World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner David Gravel (DB3 Photo)

HARTFORD, MI – July 12, 2019 – Repeated speeches about strong podium runs and satisfying runner-up finishes became commonplace for David Gravel the past two months. A fourth win of the year was in his grasp on several occasions but lost in the closing stage of the race.

The same story was playing out again in the final three laps of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature at Hartford Speedway Friday night. But behind the façade of being content with another podium was the raging fire to win again.

“You never want to finish second. You want to win these races,” Gravel said.

On the final restart of the race, with three laps to go, Gravel let the fire loose. He had worked too hard to put himself in a winning position and lose it again.

Gravel won his Drydene Heat race and finished second in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash – putting him on the front row for the 30-lap Feature. He had an advantage over the entire field, too – he’s the only driver to have won on the track’s 3/8-mile configuration.

On the initial start Gravel lost second-place to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who snuck under the Watertown, Conn.-native in turn one and cleared him down the back stretch. However, the red flag came out before a lap was completed.

Several cars were involved in an accident on the back stretch, including Series points leader Brad Sweet. The lengthy red flag period – to tow three cars off the track – allowed Sweet’s Kasey Kahne Racing team, along with team members from several other teams, to get the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car fixed and back on track before the race went green again.

Since a lap was not complete, drivers lined back up in their initial starting order, putting Gravel back in second-place. This time, his lesson was learned. When the green flag flew again Gravel dove to the bottom of turn one, blocking any attempt by Schatz for another pass. It also allowed him to get a run underneath leader Carson Macedo down the back stretch and into turn three.

Gravel had his nose in front of Macedo exiting turn four, but Macedo had the better run off the corner and charged back to the lead down the front stretch.

From there, Macedo held command of the lead for the next seven laps before the caution flew again for a slowed Bill Balog. When the race restarted, Gravel, again, put pressure on Macedo. Inches were left between their bumper for the next two laps. Gravel dived underneath the rookie in turn three but like before Macedo prevailed.

They stayed first and second, respectively, to the halfway point of the Feature. In that time, Logan Schuchart quietly worked his way from ninth to third with the top two in sight.

With 14 laps to go, Gravel, not willing to settle for second, capitalized on a strong run. While Macedo searched for traction on the high side, Gravel had already found it on the bottom. He powered by Macedo and officially took the lead with 13 laps to go.

“Carson had a good pace. I think he just got free halfway through,” Gravel said. “I just kept working him, working him, trying to keep the pressure up, hoping he would spin his tires and kind of wear his stuff out. Luckily we were able to get by him.”

Gravel’s fortunes looked to have finally turned in his favor. Instead of losing the race in the second half of the event, he was on track to win it. However, with nine laps to go, the “dun dun” of an imaginary bass played in your head. The Shark Racing No. 1s of Logan Schuchart was closing. Fast.

Cruising around the high side of the track, Schuchart caught Gravel with four laps to go and sped around him with ease through turns one and two. Before Schuchart could run away with his fifth win of the season, the caution came out again for Tim Kaeding coming to a stop in turn four.

With three laps to go and Schuchart now backed up to Gravel, the Jason Johnson Racing driver had one last chance to harness his fire to win.

Gravel timed the restart just right, sneaking a nose underneath Schuchart as they raced down the front stretch. On their charge into turn one, Gravel dove to the bottom leaving no time for Schuchart to attempt a block. They exited turn two side-by-side and remained that way down the backstretch.

When they made it to turn three Gravel, again, launched his car into the corner, pulling ahead of Schuchart, and maintained the run off turn four to clear Schuchart for the lead.

He could throw away the runner-up speech. The win at Hartford Speedway was his.

“We’ve been wanting to win so bad,” Gravel said. “Finally getting the win, we’ve been so close. As a driver I’ve let a couple of wins get away. Just happy I can get another win. You never know when your next one is going to be.”

While Gravel celebrated a special victory – which he got to do with Jason Johnson’s son, Jaxx, for the first time this year in Victory Lane – Schuchart had to settle for another runner-up finish.

“That stings a little bit," Schuchart said. "We had one like that last week, we lost the race at the end and did it again tonight. Last week I feel like I blame that on myself. Tonight, the guys did a fantastic job... We qualified bad, didn’t give up and raced hard all night.”

He didn’t leave Michigan without some kind of win, though. His charge from ninth to second earned him the KSE Hard Charger award.

Sweet also had an impressive charge after getting involved in the wreck – which required his front axle to be replaced and his top wing to be replaced – at the start of the race. He restarted at the back of the field and methodically made his way to sixth-place by the end of the race.

“Had a pretty nasty vibration. I think we bent a rear axle,” Sweet said. “Honestly, a good salvage for us. Hung in there and tried not to shake my teeth out… Luckily, we were able to over come it. I think that’s a good sign for us to overcome that adversity tonight.”

He maintains his points lead over Schatz – who finished third – now 44 points over the reigning champion. Gravel still sits third in points – 130 points behind Sweet.

Gravel's win at Hartford was his second at track – the first driver to win more than one race at the speedway – his fourth win of the season and 43rd career World of Outlaws win – placing him 16th on the all-time wins list, passing Andy Hillenburg.

“Hopefully we’ll get some more (wins) and get this thing rolling for the month of money,” Gravel said.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Saturday, July 13, will venture to Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis. for the Badger 40. For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [9][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$3,200]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [1][$2,800]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,300]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [6][$2,200]; 8. 9-James McFadden [13][$2,100]; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [15][$2,050]; 10. 5-Shane Stewart [8][$2,000]; 11. 19-Brent Marks [14][$1,500]; 12. 7S-Tim Kaeding [4][$1,200]; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman [17][$1,100]; 14. 7-Jason Sides [5][$1,050]; 15. 81-Lee Jacobs [16][$1,000]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen [22][$900]; 17. 17B-Bill Balog [12][$800]; 18. 23-Russel Borland [19][$800]; 19. 97-Max Stambaugh [11][$800]; 20. 2L-Landon Lalonde [18][$800]; 21. 28-Brian Paulus [21][$800]; 22. 39-Tyler Rankin [20][$800]; 23. 71H-Ryan Ruhl [23][$800]; Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-16; David Gravel 17-26, 28-30; Logan Schuchart 27;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+7]

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 14.014; 2. 2-Carson Macedo, 14.53; 3. 7-Jason Sides, 14.664; 4. 9-James McFadden, 14.702; 5. 71H-Ryan Ruhl, 14.714; 6. 5-Shane Stewart, 14.787; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 14.823; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 14.824; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.859; 10. 17B-Bill Balog, 14.882; 11. 41-David Gravel, 14.915; 12. 19-Brent Marks, 14.948; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 15.122; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.202; 15. 97-Max Stambaugh, 15.206; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.363; 17. 81-Lee Jacobs, 15.492; 18. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.578; 19. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 15.653; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.702; 21. 39-Tyler Rankin, 15.893; 22. 28-Brian Paulus, 16.232; 23. 23-Russel Borland, 16.326

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Brad Sweet (DB3 Photo)

Sweet rebounds from early night woes to win the second round of the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown

The right rear tire of Brad Sweet’s NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car sagged lower to the ground with every inch the car rolled into the infield.

Fortunate for Sweet, his infield trip was to Cedar Lake Speedway’s Victory Lane Saturday night. It was his ninth win of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season – tying his win total last year and his record for most wins in a season – and his 43rd career Series win overall.

The image of Sweet waving the checkered flag atop his car with a flat tire was symbolistic of his path to victory.

Rain forced the remaining 28 laps of Friday night’s FVP Platinum Battery Showdown Feature to be run Saturday evening – making Saturday a doubleheader event. Sweet restarted the race in fourth and kept pace with the leaders, eyeing his third win in-a-row and 14th top-five in a row.

But four laps into the race, Sweet slowed to a stop. A U-joint broke in the car, damaging it beyond a quick repair. Sweet was forced to take his first DNF of the season. His Kasey Kahne Racing team had to pull out the back-up car for the second Feature of the night.

“I was disappointed, but we win as a team, we lose as a team,” Sweet said. “Every now and then you have a mechanical failure. We’ll go back and look at it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

After about an hour turnaround to get the back-up car ready, he Qualified eighth and then finished second in his Dryden Heat race behind Sheldon Haudenschild – who won the first Feature of the night. If there were still any concerns about how the back-up car would run, they were extinguished in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

Sweet ran second to Dominic Scelzi for the first half of the Dash, but found grip riding the bottom of the track and reeled Scelzi in lap by lap. On the final lap, the two California-natives charged down the front stretch side-by-side with Sweet edging out Scelzi for the win.

Now with the pole position for the Feature, Sweet was in prime position to rebound from his 23rd-place finish earlier in the night.

He launched to the lead on the initial start. Scelzi didn’t let Sweet get far, though. Five laps into the race, Scelzi snuck underneath Sweet in turns one and two. It wasn’t enough. Sweet charged off the top side of the track and maintained the lead. Scelzi wasn’t ready to give up. He charged back underneath Sweet, but, again, Sweet had the advantage on the high side. He shot to the lead and pulled away from Scelzi.

For the remaining 30 laps, Sweet held command of the race. Scelzi was left to fight for second-place, which he eventually lost to David Gravel. Carson Macedo wasn’t far behind, stealing third from Scelzi, as well.

Lap traffic became an obstacle at times for Sweet, but had little effect on slowing him down. He was denied a chance at a win earlier in the night. That was not going to happen again. He crossed the finish line with about a straightaway lead, ending the long day with a win.

“It was pretty cool that a car that just sits in our trailer we can bring out first night out and get it going that good,” Sweet said. “It’s been a long day, but it’s nice to celebrate another win. I want to keep it rolling. I have a great race car.”

In the first Feature of the night, 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz finished second – cutting Sweet’s points lead in half. However with Schatz finishing seventh in the second Feature of the night, Sweet was able to maintain a 50-point lead over the Fargo, N.D.-native.

Gravel has moved into third – 142 points behind Sweet.

“We’re happy with a second,” said Gravel, who went Quick Time for both Features at Cedar Lake Speedway. “We didn’t have a shot to win there. But happy with second. I think that was the best-case scenario for us. Brad got by a couple of lap cars and just wasn’t able to get back by the cars he did and kind of got stuck there.”

While Sweet dominated the race, leading all 35 laps, he said there is still room for improvement as his car lost grip throughout the run.

“If we keep fine tuning this thing, I think we can win a lot of races this year,” Sweet said.

With nine wins halfway through the season – seven of them in the last 10 races – Sweet is already on track to a career best year.

“We’ve got a good thing going and all we want to do is keep the throttle down,” Sweet said. “We just want to win as many of these races as we can. You don’t get these opportunities like we have very often.”

Sweet made the most of his latest opportunity with minutes to spare before his right rear tire gave out for the night in Victory Lane.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Friday, July 12, will be at Hartford Speedway in Hartford, Mich. for the Battle of Michigan.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 7/6/19 - Cedar Lake Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$10,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [3][$5,000]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$3,000]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2][$2,700]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [7][$2,500]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$2,200]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [11][$2,000]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [9][$1,800]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog [6][$1,600]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$1,450]; 11. 5-Shane Stewart [15][$1,300]; 12. 83-Daryn Pittman [8][$1,200]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [19][$1,100]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart [14][$1,000]; 15. 21-Brian Brown [17][$950]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$900]; 17. 13-Mark Dobmeier [18][$850]; 18. 3-Jac Haudenschild [22][$750]; 19. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [24][$725]; 20. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12][$700]; 21. 9N-Wade Nygaard [16][$700]; 22. 19P-Paige Polyak [20][$700]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$700]; 24. 23-Russel Borland [23][$700];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+6]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 13.015; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.032; 3. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.295; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.32; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.48; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.501; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.551; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.553; 9. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.562; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.619; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.657; 12. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.66; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 13.779; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.943; 15. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.958; 16. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.985; 17. 21-Brian Brown, 14.003; 18. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 14.005; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.382; 20. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.394; 21. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 14.398; 22. 19-Brent Marks, 14.511; 23. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, 15.319; 24. 29-Hunter Custer, 15.385; 25. 23-Russel Borland, 15.589

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 6. 9N-Wade Nygaard [5]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [6]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 9. 23-Russel Borland [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [7]; 8. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild [6]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 3. 41-David Gravel [3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 19-Brent Marks [4][-]; 2. 19P-Paige Polyak [1][-]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [3][-]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [2][-]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [7][-]; 6. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [5][-]; 7. 29-Hunter Custer [6][$300]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

NERVES OF STEEL: Haudenschild holds off Donny Schatz to win at Cedar Lake Speedway
Haudenschild wins the rain delayed FVP Platinum Battery Showdown

Nerves set in for Sheldon Haudenschild in the closing laps of the early Saturday evening World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series FVP Platinum Battery Showdown at Cedar Lake Speedway.

While leading with less than 10 laps to go, he brushed the wall off turn four while trying to pass a lap car on one lap and jumped the cushion in turn one, upsetting his car, in another. With 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz lurking behind him – hungry to return to Victory Lane – Haudenschild knew errors were not an option.

“I made a couple of sloppy laps there honestly,” Haudenschild said. “I was a little nervous. That’s usually when Donny capitalizes. I wasn’t very happy with myself making a few of those mistakes.”

Schatz closed, but after the couple errors, Haudenschild in his NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was flawless. Powering around the high side of the speedway, the Wooster, Ohio-native cruised to his first win of the season – 6th career win – and first win since August.

It wasn’t an easy drive though. Before having to hold off Schatz, he had to work his way from eighth-place past drivers like Brad Sweet, Shane Stewart, David Gravel and Schatz for the lead.

Rain was also a hinderance. Seven laps of the 35-lap Feature were completed Friday night before rain fell, postponing the race until Saturday evening – leaving 28 laps to go. Before the rain fell, Gravel had taken the lead and Haudenschild had moved his way to seventh.

“Starting seventh (when the race restarted) I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Haudenschild said. “I had Brad, Donny, Gravel and the five-car up there. It definitely wasn’t easy pickings to get up there. Luckily, I made a couple of passes on the bottom in (turns) one and two while it was still good, and I think I moved up at the right time.

“We’ve had a little bit of a down period. So, to get a win for them (Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team), and myself is huge.”

When the Feature went back green early Saturday evening, Schatz launched by Gravel for the lead and never looked back. Pulling away from the field he looked poised to claim his fourth win of the season. However, a fast Haudenschild charged his way through the field and eventually worked his way around Schatz on the high side to steal the top spot and lead the final 19 laps.

While Schatz had to settle for second, he made a big gain in the points with Sweet breaking a part during the race and finishing 23rd.

“Wins is what keeps you a job and keep these teams going, keeps them motivated,” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D.-native. “So, we wanted to win. Sheldon did a better job. When he got up on the top there in three and four, he’s good at that stuff.”

Rounding out the podium was Kerry Madsen, who used a few late race slide jobs to secure the position.

“Just didn’t get my rhythm until halfway,” Madsen said. “The car came alive and started attacking.”

With the new track conditions Saturday evening, versus Friday night, drivers were unsure what they would be faced with, but Haudenschild stayed confident throughout the delay. He knew he had a good car Friday night and knew he could keep his strong run going into Saturday.

With the sun’s evening rays bathing him, his NOS Energy Drink can newly awarded glimmering gold trophy in Victory Lane at Cedar Lake Speedway, Haudenschild’s nerves were gone, replaced by relief and joy.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will complete the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown tonight at Cedar Lake Speedway.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 7/6/19 - Cedar Lake Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps)– 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [8][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$5,000]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5][$3,000]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [16][$2,700]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [11][$2,500]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [4][$2,200]; 7. 41-David Gravel [2][$2,000]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [15][$1,800]; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman [14][$1,600]; 10. 7S-Jason Sides [6][$1,450]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [20][$1,300]; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$1,200]; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$1,100]; 14. 3-Jac Haudenschild [19][$1,000]; 15. 9N-Wade Nygaard [23][$950]; 16. 2-Carson Macedo [10][$900]; 17. 23-Russel Borland [21][$850]; 18. 13-Mark Dobmeier [22][$750]; 19. 29-Hunter Custer [24][$725]; 20. 18-Ian Madsen [13][$700]; 21. 21-Brian Brown [17][$700]; 22. O5-Colin Smith [18][$700]; 23. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$700]; 24. 55-Brooke Tatnell [9][$700]; 25. 14K-Tori Knutson [25][$700];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-7, Donny Schatz 1-16, Sheldon Haudenschild 17-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+12]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 11.072; 2. 5-Shane Stewart, 11.079; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.127; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.129; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.136; 6. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.145; 7. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.169; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 11.183; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.21; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.219; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.231; 12. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.239; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.258; 14. 21-Brian Brown, 11.275; 15. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 11.298; 16. 18-Ian Madsen, 11.304; 17. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.309; 18. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.332; 19. 19-Brent Marks, 11.367; 20. 23-Russel Borland, 11.412; 21. O5-Colin Smith, 11.429; 22. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 11.57; 23. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 11.658; 24. 29-Hunter Custer, 11.975; 25. 14K-Tori Knutson, 12.718; 26. 17B-Bill Balog, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 8. 13-Mark Dobmeier [8]; 9. 14K-Tori Knutson [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [6]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 7. 23-Russel Borland [7]; 8. 9N-Wade Nygaard [8]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog [9]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 3. 55-Brooke Tatnell [5]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. O5-Colin Smith [7]; 7. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 7 Transfer – 1. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1][-]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2][-]; 3. 23-Russel Borland [3][-]; 4. 13-Mark Dobmeier [4][-]; 5. 9N-Wade Nygaard [5][-]; 6. 29-Hunter Custer [6][-]; 7. 14K-Tori Knutson [7][-]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog [8][$250]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Brad Sweet (DB3 Photo)

Brad Sweet takes advantage of Logan Schuchart’s mistake to get eighth win of the season at Brown County Speedway

Brad Sweet admitted running second isn’t always a bad thing.

That’s because he used it to his advantage to win six of the last eight races – including Wednesday night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature at Brown County Speedway, in Aberdeen, S.D.

However, with a fifth-place starting position and several cautions, it took Sweet about half the race to make his way to second and catch leader Logan Schuchart.

His trek to the front took patience. And a few key adjustments by his Kasey Kahne Racing crew before the 35-lap Feature.

“We were awful in the Dash and the NAPA Auto Parts guys made a great adjustment for the [Feature] and we had a really good car,” Sweet said.

Sweet started the night as the quickest car in Hot Laps and won his Drydene Heat race. The Dash was a drastic change of pace for the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49 team, though. Sweet finished fifth out of six cars – falling from a third-place starting position.

Then the adjustments, and patience.

Schuchart jumped to the lead at the start of the Feature, but had pressure from Kraig Kinser for the position. Their runs were cut short with a caution on the first lap for Paige Polyak spinning in turn one. Before they could battle for the lead again, there was another. This time for Jac Haudenschild going off track – an issue several drivers had throughout the night.

When the race went green, Kinser fell victim to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz and Sweet, who passed Kinser for second and third, respectively. The trio of Schuchart, Schatz and Sweet remained in that running order until Lap 15.

With 20 laps to go, Sweet dove to the bottom of turn three, while Schatz ran high – the line just about every car was on – and slid up in front of the Fargo, N.D.-native to take second-place. He was now in a position to learn. To stalk. To hunt.

Lap traffic was a benefit to Sweet in previous races, helping him catch the leader. However, with multiple cautions for cars either spinning or going off track, Schuchart had little traffic to deal for the majority of the Feature. He never fumbled on the restarts, either. The rear tires of the Drydene No. 1s held on to clay surface with the grip of a shark biting into its prey, launching Schuchart to a multi-car length lead every time.

On the final restart with 19 laps to go, the race went green flag to checkered flag. Schuchart again launched to the lead and cruised around the high side of the track, while Sweet and Schatz followed in his footsteps.

With about 10 laps to go, Schuchart found himself having to navigate through heavy lap traffic. That brought Sweet and Schatz back into the battle for the lead. Sweet’s patient was paying off.

Four laps later, Schuchart slid off the bottom of the track while trying to pass a slower car. His loss of momentum allowed Sweet to dart to the inside of the Shark Racing car. The duo drag raced down the front stretch of the quarter-mile track, neither willing to succumb to the other.

On their charge into turn one, Sweet used the middle lane to his advantage, powering by Schuchart for the lead and running away with it for the remaining five laps.

“I think he (Schuchart) thought he could get that lap car and it just allowed me to get the run,” Sweet said.

Sweet went on to see the duel checkered flags waving over his car for the eighth time his year – and the 42nd time in his World of Outlaws career.

“I was just trying to be patient there,” Sweet said. “Sometimes it’s good to be second again. Logan wasn’t sure what to do with the lap car. I knew there was no way to pass him. The rubber was starting to move down the race track and it was tricky to hit.”

Schuchart, who led 30 laps, puts the blame on himself for letting the win slip away.

“I just got a little over anxious,” Schuchart said. “It was a bad deal on my part. I thought I had to pass a lap car and I didn’t. But I’m happy to be up here running second.”

While Schuchart was still satisfied with his podium finish, Schatz, who ended up third – his second podium finish in-a-row – was left still looking for more.

“We’re close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and we’re not doing either of those, so we’ll keep digging and trying to get the wins,” Schatz said.

At this point last year, Schatz had double digit wins and the points lead. Currently, the Fargo, N.D.-native has three wins and sits second in points – now 78 points behind the KKR No. 49 car. Sweet is on an impressive run of 13 top-five finishes in-a-row and is already nearing his 2018 win total of nine victories.

“I’ve had years when we only win five races in a whole season,” Sweet said. “I know how special it is when you get on a roll like this… This is what we’re meant to be doing out here. It’s fun to win these races. I’m not going to take it for granted and we’re going to keep working hard.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Friday, July 5, and Saturday, July 6, will be a Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 7/3/19 – Brown County Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$3,200]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [9][$2,800]; 5. 41-David Gravel [8][$2,500]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [13][$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][$2,200]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [11][$2,100]; 9. 2-Carson Macedo [17][$2,050]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [7][$2,000]; 11. 5-Shane Stewart [14][$1,500]; 12. 2M-Kerry Madsen [18][$1,200]; 13. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6][$1,100]; 14. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$1,050]; 15. 13-Mark Dobmeier [16][$1,000]; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [15][$900]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$800]; 18. 17B-Ryan Bickett [22][$800]; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle [21][$800]; 20. 19P-Paige Polyak [19][$800]; 21. 3-Jac Haudenschild [10][$800]; 22. 11M-Brendan Mullen [20][$800];
Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-30, Brad Sweet 31-35 ;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+8]

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.961; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.049; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.063; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 11.092; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.12; 6. 19-Brent Marks, 11.143; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.152; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.154; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.168; 10. 19P-Paige Polyak, 11.168; 11. 41-David Gravel, 11.173; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.19; 13. 18-Ian Madsen, 11.19; 14. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.212; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.223; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.236; 17. 5-Shane Stewart, 11.258; 18. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.295; 19. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 11.474; 20. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 11.482; 21. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 11.734; 22. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 11.894

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [4]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 3. 41-David Gravel [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [6]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 7. 11M-Brendan Mullen [7]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [2]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 7. 2K-Kevin Ingle [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Lap) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Brad Sweet (DB3 Photo)

The “Big Cat” Brad Sweet was starving for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win at Jackson Motorplex Saturday night.

He’s tasted victory six times already this season – including a win Thursday night at Jackson Motorplex – but with $41,000 and the title of Jackson Nationals champion on the line, his appetite wouldn’t be appeased until the night’s entrée was his.

He had to battle through cautions, lap traffic, smoking tires and an equally as hungry Donny Schatz, but at the end of the 35-lap Feature, Sweet drove his NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car to Victory Lane for the seventh time this year, claiming the 41st Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals.

“Forty-one thousand, that’s awesome,” Sweet said. “These big money races are hard to win.”

After winning opening night of the Jackson Nationals, Thursday, and finishing fifth Friday night, his total combined points locked him into the pole position for Saturday night’s DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. He dominated the field in the Dash, pulling away to a 3.5 second lead over second-place Daryn Pittman by the end.

Sweet had the plate of $41,000 in his hands and was ready to walk away with it. But when the Feature went green, he found himself having to brawl for it.

Pittman charged around the outside of Sweet through turns one and two to take the lead. The next time around, Sweet dove underneath Pittman in turn one, putting the two side-by-side at the exit of turn two. Neither were going to lift. But to avoid sliding up into Pittman, Sweet had to jerk his car sideways and allowed the Roth Enterprises No. 83 car to pull away.

Pittman held command of the lead for the next 11 laps before there was contact between he and the lap car of Austin McCarl, which sent McCarl rolling into turn one.

When the race went back green after the red flag, Sweet got the jump on Pittman, clearing him for the lead before they got back to the flag stand. Into turn one, Sweet moved to the top of the track, blocking Pittman’s line. The Grass Valley, Calif-native then pulled away to about a four-car-length lead exiting turn two.

Pittman’s fortunes continued to decline with Schatz working his way by the Oklahoma-native and dropping him to third – where he would remain for the rest of the Feature.

“I keep finding ways to lose races,” said Pittman, whose third-place finish was his seventh top-five in-a-row. “Getting frustrating, but my Roth Motorsports guys keep working really hard. They’re doing a great job.”

Leaving Pittman in third, Schatz began his hunt of Sweet. With just three wins this season, so far, and his last win coming nine races ago, the 10-time Series champion was as hungry as Sweet to return to Victory Lane.

Sweet lost grip exiting turn two on the slick track while trying to pass a lap car, with 11 laps to go. That allowed Schatz to close on Sweet and dive underneath him in turn three. The two were side-by-side exiting turn four with Sweet smoking his tires on the rubbered down groove of the track and Schatz fighting to keep his car straight.

“It didn’t surprise me one bit when the fifteen (car) was sneaking under me,” said Sweet, who has battled Schatz for the points lead all season long. “He’s got me chasing my tail a little bit.”

After Schatz’s attempt at passing the Kasey Kahne Racing car, Sweet got into a rhythm. He found his line and rode it for the remaining 10 laps to claim his 41st career Series win during the 41st Annual Jackson Nationals with a $41,000 payday.

“Once I got in clean track, I knew just to run right in the rubber and I didn’t want to allow any runs to happen,” Sweet said. “It was just one of those things where we were just good enough to get the win tonight. It wasn’t pretty I don’t think, but that’s why you set yourself up all weekend to get in the right position and we were in the right position and we were able to get the win.”

Schatz’s second-place finish was a rebound from Friday when he blew a motor while leading the Dash and ended up eighth in the Feature.

“Hats off to these (Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing) guys,” Schatz said. “They’re digging. They’ve got an awesome race car. The driver’s got to step up to the plate a little bit, start swinging a bigger bat. We’ll work on that.”

Sweet has now won five of the last seven races. That’s resulted in him extending his championship lead to 72-points over Schatz.

“We’ve had a good little run here,” Sweet said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

While the “Big Cat’s” winning appetite was appeased Saturday night, hunger is sure to return next week.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Wednesday, July 3, will return to Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D. for the Star Spangled Showdown.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 6/29/19 – Jackson Motorplex

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$41,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$20,000]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [2][$12,000]; 4. 41-David Gravel [3][$9,000]; 5. 9-James McFadden [9][$8,000]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [6][$7,000]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [17][$6,500]; 8. 18-Ian Madsen [8][$6,000]; 9. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$5,500]; 10. 49X-Tim Shaffer [21][$5,000]; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [19][$4,000]; 12. 55-Brooke Tatnell [12][$3,700]; 13. 5-Shane Stewart [16][$3,600]; 14. 19-Brent Marks [24][$3,500]; 15. 2M-Kerry Madsen [23][$3,400]; 16. 3-Jac Haudenschild [11][$3,300]; 17. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [18][$3,200]; 18. 4-Terry McCarl [10][$3,100]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [13][$3,000]; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser [14][$3,000]; 21. O9-Matt Juhl [20][$3,000]; 22. 7-Justin Henderson [15][$3,000]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$3,000]; 24. 2KS-Austin McCarl [22][$3,000];
Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-11, Brad Sweet 12-35
KSE Hard Charger Award: 49X-Tim Shaffer[+11]

DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [4]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier [6]; 7. 44-Chris Martin [8]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [7]; 9. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [10]; 10. 8-Jack Croaker [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 4-Terry McCarl [2]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 4. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [3]; 5. 44S-Trey Starks [5]; 6. 19P-Paige Polyak [6]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska [7]; 8. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [9]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 3. 7-Justin Henderson [2]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 6. 2KS-Austin McCarl [5]; 7. 16-Travis Whitney [8]; 8. 5J-Jamie Ball [7]; 9. O5-Colin Smith [9]

DRYDENE Heat #4 (8 Laps) – 1. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 2. 55-Brooke Tatnell [6]; 3. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 4. O9-Matt Juhl [2]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 6. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [4]; 7. 33M-Mason Daniel [7]; 8. 7W-R.J. Johnson [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 41-David Gravel [3]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 8. 18-Ian Madsen [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1][-]; 2. 2KS-Austin McCarl [4][-]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5][-]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [8][-]; 5. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [2][$2,900]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9][$2,200]; 7. 44S-Trey Starks [3][$2,000]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [12][$1,800]; 9. 13-Mark Dobmeier [6][$1,750]; 10. 35-Skylar Prochaska [10][$1,700]; 11. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [14][$1,650]; 12. 16-Travis Whitney [15][$1,600]; 13. 19P-Paige Polyak [7][$1,550]; 14. 7W-R.J. Johnson [16][$1,500]; 15. O5-Colin Smith [19][$1,450]; 16. 8-Jack Croaker [17][$1,400]; 17. 5J-Jamie Ball [11][$1,350]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [18][$1,300]; 19. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [20][$1,250]; 20. 44-Chris Martin [13][$1,200]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Carson Macedo (DB3 Photo)

Rookie Carson Macedo holds off veterans Logan Schuchart and Daryn Pittman for third career win

You couldn’t see it, but Carson Macedo was standing up in the seat of his Kyle Larson Racing No. 2 car for all 30 laps of the Feature at Jackson Motorplex Friday night.

Or at least, that’s how it felt to the rookie driver after holding off veterans Daryn Pittman and Logan Schuchart to claim his third World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race.

“I knew I needed to stand up in the seat and make it happen,” Macedo said. “These Outlaw races are hard to win and you don’t get those opportunities that often to be up front and be there to capitalize on a win.”

The record book will officially show Macedo led all 30 laps. However, the sweat drenching down his forehead and the lack of breath in his speech know better.

Macedo started on the pole of the Feature, by virtue of winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash after Dash leader Donny Schatz blew a motor. When the green flag hit the air, Macedo and Pittman drag raced side by side down the front stretch. Macedo launched his car under Pittman into turn one, sliding ahead within inches of his bumper.

Macedo then sped away, leaving about a three-car gap between he and Pittman.

By Lap seven, Macedo’s pace put him in lap traffic. Behind him, Pittman and Schuchart wrestled for second-place. Schuchart tried to slide in front of Pittman off turn two, but carried too much speed and exited the corner sideways, allowing Pittman to dart back by.

The top three remained unchanged for the next five laps with Macedo cautiously navigating his way through lap traffic. Within those five laps, Pittman closed to about a car length distance from Macedo, while Schuchart stocked them both. The veterans were ready to steal the rookie’s win.

With 15 laps to go, Schuchart powered his Drydene No. 1s around the outside of Pittman in turn one. Then next lap, he attempted a slide job underneath Macedo in turn one, but the Chevrolet Accessories No. 2 car had a strong enough run on the outside to get beside Schuchart before he could slide up in front of him.

When they crossed the line for 13 laps to go, Macedo was given 14 seconds to breathe with no attempts for a pass. But Schuchart was still there. Lurking. Waiting.

With 12 laps to go, Macedo couldn’t sit. Schuchart threw another slide job at him in turn one. This time, it worked. The Shark Racing car cleared Macedo exiting turn two and pulled away down the backstretch.

Macedo was determined to not let the win slip away. With a Hail Marry dive into turn three – closing about a three-car length gap – Macedo sped by Schuchart on the bottom of the track and reclaimed the lead on the exit of the turn.

They charged by the flag stand with 11 laps to go and Schuchart threw his car back underneath Macedo into turn one. They slid through the corner side by side, but Macedo had the advantaged against the cushion and powered to the lead down the backstretch. Behind them, Pittman won his own battle against Ian Madsen to remain third.

“Once I did get by Carson, I was maybe a little too conservative,” Schuchart said. “I had one more shot after I passed him, when he passed me back, to try to throw one more slider on him. I was a little too hesitant to let it go up and I feel like I could have. Once he went by, I feel like he went by in a slower motion, a little bit further than I was expecting him to.”

Six laps went by with Macedo continuing to balance maintaining the lead while negotiating lap cars. He put a comfortable gap between he and second-place, which became a three-way between Schuchart, Pittman and Madsen.

With three laps to go, Pittman slid by Schuchart for second and put together one last effort to run Macedo down. But it wasn’t enough. Macedo cruised to the win during night two of the Jackson Nationals.

“I knew that if we could get in clean air and make good clean laps and get through traffic well we could run OK,” Macedo said.

Pittman finished second and Schuchart held on to third – a big improvement from his 18th-place run during Thursday’s opening night race for the Jackson Nationals.

Pittman’s second-place finish was his fifth top-five in-a-row – after finishing fourth Thursday night. It’s a positive trajectory toward his quest to return to Victory Lane.

“If we keep running, top-three, top-five every night, god, you got to think wins will come,” Pittman said. “We’re close. I think we were closer to winning tonight than we were last night, so I’m happy with the direction we’re going.”

Strong runs from Pittman and Macedo – who finished eighth Thursday night – during the two preliminary opening night Jackson Nationals races have garnered them enough points to lock themselves into Saturday’s DIRTVision Fast Pass, along with David Gravel and Thursday night’s winner Brad Sweet. The remaining four Dash starters will be determined by Saturday's Heat races.

When it comes to Saturday’s 40-lap $41,000-to-win Feature, Pittman said he thinks he and his team are as good as anyone competing.

For Macedo, Friday night was all about his third Series win. The Lemoore, Calif.-native’s first two Series wins came at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. With his win in Jackson, Minn., people can now stop asking him when he’ll win at another track.

“A couple of people said, ‘We need to see you win an Outlaw race somewhere other than Chico,’” Macedo said. “So, it feels good to do that. This is my third time ever racing at this track.”

His relief and triumphant joy were clear for everyone to see when he went from “standing in his seat” to standing on the back of his car, arms in the air and a joyous yell loud enough to be heard through his helmet.

UP NEXT:

The 41st Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals at Jackson Motorplex will conclude Saturday, June 29.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 6/28/19 – Jackson Motorplex

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1][$10,000]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2][$5,000]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$3,000]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$2,700]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [4][$2,500]; 6. 41-David Gravel [6][$2,000]; 7. 5-Shane Stewart [11][$1,800]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [8][$1,600]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$1,500]; 10. O9-Matt Juhl [10][$1,400]; 11. 7-Justin Henderson [14][$1,300]; 12. 4-Terry McCarl [13][$1,200]; 13. 49X-Tim Shaffer [15][$1,100]; 14. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [18][$1,000]; 15. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [17][$950]; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12][$925]; 17. 3-Jac Haudenschild [16][$900]; 18. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [19][$850]; 19. 44S-Trey Starks [22][$825]; 20. 2KS-Austin McCarl [23][$800]; 21. 55-Brooke Tatnell [20][$800]; 22. 19-Brent Marks [24][$800]; 23. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$800]; 24. 19P-Paige Polyak [9][$800];
Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 5-Shane Stewart[+4]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 41-David Gravel, 12.744; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.798; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.943; 4. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.954; 5. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 12.968; 6. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey, 13.008; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.058; 8. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.105; 9. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.106; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.129; 11. 4-Terry McCarl, 13.162; 12. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.212; 13. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 13.257; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 13.277; 15. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.331; 16. 9-James McFadden, 13.336; 17. 7W-R.J. Johnson, 13.422; 18. 5J-Jamie Ball, 13.442; 19. 44-Chris Martin, 13.475; 20. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 13.598; 21. 8-Jack Croaker, 13.844

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.011; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.017; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.04; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.064; 5. O9-Matt Juhl, 13.148; 6. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.168; 7. 7-Justin Henderson, 13.17; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.177; 9. 44S-Trey Starks, 13.235; 10. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 13.268; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.307; 12. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 13.336; 13. 21-Brian Brown, 13.457; 14. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 13.486; 15. 16-Travis Whitney, 13.54; 16. 33M-Mason Daniel, 13.596; 17. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 13.784; 18. O5-Colin Smith, 13.894; 19. 97-Alan Gilbertson, 13.939; 20. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, 14.259

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 19P-Paige Polyak [4]; 4. 4-Terry McCarl [6]; 5. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [3]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8]; 8. 2KS-Austin McCarl [7]; 9. 7W-R.J. Johnson [9]; 10. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 11. 8-Jack Croaker [11]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6]; 5. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [3]; 6. 9-James McFadden [8]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 8. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [10]; 9. 5J-Jamie Ball [9]; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [3]; 4. 7-Justin Henderson [4]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 7. 44S-Trey Starks [5]; 8. 16-Travis Whitney [8]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [9]; 10. 97-Alan Gilbertson [10]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 5. 55-Brooke Tatnell [6]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [8]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska [5]; 8. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 9. O5-Colin Smith [9]; 10. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [7]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 6. 41-David Gravel [1]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [8]

C-Main (10 Laps) – 1. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [2][-]; 2. 5J-Jamie Ball [3][-]; 3. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [7][$125]; 4. O5-Colin Smith [4][$125]; 5. 44-Chris Martin [5][$125]; 6. 8-Jack Croaker [9][$125]; 7. 7W-R.J. Johnson [1][$125]; 8. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [8][$125]; 9. 97-Alan Gilbertson [6][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1][-]; 2. 44S-Trey Starks [2][-]; 3. 2KS-Austin McCarl [4][-]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [6][-]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8][$300]; 6. 9-James McFadden [10][$250]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [5][$225]; 8. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7][$200]; 9. 35-Skylar Prochaska [3][$200]; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen [14][$200]; 11. 16-Travis Whitney [9][$150]; 12. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [12][$150]; 13. 33M-Mason Daniel [11][$150]; 14. 5J-Jamie Ball [13][$150]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

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Winner Brad Sweet (DB3 Photo)

Questions with no clear answers lingered in heads of thousands like a painless headache during the final three laps of the Jackson Nationals opening Thursday night race at the Jackson Motorplex.

Could Brad Sweet catch David Gravel? Could Gravel hold Sweet off?

Gravel had the 4/10-mile tamed, leading every lap up until that point. But on a charge behind him, the untamable “Big Cat” Sweet.

With two laps to go, they were side by side down the back stretch. Gravel hesitated for a millisecond on a lap car’s trajectory, while Sweet didn't blink, darting underneath the lap car and Gravel into turn three and claiming the lead off turn four.

From there the answer was clear. Sweet would go on to win his sixth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race of the season – his 40th career win and third win in-a-row.

“It’s sure fun to drive this thing right now,” said a jubilant Sweet. “We’ve really hit on some stuff. It’s been a joy to drive good the last few weeks.

“I’m a little worn out, I was really clutching the wheel, trying to hit my marks there late in that race. I knew it was coming down to the white there.”

The win may have been Sweet’s sixth of the season – further extending his title as winningest driver, so far, this year – but it was one of the hardest wins he had to work for.

Starting sixth in the 30-lap Feature, Sweet had a host of competitive cars between he and the lead. Also, on the start, Gravel cruised by Donny Schatz on the outside for the lead and the two pulled away to about a straightaway gap on third-place Brian Brown.

It took Sweet two laps to make his way by Terry McCarl for fifth-place, but it was another nine laps before he caught Brown and Daryn Pittman who were battling for third. He made quick work of the two, passing them both with a daring drive through turn three and four, leaving inches between he and Pittman’s car.

Three laps later Sweet made his way by second-place Schatz and set his sight on closing the half-a-straightaway gap between he and Gravel with 15 laps to go. However, Schatz, who hadn’t won in seven races, was still determined to close that gap himself.

With Sweet getting held up by a lap car in turn four, Schatz throttled back by the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car and put his Toco Warranty No. 15 car back in second. Sweet had to regroup and find this rhythm riding the bottom of the track again. Two laps later, with a slide job through turns three and four, Sweet cleared Schatz on the front stretch and reclaimed second-place.

He now had 12 laps to catch the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 41 of Gravel.

Could he catch him? With three laps to go, Sweet had Gravel in sight. Two laps to go they were side by side. After Sweet darted by Gravel and a lap car in turn three, Gravel had to throw his car sideways on the exit of turn four to avoid hitting another lap car. From there, with one lap to go, Sweet pulled away to a half second lead and a $10,000 victory.

“I was hunkered down and determined to catch him (Gravel),” Sweet said. “It always helps sometimes to be in second, you can watch where he’s not running and try to find a line.”

Carrying the weight of defeat in every word, runner-up Gravel congratulated Sweet on the win, but knew the race should've been his.

“We had the race winning car there,” said Gravel, who set Quick Time and won his Drydene Heat race earlier in the night. “That’s not our issue. As a driver I’ve got to put myself in a better spot there. We’ll come back tomorrow hungrier.”

Schatz’s third-place finish was his first podium finish since he won at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway at the end of May. However, he was still looking for more.

“You slip a little bit, and someone is going to take advantage of it,” Schatz said. “So, it’s one of them nights.”

Sweet has extended his points lead over Schatz, the 10-time Series champion to a 60-point advantage. That stems from Sweet claiming 10 top-five finishes in-a-row and his determination to keep winning.

“When you start winning races you’re just never satisfied unless you’re winning,” Sweet said. “I guess when you get beat down by Donny year after year you just try to keep getting better. I think this year, we’re just a little bit better right now, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Everybody’s a half a turn or change or something away from putting the pressure back on us. We’re just ahead right now and that allows me to keep leading laps and winning more race. It just gives me confidence.”

With one more preliminary night of racing at the Jackson Motorplex on Friday, the question of who will win Saturday night’s $41,000-to-win Jackson Nationals finale will linger for the next 48 hours.

However, with a win on night one, Sweet and his Kasey Kahne Racing team have set themselves up to possibly answer that question, as well.

UP NEXT:

Night two of the Jackson Nationals at the Jackson Motorplex with the World of Outlaws will take place Friday, June 28.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 6/27/19 - Jackson Motorplex

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [6][$10,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2][$5,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$3,000]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [8][$2,700]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [3][$2,500]; 6. 9-James McFadden [9][$2,000]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [10][$1,800]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [14][$1,600]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [5][$1,500]; 10. 4-Terry McCarl [4][$1,400]; 11. 5-Shane Stewart [13][$1,300]; 12. 7-Justin Henderson [7][$1,200]; 13. 2M-Kerry Madsen [21][$1,100]; 14. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [15][$1,000]; 15. 49X-Tim Shaffer [18][$950]; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [19][$925]; 17. O9-Matt Juhl [11][$900]; 18. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$850]; 19. 13-Mark Dobmeier [17][$825]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$800]; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser [22][$800]; 22. 3-Jac Haudenschild [23][$800]; 23. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [16][$800]; 24. 2KS-Austin McCarl [24][$800];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-28, Brad Sweet 29-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2M-Kerry Madsen[+8]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 41-David Gravel, 12.752; 2. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 12.766; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.888; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.916; 5. 9-James McFadden, 12.922; 6. 4-Terry McCarl, 12.943; 7. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.001; 8. O9-Matt Juhl, 13.043; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.08; 10. 44S-Trey Starks, 13.181; 11. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.213; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.262; 13. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 13.414; 14. 44-Chris Martin, 13.467; 15. 8-Jack Croaker, 13.518; 16. 5J-Jamie Ball, 13.668; 17. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 13.677; 18. 33M-Mason Daniel, 13.706; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 13.868; 20. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, 14.029; 21. O5-Colin Smith, 14.059

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.811; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 12.966; 3. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.969; 4. 7-Justin Henderson, 12.995; 5. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.016; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.04; 7. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.09; 8. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey, 13.104; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.11; 10. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.156; 11. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.178; 12. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.33; 13. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 13.376; 14. 35-Skylar Prochaska, 13.468; 15. 19-Brent Marks, 13.496; 16. 7W-R.J. Johnson, 13.522; 17. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 13.563; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 13.617; 19. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.618; 20. 16-Travis Whitney, 13.729; 21. 97-Alan Gilbertson, 14.024

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild [6]; 8. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [9]; 9. 8-Jack Croaker [8]; 10. O5-Colin Smith [11]; 11. 2K-Kevin Ingle [10]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 2. 4-Terry McCarl [3]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [4]; 4. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [1]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 6. 44S-Trey Starks [5]; 7. 44-Chris Martin [7]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [9]; 9. 5J-Jamie Ball [8]; 10. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 7. 55-Brooke Tatnell [9]; 8. 2KS-Austin McCarl [7]; 9. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 10. 2C-Wayne Johnson [10]; 11. 97-Alan Gilbertson [11]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 7-Justin Henderson [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 4. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [4]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 6. 19P-Paige Polyak [6]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska [7]; 8. 7W-R.J. Johnson [8]; 9. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [9]; 10. 16-Travis Whitney [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [4]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 4. 4-Terry McCarl [2]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 7. 7-Justin Henderson [5]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [8]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer – 1. 55-Brooke Tatnell [2][-]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson [6][-]; 3. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [1][$125]; 4. 33M-Mason Daniel [3][$125]; 5. 16-Travis Whitney [8][$125]; 6. 97-Alan Gilbertson [10][$125]; 7. O5-Colin Smith [9][$125]; 8. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [7][$125]; 9. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [4][$125]; 10. 2K-Kevin Ingle [5][$100]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [2][-]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1][-]; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild [5][-]; 4. 2KS-Austin McCarl [6][-]; 5. 44S-Trey Starks [3][$300]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [10][$250]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [4][$225]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [14][$200]; 9. 35-Skylar Prochaska [8][$200]; 10. 44-Chris Martin [7][$200]; 11. 5J-Jamie Ball [11][$150]; 12. 55-Brooke Tatnell [13][$150]; 13. 7W-R.J. Johnson [12][$150]; 14. 8-Jack Croaker [9][$150]