CONCORD, N.C. In his return to the World of Outlaws Late Models trail this year, Daniel Hilsabeck is ready to prove that you cant keep a good man down.

The Earlham, Iowa natives plans on making 2024 his rookie year with The Most Powerful Late Models on The Planet were derailed after he broke his wrist in a crash at Brownstown Speedway in June.

Hilsabeck underwent surgery and spent two months on the sidelines recovering, and now has his sights set on bouncing back in 2025 and contending for the Rookie of the Year Award.

I feel like weve got some stuff figured out with our race car, I got some stuff figured out with me, Hilsabeck said. How I need to be driving, what we need to be doing to the race car, what we need to be doing preparation-wise to race at a national level. I feel way more confident this year than I did last year, I know that.

While Hilsabeck has not made a World of Outlaws appearance since the accident, he did make some scattered starts across the Midwest last fall to get reacclimated with his machine in advance of the new year. The No. 22 team didnt take long to find their footing, as Hilsabeck racked up four top 10s with the MLRA in addition to a sixth-place run during the Late Model Knoxville Nationals in September.

That momentum has Hilsabeck riding high entering the new season, which will contain plenty of visits to tracks hes looking forward to returning to after missing out in 2024.

Ive never raced at Smoky Mountain, we went there and practiced one night but Ive never raced there, so thatll be interesting to go to, Hilsabeck said. I always like going to the two Kansas tracks, Humboldt and 81. Ive heard great things about the North Dakota tracks. Ive never been up there, but every time Ive raced a Modified up in northwest Minnesota, those were always really good tracks, and its kind of that same area.

Before Hilsabeck travels north this summer, hell head south to Florida to get the season started at Volusia Speedway Park with DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). While Hilsabeck admits he struggled in his first trip to the Worlds Fastest Half Mile last year, he learned plenty of lessons that he believes will help him contend with Late Model racings best this time around.

Its a whole different type of dirt, Hilsabeck said. The shape isnt a whole lot like Knoxville, but you kind of drive it the same. You carry a lot of speed and youve got to be able to turn without slowing down. The dirt threw me for a loop last year. It was rubbered down in the black and I was trying to run up in the brown dirt up high and I got freight-trained on the bottom in the Heat Race.

Went from third to sixth or something and didnt make the show. Back home, that black would be slick, but it rubbered fast enough that I didnt keep up with the surface. The dirt is definitely different down in Florida, but thats something that youve got to experience before you know what to do.