be one easy example you know of that but I do love giving
them back to people and helping people out as much as I can I could see that about you and I
again I watched you this past weekend just not only how you were with your crew but with the fans
and the people that were there and just how conscious you are of what's going on around you
and you're so polite well mannered well versed you're one to watch that is all I can just keep
saying that you're one to watch I know that you race all the time and I know you work on your car
all the time and you don't have a lot of extra time but is there a great book or an article or
you know something you've watched it could be a documentary or anything like that that you believe
others could learn from I don't know that's that's a tough one you know I don't really I don't really
get into a whole lot of that stuff if anything to be honest with you I'm the type of person that
I feel like you got to go through the hard the hard times and you know learn from your own mistakes
and learn from yourself how to be better for next time you know even till this day people's
always telling me they're like if you had a crew chief you know your learning curve you know would
be so much faster and you know I'm just the type of person I'm like well I want to go through it
you know like I want to I want to hit the bumps along the road and and learn from my own mistakes
because I feel like that's surely what makes you better is a is a person in whole but as a driver
and you learn so much more about your car and you know that's just the type of person I am
oh that's some great words of wisdom which actually leads me to my my next question
do you have some final parting words of wisdom advice about life and do you have a favorite
quote or mantra that has meaning to you you know it's just not just that like I'm also the type
of person I mean there's a lot of fake people out in this world right like there's so many people
that come up to you and want to be your friend or want to say that they want to see you succeed but
then whenever you do and then where's all them people at you know or whenever times you get tough
where's all them people at I just did a podcast the other day actually with someone and they asked
me a similar question and I was like I'd rather have four or five really real people in my life
than have 20 that's just there you know like I want them four or five people there whenever
times are tough whenever we're all down whenever whether it's you know my personal life whether
it's in racing whatever it may be I'd rather have four or five real ones than I'd have 20 that
are just there that's great and again that's very wise for your age is very wise thought process
and you're absolutely right finally tell us the best way that our listeners can learn more about
you about your race team a website how can the public learn more about you you know I got a
website which is straight travel and racing I got a facebook page which is straight travel and
racing of course I'm racing for GR now so he has a facebook page under GR Smith and Rider Sports
we have apparel you know from t-shirts to hats the little toy cars the whole deal that's underneath
shop 22 that's a you know a website of course and and then I also have a souvenir trailer that's
dirt king apparel which is always tracks out with us it's always a race track so and all of our
races are always broadcasted for the most part it's either on dirt vision or flow racing so
we do a pretty decent job at it keeping up with our updates and and you know our websites have
all of our stats on it and you know I got instagram as well which is just under my personal name
drake troutman yeah we got quite a few different platforms to keep up with well listeners you
can find the links to everything we've talked about here today at carshow.com on the drake
troutman link on the notes page and folks I'm telling you you need to go look this guy up you
need to go watch dirt vision and watch him race in the world of outlaws you need to go to a race
take your family and go to a dirt race a local dirt race it costs less than going to a movie
and it is great great time with your family and it's an experience you'll never forget
make sure to watch drake he is going to roll the world of dirt for sure drake I want to thank you
for being so generous with your time and sharing your experience with our listeners
yeah thank you for having me on that really good time and uh I appreciate you guys having us on
well on that note until we talk again I will see you down the road thank you so much for joining
us here today on cars yeah drive on over to cars yeah dot com to find today's guest show notes
and inspiring automotive fun download your free copy of filler up it's an ebook filled with gorgeous
photos of fuel filler fun including quotes from our inspiring automotive enthusiasts while you're
on the website sign up for weekly blogs and a whole lot more download your copy today ginger will
see you next time here on cars yeah
you
About this episode
Drake Troutman, a rising star in dirt racing, shares his journey from childhood go-karting to competing in the World of Outlaws series at just 20 years old. He discusses the unique aspects of dirt racing, emphasizing its interactive nature and the hands-on work required to maintain competitive cars. Drake reflects on the challenges he faced, including the loss of his father, and how that motivates him to succeed. He also highlights the importance of teamwork and mentorship in his career, while expressing gratitude for the opportunities he's received.
Original notes
Drake Troutman, driver for the Team 22 race team owned by G.R. Smith (known as the equivalent of Hendrick Motorsports in dirt racing), is one of the hottest shoes in dirt racing running over 140 races in the 2025 season including the Real American Beer World of Outlaws Late Model Series and numerous other dirt series around the country. Drake comes off a winner this past weekend landing in victory lane winning the Real American Beer World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at I-55 Speedway in Pevely, MO, and currently sits 4th in points. In 2024, Drake had 21 wins in 9 different states in over 120 events all across the country. At 20 years old, Drake knows that it takes a certain kind of person in this game of dirt racing. He knows that his life consists of working on the car and racing the car – that's it. It is endless hours to make sure your race car is as good as it can be, traveling up and down the road, having family and friends that support you, and to have a group of amazing sponsors and a team owner who is dedicated to providing an opportunity of a lifetime.
Cars Yeah
Ginger Baker Rust
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28:51