After a lengthy break, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series shifts back into high gear this week.

Action begins with Tuesday’s series return to Big Diamond Speedway in Pottsville, Pa., for the first time since 2009, followed by the eighth annual Firecracker 100 weekend beginning Thursday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

Rick Eckert of York, Pa., will be driving the Rocket Chassis house car that’s had success at both events. With Josh Richards behind the wheel — he’s out of action so far in 2014 with an undisclosed medical issue — the familiar blue No. 1 Rocket car won in ’09 at Big Diamond and swept three features at last year’s Firecracker.

In returning to WoO action, Eckert hopes to continue the momentum he and the team build recently with a pair of victories on the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals.

Eckert, who seeks his first World of Outlaws victory of 2014, might have some home-cooking on his side with Big Diamond only an hour-and-half from the home he hasn’t seen much of recently.

“It is a busy week, but coming off of last week, it won’t be quite as hard for us because we just did it for a week and a half straight” of Summernationals race, said Eckert, the 2011 WoO champion.

Eckert and his Rocket team led by team owner Mark Richards believe they’ve found a winning combination after their recent success with back to back wins at Wisconsin's Cedar Lake Speedway and Wilmot Raceway.

“The car we raced last week, we decided we were going to run that car this week,” Eckert said.

Knowing the success Josh Richards has had at this week’s venues, Eckert knows there’s high expectations. He hopes to meet them the best he can with the team blending nicely since he climbed in the car two months ago.

“(Richards) won all three nights at the Firecracker. To win one night at the Firecracker would be really cool, to win all three nights is something you might never see again,” Eckert said. “To win all three nights in a row would be an incredible weekend. ... We don’t drive anything near alike, so even though we’re driving the same car for the same team, it took us a little while to figure out I need to do different stuff than he did.”

No matter what happens on the track, one thing Eckert is looking forward to this week is interacting with the fans, especially at the Firecracker’s annual horseshoe tournament and kickball game.

“I like anything involved with the fans,” said Eckert, who admits the only time all year he plays horseshoes is at the Firecracker. “That’s the neat thing about Lernerville, you get to interact with the fans. The die-hard fans, by the end of the week you’ve run into them or talked with them at some point.”

On Tuesday at Big Diamond, pit gates open at 4 p.m. with grandstands opening at 5 and hot laps at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $30 and children 12-and-under are free. Visit bigdspeedway.com for more information.

On Thursday and Friday at Lernerville, pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the main gates open at 5. On Saturday, pits open at 3 p.m. and main gates at 4. Visit lernerville.com for more information.

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