“Squirrel” has shown improvements since a summer reset with World of Outlaws
Brian Shirley’s 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models campaign can be summed up in two stories.
Before June Big Heartland TourShirley managed only three top-10 finishes, remained outside the top 10 in series points and averaged 17.1 in 11 races.
In mid-August, the driver from Chatham, IL turned the tables by switching his car’s chassis to Longhorn, winning his first series race of 2024 at River Cities Speedway in North Dakota and earning three times as many top-10 finishes (12). His average finish position improved to 8.4 and he reached eighth place in the season standings.
While Shirley knows he can finish the year better than he started it, his goal is simply to rebuild his team’s program behind the No. 3S Bob Cullen Racing Late Model to a championship contender in 2025.
“The season has gone by so quickly,” Shirley said. “Honestly, when Bob (Cullen) wanted to switch cars, the goal was to work toward 2025. We’ve set goals as a team and for ourselves on how we want to finish the year and that’s what we’re trying to do: strive toward the goals we’ve set to hopefully put ourselves in a position to compete for more wins and a championship.”
Shirley’s team started from scratch with the mid-season car change and gained new motivation that paid off with notable top-10 finishes in the Crown Jewel events at Deer Creek Speedway, Fairbury Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway.
“It was a series of dedication to the team,” he said. “The guys kept working hard. The car change breathed new life into the team. We’re glad (Bob) was willing to move the team from one side to the other so we could find what I need and these new race cars.”
During his two-day stay in the Prairie State, racing at Highland Speedway and Spoon River Speedway, Shirley will be racing at tracks he already has experience at, but he will have to work with a new notebook and the new chassis.
Shirley won the 2019 DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Spoon River – this season he won his third of four Summer Nationals titles. At Highland, Shirley’s best result was a third place with the Hell Tour in 2014.
“The (Illinois) race tracks are right on my doorstep,” Shirley said. “We’ve raced at Spoon River a lot. At Highland, not so much, maybe once every couple of years at the Summer Nationals. All in all, it’s one of those things that this is our first time going there with this car and with the World of Outlaws. The notes we took there aren’t really helpful. I have a good understanding of how to drive those tracks and how they change, but with all the others it will be the first time.
After the two nights in Illinois, the series completes the trio of races with a two-day debut at Maquoketa Speedway. While Shirley will be racing in March during the Fast 50He must learn to find his way around the facility with the new car and to navigate it according to his wishes.
“We raced at Maquoketa earlier this year,” Shirley said. “That helped us develop an understanding of the track, but we were racing the old car. Honestly, every race towards the end of the season is a new experience with the car, but the new situation will help us create a notebook so we know where we can improve in the future.”
Shirley will be behind the wheel of the No. 3S again in Illinois and Iowa when the series races on the three debut tracks Highland Speedway (August 14), Spoon River Speedway (August 15) and two nights of the Hawkeye 100 at Maquoketa Speedway (August 16-17).
CLICK HERE to get $5 off your ticket to Spoon River Speedway and Maquoketa Speedway by using Shirley’s code “SHIRLEY3S” at checkout.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every round of the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models live on DIRTVision.
