Story By: BEN SHELTON / WILD WEST SHOOTOUT – VADO, NM – The 2025 edition of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts will kick off with a bang.
When the opening night of the event roars to life on Jan. 4, 2025 at FK Rod Ends Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, Super Late Model competitors will be competing in the inaugural $25,000-to-win Penske 50 presented by Schaeffer Oil.
The Saturday, Jan. 4 program has a $34,000 purse increase over the opening night in 2024 and posts $1,000 just to take the green flag in the night’s Dirt Track Bank Super Late Model feature presented by Black Diamond Race Cars.
The opener is part of the newly created Penske Racing Shocks 25-To-25 presented by Schaeffer Oil. Along with the newly revamped opener, the program ends with the $25,000-to-win / $1,000-to-start Rio Grande Waste Service 50 presented by Shaw Trucking on Sunday, Jan. 12.
“We wanted to add some new flare to the event this year and the Penske Racing Shocks 25-To-25 presented by Schaeffer Oil is something we’re especially excited about. It starts the miniseries with a bang and gives the Super Late Model racers another big purse to race for,” said Wild West Shootout co-promoter, Chris Kearns. “We’ve got some more new surprises up our sleeves for both racers and fans that we’ll be announcing in the next few weeks.
“Great sponsors like Penske Racing Shocks and Schaeffer’s Oil allow us to continue to inject more money into the event. We thank them and everyone who supports the Wild West Shootout.”
Sandwiched between the opening and closing Dirt Track Bank Super Late Model programs paying $25,000-to-win on Jan. 4 and 12 will be $10,000-to-win slates on Jan. 5, 8, 10, and 11.
Long-time event sponsor, Schaeffer Oil has expanded their Wild West Shootout sponsorship for 2025 as part of the Penske Racing Shocks 25-To-25 presented by Schaeffer’s Oil.
“The Wild West Shootout has always been one of our favorite events to be a part of and we are excited to expand our sponsorship with this new opportunity,” noted Schaeffer Oil Branding & Marketing Director, Dawn Cross. “Bookending the miniseries with $25,000-to-win features ensures the event will start and end with excitement, and we are looking forward to being a part of it.”
The 19th running of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts features six complete programs for Super Late Models, Modifieds, and X-Mod on Jan. 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, and 12.
Over $350,000 in prize money will be on the line during the 19th Annual Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on Jan. 4 – 12 at FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway Park.
Each night finds the Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars, Mesilla Valley Transportation / Border Tire Modifieds presented by Rancho Milagro, and ShockerHitch.com X-Mods presented by Border Tire competing in action.
Additionally, an open practice session is slated for both January 3 and January 7.
Last but not least, each division will compete for a miniseries point’s championship and accompanying point fund.
In 2024, the six-race miniseries saw 181 competitors from across North America competing in at least one event.