World Racing Group History

The first Knoxville Nationals — called the Super Modified National Championship — took place on July 29, 1961. The event, created by promoter Marion Robinson, was won by Roy Robbins, who received $1,000. The Knoxville Nationals has since become the most prestigious sprint car race in the world, known for attracting top talent and offering a significant purse. 

The first Williams Grove National Open was held in 1963. That inaugural race was won by Gordon Johncock, who later became a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion. 

The first World 100 race was held on October 3, 1971, at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. This prestigious 100-lap dirt late model race has been held annually since its inaugural event. 

The DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park originated in 1972. Now a staple event as the season opener, the DIRTcar Nationals draws top drivers from across the country for intense competition.

The first Super DIRT Week was held from September 29 to October 1, 1972, at the New York State Fairgrounds. Glenn Donnelly rented the track for the event, which began as a season-ending 100-lap race for modifieds and has since become one of dirt racing's most iconic annual events.

The Super DIRTcar Series, born from a series of qualifier races for the inaugural Super DIRT Week, formally became a true points championship in 1974, with Will Cagle winning the first championship title. 

Ted Johnson, a former Midget driver from Madison, WI – living in Wichita Falls, TX – formed the World of Outlaws in 1978 in an effort to bring the best Sprint Car drivers in the world together on the same stage.

The first Gopher 50 race was held in 1980 at the Chateau Speedway in Austin, Minnesota, founded as a fundraiser for the Blooming Prairie Jaycees. 

The United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) was founded in 1984 by Bob Memmer with the goal of providing unified rules for dirt track racing in the Midwest. The first UMP events were held that same year under the newly established rules. The founding of UMP established standardized technical specifications for Late Model racing, with the first rulebook created before the 1984 season. 

The first Kings Royal took place in 1984, an event created by Eldora Speedway promoter Earl Baltes. Steve Kinser won this inaugural race and was the first to be crowned. 

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals was founded in 1986 to provide a summer tour for Late Model drivers. Known as the Hell Tour, it now features 30+ events in five weeks at tracks across the Midwest and South. The series launched the careers of many Late Model stars, including Hall of Famers Scott Bloomquist and Billy Moyer Sr. and recent stars like Bobby Pierce, Brian Shirley and Nick Hoffman.

The first World of Outlaws Late Model Series race was run at Williams Grove Speedway on April 22, 1988. Hall of Famer Billy Moyer Sr. was the champion in both 1988 and 1989 before the series went dormant until 2004.

The first Prairie Dirt Classic was held on September 1, 1990. The event, which takes place annually at Fairbury Speedway in Illinois, has grown into a marquee event on the World of Outlaws schedule.

The first USA Late Model Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway was held on September 8, 1992, after being postponed twice due to heavy rains from its original August 25-26 dates and a subsequent September 1-2 reschedule. 

The American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) was founded by Emmet Hahn in 1992.  In 2024, with the departure of the All-Star Circuit of Champions, WRG saw a gap in Sprint Car racing that endangered the sport by eliminating a path to 410 Sprint Car racing. To that end, WRG made a quick move to acquire and revitalize ASCS.

The first Late Model Dream race was held at Eldora Speedway on June 4, 1994 and has since become an annual staple in dirt track racing, drawing top competitors from around the country to the Ohio-based track. 

The Herald & Review 100, a dirt racing event, was first held in 1987 at Macon Speedway. The race is a 100-lap event sanctioned by the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and is named for the Herald & Review newspaper, which was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1872.

World Racing Group (then Boundless Racing) acquires the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, restarts the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, and acquires DIRT MotorSports — making WRG the largest dirt racing sanctioning body in the country.

The annual World of Outlaws World Finals started in 2007, crowning the season champions for both the World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model series. Three years later, the Super DIRTcar Series joined the event, making it the only event on the schedule to have all three premier series racing on the same day. 

The first World of Outlaws Ironman 55 race was held in 2009 at the Federated Auto Parts I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, and was won by Joey Saldana. The 55-lap race is known as one of the toughest Sprint Car races, with the highest lap count of the season under intense summer heat.  

The inaugural World Short Track Championship was in October of 2016, giving nine (now 10) weekly racing divisions the opportunity to compete the big stage at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.