Column: Ethan Dotson’s Ready To Build On Sunshine Success In DIRTcar Nationals Return

Column By: SPENCE SMITHBACK / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – BARBERVILLE, FL – Entering his first full World of Outlaws Late Models season, Ethan Dotson knew he was capable of being a front-runner for the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award.

After he started the season with finishes of fourth and 12th at Volusia Speedway Park against a stacked DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals field – leaving him in a tie for second in the standings – the rest of the dirt Late Model world knows it too.

“Since the first week I started with these guys, it’s just been comfortable,” Dotson said of ASD Motorsports, which he joined last May. “It wasn’t like any other team I’ve been with. We get along good and it’s easy, we all have the same goals. The team is good and everything, I’ve just got to get a little bit better and get my race car a little bit better and hopefully we can win some races.”

While Sunshine Nationals may have served as the kickoff to his freshman campaign with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet, Dotson was already in midseason form. ASD was one of a handful of Outlaw teams to make the trek out to Vado Speedway Park for the Wild West Shootout in early January.

Bobby Pierce may have stolen the headlines by winning four out of five Features on the week, but Dotson quietly got off to a consistent start with two top fives and four top 10s in the miniseries, giving him some momentum headed into the World of Outlaws opener.

“Mainly, we just did it because we’ve got some new crew guys on the team,” Dotson said as to why they made the 1,600-mile drive from their home base in South Carolina to New Mexico. “We kind of went out there to get to know each other and work together before we showed up and had to race. That was our main concern.”

The solid showings didn’t end at Sunshine Nationals though. The following Tuesday, Dotson finished a season-best second at a Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series event at Needmore Speedway – a track he’ll return to in September with the World of Outlaws.

That late-January stretch further proved Dotson’s ability to contend with the top Late Model talents in the nation, but he remains adamant that there’s still more speed left in the tank.

“Hopefully we can come back [to Volusia] next week and just be consistent, that’s the main thing,” Dotson said. “Hopefully run up front every night, that’s my goal.”

Running up front at Volusia is something Dotson has plenty of experience in, particularly from his DIRTcar UMP Modified days. The Californian won the 2022 Reutimann Memorial before backing it up with three-straight Feature wins during DIRTcar Nationals the following February and believes that success could translate well to the Late Model this year.

“It’s one of the few Late Model places I have a lot of laps at,” Dotson said. “I think that probably helps more than anything. A lot of places we go to, I’ve only raced at once or not at all. I think that’s the main thing for me.”

Dotson made his first Late Model appearance at DIRTcar Nationals last season, with a sixth-place finish in split-field DIRTcar competition standing as the highlight of his week. But his Sunshine Nationals speed is proof that a lot has changed since then, and Dotson knows he’s never been closer to breaking through for his first World of Outlaws victory.

“Just a couple little things, I mean, our car was pretty good,” Dotson said. “I’ve just got to be a little bit better later in the night. Whenever the track changes, it’s just got to be a little bit better. But I think we’ve got some ideas, and hopefully they’ll work.”

Dotson and the rest of the World of Outlaws Late Models will resume the 2025 season at Volusia Speedway Park on the final three nights of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15).