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)

DODGE CITY, KS – Sept. 21, 2019 – Brad Sweet eyed redemption Saturday night at Dodge City Raceway Park.

After losing 18 points to championship contender Donny Schatz during the first round of the Outlaw Boot Hill Showdown doubleheader at the raceway Friday night, Sweet looked to be dealt a new hand in round two.

He got it and played it, leading all 31 laps – due to a green-white-checkered – to claim his first Dodge City Raceway Park victory, his 15th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season and the $12,000-to-win pot.

“This hasn’t been my best track, so to get a win here I think is one of those things where we have to take the positive here and just move on to the next one and keep focused on what we’re doing here,” Sweet said. “Sometimes it seems like we’re getting a little off track or getting a little confused and trying things and we just need to stick to what we know and finish the year as strong as possible.”

The biggest turning point of the night for him was his Drydene Heat race performance. Sweet had qualified 12th – worse than his 10th-place qualifying run Friday night. That placed the Kasey Kahne Racing driver fourth in his Heat race. However, on the start, “The Big Cat” was ready to pounce. He sprinted by the third and second-place car on the first lap and held on to second, racing his way into the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

The Dash draw – with the pole position and the sixth-place starting position still available – came down to Schatz and Sweet. Schatz drew the number six, leaving the pole for the Californian.

Sweet went on to win the Dash, while Schatz, who won Friday night’s race, put on a show behind him. With the help of a few slide jobs, Schatz raced his way to third, lining himself up directly behind Sweet for the 30-lap Feature.

When the green flag hit the air Sweet sprinted to the lead over second-place Ian Madsen. Schatz couldn’t keep up. He found himself in a duel with Sheldon Haudenschild for third-place. The young Ohio-native stole the position from Schatz on the first lap. The reigning champion threw a slide job at Haudenschild into turn one the next lap to take the spot back, but Haudenschild powered back by him down the backstretch.

Sweet hit lap traffic by Lap 6. Most of the slower cars ran low allowing Sweet to hold his line up high and cruise by them. Others blocked his line, forcing him to either slow his entry to not hit them or choose an alternative route around them.

The traffic allowed Madsen to close on Sweet, but also slowed him at times, too.

On Lap 9 the No. 91 of Jeff Stasa blocked Haudenschild’s run into turn two, forcing him to hit the brakes. While the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 slowed, Schatz stayed in the throttle and darted by Haudenschild to reclaim third.

Along with the slower cars, drivers also had to battle the high winds racing around the track.

“The car just does two completely different things at both ends here,” Sweet said. “Driving into the wind you feel like you have tons of down force and the car lays left and when you’re going away from the wind the car wants to pick up and do some crazy stuff. It was definitely good to be out front. Clean air was definitely a bonus tonight.”

The first caution of the night came out on Lap 17 for the No. 9x of Jake Bubak blowing a right rear tire and coming to a stop in turn two. Sweet now had Madsen – hungry for a win with his last one coming in March – at his rear bumper.

However, the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car was strong on restarts. Sweet hammered the throttle, blasting through the tunnel of wind, and shot back to a straightaway lead over the Australian driver.

When Sweet hit lap traffic again Madsen and Schatz closed the gap. But once Sweet was back in clean air, he continued to distance himself from the Aspen Air No. 18 of Ian Madsen and Toco Warranty No. 15 of Schatz.

On the final lap of the race, with the victory in sight, red lights flashed around the raceway. Dominic Scelzi flipped in turn three, bringing out the red flag. Madsen had another shot at the win.

The pressure didn’t get to Sweet, though. He said he kept his composure and continued to run his race.

“I think I did a pretty good job at it,” Sweet said.

He did. When the green flag flew for the final time, Sweet gapped Madsen by about three car lengths and drove off with the win. Madsen had to settle for second and Schatz third.

Madsen admitted he knew he didn’t have anything for Sweet on the final restart. He could catch him in lap traffic but once Sweet was in clean air it was tough to close in.

“It’s really tough out here to beat anyone in clean air,” Madsen said. “But it’s an awesome result for us tonight, to get up on the podium. We’ve had some bad luck lately. It’s great to be back up here.”

Schatz also stated he felt like he had a chance to catch Madsen and Sweet in traffic, but every time he got close the caution came out.

“That’s the way it goes,” he said. “That’s racing. You’ve got to be consistent on the days you can’t win and today is one of them days.”

Sweet’s win helped him gain six points on Schatz in the championship standings. With 13 races left this season, Schatz now leads Sweet by 22 points.

The victory also saw another big achievement for Sweet. He won his 49th career World of Outlaws victory driving the No. 49 Kasey Kahne Racing car.

“It’s actually really cool,” Sweet said. “I never would have imagined that I would get close to fifty World of Outlaws wins, so it’s a milestone to be proud of for myself, for Kasey giving me the opportunity to be on the Outlaw tour for six years with his team.

“I’ve had a lot of crew chiefs and a lot of ups and downs through it all, so to be having this season is what we all strive for and what we knew we were able to accomplish. So, it’s nice to get those stats. Hopefully it’s just one of the many milestones that will pass through in my career.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Wednesday, Sept. 25, will be at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/21/2019 – Dodge City Raceway Park

NOS Energy Drink Feature (31 Laps due to green-white-checkered finish) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$12,000]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2][$5,700]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$3,500]; 4. 41-David Gravel [5][$3,000]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$2,600]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$2,400]; 7. 5-Shane Stewart [6][$2,300]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [7][$2,200]; 9. 19-Brent Marks [11][$2,150]; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman [8][$2,100]; 11. 2C-Wayne Johnson [14][$1,600]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [15][$1,350]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$1,300]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [13][$1,200]; 15. 1X-Don Droud [19][$1,100]; 16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [9][$1,000]; 17. 91-Jeff Stasa [17][$900]; 18. 9X-Jake Bubak [12][$850]; 19. O-Steven Richardson [16][$800]; 20. 10C-Jeremy Campbell [21][$800]; 21. 72-Ray Seemann [22][$800]; 22. 33M-Mason Daniel [20][$800]; 23. 88-Mike Woodruff [24][$800]; 24. 10-Jordan Knight [23][$800]; 25. 11-Tyler Knight [25][$800];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-31;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+5]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 12.706; 2. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.778; 3. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.832; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.866; 5. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.877; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.887; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.9; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.909; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.939; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.964; 11. 33M-Mason Daniel, 12.968; 12. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.978; 13. O-Steven Richardson, 13.023; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 13.043; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.061; 16. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.103; 17. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.143; 18. 9X-Jake Bubak, 13.429; 19. 1X-Don Droud, 13.815; 20. 91-Jeff Stasa, 13.875; 21. 10C-Jeremy Campbell, 14.089; 22. 72-Ray Seemann, 14.43; 23. 10-Jordan Knight, 14.001; 24. 88-Mike Woodruff, 14.01; 25. 11-Tyler Knight, 14.494

DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. O-Steven Richardson [5]; 7. 1X-Don Droud [7]; 8. 72-Ray Seemann [8]; 9. 11-Tyler Knight [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [6]; 6. 91-Jeff Stasa [7]; 7. 33M-Mason Daniel [4]; 8. 10-Jordan Knight [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 4. 9X-Jake Bubak [6]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 10C-Jeremy Campbell [7]; 8. 88-Mike Woodruff [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 5. 41-David Gravel [5]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [4]

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 Donny Schatz (Tim Aylwin Photo)

DODGE CITY, KS – Sept. 20, 2019 – The crowd of thousands hushed. Only the relentless wind was brave enough to make a sound. Anxiety and impatience brewed in people’s chest as they watched the field of Outlaws pace their steps before hammering the trigger, hoping to be the fastest to fire first.

Leading the field at Dodge City Raceway Park Friday night was 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz with Knoxville Nationals winner David Gravel to his outside. Both eyed another win for their team. Both looked to be the best in Kansas. And both were determined to take the lead on the start.

The green flag flew, and the showdown was on. Schatz hit the trigger first, launching to the lead. But Gravel fired back.

He dove to the bottom of turns three and four under Schatz and outgunned him for the lead down the front stretch. The reigning champion was loaded for another attack, though.

Gravel slid off the bottom on the exit of turn two, holding his car sideways onto the backstretch. With a clean run around the bottom of the track, Schatz fired back to the lead and went on to win the first night of the Outlaw Boot Hill Showdown weekend doubleheader. It was his ninth win of the season and second win in-a-row at the raceway – fifth overall.

“Hats off to my guys,” Schatz said. “They’re hitting on all cylinders. They always have. Sometimes the drivers falter and that’d be me. Tonight, we didn’t have any of them faults.”

Schatz started the night strong by qualifying fourth, while Gravel picked up his 16th Quick Time of the year. The two drivers then had their first front row battle of the night during the first Drydene Heat race. Schatz got the jump on the outside of Gravel at the start and drove away with the win.

Shortly after, the duo found themselves on the front row together again during the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Schatz started on the bottom with Gravel up top. Gravel got the jump this time. The Connecticut-native charged to the lead, but Schatz methodically ran him down and passed him for the win.

The 25-lap Feature placed Schatz and Gravel back on the front row for the start. After their one lap duel around the 3/8-mile track for the lead, Schatz pulled away from Gravel to about a straightaway lead.

“When they threw the green, I thought it was going to take a while for it (the bottom of the track) to go away,” Schatz said. “I think as you’ve seen what happened with David when he went down in there, we were able to get back by him right away. It went away real quick. I didn’t expect it to do that, either. I like it when it does that.”

Schatz reached lap traffic by Lap 6, but was able to pass every slower car with ease. However, nearing the end of the race, the pack of lap cars grew. They raced each other side by side, sometimes going three-wide. Schatz no longer had an easy passage by. There was now hope for Gravel, who began reeling in Schatz.

Before Gravel could take another shot at the North Dakota-native, the caution came out for Mike Woodruff stopping in turn two. While it put him on Schatz’s bumper for the restart, Schatz was rewarded with clean air again.

“Clean air was going to win there,” Gravel said. “Wish I could have had the lead there on the first lap, I thought we would have had a good chance to win there. Sucks to come up second. We had a shot. Lap traffic was my only shot.”

Once the race restarted Schatz launched back to the lead and cruised to his 292nd career Series victory, with Gravel second and Logan Schuchart third. He also increased his points lead over Brad Sweet, who finished ninth after struggling to find his way forward. Schatz now leads Sweet by 28 points.

“It’s not the year you’ve had when you’ve won 20 plus a year, but, hey, it’s a very competitive deal at the moment,” Schatz said. “I mean, look at all of the cars that have run good. We’re in a position to try and run for a championship and that’s all you can ask for when you start the year.”

He and the rest of the field will again be gunning for the win in the final day of the Outlaw Boot Hill Showdown at Dodge City Raceway Park on Saturday.

UP COMING:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Saturday, Sept. 21, will return to Dodge City Raceway Park for the Outlaw Boot Hill Showdown.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/20/19 – Dodge City Raceway Park

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$8,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2][$4,000]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$2,500]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [4][$2,200]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][$2,100]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$2,000]; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman [10][$1,800]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [8][$1,600]; 9. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$1,500]; 10. 5-Shane Stewart [13][$1,300]; 11. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [16][$1,200]; 12. 19-Brent Marks [11][$1,100]; 13. 9X-Jake Bubak [12][$1,000]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen [17][$700]; 15. 33M-Mason Daniel [6][$600]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [15][$600]; 17. O-Steven Richardson [21][$600]; 18. 91-Jeff Stasa [22][$600]; 19. 10C-Jeremy Campbell [18][$600]; 20. 1X-Don Droud [20][$600]; 21. 72-Ray Seemann [19][$600]; 22. 2C-Wayne Johnson [14][$600]; 23. 88-Mike Woodruff [23][$600]; 24. 10-Jordan Knight [24][$600]; 25. 11-Tyler Knight [25][$600];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1, Donny Schatz 2-25;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 41S-Dominic Scelzi[+5]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 12.164; 2. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.209; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.252; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.278; 5. 33M-Mason Daniel, 12.286; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.352; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.363; 8. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.379; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.38; 10. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.398; 11. 19-Brent Marks, 12.412; 12. O-Steven Richardson, 12.424; 13. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.442; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.507; 15. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.52; 16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.538; 17. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.55; 18. 9X-Jake Bubak, 12.665; 19. 91-Jeff Stasa, 13.266; 20. 1X-Don Droud, 13.413; 21. 10C-Jeremy Campbell, 13.579; 22. 72-Ray Seemann, 14.009; 23. 88-Mike Woodruff, 13.38; 24. 10-Jordan Knight, 13.679; 25. 11-Tyler Knight, 14.016

DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 7. 72-Ray Seemann [8]; 8. 91-Jeff Stasa [7]; 9. 11-Tyler Knight [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 33M-Mason Daniel [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [4]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [6]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 7. 1X-Don Droud [7]; 8. 88-Mike Woodruff [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 9X-Jake Bubak [6]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 6. 10C-Jeremy Campbell [7]; 7. O-Steven Richardson [4]; 8. 10-Jordan Knight [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [3]

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)

CALISTOGA, CA – Sept. 14, 2019 – David Gravel wants his win total with Jason Johnson Racing to be in the double digits by the end of the season.

He came one step closer to achieving his objective Saturday night at Calistoga Speedway by winning the Wine Country Outlaw Showdown – his eighth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory of the season.

“Feels good to get another win,” Gravel said. “I feel like we could have won last night (at Stockton Dirt Track). To let that slip away, it feels good to get a win.”

Gravel dominated the night, but Californian Brad Sweet, looking to close the points gap between he and points leader Donny Schatz, almost crushed the Watertown, Conn.-native’s dreams.

The two drivers started the night in polar opposite scenarios. Sweet qualified 17th out of 22 cars. Gravel set Quick Time for the 15th time this season and set a new track for Calistoga Speedway with a time of 15.672 sec.

Both drivers went on to finished second in their Drydene Heat race. However, Gravel fell from first to second and Sweet charged from sixth to second. Their performance put them both in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, which Gravel drew the pole for and then went on to win.

At the start of the 25-lap Feature, Gravel launched to the lead and Sweet – who started third – took second from Logan Schuchart. Riding the high line of the half-mile track, Gravel gapped Sweet by close to half a track.

On Lap five that changed. Gravel had to wait on the throttle for the slower car of Stephan Ingraham blocking his line, killing his momentum. That allowed Sweet to cut Gravel’s lead in half. After they crossed the line for Lap seven, Sweet threw a slide job at Gravel going into turn one. He rocketed underneath the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 41 car and put his NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car in the lead by turn two.

“I got to the 93 car (of Ingraham) at a bad spot and tried to slid him, it was a dumb mistake on my part,” Gravel said. “I deserved to lose the lead there. Racing all of these races, you should know better than that.”

Gravel was able to still exit the corner better than Sweet, though. He hammered the throttle off the turn with the confidence his rear tires would hold on to every inch of the clay surface. They did and he powered back by Sweet going into turn three.

However, Gravel got out of shape on corner entrance, slowing his pace. Sweet was directly behind him and also had to slow to avoid running into Gravel. Before Sweet could attempt a run underneath him on the exit of turn four, a caution came out for Shane Stewart slowing on track.

The next segment of the race after the restart was déjà vu of the first. Gravel launched back to the lead with Sweet behind him, unable to close in. Less than 10 laps later Gravel found himself back on Ingraham’s bumper. Back to having to slow his momentum. And back to having to worry about Sweet breathing down his neck.

Before Sweet could strike again, another caution came out. This time for Chase Johnson having motor issues that resulted in a burst of flames underneath his car, which extinguished by the time he stopped the car.

“It’s one of those things, man, it’s part of dirt track racing, you’ve got to be good in lap traffic and luckily we were,” Gravel said.

Lined up single file for the restart with eight laps to go, Gravel bested Sweet and third-place Schuchart on the start pulling away by several car lengths before the flag stand. With clean air in front of him and no lap traffic to deal with, Gravel put the cap on his dominating night by leading all 25 laps and winning his first career race at Calistoga Speedway.

Sweet had to settle for second but accepted the finish as it allowed him to gain points on Schatz – who finished fourth, after a charge from seventh. Sweet is now 10 points behind Schatz.

“The cautions just kind of came at the wrong time for us,” Sweet said. “He would get out front with clean air and we could stay a half straightaway behind. You needed lap traffic to break his pace… We’ll take it after our qualifying effort. It’s a good rebound for our NAPA Auto Parts car. We’ve got a big picture going on here.”

While Gravel sits third in points, more than 100 points behind Schatz, the big picture for he and his Jason Johnson Racing team is to keep winning. Their eighth win – tying Schatz for the second most wins this season – at Calistoga Speedway was a confidence booster to make that happen.

“It means a lot,” said Philip Dietz, Gravel’s crew chief. “Lately I feel like we’ve been struggling a bit on these tracks out here in California. I feel like they’re a little bit different than a lot of places we go. Calistoga, I feel is more comparative to places we’ve had success at this year, like the Grove and Knoxville. We were kind of able to keep our car pretty similar to what we’ve done there and had success with. Just made for a much easier night.”

With the West Coast swing finished and the World of Outlaws tour heading to the Midwest and East Coast, Gravel and his team have their eye on more dominating performances.

“It’s been an awesome year,” Gravel said. “Hopefully we can keep this thing going. I really want to get to double digit wins. Hopefully we get there and keep this thing going.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, will be at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. for the Outlaws Boot Hill Showdown.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/14/19 – Calistoga Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$5,500]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$3,200]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$2,800]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$2,500]; 6. 83-Daryn Pittman [11][$2,300]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [8][$2,200]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu [4][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [15][$2,050]; 10. 17W-Shane Golobic [10][$2,000]; 11. 18-Ian Madsen [6][$1,500]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$1,200]; 13. 7S-Tim Kaeding [9][$1,100]; 14. 19-Brent Marks [12][$1,050]; 15. 7H-Jojo Helberg [19][$1,000]; 16. O-Bud Kaeding [18][$900]; 17. 7-Jason Sides [16][$800]; 18. 68-Chase Johnson [14][$800]; 19. 93-Stephan Ingraham [21][$800]; 20. 5-Shane Stewart [17][$800]; 21. 1A-Jacob Allen [20][$800]; 22. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [22][$800];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-25;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+6]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 15.672; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 15.94; 3. 18-Ian Madsen, 15.996; 4. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.006; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.008; 6. 24-Rico Abreu, 16.045; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.102; 8. 5-Shane Stewart, 16.158; 9. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 16.185; 10. 7-Jason Sides, 16.222; 11. 83-Daryn Pittman, 16.226; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.229; 13. 17W-Shane Golobic, 16.244; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.258; 15. 19-Brent Marks, 16.261; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.267; 17. 49-Brad Sweet, 16.384; 18. O-Bud Kaeding, 16.393; 19. 7H-Jojo Helberg, 16.421; 20. 68-Chase Johnson, 16.719; 21. 93-Stephan Ingraham, 17.609; 22. 7Y-Geoff Ensign, 19.067

DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 6. 7-Jason Sides [4]; 7. 7H-Jojo Helberg [7]; 8. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 68-Chase Johnson [7]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 7S-Tim Kaeding [3]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 6. O-Bud Kaeding [6]; 7. 93-Stephan Ingraham [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6]

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 Logan Schuchart (Devin Mayo Photo)

STOCKTON, CA – Sept. 13, 2019 – Logan Schuchart could see victory at the Stockton Dirt Track with three laps to go. He could see his opportunity to sweep the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races at the track. And he could see collecting the $20,000 award for winning the NOS Energy Drink Showdown.

However, he could also see his Shark Racing teammate Jacob Allen leading, searching for his first World of Outlaws win. He couldn’t catch him. A runner-up finish looked like his calling, and he was OK with that.

Cruising down the backstretch, he saw Allen’s Drydene No. 1a car power into turn three, heading for two laps to go. When Schuchart exited turn four, he no longer saw Allen in front of him. The white and blue No. 1a slowed and pulled into the infield.

The lead was Schuchart’s. And after two clean laps, so was the win.

“It’s a tough deal,” Schuchart said of Allen’s affliction. “I’m happy to get the win. It’s awesome to have these cars up front. Whatever happened, this team works really hard to keep these cars on the racetrack.”

The victory was Schuchart’s seventh of the year – further breaking his record of winning at most four wins in a season – and 15th career World of Outlaws win overall.

While he celebrated in Victory Lane with his Drydene cladded Shark Racing team, Allen was back at the trailer diagnosing an engine failure with his crew under a full moon Friday the 13th night.

“Pretty much a heart break,” said a deflated Allen, trying to find the words to describe the loss. “It’s kind of tough.”

The Shark Racing duo were fast all night. Schuchart qualified third and Allen fourth – both setting times that broke the previous track record. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz set Quick Time and the new track record with a time of 12.543 sec.

Schuchart and Allen went on to both finished second in their Drydene Heat races. Then finish third and second, respectively, in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash – won by Austen Wheatley.

Wheatley and Allen made up the front row of the 30-lap Feature – both attempting to win their first World of Outlaws race. On the initial start, Wheatley hit the throttle and wheeled onto the front stretch, allowing Allen to get the jump on him and pull away with the lead into the first turn.

His comfortable lead was eliminated in two laps when the first caution came out for Shane Stewart going off track in turn two. On the restart Allen launched back to the lead, but Wheatley stayed close and got side by side with Allen through the first corner. Allen had the better grip on the high groove and drove away from Wheatley down the backstretch.

While Allen ran away with the lead, David Gravel worked his way around Schuchart for third and after dueling with Wheatley for eight laps moved into second. By that time, Allen had found himself in heavy lap traffic. Gravel was able to gain yards on him every lap.

However, once Allen found clean air again, he left Gravel searching for speed by pulling away to about a straightaway lead.

With nine laps to go Allen caught more traffic, including Brad Sweet, and got loose exiting turn two. He lost traction exiting turn four, too, unable to hold his line. That allowed Gravel to go from being a straightaway back to being at Allen’s tail tank.

Allen continued to run the low line into turn one and Gravel darted high to try and get a run around him. However, the move cost Gravel a chance at a win. Going high opened the door for Schuchart to dive underneath. The two almost made contact at the apex of the corner, hurting Gravel most. Schuchart accelerated away from the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 41 car down the backstretch.

“I kind of punched myself in the head there after that,” Gravel said. “I tried to pass Jacob on the top going into one and two, ended up giving the spot to Logan.”

Now, the only car Schuchart saw in front of him was his teammate. With seven laps to go inches separated the Shark Racing drivers due to a caution for Tim Kaeding going off track in turn two.

On the final restart of the night Allen rocketed ahead of Schuchart. He made it look like a race between a great white shark and a carp. Schuchart couldn’t keep pace with his teammate and in the closing laps found himself having to hold off a hard charging Schatz, who got around Gravel for third.

With three laps to go Allen wore the appearance of a first-time winner. Clean laps. No mistakes. And fields of clean air between the cars behind him and in front of him. Appearances meant nothing, though. While driving through turns three and four his fairy tale turned into a horror movie. His engine let go. Speed lost. Win lost.

“After that last restart it felt like it was kind of starting to lose power a pinch,” Allen said. “But it’s hard to say. You know, you’ve got a lot on your mind. There’re only a few laps left. You’re just trying to finish it and win the race. It’s a pretty shitty deal really. I don’t know. It sucks. I guess it’s just part of it.”

Allen’s misfortune became Schuchart’s gain as he inherited the lead and drove to his second straight win at the Stockton Dirt Track.

“He was way faster than I was,” Schuchart said about Allen. “It showed after the restart. It’s tough. Once Jacob got to the lead, he was gone. I couldn’t really hit my marks there for a few laps. I was just trying to make myself wide. I was happy to run second in this race. But I’m a competitor at the same time. I was going to try and pass him if I got the spot.

“Jacob, he’s been working really hard at this deal. It’s tough. It takes a lot out of you. Especially when you get beat all of the time. But he’s right there. We’ve seen it in the past. I hope he can get his spirit up and win one of these things. I’ve never been so big as a fan as I was running second tonight.”

While Allen’s slumped body posture and hanging head expressed his disappointment in his 17th place finish, he was still able to find the light in a gloomy situation.

“It gives you confidence for sure, just being that close and just leading laps,” Allen said. “Definitely a confidence booster. Probably the biggest thing, besides me getting my first win, is just knowing Logan was running second and we had a shot at getting our first one-two finish. Yeah, it’s not easy to be up front on any of these Outlaw races. I guess it just made me more hungry for the next time.”

Schatz finished second and Gravel had to settle for third. With Schatz’s runner-up finish he was able to retake the points lead over Grass Valley, Calif.-native Brad Sweet – who finished 10th – one race after Sweet took it from him. The reigning champion is now 14 points ahead of Sweet heading into the final California race of the year.

Schuchart is in a close points battle of his own. Sitting fifth in points, he is 38 points behind fourth-place Daryn Pittman after winning the NOS Energy Drink Showdown.

The Pennsylvania-native now has his sights set on a win at Calistoga Speedway.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Saturday, Sept. 14, will be at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif. for the Wine Country Outlaw Showdown.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/13/19 – Stockton Dirt Track

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$20,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$5,500]; 3. 41-David Gravel [4][$3,200]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$2,800]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [10][$2,500]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [8][$2,300]; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman [12][$2,200]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [16][$2,100]; 9. 17W-Shane Golobic [13][$2,050]; 10. 49-Brad Sweet [14][$2,000]; 11. 44W-Austen Wheatley [1][$1,500]; 12. 19-Brent Marks [17][$1,200]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [11][$1,100]; 14. 88N-DJ Netto [18][$1,050]; 15. O-Bud Kaeding [21][$1,000]; 16. 7S-Tim Kaeding [9][$900]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen [2][$800]; 18. 88-Jonathan Allard [22][$800]; 19. 5-Shane Stewart [20][$800]; 20. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [15][$800]; 21. 7-Jason Sides [5][$800]; 22. 53-Jessie Attard [19][$800];
Lap Leaders: Jacob Allen 1-27, Logan Schuchart 28-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+8]

Qualifying – 1. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.543; 2. 41-David Gravel, 12.561; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.565; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.624; 5. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 12.668; 6. 7-Jason Sides, 12.707; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.709; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.746; 9. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.76; 10. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.775; 11. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.802; 12. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 12.841; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.844; 14. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.941; 15. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.997; 16. 17W-Shane Golobic, 13.015; 17. 19-Brent Marks, 13.049; 18. 88N-DJ Netto, 13.065; 19. 53-Jessie Attard, 13.12; 20. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.154; 21. O-Bud Kaeding, 13.19; 22. 88-Jonathan Allard, 13.645

DRYDENE Heat #1 (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [4]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 7. 53-Jessie Attard [7]; 8. 88-Jonathan Allard [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (8 Laps) – 1. 44W-Austen Wheatley [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 7. 5-Shane Stewart [7]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (8 Laps) – 1. 7-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 7S-Tim Kaeding [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [5]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [6]; 7. O-Bud Kaeding [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 44W-Austen Wheatley [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 41-David Gravel [3]; 5. 7-Jason Sides [5]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]

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 Shane Golobic (Devin Mayo Photo)

PLACERVILLE, CA – Sept. 11, 2019 – Doubt has filled Shane Golobic’s mind for the last six years.

His first and only World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win came in 2013. Since then he’s questioned if he would or could ever win one again.

There was a clear answer Wednesday night during the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts at Placerville Speedway.

Golobic tested the limits of his vocal cords from yelling inside his NOS Energy Drink No. 17w car. He couldn’t get out of it fast enough and do something his calm mannered self would rarely do.

He climbed to the top wing of his car, yelling and cheering, with the checkered flag in hand, letting the blue and orange confetti bath him while he celebrated his second World of Outlaws wins.

“I feel like two gives you a little more credibility than one,” said Golobic, who runs a part-time schedule with the Series. “I got the first one at a little short track, Antioch (Speedway). It was a none stop Feature, it counts as an Outlaws win one hundred percent, but there’s always that little bit of doubt. I’m not so much worried about other people, what they think, but just in me. You know, it’s been a few years since we done it. You just wonder if it is ever going to happen again. Tonight, we had the race car to do it.”

The victory was not handed to him. He worked for. All night long.

The Fremont, Calif.-native started the night by Qualifying fifth. He then went on to fight his way to a second-place finish in his Drydene Heat race and then to a fourth-place finish in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

The night was mostly ruled by Californians, winning everything but one Heat race which was won by Daryn Pittman, who drivers for the California-based Roth Motorsports team. Brad Sweet was the top Golden State driver for most of the night by winning his Drydene Heat race and winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. He also pulled double duty as promoter and driver for the race.

When the 40-lap Feature went green at the quarter-mile track in El Dorado County, Sweet jumped to the lead, leaving outside polesitter, and fellow California-native, Carson Macedo to battle with Kraig Kinser for second. Golobic ran fourth.

The field got five laps into the race before the first caution came out for Kyle Larson spinning in turn four. When the race resumed, Sweet marched back to the lead. Macedo stayed close by, though. Behind the front two, Golobic found his rhythm around the high side of the track and worked his way around Kinser to take third-place. He tried to contend with Macedo by sneaking to his outside, but the Kyle Larson Racing driver closed the door and focused on his trek to Sweet’s bumper.

Less than a car length’s distance separated Sweet and Macedo for the next 10 laps. Sweet ran the low line. Macedo hammered the outside of the speedway. The two Californians ran their lines with precision, neither gaining nor losing ground on the other.

However, on Lap 14 Sweet sailed his NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car to the high side in turn three. The precision was lost. He bounced off the cushion, hindering his speed. Macedo had already reacted to Sweet’s lane change by diving to the bottom. Once Sweet bobbled, Macedo powered by him for the lead. Sweet charged back underneath him the next circuit around and nosed the rookie to the line to reclaim the lead on Lap 16.

Macedo was too strong up high, though. He easily worked his way back around the outside of Sweet for the lead. While the “Big Cat” kept Macedo in striking distance for the next eight laps, Golobic continued to run third.

The third caution of the night came out on Lap 24 for Jessie Attard coming to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Golobic and Sweet raced side by side down the front stretch and into the first corner. Sweet lost grip on the exit of turn two and entered the backstretch at a 45-degree angle. With a clean exit by Golobic, he hammered the throttle and cleared Sweet for second before turn three.

Sweet tried to fight back but couldn’t. The handling went away on his car and he faded through the field.

With 10 laps to go, Golobic was about a second behind Macedo. He could still see the white No. 2 car in front of him, though. He could see a potential second World of Outlaws win still within reach. To get to it meant making more aggressive moves and using his knowledge as a local racer of the track to his advantage.

“With twenty-six to go, or whatever it was, on that restart I knew I needed to get a good drive down the straightaway and get to the top and click laps away and be there right behind Carson as close as I could when he did catch traffic,” Golobic said. “Took a peek at the board each time I went down the back straightaway. That’s probably something I have an advantage of over other guys who don’t race here every week. They don’t have that in the back of their mind during the race. Saw thirty-seven laps were down and started turning it on.”

With three laps to go Macedo bounced off the cushion in turn three, allowing Golobic to close to his bumper and stay on him like a magnet the next lap. In their return to turn three, Golobic shot underneath Macedo and slid up in front of him on the exit of turn four to take the lead.

Macedo threw two unsuccessful slide jobs at Golobic the next two corners. When the checkered flag hung over the track, Golobic was the first to see it – his first World of Outlaws win at Placerville Speedway and second career Series win overall.

“It’s my favorite racetrack in the world and now it’s even more of my favorite racetrack with this memory,” said Golobic who lives two hours away from the speedway.

Macedo had to settle for second, while Justin Sanders worked his way to his first World of Outlaws podium finish of the year.

“I feel pretty bad for my team,” Macedo said. “I feel like I let that one go. I knew it was getting super technical up there (on the high side). I could catch lap traffic and they were kind of making the racetrack dirty under the cushion. I was struggling to get through there. Shane just did a really good job.”

Sweet fell to sixth-place but still took home a victory. As a driver he reclaimed the points lead over 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who finished 10th – now leading him by two points. And as a promoter, he saw a sellout crowd.

That California crowd erupted into cheers, drowning out Golobic’s joyous yells when he climbed out of his Mike Wood Racing Sprint Car. The local boy won. His confidence boosted. Doubt gone.

“Doubt is gone for sure,” Golobic said without hesitation. “Now, hopefully we can get a couple more. Two really means a lot to me, now three is going to mean a lot to me.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Friday, Sept. 13, will be at Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, Calif. for the NOS Energy Drink Showdown.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/11/19 – Placerville Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [4][$10,000]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2][$5,500]; 3. 121-Justin Sanders [8][$3,200]; 4. 7S-Tim Kaeding [6][$2,800]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [5][$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$2,300]; 7. 57-Kyle Larson [18][$2,200]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu [7][$2,100]; 9. 41-David Gravel [11][$2,050]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [12][$2,000]; 11. 18-Ian Madsen [19][$1,500]; 12. 92-Andy Forsberg [14][$1,200]; 13. 5-Shane Stewart [10][$1,100]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart [17][$1,050]; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$1,000]; 16. O-Bud Kaeding [24][$900]; 17. 53-Jessie Attard [16][$800]; 18. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][$800]; 19. 83T-Tanner Carrick [21][$800]; 20. 5C-Colby Copeland [13][$800]; 21. 19-Brent Marks [15][$800]; 22. 44W-Austen Wheatley [20][$800]; 23. 7-Jason Sides [23][$800]; 24. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [22][$800];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-14, 16; Carson Macedo 15, 17-38; Shane Golobic 39-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 57-Kyle Larson[+11]

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 10.413; 2. 121-Justin Sanders, 10.43; 3. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.435; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.442; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic, 10.467; 6. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.47; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 10.475; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman, 10.476; 9. 57-Kyle Larson, 10.491; 10. 5-Shane Stewart, 10.494; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.5; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.519; 13. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 10.536; 14. 41-David Gravel, 10.56; 15. 83T-Tanner Carrick, 10.577; 16. 53-Jessie Attard, 10.591; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.612; 18. 93-Stephan Ingraham, 10.614; 19. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.631; 20. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 10.672; 21. 19-Brent Marks, 10.676; 22. O-Bud Kaeding, 10.686; 23. 92-Andy Forsberg, 10.836; 24. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.872; 25. 5C-Colby Copeland, 10.909; 26. 7-Jason Sides, 10.922

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [7]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 5C-Colby Copeland [9]; 6. 53-Jessie Attard [6]; 7. O-Bud Kaeding [8]; 8. 44W-Austen Wheatley [5]; 9. 18-Ian Madsen [3]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic [2]; 3. 121-Justin Sanders [1]; 4. 41-David Gravel [5]; 5. 92-Andy Forsberg [8]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 7. 7-Jason Sides [9]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 9. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 6. 57-Kyle Larson [3]; 7. 83T-Tanner Carrick [5]; 8. 93-Stephan Ingraham [6]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 6. 7S-Tim Kaeding [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1][-]; 2. 44W-Austen Wheatley [2][-]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick [3][-]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6][-]; 5. 7-Jason Sides [8][-]; 6. O-Bud Kaeding [7][-]; 7. 93-Stephan Ingraham [5][$300]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [4][$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 Daryn Pittman (DB3 Photo)

CHICO, CA – Sept. 7,2019 – Daryn Pittman’s hope of winning a second Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway Saturday night manifested into reality every 12 seconds.

Even with Friday night’s winner Brad Sweet breathing down his neck, the Oklahoma driver continued to be the first car across the start/finish line every lap.

However, with two laps to go, that manifestation was put on halt. A caution came out, putting Sweet on his bumper. Flashbacks of a previous Gold up loss projected in his head.

“I was having flashbacks of, I don’t know, [2014] or something and we led the whole race,” Pittman said. “It laid rubber on the bottom of (turns) one and two and I found that. It didn’t lay rubber in (turns) three and four until the last couple of laps and Johnathon Allard snuck by me coming to the checkered. That one still stings.”

Uninterested in repeating that pain, Pittman closed the deal this time. Leading every lap, he won his second Gold Cup and fourth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory of the year.

“Hats off to this whole Roth Motorsports team to get a win here in California, the Gold Cup, the biggest race in California,” Pittman said about giving his California-based team a home state win. “To win it for Dennis and Teresa (Roth) is just awesome.”

While Pittman led every lap of the 40-lap Feature, his path to victory was not immediately paved with gold.

After a 17th-place finish Friday night, Pittman and his Roth Motorsports crew needed a new approach. And a little bit of luck.

They showed speed at the start of the night by Qualifying fourth. That placed Pittman on the outside pole for his Drydene Heat race where he took the lead from Sweet at the start and went on to win.

Then luck helped out. He drew the pole of the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, and went on to win that, too.

He pulled away to about a straightaway lead in the first six laps of the Feature, with David Gravel in second and Sweet fighting his way past Brent Marks for third. Pittman found himself in lap traffic by that point, too, until a caution on Lap 10 for Kraig Kinser going off track in turn four.

On the restart, Gravel stayed close to Pittman and launched in front of him for the lead in turn one. However, before the field could complete another lap, the yellow lights around the speedway turned back on for Ian Madsen in the turn four wall. The lap was not completed and Pittman remained the leader.

Sweet, looking for his first Gold Cup victory in his home state, had fallen back to fourth-place. However, on a restart with 26 laps to go, after a red flag for Jacob Allen flipping, Sweet powered his way by Marks for third down the front stretch and then rode the high side to take second away from Gravel before completing the lap.

While the “Big Cat” tried to track Pittman down, Gravel, Marks, Logan Schuchart and Tim Kaeding traded slide jobs and crossover maneuvers for countless laps, arguing over who would be third. Schuchart silenced the argument by taking third with six laps to go and the leaders in his sight.

“I love working out, I love being in shape for this deal and I’ve tried doing that in the past and sometimes I don’t feel like it makes a difference, but tonight it did,” Schuchart said. “The guys in front were starting to slow down a little bit and I was able to still race it hard and jump across the spots I needed to and make a lot of ground up.”

Pittman found himself caught in heavy lap traffic, unable to always make a quick pass. Sweet and Schuchart fed off that, inching closer to the Roth Enterprises No. 83 car. Sweet even got close enough in the closing laps to dive underneath Pittman – slowed by lap cars – and take the lead.

Pushing the handling of his car to its limits, Pittman charged back around Sweet for the led the next corner, never allowing the Kasey Kahne Racing driver to officially lead a lap.

Then with a late caution, he had to hold on to that mentality for two more laps. He was not going to allow a repeat of 2014’s race. Mastering his restarts all night, Pittman put about a three-car length lead on Sweet into the first corner and kept it that way to the finish. The hope of winning was now a reality.

“My thought process was run as hard as you can on the top, because that’s what I thought it was going to take to win,” Pittman said. “I feel like at the green-white-checkered I went has hard as I had. The hard part about that is when you run hard against that tricky of a cushion, you’re putting yourself at risk to make a mistake and take yourself out. But I was more OK with trying too hard and losing than going too slow and trying to be safe.”

Sweet’s thought process was “attack, attack, attack,” he said. However, Pittman was just too strong.

“He had a good enough of a lead there, no matter how good, he would’ve had to mess up,” Sweet said. “He drove a great last two laps. We gave it all we had with the NAPA Auto Parts car. I was trying to move around and got my wing back a little too far I think at one point and got myself tight. I was a great race. We gave it all we had.”

While Sweet missed out on winning another Gold Cup, his runner-up finish was his third podium finish in-a-row. In those three races he's also cut 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz’s points lead over him down from 36 points to six.

Schatz was on track to potentially lose the points lead after taking the final transfer spot in the Last Chance Showdown to start last in the Feature. He came close to getting lapped in the first half of the race, but was able to fight his way to an eighth-place finish in the final half – earning him the Hard Charger award for the race.

For Pittman, he earned himself his 85th career World of Outlaws victory, moving him past his hero, Stevie Smith, to be the ninth winningest driver on the all-time Series wins list. He also earned himself $15,000 and another glistening golden cup trophy – his first Gold Cup was earned 13 years ago.

“There’s not many drivers that can say they were here 13 years ago,” Pittman said with a smile. “Part of that dates me. It makes me feel old. But I feel like I’ve got a lot of good years left in me. I’m having a lot of fun, especially when you get good cars like this to drive.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Wednesday, Sept. 11, will be at Placerville Speedway in Placerville. Calif. for the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can catch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/7/19 – Silver Dollar Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [1][$15,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$5,700]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$3,500]; 4. 41-David Gravel [2][$3,000]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$2,600]; 6. 7S-Tim Kaeding [9][$2,400]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$2,300]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [24][$2,200]; 9. 18-Ian Madsen [10][$2,150]; 10. 19-Brent Marks [3][$2,100]; 11. O-Bud Kaeding [21][$1,600]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu [18][$1,350]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [20][$1,300]; 14. 17W-Shane Golobic [8][$1,200]; 15. 5-Shane Stewart [16][$1,100]; 16. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [11][$1,000]; 17. 88-Jonathan Allard [15][$900]; 18. 44W-Austen Wheatley [17][$850]; 19. 121-Justin Sanders [6][$800]; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser [22][$800]; 21. 5C-Colby Copeland [7][$800]; 22. 93-Stephan Ingraham [23][$800]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [19][$800]; 24. 29-Willie Croft [14][$800];
Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+16]

Qualifying – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.177; 2. 19-Brent Marks, 12.222; 3. 121-Justin Sanders, 12.255; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.256; 5. 41-David Gravel, 12.274; 6. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.357; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.372; 8. 17W-Shane Golobic, 12.375; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.39; 10. 5C-Colby Copeland, 12.411; 11. 7Y-Geoff Ensign, 12.418; 12. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 12.418; 13. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.431; 14. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 12.436; 15. 88-Jonathan Allard, 12.44; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.474; 17. 93-Stephan Ingraham, 12.477; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.499; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.518; 20. 29-Willie Croft, 12.553; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.58; 22. O-Bud Kaeding, 12.602; 23. 92-Andy Forsberg, 12.639; 24. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.787; 25. 2X-Chase Majdic, 12.792; 26. 53-Jessie Attard, 12.804; 27. 7-Jason Sides, 12.875; 28. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.882; 29. 21-Michael Ing, 13.069

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 5C-Colby Copeland [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 8. O-Bud Kaeding [8]; 9. 15-Donny Schatz [10]; 10. 2X-Chase Majdic [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 19-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic [3]; 4. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [4]; 5. 29-Willie Croft [7]; 6. 44W-Austen Wheatley [5]; 7. 92-Andy Forsberg [8]; 8. 53-Jessie Attard [9]; 9. 21-Michael Ing [10]; 10. 93-Stephan Ingraham [6]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 121-Justin Sanders [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 7S-Tim Kaeding [4]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 5. 88-Jonathan Allard [5]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 8. 7-Jason Sides [9]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [3]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [2]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 6. 121-Justin Sanders [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [2][-]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3][-]; 3. O-Bud Kaeding [5][-]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4][-]; 5. 93-Stephan Ingraham [1][-]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [10][-]; 7. 2X-Chase Majdic [7][$300]; 8. 7-Jason Sides [9][$250]; 9. 53-Jessie Attard [8][$225]; 10. 92-Andy Forsberg [6][$200]; 11. 21-Michael Ing [11][$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 Brad Sweet (Devin Mayo Photo)

Sweet wins opening night of the Gold Cup for the second year in-a-row

CHICO, CA – Sept. 6 – The clamor of 24 Sprint Cars in a gladiatorial battle at Silver Dollar Speedway faded into the calm Northern California night. Several minutes later a new clamor slowly elevated outside the quarter-mile track.

“Brad Sweet. Brad Sweet. Brad Sweet! Brad Sweet! Brad Sweet!” Fans chanted the California-native’s name like a posse honoring a warrior’s victory.

Sweet out dueled fellow Californians, Tim Kaeding and Shane Golobic, to claim his second Silver Dollar Speedway win Friday night, and 14th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the year – 48th career win overall.

“We’re happy tonight,” said Sweet, of Grass Valley, Calif. “Tough racing out there. It’s treacherous. You never know which way the car is going to bounce or if you’re going to make a good corner or a bad corner. I just tried to stay up on the wheel. We pushed hard all night.”

His opening night had a sour start qualifying 14th of 30 cars. He rebounded in his Drydene Heat race by charging from fifth-place to second. That put Sweet in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash where he finished fourth.

The last three races at Silver Dollar Speedway had been won by a California native. The preamble to the Feature suggested that streak would see forth. Kaeding, of San Jose, and Golobic, of Fremont, occupied the front row for the Feature. Both won their Heat race. Golobic drew the pole for the Dash and ended up second to Kaeding.

In last year's two Gold Cup races at the speedway, Kaeding finished second both nights – once to Sweet. He wanted one spot better this year.

On the initial start, Kaeding jumped to the lead but Golobic was able to find grip on the bottom and keep pace with Kaeding running the preferred line on the high side. Sweet powered around Donny Schatz for third and begin his trek to the front.

To get to Kaeding, Sweet had to go through Golobic first. And the young Californian forced Sweet to exert all of his talent to do so.

After restarting the race for a caution on Lap two, Sweet snuck underneath Golobic and passed him for second down the backstretch. Sweet cleared the NOS Energy Drink No. 17w car off turn four. With Golobic gaining momentum around the high side, Sweet also tried to block Golobic’s run off the corner but failed. Golobic turned underneath the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 and charged back to second-place around the bottom of turns one and two.

Four laps later, with 23 laps still to go, Kaeding began to pull away and Sweet took another charge at Golobic. The Kasey Kahne Racing driver charged around the outside of Golobic in turns one and two. However, Golobic, continuing to use the bottom to his advantage, powered his way back in front of Sweet off turn four. Sweet attempted to dive underneath him into turn one, but Golobic closed the door.

He hadn’t won, yet. Two laps later Sweet put together another run to charge to the outside of Golobic. The duo raced side by side, Sweet high and Golobic low, for two laps. With 18 laps to go Sweet was able to prevail, holding onto second with a firm grasp.

Kaeding had about a straightaway lead, but lap traffic was coming into play.

Sweet worked his way to Kaeding by the halfway point of the race. He got to the outside of the R&B Company No. 7s and drag raced him down the front stretch. Kaeding out powered Sweet into turns one and two, but slid his right rear off track down the back stretch, allowing Sweet to dart underneath him and officially take the lead on Lap 17.

“I stepped on my ‘you know what’ one little bit coming off of two,” Kaeding said. “Just gave Brad that opportunity to get by us.”

Sweet said he had to be aggressive on Kaeding to take the lead.

“It’s Tim Kaeding at Chico, he’s never going to be easy,” Sweet said. “I watched him my whole childhood dominate this place.”

Kaeding was then subjected to the same war with Golobic that Sweet had to battle through. The two California’s battled hard, swapping second-place several times. Justin Sanders, of Watsonville, Calif., even joined in on the battle for a few laps. However, Kaeding and Golobic were able to best Sanders in the closing laps and duel for second amongst themselves.

Before Sweet could run away with his second win in-a-row – having won Wednesday’s race at Willamette Speedway – a caution with eight laps to go gave Kaeding and Golobic their final shot at taking down the “Big Cat.”

When the race restarted, Sweet wiped away any hope they had of doing so. He pulled away with the lead, leaving Kaeding and Golobic to make their last few swings at each other for second. Kaeding won that battle, while Golobic maintained a podium finish in third.

“I had a really good battle with Brad toward the middle of the race and there at the end me and TK (Kaeding) were going at,” Golobic said. “There were two different lines. I felt like I could run the top or bottom, make speed. I just really enjoyed racing with those guys. We’re kind of hanging our head a little bit about a third-place run, but in the big picture racing with these guys and finishing top-three is nothing to hang our head about.”

While Kaeding had to settle for second for the third time in-a-row, during the Gold Cup Race of Champions event at the speedway, he still left with a smile.

“This R and B Company 7s, Jason Sides Motorsports, this thing hauls ass,” Kaeding said. “Hopefully we can move up one more spot tomorrow night.”

For the second race in-a-row, Sweet left with the biggest smile, the trophy and $8,000 check. He and his team are building momentum again and chipping away at Schatz’s championship points lead. In the past two races, Sweet has cut the reigning champion’s lead in half – now 18 points behind the 10-time Series champion.

His focus is on Saturday night at Silver Dollar Speedway, though, where fans clamoring his name would mark a victory he’s been in search of for a long time.

“Now we’ve got to get the damn Gold Cup,” Sweet said. “I haven’t been able to get Saturday night. I grew up at this place. I don’t think I’ve missed one Gold Cup my whole life. It’s a great event.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Saturday, Sept. 7, will return to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Calif. for the Gold Cup Race of Champions.

As always, if you can’t make it to the race, you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 9/6/19 – Silver Dollar Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$8,000]; 2. 7S-Tim Kaeding [1][$4,000]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic [2][$2,500]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$2,200]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$2,100]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8][$2,000]; 7. 121-Justin Sanders [9][$1,800]; 8. 5-Shane Stewart [11][$1,600]; 9. O-Bud Kaeding [10][$1,500]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [5][$1,300]; 11. 26-Billy Aton [6][$1,200]; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [17][$1,100]; 13. 92-Andy Forsberg [12][$1,000]; 14. 41-David Gravel [16][$700]; 15. 19-Brent Marks [20][$600]; 16. 5C-Colby Copeland [21][$600]; 17. 83-Daryn Pittman [19][$600]; 18. 24-Rico Abreu [22][$600]; 19. 44W-Austen Wheatley [15][$600]; 20. 2-Carson Macedo [18][$600]; 21. 2X-Chase Majdic [24][$600]; 22. 11K-Kraig Kinser [14][$600]; 23. 88-Jonathan Allard [7][$600]; 24. 1A-Jacob Allen [23][$600];
Lap Leaders: Tim Kaeding 1-16, Brad Sweet 17-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+9]

Qualifying – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.117; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.231; 3. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 12.234; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.272; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic, 12.279; 6. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 12.308; 7. 88-Jonathan Allard, 12.377; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.379; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.449; 10. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.482; 11. 5C-Colby Copeland, 12.492; 12. 26-Billy Aton, 12.494; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.519; 14. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.538; 15. 7Y-Geoff Ensign, 12.542; 16. O-Bud Kaeding, 12.545; 17. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.551; 18. 92-Andy Forsberg, 12.561; 19. 19-Brent Marks, 12.609; 20. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.634; 21. 121-Justin Sanders, 12.636; 22. 41-David Gravel, 12.661; 23. 2X-Chase Majdic, 12.715; 24. 21-Michael Ing, 12.724; 25. 7-Jason Sides, 12.796; 26. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.828; 27. 93-Stephan Ingraham, 12.839; 28. 29-Willie Croft, 12.939; 29. 53-Jessie Attard, 13.189; 30. 2-Carson Macedo, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 88-Jonathan Allard [3]; 4. O-Bud Kaeding [6]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 6. 41-David Gravel [8]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 9. 7-Jason Sides [9]; 10. 29-Willie Croft [10]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [6]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [9]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [7]; 8. 5C-Colby Copeland [4]; 9. 2X-Chase Majdic [8]; 10. 53-Jessie Attard [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 26-Billy Aton [4]; 3. 121-Justin Sanders [7]; 4. 92-Andy Forsberg [6]; 5. 44W-Austen Wheatley [2]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [10]; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 8. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [5]; 9. 21-Michael Ing [8]; 10. 93-Stephan Ingraham [9]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding [2]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 6. 26-Billy Aton [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [1][-]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [5][-]; 3. 5C-Colby Copeland [2][-]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [6][-]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$300]; 6. 2X-Chase Majdic [7][$250]; 7. 7Y-Geoff Ensign [4][$225]; 8. 7-Jason Sides [9][$200]; 9. 21-Michael Ing [8][$200]; 10. 53-Jessie Attard [12][$200]; 11. 93-Stephan Ingraham [10][$200]; 12. 29-Willie Croft [11][$200]