NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Who doesn’t love a mid-summer trip to the lake? That’s exactly what the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has in mind this week.
Cedar Lake Speedway is this week’s destination for The Greatest Show on Dirt. The three-eighths-mile dirt track brings the tour to town for a full weekend of action on June 27-28. As has become tradition, the final night of the Independence Spectacular will feature a huge fireworks show before the main event goes green.
Cedar Lake is set to extend its record as the most visited “Badger State” track since Ted Johnson unleashed his band of travelers in 1978. The World of Outlaws have made 53 trips to Cedar Lake, which also slots them 17th overall on the complete list of tracks that the series has visited.
THE POINTS
Last week was all about chasing huge money at Huset’s with no concern of the standings as each night was show-up points. But the chase for the championship is set to resume this weekend with battles for many spots.
David Gravel maintains a healthy advantage at the top thanks to his and Big Game Motorsports’ unwavering consistency. They’ve missed the top 10 only once in 2025. Behind him, he’s got Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Roth Motorsports trailing by 176 markers.
Things tighten up a bit behind the top two. Positions three through five are separated by 88 points. Carson Macedo leads the way with Logan Schuchart next and Sheldon Haudenschild rounding out the top five.
The fight for sixth is the closest as Donny Schatz leads Giovanni Scelzi by six markers. A little way behind them, leading Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender, Chris Windom, has closed on Bill Balog for eighth. Windom is 36 points back of Balog while Garet Williamson sits 10th, looking to catch Windom for top rookie honors.
THE BANKER
Anyone driving behind the Roth Motorsports hauler on the way to Cedar Lake might be able to grab some excess dollar bills flying out.
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid is riding high with the momentum of a historic week at Huset’s Speedway. The Penngrove, Calif., native took the Roth No. 83 to a $100,000 win last Thursday at the Huset’s Hustle before following that up with a $250,000 payday in the BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards finale Saturday. Kofoid became only the third driver in sprint car history to bank a pair of six-figure paydays in one week. He’s collected more than $550,000 in 2025, which is more than double the sport’s second-highest earner.
Kofoid and company will see if they can continue their momentum into this weekend now that points are back on the table. Kofoid’s Cedar Lake experience is limited, but he’s improved with each visit. His 2023 debut resulted in a 22nd-place finish before finishing 19th the next night. Last year, Kofoid climbed all the way to sixth.
WISCONSIN PROUD
Kofoid wasn’t the only driver that was strong from start to finish at Huset’s.
Bill Balog pieced together perhaps his best week since becoming a full-timer with The Greatest Show on Dirt. It began with a seventh on Wednesday before leading laps and a $25,000 runner-up Thursday. Then, the “North Pole Nightmare” won Friday’s Huset’s Hustle prelim for $20,000. He led the first 16 laps of Saturday’s finale and came home second to add another $50,000 to his bank account. Overall, he closed out the week with three consecutive finishes of second or better and tallied nearly $100,000.
Now it’s a trip home for Balog and his team. The Hartland, Wis., resident has many Cedar Lake laps under his belt. Five of his more than 100 Interstate Racing Association wins came at the New Richmond track.
LOVING THE LAKE
Of the 2025 cast of World of Outlaws competitors, none have been more successful at Cedar Lake than 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz.
Five times Schatz has visited Cedar Lake victory lane, and they’ve all come since joining the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team. His first was in 2008, and he’s followed that up with scores in 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2016. While his five ranks as the most among the current full-timers, Schatz sits third overall behind Sammy Swindell and Brad Sweet’s record tally of seven. He’s been plenty consistent, too, with 14 podiums in 38 Cedar Lake appearances, a 37-percent clip.
Schatz is still in search of his first victory of the year. The Fargo, ND driver has been on the podium three times in 2025 and is looking to equal Steve Kinser’s record by winning a World of Outlaws race in 28 straight seasons. His Cedar Lake results suggest he’ll have a chance this weekend.
OTHER WINNERS
A few other World of Outlaws drivers have had visits to Cedar Lake result in wins.
Logan Schuchart got the first Series victory of his career at Cedar Lake nine years ago. That was the first of many for the veteran in his 12th year on tour that’s up to 44 career checkered flags. He got another with the Shark Racing team last year and could become the eighth driver with at least three this weekend.
Sheldon Haudenschild wheeled from eighth to the win in 2019. The driver of the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 17 hasn’t finished worse than ninth in his last 14 trips to the three-eighths-mile.
David Gravel finally broke through for an elusive Cedar Lake triumph two seasons ago. After seven second-place finishes, Gravel took the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 to victory lane. He’s been in the top five in 16 of his 23 tries at Cedar Lake.
