The St. Charles, MO driver will compete for Rookie of the Year honors this season

BARBERVILLE, FL – December 31, 2021– When the sun rises on the 2022 World of Outlaws Late Models season, a burst of orange from the Midwest will hit Volusia Speedway Park for the first time. 

Gordy Gundaker’s maiden voyage with the Series kicks off at Sunshine Nationals Jan 20-22, as he starts his ascension toward Rookie of the Year honors. 

The St. Charles, MO driver, has competed against the best the World of Outlaws has to offer on numerous occasions, but it’s the first time he’ll strap on his helmet in a Late Model at “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” Despite having little experience, he’s excited to get behind the wheel of his orange number #11 machine.  

“I’m really excited to get down there,” Gundaker said. “I’ve never raced a Late Model there, but I’ve raced a Modified, and I’ve been there a thousand times with Dad over the years, and the last couple of years I’ve been there helping Nick Hoffman when he races there.”

Gundaker is one of five drivers running for Rookie of the Year in 2022, including Max Blair, Kyle Hammer, Gary Dillon, and Tanner English. While he’s excited to compete against all of them this season, battling with English brings a sense of familiarity.  

“Me and Tanner grew up together, and obviously our dads raced together, and we’ve been against each other now for six, seven, eight years, and we race each other hard and always will,” Gundaker said. “It should be a lot of fun; it should be a lot of good competitiveness, but I think it’s going to make the Series even better.”

One of the drawing points for Gundaker to join the World of Outlaws was the 2022 schedule. The Series returns to several tracks he already has experience at and will make a trip to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL—a venue operated by his parents. 

“That was something we looked at when we signed up to do this deal,” Gundaker said. “We’ve been to a lot of tracks, and the Series is coming to Mom and Dad’s place (Tri-City Speedway) this year. Pevely, Fairbury, Farmer City, last year we went up to Fountain City (Mississippi Thunder Speedway) with the Outlaws and went to Boone with the Outlaws, so the nice thing is we already have a bit of a notebook going at these places. 

“I’d like to think the Illinois tracks pla