CONCORD, N.C. Competing at the highest level of dirt Late Model racing has always been the goal for Polk, Mo.s Dustin Walker.

With his daughter and crew chief Lacey in tow, Walker is ready to continue battling against the best in his third full-time season with the World of Outlaws Late Models in 2025.

We enjoy doing it, Walker said. Thats the biggest thing. If my daughter gets tired of traveling, I guess I wont do it anymore. We enjoy doing it together.

Both father and daughter have been through a trial by fire over the past two years with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet, but Walker said hes especially proud of Laceys growth as one of the youngest crew members on tour.

Its funny, when we pit next to people that dont know us and she tries to jump in and help, people try to move her out of the way, Walker said. And then Ryan [Gustin]s guys are like Hey, she probably knows more than all these other people put together, just let her work.

Traveling the country as a small family-run team is what makes racing enjoyable for Walker, but its also what makes it challenging. Increasing work obligations compared to the past two years will limit Walkers ability to focus on racing between events, an issue he hopes to resolve by bringing on additional team members this season.

Only reason we need more crew help is just because Im busy with work, Walker said. Were back to rock drilling for the power co-op down here. So, well probably have to find somebody who can drive my hauler, because theres going to be some of these weeks where Im going to have to fly back and forth.

If a lack of crew help didnt present enough of a challenge, Walker also had to spend much of last season learning the ins and outs of his new Longhorn Chassis machines after switching manufacturers early in the year. With an up-to-date notebook in hand at many of the tracks on the schedule, he feels prepared to make his third season his best one yet.

Since we switched chassis, weve felt better, Walker said. Some of the results arent there because we figured it out too late in the night. You need to unload and be better. We definitely feel better about it.

A prime example of Walkers newfound confidence is Volusia (Fla.) Speedway Park, where the season will commence at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). As a product of bullring racing across the Midwest, the Worlds Fastest Half Mile was unlike anything Walker had ever competed on when he made his first appearance there in 2023. Since then, hes become a fan of the high speeds and looks forward to kicking the year off in strong form.

This is going to be the first time Im actually excited about going there, Walker said. The first year, we went there with all new stuff. Never been anywhere that big. Werent that great, updated that car and werent that great last year. But we got in a Longhorn and a different shock package and were just better at bigger places. We didnt really have any great results at Charlotte, but we had a couple of things that were just wrong. Went to a different bird cage and had the wrong arrangement of stuff.

Once we straightened that out for our [Last Chance Showdown] that night we were pretty good, started 16th and made it to fourth or fifth. So, for me that was pretty good. Were just hoping to keep making the baby steps.

The World of Outlaws Late Models season begins with six nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park, beginning with DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15).