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G.R. Smith believed his Team 22 Inc. was finally building toward something special with Drake Troutman.
The Cornelius, N.C., car owner watched the 21-year-old from Hyndman, Pa., elevate his program every step of the way since they debuted in January 2025 at the Wild West Shootout, especially throughout the first half of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season. The team consistently raced near the front, climbed as high as fourth in the points standings and appeared to be establishing itself at the national level.
Until Troutman informed him Tuesday morning of his decision to leave, Smith envisioned winning races and contending for championships alongside the young driver for the long haul.
"I get it — we've had some different drivers. But Drake was the guy we thought we'd build our team around," Smith said Wednesday in a phone interview. "There's nobody associated with our team that ever wanted to see Drake move on. There were no issues. There were no problems.
"Let me make this clear: I wanted to race with him the next 10 or even 15 years until my boy (son Carson) comes up. He was my driver not only now, but for the future. And that's gotta be stressed upon. Like, people are giving me the bad rap. I did not want this to happen. I was crushed when I realized that wasn't gonna happen."
While neither Troutman nor Smith expected the split to come in the middle of WoO's Upper Midwest swing, the possibility had been discussed for some time.
Troutman had been weighing an opportunity to join Jerry Foster's planned Dirt Late Model operation and engaged in multiple conversations with Smith about his future. Smith knew about those discussions and believed Team 22 Inc.'s long-term vision would ultimately be enough to keep Troutman in the fold.
The timing of Troutman's decision was influenced by mechanical failures in the team's final two races together, which came just before a grueling stretch of 10 World of Outlaws events in 18 days — seven consecutive races through the Upper Midwest followed by stops at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.
Rather than continue knowing the financial commitment Smith would need to make to regroup for the upcoming stretch, Troutman decided to inform the car owner sooner rather than later.
"He needed a longer-term commitment from me. I just couldn't really give him one. I was just feeling things out and thinking about it," Troutman told DirtonDirt. "Understandably so, he wanted a commitment. And I get it, this s--- is so expensive to do it without knowing if I'm even going to be here.
"We just decided, at the point we were at, after hurting those motors and stuff, that now would be a better time — if I did decide to go a different route, that it's better now to change it up than in November. There's no bad blood at all.
“I just have to thank them for everything," Troutman added. "Really, I’m just asking that people don’t blow this thing out of proportion more than what it really is.”
That, at least, is the part Smith understands.
"He respected me enough to say, 'Hey, I've slept on it, and my heart is taking me another direction,' which I get," Smith said.
Smith doesn't entirely fault Troutman for making the move, noting that "he had a great offer" with Foster, the Pasadena, Md., businessman whose planned Dirt Late Model operation is expected to revolve around the same partnership that has produced immense modified success since 2023.
In fact, Smith sees similarities between Troutman's decision and the recruiting dynamics that now define college athletics, where highly sought-after athletes routinely field competing offers and opportunities in the NIL era.
"Everyone's making their bets on the future, and he's got a long, bright future that you could build a foundation around," Smith said. "Nobody's mad. It just came down to where Drake feels like he needed to be. ... It was his decision to do this. That has to be understood."
Smith believes that reality extends far beyond Team 22 Inc.
"We've reached a different world in Dirt Late Model racing. It's like college sports. It's kind of like the NIL in college football. That's how I could describe it," Smith said. "People are always trying to recruit talent because there's only so many talented people out there that can do this. It makes a very tough game to play when people are actively recruiting people that you have."
Smith exhausted every avenue available to keep Troutman, saying they talked on the phone until nearly 4 a.m. following Monday's World of Outlaws event at Ogilvie (Minn.) Raceway, discussing whether there was anything else Team 22 Inc. could do to keep their partnership intact.
"I tried to convince Drake to stay. I put my best foot forward," Smith said. "It's no different than recruitment in college sports. There's no recruitment you can do to change the mind of someone who's already made their mind up. I love Drake to death, but that's what it came down to. We had a meeting, we had a heart-to-heart talk of which direction he was going to go.
"I tried my very, very best to keep him and sell him on where we can be in the next three to five years. ... I full-fledged tried to match or put up everything I could to accomplish that because of what I thought we could do together. We were right on the path in Year Two together.
"One thing I want to make clear is, the plan was to build — and I'm still wanting to continue to build — a national championship-winning effort."
Among Troutman's highlights with Team 22 Inc. were a pair of victories in a four-race span during last June's DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway and Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway. He then broke through on the national stage with the first World of Outlaws victory of his career at I-55 Federated Raceway in Pevely, Mo., worth $20,000.
The partnership's most recent triumph came May 3 in the $10,000 Mark Balzano Memorial at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, W.Va., and Troutman climbed as high as fourth in World of Outlaws points following his runner-up finish there June 13.
More importantly, Smith believed the team was finding the consistency required to contend toward the top of the standings. From the Illini 100 weekend at Farmer City Raceway in early April through June 13 at West Virginia Motor Speedway, Troutman finished outside the top 10 only three times in 15 World of Outlaws starts. The stretch included four podium finishes, six top-fives and 12 top-10s before mechanical failures derailed the opening two races of the Upper Midwest swing at 141 Speedway and Ogilvie.
"We had a very strong team we put together that we could contend for wins night in and night out," Smith said. "If you look at our races, the progression from Charlotte (last November at the World Finals) to today, we were climbing that mountain at the pace it needed to be to accomplish all our goals. I wanted to accomplish all our goals with Drake. That's what the fans and people from the outside don't see."
For Smith, the downside of building around a talented young driver is that others inevitably take notice.
"The one downside of that, though, is your own success can be your own demise because people can try to come in and basically take what you're trying to build and think that can be better," Smith said. "At the end of the day, it came down to a person's own personal wants and gut feeling, and you can't overcome that."
Still, Smith understands the advantages Troutman sees in joining Foster's operation, given the geographic proximity and relationship the two have established.
"It's more suited to where he lives, and I respect that," said Smith, who added "if you truly care about someone, you're not going to stand in their way of something that they want to go do."
"It's easy for me to say, 'Hey, stay and we'll do this,' " he continued. "That's what Drake meant by it's better to do it now than later because the longer he stays, the tougher it gets."
Smith will have Winona, Minn.'s Jake Timm carrying the Team 22 Inc. banner in his own equipment on the WoO tour through July 4's NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., to maintain full-time series eligibility. After that, Smith is unsure what the future holds.
"Right now, I can't even think about the future," Smith said. "We're doing what we need to do. As far as the long-term future, I have no plans or long-term commitments. It's still too soon and too fresh. This was something we weren't ready for.
"Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to see this go to its full potential. With the engine builders that we have, with the car builders that we have, the shock companies, Drake's talent, and everything that we put in it, we were just beginning to scratch the surface of what we were gonna become together. … That's why it still stings so much."
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The Cornelius, N.C., car owner watched the 21-year-old from Hyndman, Pa., elevate his program every step of the way since they debuted in January 2025 at the Wild West Shootout, especially throughout the first half of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season. The team consistently raced near the front, climbed as high as fourth in the points standings and appeared to be establishing itself at the national level.
Until Troutman informed him Tuesday morning of his decision to leave, Smith envisioned winning races and contending for championships alongside the young driver for the long haul.
- Drake Troutman Joining New Team Following Team 22 Inc. Departure
- Drake Troutman, Team 22 Inc. Part Ways
"I get it — we've had some different drivers. But Drake was the guy we thought we'd build our team around," Smith said Wednesday in a phone interview. "There's nobody associated with our team that ever wanted to see Drake move on. There were no issues. There were no problems.
"Let me make this clear: I wanted to race with him the next 10 or even 15 years until my boy (son Carson) comes up. He was my driver not only now, but for the future. And that's gotta be stressed upon. Like, people are giving me the bad rap. I did not want this to happen. I was crushed when I realized that wasn't gonna happen."
While neither Troutman nor Smith expected the split to come in the middle of WoO's Upper Midwest swing, the possibility had been discussed for some time.
Troutman had been weighing an opportunity to join Jerry Foster's planned Dirt Late Model operation and engaged in multiple conversations with Smith about his future. Smith knew about those discussions and believed Team 22 Inc.'s long-term vision would ultimately be enough to keep Troutman in the fold.
The timing of Troutman's decision was influenced by mechanical failures in the team's final two races together, which came just before a grueling stretch of 10 World of Outlaws events in 18 days — seven consecutive races through the Upper Midwest followed by stops at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.
Rather than continue knowing the financial commitment Smith would need to make to regroup for the upcoming stretch, Troutman decided to inform the car owner sooner rather than later.
"He needed a longer-term commitment from me. I just couldn't really give him one. I was just feeling things out and thinking about it," Troutman told DirtonDirt. "Understandably so, he wanted a commitment. And I get it, this s--- is so expensive to do it without knowing if I'm even going to be here.
"We just decided, at the point we were at, after hurting those motors and stuff, that now would be a better time — if I did decide to go a different route, that it's better now to change it up than in November. There's no bad blood at all.
“I just have to thank them for everything," Troutman added. "Really, I’m just asking that people don’t blow this thing out of proportion more than what it really is.”
That, at least, is the part Smith understands.
"He respected me enough to say, 'Hey, I've slept on it, and my heart is taking me another direction,' which I get," Smith said.
Smith doesn't entirely fault Troutman for making the move, noting that "he had a great offer" with Foster, the Pasadena, Md., businessman whose planned Dirt Late Model operation is expected to revolve around the same partnership that has produced immense modified success since 2023.
In fact, Smith sees similarities between Troutman's decision and the recruiting dynamics that now define college athletics, where highly sought-after athletes routinely field competing offers and opportunities in the NIL era.
"Everyone's making their bets on the future, and he's got a long, bright future that you could build a foundation around," Smith said. "Nobody's mad. It just came down to where Drake feels like he needed to be. ... It was his decision to do this. That has to be understood."
Smith believes that reality extends far beyond Team 22 Inc.
"We've reached a different world in Dirt Late Model racing. It's like college sports. It's kind of like the NIL in college football. That's how I could describe it," Smith said. "People are always trying to recruit talent because there's only so many talented people out there that can do this. It makes a very tough game to play when people are actively recruiting people that you have."
Smith exhausted every avenue available to keep Troutman, saying they talked on the phone until nearly 4 a.m. following Monday's World of Outlaws event at Ogilvie (Minn.) Raceway, discussing whether there was anything else Team 22 Inc. could do to keep their partnership intact.
"I tried to convince Drake to stay. I put my best foot forward," Smith said. "It's no different than recruitment in college sports. There's no recruitment you can do to change the mind of someone who's already made their mind up. I love Drake to death, but that's what it came down to. We had a meeting, we had a heart-to-heart talk of which direction he was going to go.
"I tried my very, very best to keep him and sell him on where we can be in the next three to five years. ... I full-fledged tried to match or put up everything I could to accomplish that because of what I thought we could do together. We were right on the path in Year Two together.
"One thing I want to make clear is, the plan was to build — and I'm still wanting to continue to build — a national championship-winning effort."
Among Troutman's highlights with Team 22 Inc. were a pair of victories in a four-race span during last June's DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway and Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway. He then broke through on the national stage with the first World of Outlaws victory of his career at I-55 Federated Raceway in Pevely, Mo., worth $20,000.
The partnership's most recent triumph came May 3 in the $10,000 Mark Balzano Memorial at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, W.Va., and Troutman climbed as high as fourth in World of Outlaws points following his runner-up finish there June 13.
More importantly, Smith believed the team was finding the consistency required to contend toward the top of the standings. From the Illini 100 weekend at Farmer City Raceway in early April through June 13 at West Virginia Motor Speedway, Troutman finished outside the top 10 only three times in 15 World of Outlaws starts. The stretch included four podium finishes, six top-fives and 12 top-10s before mechanical failures derailed the opening two races of the Upper Midwest swing at 141 Speedway and Ogilvie.
"We had a very strong team we put together that we could contend for wins night in and night out," Smith said. "If you look at our races, the progression from Charlotte (last November at the World Finals) to today, we were climbing that mountain at the pace it needed to be to accomplish all our goals. I wanted to accomplish all our goals with Drake. That's what the fans and people from the outside don't see."
For Smith, the downside of building around a talented young driver is that others inevitably take notice.
"The one downside of that, though, is your own success can be your own demise because people can try to come in and basically take what you're trying to build and think that can be better," Smith said. "At the end of the day, it came down to a person's own personal wants and gut feeling, and you can't overcome that."
Still, Smith understands the advantages Troutman sees in joining Foster's operation, given the geographic proximity and relationship the two have established.
"It's more suited to where he lives, and I respect that," said Smith, who added "if you truly care about someone, you're not going to stand in their way of something that they want to go do."
"It's easy for me to say, 'Hey, stay and we'll do this,' " he continued. "That's what Drake meant by it's better to do it now than later because the longer he stays, the tougher it gets."
Smith will have Winona, Minn.'s Jake Timm carrying the Team 22 Inc. banner in his own equipment on the WoO tour through July 4's NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., to maintain full-time series eligibility. After that, Smith is unsure what the future holds.
"Right now, I can't even think about the future," Smith said. "We're doing what we need to do. As far as the long-term future, I have no plans or long-term commitments. It's still too soon and too fresh. This was something we weren't ready for.
"Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to see this go to its full potential. With the engine builders that we have, with the car builders that we have, the shock companies, Drake's talent, and everything that we put in it, we were just beginning to scratch the surface of what we were gonna become together. … That's why it still stings so much."
Continue reading...
