ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — Another chapter of sprint car racing’s most historic rivalry writes its final page this weekend.
Lincoln Speedway is set to host the last round of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars battling the Pennsylvania Posse for 2024. The oval nestled in the Pigeon Hills welcomes the two sides this Saturday, Oct. 12 for a $20,000-to-win punctuation to the year’s Pa. slate.
The Greatest Show on Dirt has made 53 trips to Lincoln (tied for 16th-most visited), but this weekend’s bout will be the first in the month of October.
One last opportunity for bragging rights awaits the World of Outlaws and PA Posse on Saturday. It’s a chance to get the last laugh for the year before the rivalry is rekindled in 2025. Both sides are ready for one last battle.
Let’s look at Saturday’s top storylines:
THE SCOREBOARD
One race may remain, but the World of Outlaws have already secured bragging rights for the year.
Six battles between the two have taken place so far in 2024. The travelers of the World of Outlaws have claimed four. David Gravel kicked things off with a victory at this weekend’s venue – Lincoln – on May 8, giving Big Game Motorsports 100 Series wins. He also topped Williams Grove’s Summer Nationals in July to give himself 100 series wins. Then this past weekend Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Carson Macedo split Williams Grove glory to make it a sweep for California Outlaws.
The Posse’s one night of bragging rights came in July when T.J. Stutts pulled off an all-time upset at Williams Grove to give Pennsylvania possession of the Morgan Cup. Then the one other contest saw James McFadden invade BAPS Motor Speedway in the summer and steal the spotlight.
Of the last 10 World of Outlaws races at Lincoln, six have went to the World of Outlaws, a trio to the PA Posse and one to an invader.
NOT GOING QUIETLY
National Open weekend started off looking like it might put the nail in the coffin for Carson Macedo, but he refuses to go quietly in the 2024 championship battle.
The Lemoore, Calif. native lined up 25th in the prelim feature after using a provisional while point leader David Gravel lined up 19 spots ahead in six. By the time the checkered flag waved, Macedo had moved all the way up to 12th while Gravel slipped back two positions to eighth. The next night Macedo won the National Open while Gravel finished sixth, keeping hope alive as he trimmed Gravel’s advantage to 86 markers.
Now the championship fight between the two shifts to Lincoln. Macedo took the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 to a third place finish at the three-eighths-mile oval in May when Gravel won. Macedo has conquered Lincoln twice, beating the All-Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) in 2018 and topping a 2020 local race.
LINCOLN LOVE
The current roster of World of Outlaws sure seems to enjoy trips to Abbottstown, Pa. Along with Gravel and Macedo’s prior success, every driver currently in the top seven of the Series standings has won at Lincoln at some point in time.
Donny Schatz made a trip to Lincoln Victory Lane back in 2016 in World of Outlaws competition. The Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing pilot also came close in 2013 with a runner-up.
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid holds the fourth spot in points, and two years ago the Penngrove, Calif. native invaded a local show aboard Bernie Stuebgen’s No. 71 and came out on top. He and Roth Motorsports roll to Lincoln with the momentum of five wins in the last nine races this year.
Back in their “true outlaw” days, Giovanni Scelzi and KCP Racing dropped into central Pa. in October of 2022 and walked away with a Lincoln score from a local contest. “Hot Sauce” finished second in the May World of Outlaws visit.
Wooster, OH’s Sheldon Haudenschild is one of 27 competitors to top a Lincoln World of Outlaws race but only the fourth from the “Buckeye State” alongside Rick Ferkel, Brad Doty, and Dave Blaney. Haudenschild drove the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 17 to victory in 2020.
Logan Schuchart is yet to best The Greatest Show on Dirt at Lincoln, but back before he joined the tour the Hanover, Pa. native earned a pair of local trophies in 2013. His best World of Outlaws finish at his home track is a runner-up in 2020.
While he’s not an active full-time driver, Dylan Cisney is filling in for the sidelined Bill Rose and has experienced Lincoln success. “The Mayor” picked up a pair of local triumphs in 2020 at the three-eighths-mile oval.
PA PRIDE
While the World of Outlaws may have already locked up rivalry bragging rights for 2024, that won’t stop the Posse from putting forth their best effort to go out on top in the final bout of the season.
To no surprise it’s been Anthony Macri leading the way among the locals at Lincoln in 2024. The Gettysburg, Pa. native owns five Lincoln checkered flags this year including $20,000 scores at the Weldon Sterner Memorial (April 20) and Kevin Gobrecht Memorial (Sept. 1). Last year Macri beat the World of Outlaws at Lincoln in May with a last lap, last corner pass.
Both Danny Dietrich (Gettysburg, Pa.) and Freddie Rahmer (Salfordville, Pa.) are united in being one-time winners at Lincoln this year that have also toppled the World of Outlaws there. Dietrich and Gary Kauffman Racing went back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 while Rahmer got the job done in 2018.
Back in May Troy Wagaman Jr. scored his first career World of Outlaws top 10 at Lincoln. He and the Heffner Racing team have been a potent pairing and have topped a pair of local Lincoln races this year.
York, Pa.’s Chase Dietz is fresh off bagging his first podium with The Greatest Show on Dirt during the National Open prelim. He’s won once at Lincoln this year back on April 7 and has been on the podium with a second and a third in his two most recent appearances in the Pigeon Hills.
Other Lincoln winners in 2024 expected to compete on Saturday include Matt Campbell (Fawn Grove, Pa.), Aaron Bollinger (Birds Boro, Pa.) and Tyler Ross (Lincoln University, Pa.).