BARBERVILLE, Fla. Entering his first full World of Outlaws Late Models season, Ethan Dotson knew he was capable of being a frontrunner for the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award.

After he started the season with finishes of fourth and 12th at Volusia Speedway Park  against a stacked DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals field leaving him in a tie for second in the standings the rest of the dirt late model world knows it too.

Since the first week I started with these guys, its just been comfortable, Dotson said of ASD Motorsports, which he joined last May. It wasnt like any other team Ive been with. We get along good and its easy, we all have the same goals. The team is good and everything, Ive just got to get a little bit better and get my race car a little bit better and hopefully we can win some races.

While Sunshine Nationals may have served as the kickoff to his freshman campaign in the series, Dotson was already in midseason form after competing in the Wild West Shootout at Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park.

Dotson quietly got off to a consistent start with two top fives and four top 10s in the miniseries,.

Mainly, we just did it because weve got some new crew guys on the team, Dotson said as to why they made the 1,600-mile drive from their home base in South Carolina to New Mexico. We kind of went out there to get to know each other and work together before we showed up and had to race. That was our main concern.

The solid showings didnt end at Sunshine Nationals though. The following Tuesday, Dotson finished a season-best second at a Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series event at Needmore Speedway a track hell return to in September with the World of Outlaws.

Hopefully we can come back [to Volusia] next week and just be consistent, thats the main thing, Dotson said. Hopefully run up front every night, thats my goal.

Running up front at Volusia is something Dotson has plenty of experience in, particularly from his DIRTcar UMP Modified days. The Californian won the 2022 Reutimann Memorial before backing it up with three-straight feature wins during DIRTcar Nationals the following February.

Its one of the few late model places I have a lot of laps at, Dotson said. I think that probably helps more than anything. A lot of places we go to, Ive only raced at once or not at all. I think thats the main thing for me.

Dotson made his first late model appearance at DIRTcar Nationals last season, with a sixth-place finish in split-field DIRTcar competition standing as the highlight of his week. But his Sunshine Nationals speed is proof that a lot has changed since then, and Dotson knows hes never been closer to breaking through for his first World of Outlaws victory.

Just a couple little things, I mean, our car was pretty good, Dotson said. Ive just got to be a little bit better later in the night. Whenever the track changes, its just got to be a little bit better. But I think weve got some ideas, and hopefully theyll work.