DirtonDirt exclusive
Roster for FloRacing Night in America in ’26
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
A new season for Dirt Late Model's premier midweek series commences Wednesday at Spoon River Speedway in Banner, Ill., as FloRacing Night in America returns with many of the sport’s top drivers vying for the $75,000 championship title.
Twelve drivers are expected to follow the 11-race miniseries full-time in 2026, headlined by two-time series champion Bobby Pierce, '24 champ Ricky Thornton Jr., '22 champ Brandon Sheppard, reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champ Devin Moran and '23 Lucas Oil champ Hudson O'Neal.
2021 champ Jonathan Davenport — also last year’s tour runner-up — isn't among the full-time drivers, but the remaining roster remains stout, including current World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader Nick Hoffman and even Carson Hocevar, a burgeoning start on the NASCAR Cup Series.
National touring winners Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb and Ryan Gustin are among committed drivers, along with former WoO campaigner Kyle Hammer. A driver's eight best finishes will count toward the standings.
Garrett Alberson
Hometown: Las Cruces, N.M.
Age: 37
Team: Roberts Motorsports
Series history: Fifth full year (eighth in points in 2025)
Comment: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series campaigner has seven national tour victories, but none in 31 starts on the FloRacing tour. His best shot may come at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway, where he owns a podium finish and three top-five runs in his last four series starts.
Dennis Erb Jr.
Hometown: Carpentersville, Ill.
Age: 53
Team: Dennis Erb Racing
Series history: Fourth full year (sixth in points in 2025)
Comment: Four of 11 series races in his home state make the 2022 WoO champ a darkhorse title contender. He owns three career series victories at Lincoln, Spoon River and Davenport (Iowa) Speedway, all from 2022-23, but is winless his last 21 series starts.
Tyler Erb
Hometown: New Waverly, Texas
Age: 29
Team: Best Performance Motorsports
Series history: Fourth full year (14th in points in 2025)
Comment: Horrid luck on last year’s circuit limited him to a single top-10 finish — a fourth in the Senoia finale. He averaged a 14.9 finish across seven FloRacing features and, despite 25 national wins, is still searching for his first series victory.
Ryan Gustin
Hometown: Marshalltown, Iowa
Age: 35
Team: Todd Cooney Motorsports
Series history: Second full year (fifth in points in 2025)
Comment: The 17-time national tour winner, still seeking his first FloRacing victory, enters the FloRacing campaign red-hot with four wins in his last seven features. Aug. 18-19 weekend at Marshalltown — his home track — along with Mason City (Iowa), are circled on his calendar.
Kyle Hammer
Hometown: Clinton, Ill.
Age: 27
Team: Kyle Hammer Racing
Series history: First full year
Comment: Although the former World of Outlaws Late Model Series campaigner has only qualified for one series feature in six starts, he's planning to follow the tour. Notched three modified victories last year at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway.
Carson Hocevar
Hometown: Portage, Mich.
Age: 23
Team: Spire Motorsports
Series history: First full year
Comment: One of NASCAR’s rising stars and most popular personalities — fresh off his first Cup Series victory at Talladega two weekends ago — takes on his first Dirt Late Model schedule. He’s held his own in six career Dirt Late Model starts since 2022 — all at The Dome at in St. Louis, Mo., and Eldora in Rossburg, Ohio — including 10th at last year’s Gateway Dirt Nationals and sixth in the '23 Dream prelim.
Nick Hoffman
Hometown: Mooresville, N.C.
Age: 34
Team: Tye Twarog Racing
Series history: First full year (12th in points in 2025)
Comment: The current World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader has all the FloRacing events on his radar for the first time after selectively running 12 events over the last four years. Registered a podium, two top fives and four top 10s in five starts last year.
Devin Moran
Hometown: Dresden, Ohio
Age: 31
Team: Double Down Motorsports
Series history: First full year (ninth in points in 2025)
Comment: Surprisingly, the reigning Lucas Oil champ has never completed a full FloRacing schedule from start to finish. He finished ninth in FloRacing points last year despite missing two of nine races. His two career FloRacing victories came at Lincoln (2025) and Atomic (2021) in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Hudson O’Neal
Hometown: Martinsville, Ind.
Age: 25
Team: SSI Motorsports
Series history: Third full year (third in points in 2025)
Comment: If not for missing La Salle and Lincoln last year, the 2023 Lucas Oil champ likely would’ve claimed the FloRacing title — never finishing worse than sixth and still ending up third in points. His six career tour victories rank fourth all-time, with Marshalltown (2025, ’23, ’22) and Lincoln (2023) among returning tour tracks where he’s won.
Bobby Pierce
Hometown: Oakwood, Ill.
Age: 29
Team: Bobby Pierce Racing
Series history: Fourth full year (first in points in 2025)
Comment: Capturing two of the last three FloRacing titles, the $75,000 champion’s share likely runs through the 97-time national tour winner. He’s won nine of his last 31 tour starts and owns a record 10 feature victories in 41 career FloRacing starts.
Brandon Sheppard
Hometown: New Berlin, Ill.
Age: 33
Team: Rocket1 Racing and Brandon Sheppard Racing
Series history: Third full year (seventh in points in 2025)
Comment: Only two of 129 career national victories have come on the tour — Spoon River in 2022 and Fairbury in 2021 — and he's 30 races since his last FloRacing victory, but he appears back to '22 title form with the Rocket Chassis house car team to begin 2026 after a single top-five in nine series races last year.
Ricky Thornton Jr.
Hometown: Chandler, Ariz.
Age: 35
Team: Koehler Motorsports
Series history: Fifth full year (fourth in points in 2025)
Comment: Failed to defend his FloRacing title last season, largely because a winless campaign — his first since 2021. His seven FloRacing victories rank third all-time behind Bobby Pierce and Jonathan Davenport, making up his 71-win national tour resume. Fairbury (2024) and Senoia (2024 twice; 2022 once) are only two returning tracks on tour he's won at.
