The Dirt Track at Charlotte
Young Floridian makes his mark as WoO rookie
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Trey Mills in the pits at Charlotte. (joshjamesartwork.com)
CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 7) — The growing popularity of Trey Mills was on display at The Dirt Track at Charlotte over the last few days, evidenced by the steady stream of fans stopping by his pit area seeking autographs, photographs, a conversation or some combination of all three.
“You know, we're making new fans every single day,” Mills said. “So I just gotta keep doing my job, and I guess, you know, if people are becoming a fan of me, we're doing something right.”
It's another indication of the fanbase the 18-year-old from St. Augustine, Fla., has cultivated during his first season on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. He's added an exciting wrinkle to the national Dirt Late Model scene, leading laps in the Dream at Eldora Speedway, winning a preliminary feature and leading laps at the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway, nearly winning the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finale at Golden Isles Speedway in March before a late flip, and most recently proving himself among the fastest drivers in a 74-car field at the 19th annual Dave Smith Motors World Finals.
The youngster's career appears poised to take off. His aggressive, up-on-the-wheel driving style, increasingly complemented by the polish of a maturing racer, has caught the attention of fans and competitors alike. And results suggest that a breakthrough national victory for Mills is a matter of when, not if.
But beneath that promising trajectory lies a concern weighing on the teenager. As encouraging as things appear, Mills isn't guaranteed another season on a national tour in 2027 — at least, that's what he conveyed shortly before finishing fifth in Saturday's season finale.
“Right now, it's about, I would say, like 40 percent yes, we'll be on a national tour, 60 percent no, just because everything is so expensive and it's really hard,” Mills said. “We went into this being really our only year on a national tour, but I feel like we had a lot of success. And, you know, my dad wants to do everything he can to try to keep me out here. It's just hard for him.
“He's doing everything he can, though, so you can't be upset about it or nothing. Just gotta take advantage of all these big moments like this, especially on this stage, and just try to open people's eyes and show them that, you know, if I have the opportunity, I can race with the best of the best.
“And I feel like we're proving that this weekend.”
Indeed, Mills could hardly have done more to strengthen his case for another season on the national circuit.
Against a World Finals field featuring many of Dirt Late Model racing’s best drivers, the teenager was a top-five contender all three nights, finishing sixth Thursday, running third until a flat tire derailed him with four laps remaining Friday and making a 13th-to-fifth run over the final 39 laps of Saturday's 50-lap finale.
“I feel like overall, this is probably one of the best weekends in my career,” Mills said. “Just as in, you know, there's 75 of the best guys in the country here. And we were, I feel like, a top-five car all weekend long. And I promise you I'm not a top-five driver here. So that just shows how good my car really was.”
What made his Charlotte performance particularly encouraging was that the sprawling, high-speed, red-clay oval isn't necessarily his preferred type of racetrack. Mills considers himself more comfortable on slower, slicker surfaces, particularly the darker dirt found at tracks such as Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway.
But learning to adapt to unfamiliar conditions has been one of the greatest benefits of his rookie national touring season.
“Normally I usually struggle in that red clay kind of stuff,” Mills said. “You gotta adapt to all track conditions if you want to beat these guys. So we're just steadily working at it, and I feel like we're getting better.
“You're trying to adapt to the track, and also you're trying to outrun the best of the best. So it's like knocking out two birds with one stone.”
His self-assessment might be overly modest, especially considering the progress he's made over the course of his rookie season. After failing to qualify for three of his first six World of Outlaws features, Mills steadily found his footing, ultimately recording four top-five finishes — two over his final four races — and 22 top-10s in 52 events.
Another significant milestone came Sept. 5, when Mills earned a $10,000 victory in the John Gill Classic in his first-ever appearance at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway. The teenager outdueled Hudson O'Neal on his home track and Mike Marlar, the Winfield, Tenn., veteran with extensive experience in Northern Allstars action at the legendary quarter-mile Indiana oval.
In doing so, Mills joined an exclusive group of drivers to win in their Brownstown debuts, following Hall of Famer Jeff Purvis of Clarksville, Tenn. (1984), Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark. (2006) and Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (2008).
His WoO season-best fourth-place finish came Oct. 24 in the Modoc 100 at Little River Speedway in South Carolina, and he closed the campaign with top-10 finishes in five of his final six starts and six of his last nine, capped by Saturday's fifth-place showing at Charlotte.
“Really, I could go just about anywhere, and I was just going where they weren't,” Mills said. “It was the last night, so I always kind of threw caution to the wind, and, you know, it ended up working out for us.”
The result also brought a bittersweet reality.
Had Mills finished third Friday, as he appeared poised to do before slight contact with Ryan Gustin flattened his left-front tire, he would have entered Saturday just 14 points behind Daulton Wilson in the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year standings. His fifth-place finish in the finale would have been enough to claim the award.
Instead, the accolade slipped away through a brush of contact so slight that Mills didn't even fault Gustin. Mills finished eighth in the final series standings, just 36 points behind Wilson.
“Gustin did nothing wrong,” Mills said. “Me and him, I mean, we just, like I'm talking, barely, barely touched, ever so slightly, and it just was enough to knock the valve stem out of the left-front wheel, and it went flat.”
Reflecting on the missed opportunity after Saturday's finale, Mills acknowledged the disappointment.
“It does sting a little bit knowing that tonight's run would've won the Rookie of the Year deal,” he said. “But, you know, it is what it is.”
As disappointing as losing the Rookie of the Year award was, Mills is more concerned about securing the opportunity to build on everything he's accomplished this season.
His name has been linked to the opening in Tye Twarog's operation following Nick Hoffman's departure for Spire Motorsports, and Mills said he's been in discussions with prospective car owners about potential opportunities for next season. Whether any of those conversations materialize into a ride remains to be seen.
In the meantime, Mills is preparing as though he'll return behind the wheel of his family's No. 14 Longhorn Chassis. If an opportunity with another team comes along, he'll certainly consider it. If not, the challenge becomes finding enough sponsorship to keep his family-owned operation competing nationally.
And by Mills' own admission, there's still considerable ground to make up financially.
“I mean, we're not really close,” Mills said. “We'd have to have some serious help to be able to get back out there.”
For now, his focus remains on making the most of every opportunity to attract additional support.
“So right now we're just kind of focused on finishing this year out, and hopefully we can open some eyes in these next couple weeks and somebody will come and help us out,” Mills said. “But even if it doesn't happen, we'll still be racing around the house.”
Mills has the benefit of continuity within his family-owned operation. Crew chief Colton Blair has worked with him for six seasons, while Colbey Richman joined the team at the start of 2026 and remained aboard throughout its World of Outlaws campaign.
The three-man traveling operation has endured the inevitable frustrations of a maiden national touring season, but Mills believes the experience has strengthened the group.
“There were some points where we were hanging our heads and there were some points where we were high up in the sky,” Mills said. “But, yeah, like I said, we had fun, had a lot of fun and learned a lot. We were living the dream minute by minute.”
Mills has also developed a friendship with newly minted three-time World of Outlaws champion Bobby Pierce, whose team has become a familiar neighbor in the pit area. Pierce and Mills intentionally park together, and Mills said they've occasionally exchanged setup information and helped one another throughout the season.
“It's always good, whenever you're traveling up and down the road like that all across the country, to have somebody like them to lean on,” Mills said.
For now, Mills isn't finished trying to make an impression. He plans to compete in this weekend’s FloRacing Night in America finale at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway, another opportunity to chase the major victory that has eluded him. And he figures to have a legitimate shot, having finished eighth there with the Outlaws in March and fifth in last year's Friday FloRacing event before getting caught up in a wreck during Saturday's finale.
The teenager has made no secret that winning his first major national event remains a priority, even above the Rookie of the Year honors that slipped away at Charlotte.
“I would much rather win a race,” Mills said before Saturday's finale. “A lot more people are gonna remember that than the Rookie of the Year deal.”
“We've had a lot of sponsors come on board for the last half of the year, and that just also is another showing of how much we've progressed throughout the year,” Mills added. “We're opening eyes steadily, and we're not done yet. We're just gonna keep on working and keep on getting better.”
