Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., was fined and placed on probation by World of Outlaws Late Model Series officials for failing a tire test administered during the Illini 100 weekend at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway, the national tour announced today.

According to a series penalty report, tire samples were taken after April 11 time trials and sent to an independent laboratory for testing of chemically altering substances in the tire in a comparative analysis. The test revealed the tire sample from Babb’s car didn't conform to the benchmark provided by Hoosier Tire Company and additional analysis verified the primary laboratory findings.

Babb, 52, was fined $11,771.33 — loss of prize money and contingencies (he earned $2,700 for finishing ninth in the 60-lap feature), a fine equal to one-third of the winner’s earnings of $25,000, and tire testing and shipping costs — and placed on a 12-month probation period for WoO- and DIRTcar-sanctioned events.

In a statement posted to the Shannon Babb Racing Facebook page, Babb’s team called the ruling “unfortunate,” adding that the tire in question was a National Late Model 2 that they purchased from the tire truck in the pit area at 3 p.m. on race day.

“We cleaned our tire with a degreaser and wiped it off to remove the factory mold release coating from the tire,” the statement said. “If we would have washed it off and not wiped it off, it would’ve been OK. This resulted in the tire not meeting the benchmark. We were honest with the World of Outlaws on the degreaser used to clean the tire and the test results that came back confirmed the components of that degreaser.

“We have always raced with integrity and take pride in how we present our racing team and represent our sponsors. We accept the penalty, respect the rules and hope that the sanctioning bodies continue to follow their policies and rules for all Dirt Late Model competitors.”

Babb, who timed seventh-fastest in his 19-car qualifying group and finished second in an April 11 heat race, added in his statement that his team “will have no further comment on this matter and we are looking forward to continuing our 2026 racing season.”