CONCORD, N.C. — All Dirt Roads lead to Charlotte.
The grind of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season is almost complete. After competing at dozens of tracks in more than 20 states from coast to coast and a trip across the northern border, the best sprint car drivers in the world have converged on North Carolina.
The Dirt Track at Charlotte is set to sendoff The Greatest Show on Dirt’s 49th season of showcasing the sport’s highest level this week. Four nights of Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 4-7) action will punctuate the campaign.
The sprint cars will have the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds alongside them all three nights in a diverse display of dirt racing’s peak across three disciplines.
THREE-PEAT
David Gravel is on the verge of a historic feat with the Big Game Motorsports crew.
Only three competitors – Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet – have claimed three consecutive World of Outlaws titles through 48 years of history for the series.
Gravel can become the fourth this week thanks to another year of unflinching consistency for he and Tod Quiring’s team. They’ve collected 11 wins, 32 podiums, and 64 top 10s across 72 starts. The No. 2’s average finish this season is a stout 5.17. They’re 124 points ahead of Michael “Buddy” Kofoid entering the week.
In addition to joining the rare three-peat club, Gravel would equal Sammy Swindell for the fourth most championships with a third.
There’s little reason to doubt Gravel and the Cody Jacobs-led crew in the “Queen City.” Gravel’s eight World of Outlaws triumphs at The Dirt Track at Charlotte are the second most ever. Half of those have come since linking with Big Game. Gravel has finished fourth or better in eight of his 14 Charlotte starts in the No. 2.
KING OF THE QUEEN CITY
The only driver to rank ahead of Gravel on the Charlotte win list? That would be 10-time series champion Donny Schatz.
Schatz has been in attendance for all 70 World of Outlaws races at the four-tenths-mile and come away with 14 victories, meaning exactly 20 percent of the track’s features belong to the Fargo, ND driver. They’ve come across a 22-year span with Schatz’s first score coming in 2000 and most recent in 2022 when he topped the final two nights of the season. Only Williams Grove Speedway (21 wins), Eldora Speedway (18 wins), Knoxville Raceway (18 wins), and Volusia Speedway Park (15 wins) are responsible for more of Schatz’s 318 career checkered flags than Charlotte.
Schatz will close out his 30th consecutive campaign with The Greatest Show on Dirt this week. It’s been a solid first year with CJB Motorsports.
After no wins, 10 top 5s, and 34 top 10s last year, those numbers have risen to two wins, 19 top fives, and 41 top 10s in 2026. He’s got three nights left to add to those tallies at a track that’s been extremely kind to him over his three decades on tour.
CHARLOTTE SPEED
Gravel and Schatz won’t be the only full-time World of Outlaws drivers to watch this week. Three more members of the band of travelers have visited Charlotte victory lane.
Logan Schuchart and the Shark Racing No. 1s team have always gotten around the four-tentsh-mile well. They got their first win in 2017 and added three more since with one apiece in 2019, 2020, and 2022. His four Charlotte scores are tied with Jason Meyers for the fourth most, and a fifth this week would equal Schuchart with Joey Saldana for third.
Schuchart boasts a trio of victories this year, his 13th season with the World of Outlaws.
Carson Macedo took the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 to a World Finals victory in 2024. That’s his lone triumph, but he’s been consistent with top 10s in all but one of his 13 Charlotte starts since joining JJR. The only time he missed it was by the narrowest of margins as he finished 11th.
The Lemoore, Calif., native enters World Finals fresh off his seventh win of the season, writing a storybook ending at the Jason Johnson Classic.
Buddy Kofoid is the most recent to add his name to the list. After a pair of prior runner-up results, Kofoid finally broke through in last year’s season finale, becoming the 31st different competitor to win at Charlotte.
The 24-year-old is ready to close out a magical third season with Roth Motorsports. They’ve already racked up 17 victories in 2026, breaking a 27-year-old record for Dennis and Teresa Roth’s organization for the most in one year.
STRONG SENDOFF
Charlotte serves up one final chance for World of Outlaws teams at a strong sendoff to the season and reason for optimism entering 2027.
Sheldon Haudenschild’s 10th World of Outlaws season overall and first with KCP Racing has proven to be his best yet. He’s already set career highs in wins (11), podiums (28), top fives (42), and top 10s (58). The Wooster, Ohio, native is in line to reach a new personal best mark with a third-place finish in points. Haudenschild has never won at Charlotte, but he’s stood on the other two steps of the podium in the past.
It’s been nothing short of a sophomore surge for Garet Williamson in the Fischer Motorsports No. 23. After an average finish of 13.03 during his 2025 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year presented by Five Star Bodies run, he’s improved that number all the way to 9.38 this year and picked up his first win along the way. His best Charlotte result is eighth in 2024.
Emerson Axsom will finalize his Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year presented by Five Star Bodies run this week. He’s been on a roll throughout the second half of 2026 with 19 top 10s in the last 23 races. His top effort at Charlotte in six tries is sixth.
#ALLDIRTROADS
With Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals being one of the final opportunities to race a 410 sprint car in the United States in 2026, a stout and diverse field is expected to invade Charlotte.
The Pennsylvania Posse is sending York, PA’s Chase Dietz south, but he won’t be in his usual Stehman Motorsports ride. The winningest driver in the nation this year got the call from Chase Briscoe to jump in his No. 5 machine and join Brent Marks as a Chase Briscoe Racing teammate in Charlotte. It’ll be Dietz’s first World Finals trip since 2015.
Dietz won’t be the only Posse representation in North Carolina. Dillsburg’s Anthony Macri is venturing off the porch. Even during a year that’s been derailed by injuries twice, Macri has still managed to bag nine wins in 2026, including one this past weekend at Bridgeport. Macri’s made 13 Charlotte appearance with a best run of ninth on two occasions.
It’s a home game for Spire Motorsports, so Gio Scelzi will punctuate his first season with the team at World Finals. The No. 77 rides the momentum of three straight wins, one at Lakeside Speedway and a pair at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
“Hot Sauce” is a former Charlotte winner, topping a 2019 race in Bernie Steugben’s Indy Race Parts No. 71.
These competitors are expected to be joined by dozens more including Tanner Holmes, Brock Zearfoss and Tyler Courtney.
