MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car and Pennsylvania Posse rivalry has given us so many memorable moments.
And it delivered another gem on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway.
T.J. Stutts lined up on the front row alongside the hottest driver in the sport — David Gravel. Stutts has been driving sprint cars for more than two decades in the “Keystone State” and picked up a handful of wins. But he’d never topped The Greatest Show on Dirt.
Could he really give Gravel a run for his money? Absolutely he could.
Stutts ripped around Gravel on the initial start and had to earn every bit of a trip to victory lane. Gravel threw everything he had at him, but Stutts was up for the challenge. He aced multiple restarts. He didn’t back down when Gravel slid him in the closing laps and crossed over to take the lead back. He never stumbled in lapped traffic. And he drove the Stutts Racing No. 11 to one of the biggest upsets in World of Outlaws history for a $17,000 payday.
An explosion of emotion erupted in victory lane. Stutts’ team welcomed him with shouts and slaps on the panels of his machine. Once he climbed out, the hugs were long and abundant in number. Chants of “T-J” roared from the stands.
Stutts had done it. He’d topped the Outlaws on the hallowed ground of Williams Grove and held off perhaps the fastest car in the country to do it.
“We beat the damn Outlaws,” a thrilled Stutts said. “And not just any Outlaw, but David Gravel. There’s about five Outlaws that are in that league, and we just got to drive with one of them and beat him. You’ve got to understand. We just go to work every day. This is our version of golf.
“If this was the PGA, they wouldn’t even let us play with them. I don’t even know what to say. This is beyond words.”
Stutts became the 153rd different winner in World of Outlaws history by grabbing his first checkered flag in his 56th career feature start. He’s the 54th different driver to top a Series race at Williams Grove through 235 visits.
When the green flag waved, Stutts set the tone for the 25-lapper. Despite Gravel having the pole position, Stutts didn’t back down and blasted around the outside of the Big Game Motorsports machine to lead the opening lap.
Gravel stayed within striking distance as the opening laps unfolded. Stutts opted for the low line in turns one and two while Gravel hammered the cushion and got a run each time they exited the corner. But he couldn’t quite get the run he needed to make a move.
Right when the lead duo was poised to enter lapped traffic, the yellow flag flew for the first time as Justin Whittall went around in turn three.
Stutts aced a pair of restarts to maintain the lead while Gravel continued to hunt for a route around him. The race cleared the halfway point, and Gravel tripped on the cushion allowing Stutts some breathing room with only 10 laps to go. But Gravel wasn’t done.
The gap between the two shrank, and Gravel pulled right back up to the tail tank of Stutts in the closing circuits. On lap 20, Gravel found his opening. Gravel used a big run down the back straightaway to fire a slider at Stutts and clear him in turns three and four.
But Stutts didn’t blink. He promptly turned down the banking and completed a crossover to quickly reclaim the lead.
Stutts and Gravel then faced traffic, but with a car he could move wherever he needed, the lapped cars played to Stutts’ favor.
“Honestly the lapped cars just fell right,” Stutts said. “The longer we went we just kept getting better and better, and we could move off that curb. I think being able to run (turns) three and four like we did the last couple laps was the only reason we were able to beat him.”
The laps dwindled, and Stutts’ advantage grew as he smoothly worked the bottom around the historic half mile. The 44-year-old cruised to the checkered flag and put his name in the history books. He’s forever a World of Outlaws winner, and he made the Posse proud.
“Well, I gave Justin (Loh) and some of the Grove people a little bit of crap the other week,” Stutts said. “I said, ‘What’s the point in us racing every week here?’ And, Justin, this is your answer. We get to stand with the World of Outlaws, and we get to drive by them.”
Gravel brought the Huset’s Speedway No. 2 home second as he missed his 100th World of Outlaws feature victory by one spot for the second straight race.
“I probably should’ve maybe slid more aggressive across and got to the cushion a little faster,” Gravel explained. “Man, the lapped cars were running the top there, and that really slowed me up those last five laps. T.J. was really, really good those last three or four laps and could really maneuver around. It seemed like as the fuel load came off, I just got a little bit up in the left rear and had to rely on the top really bad. I tried to get some more wing back, but then it was harder and harder to run the cushion, and I think that’s where T.J. got us. He didn’t have to rely on the cushion.”
Rounding out the podium was Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing team.
“It definitely builds some confidence,” Macedo said. “I feel like we were pretty good. I think that ultimately just starting on the front row tonight probably would’ve helped. It’s crazy at the Grove how much air makes a difference. You get close to somebody, and it just totally changes the way you feel in the car. Hats off to Philip Dietz. He turned this thing around. We were struggling a little bit at BAPS, and he came in here and gave me a great race car all night. And I feel like Robby McQuinn and Adam Zimmerman worked really hard, too.”
Anthony Macri and Freddie Rahmer completed the top five to give the Posse three of the first five finishers.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 11-TJ Stutts[2]; 2. 2-David Gravel[1]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[6]; 5. 8R-Freddie Rahmer[4]; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 7. 27-Troy Wagaman Jr[7]; 8. 19-Brent Marks[14]; 9. 13-Justin Peck[9]; 10. 48-Danny Dietrich[12]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen[8]; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[17]; 14. 5-Spencer Bayston[20]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart[18]; 17. 8-Cory Eliason[22]; 18. 2D-Chase Dietz[16]; 19. 83-Michael Kofoid[23]; 20. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[21]; 21. 67-Justin Whittall[10]; 22. 35-Austin Bishop[26]; 23. 6-Kelby Watt[19]; 24. 7S-Landon Crawley[25]; 25. 70-Kraig Kinser[24]; 26. 69K-Daryn Pittman[13]