There has been a great deal of conversation lately about the unseemly business of cheating with tires, particularly after the recent disqualification of Shannon Babb in the late model ranks and the stricter rules enacted by the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and its DIRTcar affiliates. Yet last night brought a curious development at Lincoln Speedway involving a sprint car driver, one worth examining with care.
The World of Outlaws sprint cars made their first visit of 2026 to Central Pennsylvania on a Tuesday evening, gracing Lincoln Speedway with the Gettysburg Clash before moving on to Williams Grove for the Morgan Cup. Forty cars turned out for another chapter in the longstanding Posse versus Outlaws rivalry. Local driver Logan Rumsey turned in a respectable performance. The young man, a former iRacing World of Outlaws Pro Series champion, has shown steady progress in recent seasons. He already owns six top-ten finishes in ten races this year across Lincoln, BAPS, and the Grove. Rumsey qualified third quickest in his group, earned a dash spot, and lined up on the front row alongside defending series champion David Gravel.
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Just before the feature, however, with final preparations underway, DIRTVision’s Conner Wade appeared on the broadcast to explain a developing situation around Rumsey’s No. 41. World of Outlaws officials had caught his team wet grinding both the left and right rear tires. They confiscated the Hoosiers in question, though the tires were expected to be returned at night’s end. No immediate penalty followed. Rumsey started from his earned second position and drove to a sixth-place finish, securing his first career Outlaws top ten.
The matter did not escape notice online. High Limit points leader Tanner Thorson took to the platform known as X to observe, “If wet grinding tires is illegal, then how do you still start on the front row? Blows mine and everyone else’s mind.” He added, quite sensibly, “And who says the tires that got put on after the others were confiscated weren’t already done previously?” The Outlaws rulebook does indeed address wet grinding directly. Under Section 10 for tires, subsection B, it states in part that chemical alteration of the tread or carcass, including tire soaking, softeners, wet grinding with any liquid, or defacing sidewall markings, will not be permitted. Penalties for such alterations, however, remain vaguely defined. The next sentence simply declares that any competitor found to have altered tires may receive whatever penalty the officials deem appropriate.
Unlike the late model series, the sprint car rules leave considerable room for interpretation. Officials can issue whatever sanction they see fit, and in this instance they apparently saw fit to issue none—at least for the moment. Yet the story may not be finished. In his post-race rundown, Jeremy Elliott reported that the confiscated right rear tire would be sent to Charlotte for testing. A sample headed to the laboratory could still produce penalties, just as it would have if the team had not been caught in the act. Sanctioning bodies have told us repeatedly that wet grinding with various substances can lead to a failed tire test. We may yet receive the familiar “did not conform to benchmark” announcement in a week or two.
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For context, Shannon Babb’s team made no mention of grinding in their statement; they merely claimed to have cleaned the tire with degreaser and wiped it off. The Outlaws added the specific prohibition on wet grinding at the start of 2025, following the well-publicized tire infraction involving Clinton Boyles at the Chili Bowl. High Limit rules do not name wet grinding explicitly but prohibit altering tires by any means, a standard broad enough to cover the practice. Lincoln Speedway’s tire rules read almost identically.
It does not present a flattering picture for Rumsey’s team to have been caught in the act. One wonders whether officials should have done more on the spot—perhaps sending the car to the tail or barring it altogether—rather than allowing the process to unfold through later testing. Reasonable minds may differ, and your thoughts on the matter belong in the comments below.
On the track itself, Buddy Kofoid drove from fourth to victory, leading seventeen of the thirty-five laps and holding off Carson Macedo at the checkered flag. Chase Dietz completed the podium, placing another Posse driver on the stage and extending what has been an impressive season. Dietz already owns six wins this year, and with Anthony Macri still sidelined, he stands as the Central Pennsylvania driver with the strongest chance of beating the Outlaws in 2026. Posse entries claimed five of the top ten spots, with Kasey Kahne in the Macri 39M finishing ninth for a total of six cars from the region in the show. The provisional debate remains open for discussion in the comments, as does the list of notables who missed the feature: Emerson Axsom, Troy Wagaman, Lance Dewease, and Freddie Rahmer.
Heading to Williams Grove on Friday, Gravel leads Macedo by sixty-six points and Kofoid by ninety-six.
In Tuesday night late model action, the FloRacing Night in America opener at LaSalle Speedway fell victim to rain. The series will attempt to launch Illinois Speedweek tonight at Spoon River, followed by Lincoln on Thursday, Farmer City on Friday, and Fairbury on Saturday. No further sprint car racing appears on the schedule until Friday.
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