PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. — Throwing the top Sprint Car drivers in the world on bullrings never fails to thrill, and The Greatest Show on Dirt has a pair of the best quarter miles on deck.
First up is Indiana’s Lincoln Park Speedway on Friday, Oct. 16, for the Cushion Capital Clash.
As the event name suggests, the “Hoosier State” track is known for a gnarly curb that the drivers must be willing to plant their right rear tires on to win. It’s made heroes and claimed victims and always entertains fans.
Then it’s over to the “Land of Lincoln” for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ debut at Belle-Clair Fairgrounds Park Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The quarter-mile is set to become the 12th Illinois track visited by the tour. Racing was brought back to the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds earlier this year when the oval opened and has already delivered excellent action. Expect Saturday to be no different.
HOME OF THE HOOSIERS
A pair of World of Outlaws competitors are ready for a home game Friday as the tour returns to the “Hoosier State.”
Indiana’s Emerson Axsom is more than familiar with Lincoln Park Speedway. His days of driving without wings brought him to Putnamville, Ind., often. He topped a USAC Regional Midget race in 2020 and a local non-winged event in 2022.
Two years later, Axsom claimed a USAC National Midget visit before winning with wings when the Interstate Racing Association came to town and brought a huge field of 55 cars. The latter came with his current Klaasmeyer/Petry Motorsports team. The one other Indiana stop in 2026 resulted in a podium for Axsom in April at Tri-State Speedway.
The 22-year-old has been on a roll since the Knoxville Nationals with 16 top 10s in 20 races.
Lebanon’s Spencer Bayston doesn’t have quite as many Lincoln Park laps as Axsom, but he’s been fast whenever he visits the five-sixteenths-mile. He’s made four trips with the USAC National Midgets and never finished worse than ninth. The highlight of those was a 2017 runner-up during his title campaign with the tour. The 26-year-old also made one non-winged sprint car appearance at Lincoln Park in 2015.
Axsom and Bayston head to home turf locked in a points battle. The rookie campaign for Axsom has been solid as he sits ninth in points, 18 markers ahead of Bayston and the Stenhouse Jr./Marshall team.
BIG DADDY’S DOMAIN
Another driver with this weekend circled is Chris Windom.
His non-winged career led him to Lincoln Park often. Windom’s résumé features far more laps at the bullring than most of his fellow World of Outlaws drivers. He was a winner there in 2017 and also bagged a 2020 USAC National Midget trophy.
Then on Saturday the scene shifts to a rare chance for Windom to race in his home state. The Canton, Ill., native had one other opportunity earlier this year when he finished 15th at Jacksonville Speedway. Saturday will be Windom’s first trip to the new Belle-Clair Speedway, but he did get laps at the former fifth-mile with the USAC Midgets in 2014.
Windom’s sophomore season with Sides Motorsports has been solid to this point with his first win at I-55 in August and more top fives (six) and top 10s (23) than his rookie campaign with seven races still to go.
ROLLIN’ FROM OHIO
All the momentum entering the two races ahead belongs to Sheldon Haudenschild thanks to a special visit home.
After a seventh opened his weekend at Millstream, Haudenschild went to win the final two rounds of the NOS Energy Drink Buckeye Brawl at Mansfield Speedway and Sharon Speedway. The latter required a charge from 10th, which equaled the farthest back a winner has come from this season. The pair of scores moved the Wooster, Ohio, native’s 2026 victory tally up to 11. That’s already a career best, and he’s got seven more races to add to it.
Haudenschild made his debut at Lincoln Park a year ago, finishing 18th after a crash in 1ualifying got the night started on the wrong foot. He’ll get his first look at Belle-Clair on Saturday.
In addition to racking up checkered flags, Haudenschild’s consistency has him sitting third in the standings.
CUSHION CONQUERERS
The last two trips to Lincoln Park have belonged to the two series champions on tour, Donny Schatz and David Gravel.
Schatz’s score came in 2016 when the World of Outlaws returned after 28-year absence. The Fargo, N.D., native came out on top of a fierce battle with Gravel and Kyle Larson on his path to the eighth of his now 10 series titles. Schatz finished eighth at Lincoln Park last year. He’s currently riding the momentum of four top fives in the last seven races with CJB Motorsports, including a trio of podiums.
Gravel went to victory lane a year ago when the tour came back for the first time since Schatz’s glory. He bested Buddy Kofoid after a late race duel led to final lap contact coming to the checkered flag. Gravel and Big Game Motorsports appear poised for a third consecutive championship with a 148-point advantage over Kofoid. They’ve reeled off five straight finishes of fourth or better over the last two weeks.
TIME IS TICKING
The calendar is running low on races for the 2026 campaign to reach a record of parity. This season has already produced 23 different World of Outlaws winners. The most in one year is 25 in 2004.
Two names immediately stand out that could help push the season’s tally to a record-tying amount. Bill Balog is the first as he’s been beating on the door of a victory in recent weeks. He started on the pole at Stockton Dirt Track before finishing fifth, bagged a Ventura podium, and was hit with heartbreak while leading the National Open at Williams Grove when a mechanical issue slowed the No. 17b.
The “North Pole Nightmare” topped a trio of races last season and could pick one off before 2026 concludes. He’s led 77 feature laps this season, which is the seventh most.
The next is Cole Macedo as he continues to chase his first World of Outlaws win. He’s watched six drivers do so this year and is hungry to add his name to the list. The closest he’s come in 2026 is a pair of podiums in the TwoC Racing No. 2c.
Another candidate that may fly a bit under the radar is Rising Sun, Md., native Steven Snyder Jr. He’s impressed after taking over driving duties of the Three Stooges Racing No. 51 to the tune of an El Paso County Raceway runner-up and leading laps in a pair of races (Huset’s Speedway and Ventura Raceway) last month.
