STOCKTON, Calif. — A five-race swing through the “Golden State” begins with a bang this weekend for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.
All eyes are on Stockton Dirt Track as the Central Valley bullring will host the Dennis Roth Classic for the first time on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 18-19. The finale will serve up a huge $83,000 payday to the winner as a nod to Dennis and Teresa Roth’s iconic No. 83 Sprint Car.
Roth Motorsports was born in California and has been a force along the West Coast and across the country for nearly four decades. This weekend is all about saluting a car owner entirely dedicated to sprint car racing.
$83K FOR NO. 83?
Plenty of eyes will be on Michael “Buddy” Kofoid as he goes for what would be a special victory with his Roth Motorsports crew.
Through five runnings of the event, Dennis and Teresa’s team is yet to see their famed No. 83 roll into victory lane. The Penngrove, Calif., native came close with a runner-up in 2024 and a third-place result last year.
The stats favor him as the lucrative event shifts to Stockton. Kofoid’s last two trips to the bullring have resulted in wins: a Northern Auto Racing Club race in 2023 and the World of Outlaws visit in 2024.
It also doesn’t hurt that Kofoid enters the weekend as the hottest driver on tour. The Dylan Buswell-led Roth team has won four of the last six races and been on the podium in the other two, leading to a 1.5 average finish over that span. Kofoid has also trimmed David Gravel’s lead over him for the championship down to 114 markers after being behind 180 only a few weeks ago.
HOISTING THE HORNS
This year marks the third consecutive year that the Dennis Roth Classic is sanctioned by the World of Outlaws, and the two prior years produced two different winners.
It was California’s own Carson Macedo scoring a special victory in 2024. He and Jason Johnson Racing cashed the big check and hoisted the trophy that pays homage to Roth’s iconic logo atop the wing.
The Lemoore, native will attempt to become the first multi-time victor this weekend. He’s never won at Stockton but boasts a trio of podiums there with NARC.
David Gravel narrowly edged out Spencer Bayston for $83,000 last year in a photo finish. Like Macedo, Gravel has knocked on the door of a Stockton score but is yet to break through. The two-time and defending champion was on the podium in 2019 with Macedo’s current team, Jason Johnson Racing. Gravel needs a rebound this weekend after a last lap crash cost him a potential win at El Paso County Raceway and allowed Buddy Kofoid to close in the title battle.
Prior to World of Outlaws sanctioning the event, NARC also dished out two different winners, with Rico Abreu taking the inaugural in 2022 and Justyn Cox getting it done in 2023.
LIL BRO
Carson isn’t the only Macedo returning to where the foundations of his sprint car career were constructed.
He’ll have younger brother Cole Macedo joining him as a World of Outlaws full-timer heading home to familiar territory. The 26-year-old is navigating his sophomore season with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He’s already matched his top five total from last year with five and surpassed his rookie top 10 total with 21 in 2026.
He’s still in search of his first World of Outlaws victory as he aims to make himself and Carson the sixth set of brothers in series history to win a race. What better time to get the job done than when on home turf in front of family and friends? He topped a NARC visit to Stockton in 2024.
TO THE PACIFIC
The Pacific Coast features its fair share of sharks and will add another hungry one this week.
Logan Schuchart and his Shark Racing team are coming to California smelling blood with the Dennis Roth Classic shifting to Stockton for the first time.
After some early career struggles at the Central Valley bullring, Schuchart turned things around in a big way. He won in March of 2019, and when the tour returned in September, the result was the same with the No. 1s parking in victory lane.
The Hanover, Pa., driver heads to the “Golden State” carrying a streak of five consecutive top fives and 26 top 10s in the last 29 Series races. Schuchart appears poised for a sixth top-five finish in the standings in his career as he currently sits fifth with a healthy lead over sixth and Carson Macedo only 58 markers ahead in fourth.
CALI CLIQUE
The West Coast Swing gives California’s collection of local talent an opportunity to shine on the big stage and potentially steal this weekend’s big payday.
Justin Sanders headlines the “Cali Clique” these days in the Mittry Motorsports No. 2x. The Aromas, Calif., native has already picked up 11 victories along the left coast this year, including seven with NARC. None of those this year have come at Stockton, but he has won at the quarter-mile eight times in his career.
San Jose’s Tim Kaeding is always a threat when the tour rolls into California. He’s claimed a pair of NARC races at Stockton along with a Sprint Car Challenge Tour score, and “TK” has been on the podium twice there with the World of Outlaws.
The driver may not be a California local, but James McFadden will be piloting one of the state’s most iconic rides this weekend, the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21.
“J-Mac” is fresh off a $59,000 Tuscarora 50 triumph with Macri Motorsports at Port Royal Speedway and ready to hunt $83,000 out west. McFadden and the Tarlton crew have won twice together in 2026.
These three are expected to be joined by many others hoping to make California proud, including Shane Golobic, D.J. Netto, Kaleb Montgome, Landon Brooks and others.
