BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Recapping the 55th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park with a list of superlatives from the three World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series features and three DIRTcar-sanctioned programs contested at the half-mile oval near Daytona Beach:

Best driver: Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., scrawled his name all over the Dirt Late Model portion of the DIRTcar Nationals just like he’s done so many times before in the modified division, becoming the first driver since Jimmy Owens in 2020 to win three straight features during the week — a 20-lap DIRTcar-sanctioned semifeature on Wednesday and dominant 35-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumphs worth $12,000 each Thursday and Friday — and finishing outside the top-five just once (seventh on Tuesday) in six races. He also recorded finishes of fifth on Monday and fourth on Saturday (after leading the first 32 circuits of the 50-lap WoO finale) with his Tye Twarog-owned Longhorn Chassis to make him the runaway runaway winner of miniseries points, earning him $3,000 and a Big Gator trophy to go along with the seven he’s won in modified action.

Best race: None of the week’s features boasted a truly down-to-the-wire finish, but Saturday’s 50-lap WoO finale came closest. After eventual winner Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., overtook Hoffman for the lead on lap 33, 19th-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., soon reached second with his frenzied charge forward and began reeling in the pacesetter. With three laps remaining Pierce was right on Sheppard’s rear bumper, but lapped cars that thwarted Pierce’s inside line through turns three and four contributed to Pierce settling for a runner-up finish, .0543 of a second behind the victor.

Best return to prominence: Sheppard’s $20,000 triumph on Saturday conjured memories of his dominant Volusia days with the Rocket Chassis house car team. Winless last year at Volusia in his first season back in the Rocket1 seat after a two-year breakup, the 33-year-old visited victory lane at the half-mile oval with the Mark Richards-owned team for the first time since 2020 and the ninth time in his career.

Most satisfying victory: Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., ratified his strong start to the 2026 season (three straight wins in non-national events in Georgia over the previous two weekends) with a convincing victory in Monday’s 25-lap DIRTcar-sanctioned feature to open the week. “I’m so glad I won. I’m so sick of hearing this s--- about I don’t race against nobody,” Overton said with a smile.

Coolest customer: Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., knew tire wear would be an issue Tuesday with the track surface taking rubber, so he calmly heeded his crew chief Jason Durham’s signals to conserve his rubber while running out front for the entire distance. For one stretch late in the distance the 25-year-old seemed to be virtually coasting through the rubber line around the first and second turns without sliding his SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis, helping him reach victory lane for the fourth time in 2026 but first in his SSI Motorsports entry.

Best victory lane celebration: There was no holding back the emotion in Michael Leach after the 22-year-old native of Sun River, Mont., captured Wednesday’s first 20-lap semifeature. The son of Longhorn Chassis co-owner Paul Leach led all the way for a $5,000 triumph that marked his first-ever Super Late Model win starting his second full season in the division. He became the first driver to score their first career Super Late Model checkered flag in a Speedweeks event since Kyle Bronson in 2014 at Volusia.

Most timely caution: Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, thought he might have given away his shot at an elusive Volusia victory when he failed to grab the lead from the pole on the initial start of Wednesday’s second 20-lap semifeature, but a caution flag before the first circuit was completed put him back at the point with Cody Overton of Evans, Ga., returning to the second spot. Erb took advantage of the new life to lead the entire distance, finally breaking through for a win in his ninth attempt at the DIRTcar Nationals since 2016.

Best newcomer: Despite owning just a single Super Late Model start heading to Volusia, 21-year-old Dallon Murty of Chelsea, Iowa, didn’t look out of a place in his debut with Greg Bruening’s Skyline Motorsports team. He started four of the week’s six features and actually qualified for five but had to scratch from Friday’s feature because motor trouble struck him as he won a consolation. While he didn’t collect a top-10 finish, he certainly flashed his potential.

Best brother act: The Overton siblings — Brandon, 34, and Cody, 28 — were at it again at Volusia, recording a 1-2 finish for the second straight DIRTcar Nationals when Brandon led Cody across the finish line in Monday’s feature. The brothers each enjoyed multiple strong runs over the remaining nights, with Brandon finishing second Wednesday and Friday and Cody recording finishes of second and third Tuesday and Wednesday.

Top manufacturer: China Grove, N.C.-based Longhorn Chassis shined brightly again, but the company’s dominance of the event wasn’t quite as complete as last year. Longhorn claimed six of the eight feature winners and 29 of the 40 top-five finishing positions for the week, down from 8-of-8 and 35-of-40 in ’25. Rocket Chassis earned two wins and six top-five finishes while Infinity (four) and Capital (one) also tallied top-five finishes.

Biggest rally: Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., found what he called the “Earl Pearson” lane — a groove right around the extreme inside of the track — to carry him from the 22nd starting spot to a runner-up finish in Thursday’s feature.

Most frustrating week: Competing in the miniseries for the eighth consecutive year, Blair Nothdurft of Renner, S.D., flashed solid speed (fast time and heat win on Tuesday, heat victory on Saturday and outside pole starting spot in feature) but couldn’t convert it into a finish better than 13th in his three full-field feature starts. He also broke a motor in Monday’s time trials and during a Wednesday semifeature, forcing him to sit out Thursday’s action to travel to Clements Racing Engines in Spartanburg, S.C., to have one of his powerplants repaired.

Most frustrating week II: A Volusia winner in each of the last three years and six times overall since 2021, Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, began the week in positive fashion with a 12th-to-third run in Monday’s opener but never seriously contended again. He opted to skip Saturday’s finale entirely to regroup his Double Down Motorsports effort after not coming close to transferring Thursday and Friday.

Most surprising non-winners: Moran was joined by Pierce (three straight podiums to close week but second consecutive winless miniseries), Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz. (the defending Big Gator champ and a winner in each of the last two years topped out at fifth on Saturday) and McCreadie and Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C. (winners during last month’s Sunshine Nationals).

Shortest week: Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., hit the track for hot laps on Monday with a brand-new engine under the hood of his Bob Cullen-owned machine, but the powerplant went up in smoke before he had even completed a circuit at speed. He left the track at the end of the program and sat out the rest of the week to reset his motor program for the upcoming Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series portion of Speedweeks.

Toughest breaks: Tyler Erb and Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa. Erb started fourth Saturday but didn’t complete a lap because his car bounced hard in a turn-two rut on the opening circuit and was immediately slowed by a broken J-bar and driveshaft; Gustin spun from contention in Thursday’s feature after contact with Erb as they battled for third and the following night experienced terminal engine trouble on lap 27 while in the mix for a top-five finish.

Most quietly consistent: Drake Troutman of Hyndman, Pa., didn’t flirt with victory like he did a year ago, but the 20-year-old driver of G.R. Smith’s Team 22 Inc. machine started all six features and put together a steady finishing log (13-14-6-9-5-11). His fifth-place finish in Friday’s 35-lapper came after he started 26th using a provisional.

Most notable absence: Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., was missing from Volusia’s field for just the third time since 2006 as he contemplates what will likely by a “spot racing” schedule this season, according to Bobby Koehler, who has fielded Owens’s equipment for the past three season and was at Volusia racing with his sons Jordan and Evan and lead driver Ricky Thornton Jr.

Largest winning margin: Hoffman absolutely blew out the field in his Thursday victory, pulling away late in the distance to defeat Brandon Overton by a commanding 5.270 seconds.

Worst start: With Michael Leach leading the field to the green flag in Friday’s 35-lapper, the snarling pack became bunched up behind him rounding turn four and creating a chain-reaction jumble that saw Mike Marlar get into the back of 11th-starter Chris Madden’s car, spinning Madden into the tires lining the opening of the inside wall in the fourth corner. Madden’s machine collected Sheppard as he twirled; Sheppard continued with significant left-front bodywork damage and salvaged an 11th-place finish while Madden retired shortly thereafter.

Most welcome development: After the car count for last year’s miniseries grew from 2024 by over eight entries to 55.83 cars, turnout rose even more this year with the average hitting an even 57 cars. Wednesday’s all-features program drew a week-high field of 59 cars while the smallest roster was 56 entries on three occasions (Monday, Tuesday and Saturday).

Longest streak: Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., remained a Volusia stalwart, continuing to extend his stretch of consecutive DIRTcar Nationals appearances over the quarter-century mark. He finished no higher, however, than 11th (Monday) and absorbed arguably the week’s hardest hit in a Tuesday heat when a scrape with Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif., sent him spinning driver-side into the tires lining the opening in the backstretch wall.

Best save: As Ryan Gustin was passing the flagstand at the initial start of Thursday’s fourth heat, his car was turned toward the outside wall after contact with Ethan Dotson. Somehow Gustin managed to maintain control and race on without hitting the concrete, but the race’s outside front-row starter slipped backward and had to settle for a third-place finish.

Biggest clash: A Friday heat-race scrape between Jordan Koehler of Mount Airy, N.C., and Max McLaughlin of Mooresville, N.C., who drove Canadian Glenn Styres’s car twice during the week, led to Koehler expressing his displeasure by bumping McLaughlin’s machine under caution. WoO officials disqualified Koehler from action for the remainder of the night.