Zach Yost

Coming off Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year honors, Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., announced Friday he’s taking his up-and-coming talents in 2025 full-time to Team 22 Inc., the G.R. Smith-owned operation based in Cornelius, N.C.

The 19-year-old (pictured) will contest every Georgia-Florida Speedweeks event with intentions to follow either the Lucas Oil Series or World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series. He may even debut with Team 22 Inc. at Jan. 3-12’s Wild West Shootout at Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park depending how offseason preparations go.

Troutman, who took his family-owned team on the road this year and finished 11th in the Lucas Oil standings, will keep his No. 7 program to augment his ambitious racing schedule while “being all in on this deal with G.R. We’re both looking at it for multiple years to come.”

“I’ve been wanting to do something full-time with someone for next year,” Troutman told DirtonDirt.com. “I wasn’t really looking for no part-time ride. He was really my only full-time ride option. He reached out to me, and I have to really thank him and his wife (Stacy) for believing in me and having confidence in me to go do this deal. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be really good for me and I hope I can get them some results in return.”

Smith, who last week announced the departure of full-time driver Max McLaughlin and hiring of Chris Madden on a part-time basis, calls Troutman “a promising young star in this deal” who’s “one of the hardest-working guys in the pit area, especially for his age.”

“He proved what he could do on the Lucas grind this year as a rookie and it’s definitely telling what his potential is for the future with the ability that he has,” Smith said. “What’s even better is that he’s super personable and super easy to talk to and really appreciative.

“Hopefully we can take him to the next level. He’s right on the cusp. We want to elevate him to a position where he has all the resources at his disposal to race the way he wants to race.”

Troutman will house Smith’s No. 22* Longhorn Chassis at his Hyndman, Pa., shop to enable the teenager “to have more of a stable crew” for 2025. That group includes his right-hand man Hunter Cornell, Kyle Beckett and Mason Baer, who all “live 20 minutes from the shop.”

“It’s really nice of (Smith) to have me take his stuff up there,” Troutman said. “It’s going to be the same environment (as his family-owned team), the only thing that’s different is he’s the car owner and giving me all the right equipment to do the best I can do. We learned a lot this year on how to be professional looking and more organized

Troutman earned three wins in 97 Dirt Late Model starts this year highlighted by June 21’s Firecracker 100 prelim win at Pennsylvania’s Lernerville Speedway.