​  G.R. Smith believed his Team 22 Inc. was finally building toward something special with Drake Troutman.The Cornelius, N.C., car owner watched the 21-year-old from Hyndman, Pa., elevate his program every step of the way since they debuted in January 2025 at the Wild West Shootout, especially throughout the first half of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series season. The team consistently raced near the front, climbed as high as fourth in the points standings and appeared to be establishing itself at the national level.Until Troutman informed him Tuesday morning of his decision to leave, Smith envisioned winning races and contending for championships alongside the young driver for the long haul.Drake Troutman Joining New Team Following Team 22 Inc. DepartureDrake Troutman, Team 22 Inc. Part Ways”I get it — we’ve had some different drivers. But Drake was the guy we thought we’d build our team around,” Smith said Wednesday in a phone interview. “There’s nobody associated with our team that ever wanted to see Drake move on. There were no issues. There were no problems.”Let me make this clear: I wanted to race with him the next 10 or even 15 years until my boy (son Carson) comes up. He was my driver not only now, but for the future. And that’s gotta be stressed upon. Like, people are giving me the bad rap. I did not want this to happen. I was crushed when I realized that wasn’t gonna happen.”While neither Troutman nor Smith expected the split to come in the middle of WoO’s Upper Midwest swing, the possibility had been discussed for some time.Troutman had been weighing an opportunity to join Jerry Foster’s planned Dirt Late Model operation and engaged in multiple conversations with Smith about his future. Smith knew about those discussions and believed Team 22 Inc.’s long-term vision would ultimately be enough to keep Troutman in the fold.The timing of Troutman’s decision was influenced by mechanical failures in the team’s final two races together, which came just before a grueling stretch of 10 World of Outlaws events in 18 days — seven consecutive races through the Upper Midwest followed by stops at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.Rather than continue knowing the financial commitment Smith would need to make to regroup for the upcoming stretch, Troutman decided to inform the car owner sooner rather than later.”He needed a longer-term commitment from me. I just couldn’t really give him one. I was just feeling things out and thinking about it,” Troutman told DirtonDirt. “Understandably so, he wanted a commitment. And I get it, this s— is so expensive to do it without knowing if I’m even going to be here.”We just decided, at the point we were at, after hurting those motors and stuff, that now would be a better time — if I did decide to go a different route, that it’s better now to change it       ​Read More