Search
Close this search box.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Eldora’s Seven-Race World of Outlaws Slate Begins with #LetsRaceTwo

Eldora_Day_ByTGP
Exciting Doubleheader Brings World of Outlaws and USAC Sprint Cars to Same Stage

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars visit Eldora Speedway this weekend for the first of seven races in 2022 at the Rossburg, OH 1/2-mile, as the Tony Stewart owned facility extends its record as the most-visited track in Series history.

For fans who make the trip to The House That Earl Built, you’ll not only see The Greatest Show on Dirt but the USAC Non-Wing Sprint Cars as well in the popular #LetsRaceTwo doubleheader. For those unable to attend, you can watch every lap of World of Outlaws action on DIRTVision.com.

BUY TICKETS HERE (Fri-Sat)

Here’s what to watch for this weekend:

CLOSING THE GAP: Last weekend’s Bristol Bash offered plenty of change atop the early-season standings. Three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet has been nearly invincible aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49, recording 15 consecutive top-10 finishes before finally faltering with a 13th-place finish at the Tennessee 1/2-mile.

Sweet’s struggles allowed his closest challengers in Carson Macedo (-20 PTS) and David Gravel (-30 PTS) to close the gap in the battle for the $200,000-to-win championship. Both Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing #41) and Gravel (Big Game Motorsports #2) own several wins compared to Sweet’s one in 2022, but consistency has ultimately decided things to this point.

All three drivers are multi-time winners at Eldora Speedway with Macedo’s success being most recent thanks to a pair of victories last July. Gravel is a three-time winner at the track with a $52,000 Governors Reign in 2020, but his last World of Outlaws win was back in 2016. Sweet has topped races in USAC Midgets, USAC Sprint Cars, and World of Outlaws at the 1/2-mile with his last score coming at the 2019 Kings Royal.

HAUD’S HOME: Sheldon Haudenschild of Wooster, OH returns home for the first of 12 appearances in The Buckeye State this year. The 28-year-old son of “The Wild Child” Jac Haudenschild has claimed two of his 24 career World of Outlaws wins in his home state with his first-ever Eldora Speedway victory coming last year when he rode the wall to beat Donny Schatz in the closing laps.

The pilot of the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 currently sits fourth in the standings (-68 PTS), but remains winless since topping two of the first four races in 2022. He was a top-five finisher in both Kings Royal finales last July and led during both #LetsRaceTwo Features last May, continuing to solidify his status as a consistent contender at the 1/2-mile.

TURNING THE TIDE: The five races within the last month have offered a complete change of scenery for Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing. The DuraMAX, Drydene #1S started 2022 on a sour note with only two top-five runs in the opening 12 races for an average finish of 10.6. The team unloaded at Lake Ozark Speedway in early April, and things haven’t been the same since.

The Hanover, PA native rides a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes with a 4th at Lake Ozark, a 2nd at I-55 (near-win), a career-best 5th at Tri-State, 1st win of the season, and then a 3rd at Bristol. He’s back in the top-five of the championship standings (-102 PTS) and heads to Eldora this weekend, where he’s won on three occasions including the most recent race last September.

ROOKIE STRIPES: It wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when” would Spencer Bayston and CJB Motorsports break into victory lane this season, and it finally happened on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 23-year-old Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender split the difference between Kyle Larson and the wall at a daunting 130+ MPH pace to score an exhilarating $25,000 payday at the biggest track on tour.

Bayston with Barry Jackson on the wrenches continues to prove the Signing Day Sports #5 is one of the fastest cars on tour with a Series-best eight consecutive top-10 finishes driving them up to sixth in the standings. The Lebanon, IN native returns to Eldora this weekend, a track he’s won at before in USAC Midget competition and where he ran seventh last year at Kings Royal in the Sam McGhee #11.

LET’S WIN AGAIN: Another three former #LetsRaceTwo winners are expected to chase another May victory at Eldora Speedway this weekend. Leading the charge in that group is 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who has earned 17 of his 303 World of Outlaws wins at the track owned by his boss, Tony Stewart. The Fargo, ND native has particularly dominated #LetsRaceTwo with eight total May victories and multiple weekend sweeps.

Brent Marks of Myerstown, PA is one of the defending #LetsRaceTwo winners, returning to his #19 last May and scoring the first of three World of Outlaws wins in 2021. He’s already won once this year at Devil’s Bowl last year and looks for his fourth Eldora triumph this weekend.

For Kerry Madsen, the Australian has claimed six of his 28 career World of Outlaws wins at Eldora, including a #LetsRaceTwo weekend sweep in 2016. He’s piloting the Roth Motorsports #83JR on a partial schedule this year as a teammate to full-time competitor James McFadden.

A KING’S RETURN: With an off-weekend for the All Star Circuit of Champions, King Tyler XXXVIII will return to competition with the World of Outlaws at arguably his best track. Last year alone, Tyler Courtney won at Eldora in every car he competed with including Silver Crown, Non-Wing Sprint Car, Midget, and Winged Sprint Car, highlighted by his $175,000 triumph at the 38th Kings Royal.

Sunshine has made seven appearances with the Series in 2022 with three top-10 finishes and a best of fourth in Kevin Kozlowski’s #57 in California. He’s already won three All Star events this year and leads that championship in pursuit of back-to-back titles aboard the Clauson-Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #7BC.

FIRST OF MANY: #LetsRaceTwo is the first of three separate trips and the first of seven total races at Eldora for the World of Outlaws in 2022. With 225 Features in the past and plenty more to come, teams will look to use previous notes and experience to master the famed oval.

Beyond May’s #LetsRaceTwo doubleheader, the Series will return to Eldora in July for four of the biggest nights in racing with the Jokers Wild (Wed, July 13), the $100,000-to-win Historical Big One (Thur, July 14), The Knight Before (Fri, July 15), and the $175,000-to-win Kings Royal XXXIX (Sat, July 16). The seventh and final trip comes on Fri, September 23 with the BeFour the Crowns Showdown during 4-Crown Nationals weekend.

Entering this weekend, Eldora has seen 49 different World of Outlaws winners with Steve Kinser (41 wins), Sammy Swindell (30 wins), Donny Schatz (17 wins), Doug Wolfgang (15 wins), Joey Saldana (13 wins), Dave Blaney (10 wins), and Jac Haudenschild (9 wins) leading the way.

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE

Friday-Saturday, May 6-7 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH

On the Internet
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (17/80 Nights):
1. 49-Brad Sweet (2,370 PTS); 2. 41-Carson Macedo (-20 PTS); 3. 2-David Gravel (-30 PTS); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-68 PTS); 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-102 PTS); 6. 5-Spencer Bayston (-140 PTS); 7. 15-Donny Schatz (-142 PTS); 8. 83-James McFadden (-152 PTS); 9. 1A-Jacob Allen (-224 PTS); 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (-292 PTS).

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (11 Drivers):
4 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41
2 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2
2 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17
2 wins – Giovanni Scelzi, KCP Racing #18
1 win – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing #49
1 win – Logan Schuchart, Shark Racing #1S
1 win – Spencer Bayston, CJB Motorsports #5
1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
1 win – Jacob Allen, Shark Racing #1A
1 win – Brent Marks, Murray-Marks Motorsports #19
1 win – Kyle Larson, Kevin Kozlowski #57

FEATURE LAPS LED (19 Drivers):
82 laps – Carson Macedo
81 laps – Brad Sweet
71 laps – David Gravel
55 laps – Giovanni Scelzi
49 laps – Spencer Bayston
27 laps – Brent Marks
26 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
25 laps – Donny Schatz
24 laps – Logan Schuchart
23 laps – Spencer Bayston
21 laps – Brady Bacon
17 laps – Kyle Larson
13 laps – Cory Eliason
10 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
9 laps – Dominic Scelzi, Brady Bacon
8 laps – James McFadden
3 laps – Brian Brown
1 lap – Corey Day, Aaron Reutzel

SLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (12 Drivers):
3 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo
2 QuickTimes – David Gravel, Jacob Allen, Rico Abreu
1 QuickTime – Brad Sweet, Logan Schuchart, Spencer Bayston, James McFadden, Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Giovanni Scelzi*
* Denotes New Track Record

HEAT RACE WINNERS (20 Drivers):
7 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen
6 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, David Gravel
5 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo, James McFadden
4 Heat Wins – Giovanni Scelzi
3 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, Rico Abreu, Aaron Reutzel
2 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Spencer Bayston, Brock Zearfoss, Kraig Kinser, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Kerry Madsen
1 Heat Win – Donny Schatz, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Dominic Scelzi, Corey Day

DIRTVISION FAST PASS DASH APPEARANCES (28 Drivers):
11 Dashes – Brad Sweet, David Gravel, Jacob Allen
10 Dashes – Spencer Bayston
9 Dashes – Carson Macedo
6 Dashes – Logan Schuchart, James McFadden
5 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, Kraig Kinser, Cory Eliason
4 Dashes – Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi, Aaron Reutzel
3 Dashes – Tyler Courtney, Kyle Larson, Kerry Madsen
2 Dashes – Brock Zearfoss, Dominic Scelzi, Corey Day, Brent Marks
1 Dash – Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Colby Copeland, Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto, Brian Brown, Brady Bacon

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (9 Drivers):
3 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild
2 LCS Wins – Logan Schuchart, Ayrton Gennetten
1 LCS Win – James McFadden, Spencer Bayston, Anthony Macri, Mitchell Faccinto, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Kerry Madsen

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (8 Drivers):
4 Hard Chargers – Logan Schuchart
3 Hard Chargers – Sheldon Haudenschild
2 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo, James McFadden,
1 Hard Chargers – David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Brock Zearfoss, Jason Sides, Rico Abreu, Tanner Thorson

PODIUM FINISHES (18 Drivers):
8 Podiums – Brad Sweet
6 Podiums – David Gravel
5 Podiums – Carson Macedo
4 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild, Kyle Larson
3 Podiums – Logan Schuchart, Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi
2 Podiums – Spencer Bayston, James McFadden, Aaron Reutzel, Corey Day, Brent Marks
1 Podium – Jacob Allen, Kraig Kinser, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brian Brown

TOP 10 FINISHES (30 Drivers):
15 Top 10s – Brad Sweet
14 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, David Gravel
13 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild
12 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart
11 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston, Donny Schatz
10 Top 10s – Giovanni Scelzi
9 Top 10s – James McFadden
8 Top 10s – Jacob Allen
7 Top 10s – Rico Abreu, Cory Eliason
5 Top 10s – Kyle Larson
4 Top 10s – Brock Zearfoss, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney
3 Top 10s – Brent Marks, Kerry Madsen
2 Top 10s – Anthony Macri, Dominic Scelzi, Corey Day, Sam Hefertepe Jr.
1 Top 10 – Kraig Kinser, Justin Peck, Shane Golobic, DJ Netto, Brian Brown, Hunter Schuerenberg, Carson Short, Tanner Thorson

2022 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Thur, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1)
2. Fri, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
3. Sat, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
4. Fri, March 4 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)
5. Sat, March 5 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Carson Macedo (1)
6. Fri, March 11 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (1)
7. Sat, March 12 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Kyle Larson (1)
8. Fri, March 18 / Merced Speedway / Merced, CA / Carson Macedo (2)
9. Fri, March 25 / Bakersfield Speedway / Bakersfield, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (2)
10. Sat, March 26 / Perris Auto Speedway / Perris, CA / David Gravel (2)
11. Tues, March 29 / Vado Speedway Park / Vado, NM / Brad Sweet (1)
12. Sat, April 2 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brent Marks (1)
13. Sat, April 9 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Jacob Allen (1)
14. Fri, April 15 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (3)
15. Sat, April 23 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Carson Macedo (4)
16. Fri, April 29 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / Logan Schuchart (1)
17. Sat, April 30 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN / Spencer Bayston (1)

Which Schedule Would You like to Print?

2022_CASE_LMS_LOGO.png

Which Schedule Would You like to Add to Your Calendar

2022_CASE_LMS_LOGO