Valvoline American Late Model Iron Man Series Announces FloRacing Rookie of the Year Class

SOMERSET, KENTUCKY (April 29, 2025)—Officials with the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP are excited to announce the contenders for the 2025 FloRacing Rookie of the Year program. Seven drivers from three states have filled out the applications and meet the requirements to run for the $2,500 end of the season top prize along with a chance to win the series title.

Drivers Shane Bailey, Colten Burdette, Billy Green, Clint Keenan, Carter Schlenk, Colin Shipley & Adam Stricker have all given intentions to run for the Rookie of the Year title. Drivers racing for the title and Rookie of the Year will take their best 80% of finishes at the end of the season. “This allows drivers who may have a bad night or need to miss a race because of mechanical problems or even family vacation or family event because of a makeup date to still compete with the series,” explained by Series Director Chris Tilley. “I want to thank FloRacing for being our title sponsor for the Rookie of the Year program in 2025. To have seven drivers sign up before the first race is incredible. We are definitely looking at a big season once the rain stops and we go racing,” stated Tilley.

“Our points breakdown is one of the best for a regional racing series because it doesn’t hurt a driver if they do not make the show. A lot of series have a huge drop between the last place in the feature and the first non-qualifier and we go down one point between the two to help if we have a huge car count or if someone has a bad night,” said Tilley. “We don’t feel like one race can mess up a driver for the whole season and the 80% deal kept the entire top-ten in points close going down to the last race of the season in 2024.”

SHANE BAILEY of Grayson, Ky. started with the tour last season but wasn’t able to compete in every race. He still finished 11th in the final 2024 points and captured a top-five finish at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park on August 30th. He has twelve career feature wins in four divisions including a victory already this season at Willard (Ky.) Speedway.

COLTEN BURDETTE of Parkersburg, W.V. has several regional wins over the last few seasons including a few $5,000-to-win events plus victories in the Red Frederick Memorial and the Gibby’s King Championship. Burdette also won the Steel Block Late Model portion of the 2021 Dirt Track World Championship. Burdette’s father Jeff owns and operates Skyline Speedway in Stewart, Ohio. The series will visit Skyline for the first time in September 2025 for the Harvest 50.

BILLY GREEN of Walton, Ky. comes from a very accomplished racing family in the Northern Kentucky area. Green was the Florence (Ky.) Speedway Crate Late Model Rookie of the Year in the 2016 season at the age of 13. Green won the Crate Late Model track championship in 2017 at 14 years of age and was also the Super Late Model Rookie of the Year at the track the same season. Green is also a two-time (2022-2023) DIRTcar Nationals Modified Gator winner at Volusia (Fla.) Speedway Park. Green’s best series finish came on May 25, 2024 at Oakshade (Ohio) Raceway where he finished third. Green finished ninth in the final series points.

CLINT KEENAN of Pataskala, Ohio is a former World 100 Rookie of the Race in 2022 at Eldora (Ohio) Speedway along with finishing third in the final points of the Steel Block Late Model Series in 2020. In asphalt action, he was the Coal Miner 100 winner at Lonesome Pine (Va.) Raceway. Keenan’s best series finish came at Mudlick Valley (Ky.) Raceway on October 4, 2024 as he finished in 11th spot and finished 20th in the final series standings. Keenan has most recently been to victory lane in the Super Late Models on April 26 at Muskingum County (Ohio) Speedway.

CARTER SCHLENK of McClure, Ohio hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps and win a series title. Son of six-time champion Rusty Schlenk, younger Carter Schlenk is a former Oakshade Raceway Sportsman Rookie of the Year and won a heat race at the Gateway Dirt Nationals in St. Louis, Mo. in December 2024. Schlenk’s best finish with the series came on August 24, 2024 at Butler Motor (Mich.) Speedway when he posted an 11th place finish.

COLIN SHIPLEY of Napoleon, Ohio, the stepson of defending champion Rusty Schlenk will drive the Jeff Nulton-owned race car for the Rookie of the Year title in 2025. Shipley has three Super Late Model victories to his resume while also finishing second in the final points at Oakshade (Ohio) Raceway. Shipley is also the track record holder at Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Mich. Shipley’s best series finish came on August 24, 2024 at Butler Motor (Mich.) Speedway as he finished fourth in the main event.

ADAM STRICKER of Batavia, Ohio is a Modified standout and will compete in the Tim Logan Racing entry for the 2025 Championship and Rookie title. Stricker won the 2024 Modified portion of the Dirt Track World Championship at Eldora (Ohio) Speedway. Stricker was the 2022 Brucebilt Iron-Man Modified Northern Series Champion. Last season, Stricker competed six times in the series with his best finish of second on June 1 at Atomic (Ohio) Speedway. Stricker finished 15th in the final series points in 2024. Already in 2025, Stricker has a Super Late Model victory at Mudlick Valley (Ky.) Raceway and a Northern Allstars Modified victory at Florence (Ky.) Speedway.

The requirements for Rookie of the Year are as follows: Drivers could not have finished in the top-five of any previous American Late Model Iron-Man Series season, could not have won a $10,000-to-win or greater super late model event, could not have competed in a previous-entire full season of the series & could not have won more than three previous series events.

The 2025 season will kick off on Friday May 2 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park for the Stephen Wagner Memorial paying $5,049-to-win then Saturday May 3 at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway paying $5,000-to-win.

For more information on the Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP, please log on to www.IMDIRT.net or call (828) 361-5981.

The Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series fueled by VP is brought to the fans in the region by many important sponsors and partners: Official partners include, Valvoline Global Operations (Official Oil), VP Racing Fuels (Official Fuel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), STAKT Products, DIRTcar Racing, XS Power Batteries, Todd Steel Buildings (Move of the Race Award), FloRacing (Rookie of the Year Award), DirtonDirt.com, MD3 (Hard Charger of the Race Award), Conley River Terminal (Hard Luck Award), Impact RaceGear, Allgaier Performance Parts, Allgaier Racing Shocks, Domination Race Cars (Official Victory Lane Sponsor), Swafford Signs (Official Graphics), MyRacePass (Official Website), Deatherage Racing Opticians (Middleman Award), Wayne’s Auto Repair, Slicker Graphics, First Line Industries, Jim & Nancy Viox, LUSESTYLE.com, Octane Custom Trailers, CNR & Dirt Empire Magazine.