Brad Sweet is in rarified air as he recently became only the third driver in the storied history of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series to capture five consecutive championships.
Sweet’s title run from 2019 through ’23 puts him on a list that includes only Steve Kinser, who accomplished five in a row twice (1983-’88 and 1990-’94), and Donny Schatz (2014-’18).
“It’s kind of surreal, kind of an amazing thing,” Sweet said. “I always watched Steve Kinser and I watched Donny Schatz. To think I’m in that same category as the guy who’s been on top of the sport for five years, time moves fast and it’s hard to enjoy the moment or understand the achievement of the moment. I try to enjoy it a little more each year.
“They are very stressful. It’s high intensity to run at this level for this long. I think it’s amazing to me to look back and think that NAPA 49 car is a car that will be looked back on in the future as one of the best cars or most famous cars or most recognizable cars because of the achievement the race team and I have been able to accomplish.”
How Sweet has been on top of the sport each of the last five years stands out as well. His first championship was by only four points — the closest finish in World of Outlaws history. In fact, all five championships are within the 10 closest points battles, including four of the top eight.
“I think the biggest thing is now I’ve done it five in a row, hopefully people will recognize we’ve been able to be so clutch for so many times,” he said. “We haven’t really dominated like Donny Schatz or Steve Kinser, but when we’ve needed to step up or be clutch our team was able to rise to the occasion.
“It’s stressful and weighs on you. I think there was one year I was able to go to World Finals with it wrapped up. That was so much more relaxing. The competition has been great. It’s been an amazing battle with David Gravel, Donny Schatz and others who have been right there.”
Sweet credits his 2018 Knoxville Nationals victory as the catalyst that helped catapult him into another level as a professional sprint car driver. The next year he led the series with 16 triumphs to halt Schatz’s streak of five straight championships in a title fight that was decided by only a couple of positions on the track throughout a grueling schedule of 70-plus races.
“The hardest one was definitely the first one,” he said. “It was so stressful and right down to the wire. It wasn’t even enjoyable. I thought I’d feel this sense of enjoyment or excitement, but it wasn’t. It was more of a sense of relief. I remember we’d just watched Donny win five championships. I was like, ‘I’m just not going to lose. I’m going to figure this out.’
“It was super intense all year. The team gains confidence and experience and in everything it takes to be a champion. That first one was big. Honestly, I think what propelled me was winning the 2018 Knoxville Nationals, just figuring how to dig deeper in myself. It’s one thing to do it for one week or one race. It’s another thing to do it for a whole season.”
Sweet used eight wins (second most in the series) to claim the 2020 title by 46 points. A series-best 16 victories in 2021 guided him to his biggest margin of victory — 80 points. The 2022 campaign was a grueling one as Sweet ranked fourth in series wins with five, but he led the series in top-five finishes to top the standings by 48 points. This year, his 11 trips into victory lane was the second most as he outlasted Gravel for the championship for the third straight year, this time by 60 points.
“To run at the highest of the high level I think you have to be smart and really think through your decision-making,” Sweet stated. “Every night you have to bring it. If the best position you can get with your car that night is fifth, it’s not overdriving it, learning how to get your car to pass in other places other guys can’t. I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
The championships have been accompanied by strong results during the crown jewel events the last few years. Sweet has produced a top-10 outing in each of the last four Knoxville Nationals. He won the Kings Royal in 2019 to give him two triumphs during the event, which he first captured in 2013. Sweet produced a career-best runner-up result during the Gold Cup Race of Champions in 2019. His top Williams Grove National Open result is a third-place outing.
This year, Sweet charged from 22nd to seventh during the $250,000-to-win BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals – the biggest payout to a feature winner in World of Outlaws history – and followed the next month by placing third during the Eldora Million, which offered the biggest payout to a feature winner in sprint car history.