READY TO CLIMB
By the end of the 2021 season, several drivers had showcased the potential for growth and the strength to make a run at Sweet for the championship.
Atop that list is 10-time champion Donny Schatz. While he won only three WoO features last year — albeit one being his 300th career win — the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver was one of the most consistent drivers during the second half of the season, collecting 25 top-five finishes in the final 32 races. He also collected the most points in the final 40 races.
With the Ford 410 sprint car engine program stabilized and TSR downsizing to focus solely on Schatz‘s No. 15 car, the veteran driver — less than 50 races from 2,000 series starts — is optimistic his team can return to its championship form.
“We‘ve got things to where we can be consistent. We can pass cars. We can get qualified well. All the things we need to produce top-threes, top-five finishes,” Schatz said. “We only won three races in 2021, so I think that‘s something everyone is really pushing the envelope on. We‘re changing some things around structurally. I think running one car with what we have going on will be a plus for us throughout the season, especially with what we have going on with the engine stuff.”
David Gravel, Carson Macedo and Logan Schuchart ended the year strong with late-season victories that propelled them into the new season. Gravel was Sweet‘s closest competitor throughout the year, concluding the season second in points with 11 wins.
Going into this season, he and 2021 Crew Chief of the Year Cody Jacobs will have the benefit of a notebook that was nonexistent last year as it was Gravel‘s first year with Big Game Motorsports.
Last year was also Macedo‘s first full-time year with Jason Johnson Racing — co-owned by team crew chief Philip Dietz, his wife Brooke and Bobbi Johnson. The combination resulted in a career year for the Lemoore, Calif., driver. Before 2021, Macedo had collected six wins. During the season, he earned 11 World of Outlaws triumphs, including a surprise National Open victory at Williams Grove. He also earned the most top-10 finishes of any driver in the series (65 in 77 races).
Schuchart‘s season didn‘t go as planned, finishing fifth in points, after a near championship run in 2020. However, with a win at Eldora Speedway and Devil‘s Bowl Speedway during the final couple months of the season, and strong performances at World Finals before bad luck struck, the Hanover, Pa. driver and his Shark Racing team looked to be back to their 2020 caliber.
Among those who could see a breakout season are Ohio‘s Sheldon Haudenschild and Pennsylvania‘s Brock Zearfoss. Haudenschild had a solid 2021, picking up eight wins, including another Ironman trophy.
However, he and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team struggled to find consistency in the final 15 races of the season, finishing outside the top 10 in more than half of those races. When they find a rhythm, though, Haudenschild is a threat to win almost every race.
Zearfoss‘s rookie season was met with highs and lows, having to sit out a handful of races due to a concussion but also found enough momentum to string together several top-10s at the end of the year.
Among them included his second-place finish in the final race of the season. He‘ll return for another season behind the wheel of his own No. 3z machine, hoping to ride the momentum of his late-season charge.
Veterans Kraig Kinser, Jacob Allen and Jason Sides will also be regular contenders during the 10-month grind.
Whether watching from the track or through DIRTVision, the storylines that piece together the 2022 season are the result of Johnson‘s vision being taken to the next level.
The best drivers on the same track on the same night.