Edens Returns to World of Outlaws Winner’s Circle at Kokomo, Wilson Takes Points Lead

James Edens scored his first points-paying win in the iRacing World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship on Monday night, conquering the quarter-mile bullring at Kokomo Speedway to become the fifth different winner in six races so far in 2020. Edens, who joins Dylan Houser as the second driver to win both Sprint Car and Late Model World Championship races this year, took full advantage of the first restart of the race to pass a previously dominant Dylan Wilson and never looked back.

Wilson held on for second, but most importantly, took advantage of an off night for Hayden Cardwell to take the championship lead for the first time with just four races remaining. Kevin Dedmon returned to the podium for the first time since last season in third, with Alex Bergeron and Devon Morgan completing the top five.

At first, it looked to be Wilson’s night, as the series rookie rode a wave of momentum into Kokomo by qualifying second, winning his heat, and getting comfortable in the lead of the 50-lap feature despite three and four-wide racing throughout the night. But after second heat winner Joel Berkley got into Brandyn Proudfoot for the only caution of the night, Edens took full advantage of the reset, making the decisive pass and extending a lead of over a second by race’s end.

While the Swindell Speedlab Esports driver had already won the preseason exhibition race at Volusia Speedway Park in June, the Kokomo win allowed him to join an exclusive club of drivers who have won official races in both classes. Bergeron was the first to accomplish the feat in 2018, while Houser’s win in the Sprint Car finale from Charlotte earlier this year made him only the second driver to ever accomplish the feat.

With four races remaining, though, the focus remains on the three-way title fight between Wilson, Cardwell, and Evan Seay. All three drivers finished seventh or better, keeping the gap between them to a slim 14 points even as the championship lead changed hands. If any of them (or all three) miss a feature event, meanwhile, Morgan and Kendal Tucker remain within mathematical striking distance in fourth and fifth in the standings.

Full results from the iRacing World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship feature at Kokomo Speedway were as follows:

Fin.

St.

No.

Driver

Laps

Interval

Led

Best

Pts.

1452James Edens501412.88378
2180Dylan Wilson50-1.2233412.91775
39000Kevin Dedmon50-1.604012.94170
4612Alex A Bergeron50-1.842013.00968
53112Devon Morgan50-2.183012.98766
6533Evan Seay50-2.947012.98562
71507Hayden Cardwell50-3.140012.98257
81225Zack McSwain50-3.275013.04055
91800Kendal Tucker50-3.381012.94450
101971Cole V Cabre50-4.476013.09147
111432Steven Wilson350-4.860012.96046
1217127Blake Matjoulis50-5.207013.09742
13814JD Brown50-5.401013.09544
142074Adam Elby50-5.949013.04638
151624Zach Leonhardi50-6.444013.12938
161046Dillon Raffurty50-6.908013.07137
171322Brandyn Proudfoot50-7.057013.05034
181111Blake L Brown50-7.491013.14433
19249Joel Berkley50-8.034012.94933
207157Drew Hopkins49-1 L013.01230

 

iRacing World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship points through six races are as follows:

  1. Dylan Wilson, 409
  2. Hayden Cardwell, 398
  3. Evan Seay, 395
  4. Devon Morgan, 359
  5. Kendal Tucker, 345
  6. Alex Bergeron, 319
  7. Dylan Houser, 305
  8. Zack McSwain, 287
  9. James Edens, 261
  10. JD Brown, 255

The iRacing World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship season continues with its second quarter-mile track in a row next Monday at Fairbury American Legion Speedway. As always, the race will stream live at 9PM ET/6PM PT on the iRacing eSports Network on Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.