The MD3 Rookie of the Year points leader is 10th in the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models standings

Dustin Sorensen entered the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models season with limited time behind a Dirt Late Model and moderate expectations.

10 races left until World of Outlaws World Final In Charlotte, the Rochester, Minnesota native leads the MD3 Rookie of the Year standings by 150 points and has valuable experience behind the wheel of his family’s No. 19 Longhorn chassis.

“From the beginning, my main goal was to win the Rookie of the Year Award,” said Sorensen. “The most important thing for me is to win my first feature with World of Outlaws as soon as possible. That would be the highlight of my career. Every night it’s always something different depending on who you’re racing against, like when I beat Jonathan Davenport in US citizens and that was something I never thought I would achieve, but it was a cool accomplishment. It varies from track to track, but I definitely want to get one of those wins by the end of the season.”

Sorensen began his campaign at unknown tracks such as Volusia Speedway Park and Farmer City Raceway before scoring his first top-10 finish in the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in May.

From there, Sorensen’s summer only got more exciting, as he led the most laps at Brownstown Speedway and finished second, his first podium of the season. In the series’ return this weekend, he finished in the top 10 in five of the last seven feature races – including a third-place finish at US citizens at Cedar Lake Speedway.

“I think we were able to keep up with those guys over the summer,” Sorensen said. “Spending more time in the seat and driving on tracks with a lot of variety helped me learn faster. And also driving the Late Model on different tracks when we had time off helped me a lot.”

“I’ve only been to the Spoon River once. I’ve never been to (Highland or Maquoketa). But I don’t have a lot of experience to draw on. So I’m hoping I can use the previous trails we traveled earlier this year or find some quirks that will help me start the week.”

Before joining the “world’s most powerful Late Models,” Sorensen’s Late Model experience was limited to the Minnesota track region. He has taken his newfound knowledge and found a base setup under the sheet metal that allows him to understand the track and where to make adjustments as the program progresses.

“It’s crucial to settle in from the start,” Sorensen said. “You only have two laps to settle in and learn as much as you can before going straight into qualifying, which is the most important part of the night to get off to a good start. For us, getting the balance right at the start is crucial. The No. 19 Longhorn has been pretty good at every track we’ve raced at. The stock setup is sporty, which helps a lot. That’s something I had to get to grips with quickly, and we’ve done well with it so far.”

Sorensen acknowledged his lead in the Rookie of the Year standings and also thanked the team around the race car that helped him make steady progress throughout the season: his father, Mike Sorensen, and crew member Cory Richman.

“That honestly says a lot about my dad and Cory Richman,” Sorensen said. “They do a great job of taking care of the car and making sure there are no mechanical failures, which is huge when you’re racing for a long season. I can’t thank them enough for getting the car perfect every night in that regard. We only had one failure this year due to a mechanical issue, but that was nobody’s fault and out of our control. It was about finishing races consistently, consistently not ruining our stuff and getting good results when possible.”

Sorensen will don his helmet for four nights of racing at three different tracks, beginning with Highland Speedway on Wednesday, August 14, Spoon River Speedway on Thursday, August 15, and two days of action at Maquoketa Speedway on Friday/Saturday, August 16/17.

In addition to the racing on the track at Maquoketa, there will also be off-track activities for fans on Saturday, including a car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a kids’ zone from noon to 4 p.m., the Hoker Trucking Toys for Tots fundraiser, a driver autograph session at 4:30 p.m. and a cornhole tournament starting at 12:30 p.m.

If you can’t make it to the track, follow every lap live on DIRTVision – available either online or via the DIRTVision app.