ATTICA, Ohio — Memorial Day weekend is all about the Buckeye State for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Three nights of racing are set to take the country’s best sprint car drivers to three different Ohio ovals in three different regions of the state.
It begins on Friday, May 23, in the Northwest at Attica Raceway Park. The third-mile dirt track will welcome the tour for the 26th time. Then it’s straight east nearly to the Pennsylvania border, where Hartford’s Sharon Speedway awaits the World of Outlaws’ 15th visit on Saturday, May 24. Sunday is an off day before racing resumes with a Monday, May 26, trip south to the Appalachian foothills for a battle at Chillicothe’s Atomic Speedway.
HOME STATE HERO
Sheldon Haudenschild heading home always leads the headlines when the World of Outlaws venture to Ohio. The Wooster, Ohio, native has swaths of fans in the region that are eager to welcome him with hopes of seeing a trip or two to victory lane.
Haudenschild enters the weekend with the momentum of two top fives at Ohsweken Speedway, including his third podium of the year with the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink crew. They’re fifth in points with 11 top fives and 15 top 10s with 23 races in the books.
Three times Haudenschild has been victorious at Attica. He topped a local race in 2013 and two with the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2015 and 2016. He won Sharon’s 2015 Lou Blaney Memorial with ASCoC, and he’s been on the podium there in three of his five attempts with the World of Outlaws. He’s one of only two multi-time World of Outlaws winners at Atomic with scores in 2022 and 2024.
HEY, BUDDY
Plenty of focus was fixed on Michael “Buddy” Kofoid entering 2025 after a record-breaking rookie campaign last year with Roth Motorsports. The pairing stumbled slightly out of the gate, but the ship appears to have been righted, and the sophomore is soaring.
After an 11.7 average finish in the first seven races of the season, Kofoid has improved that mark to 5.5 in the 16 races since. That stretch includes a trio of victories at Kennedale Speedway Park, Lawton Speedway, and Lincoln Speedway. It’s also allowed Kofoid to climb into the runner-up position in the standings. David Gravel still has a comfortable lead (+178 points), but there’s a long way to go for Kofoid and company.
Ohio is familiar territory for the Penngrove, Calif., native. Courtesy of living in “Linderville” with Mike and Stephanie Linder, he spent plenty of time racing in the state when he first expanded his career to the Midwest. Kofoid won last May’s World of Outlaws visit to Attica in thrilling, last-lap fashion, and he’s been on the podium in 12 of his 25 races there. He owns a best finish of fifth at Sharon in three tries. Last May, the 23-year-old posted a pair of podiums at Atomic.
OHIO ACE
Not that there are many states where Donny Schatz hasn’t performed well, but his talents have shone especially bright in Ohio.
The 10-time series champion bagged 32 of his 316 career World of Outlaws Feature victories in the “Buckeye State.” That’s the second highest on his résumé, ranking only behind his tally of 36 in Pennsylvania.
He’s won at all three tracks on this weekend’s agenda. Schatz’s five checkered flags at Attica are the most, and he’s only missed the top 10 once in 19 tries. The Fargo, N.D., native visited Sharon victory lane twice, first with a 360 under the hood in a 2008 American Sprint Car Series Patriot race and then with the World of Outlaws 15 years later. Of the dozen series visits to Atomic, Schatz claimed a quarter of them with four trophies from the high-banked oval.
Schatz and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing crew sit sixth in points with top 10 results in four of the last five races.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
With more than a quarter of the season complete, there have been no hiccups for David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports in their title defense.
They’re fresh off a sweep of two nights at Ohsweken, their third event sweep of 2025 to go along with back-to-back victories at Volusia Speedway Park (March 2-3) and Cotton Bowl Speedway (March 21-22). The No. 2 hasn’t finished worse than sixth in 2025 and boasts a 2.78 average finish.
Recent history gives no reason to doubt Gravel and Tod Quiring’s crew this weekend. The Watertown, Conn., native is the most recent series winner at both Attica and Sharon. His most recent trip to Atomic dealt misfortune as he got caught up in a crash with lapped traffic, but that came after winning the night before.
ROOKIE FIGHT
The first quarter of the 2025 World of Outlaws campaign has made one thing clear – the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year battle won’t be won easily.
Canada gave us yet another top spot swap among the rookies as a pair of top 10s, including a season-best fifth, lifted Chris Windom and the Sides Motorsports team above Garet Williamson. Windom has been in the top five before at all three tracks ahead, including podiums at Sharon and Atomic. The NOS Energy Drink driver is 14 markers ahead of Williamson.
Cole Macedo is looking to claw his way into the fight after a forgettable start to the season in Florida. He and TwoC Racing have climbed into third in rookie points, and he’s got plenty of laps in Ohio thanks to making the same stop in “Linderville” that Buddy Kofoid did on his way to the World of Outlaws. The Lemoore, Calif., driver owns five local wins at Attica.
Conner Morrell is down in sixth, but he’s fresh off posting the best finish of the season for one of the rookies after leading laps and coming home with the runner-up spot at Ohsweken.
BUCKEYE BATTLERS
With Ohio having one of the healthiest local sprint car scenes in the country, expect many drivers who compete at these tracks weekly to put their best foot forward as they face off with the World of Outlaws.
Cap Henry has already won three times in local Attica action this year. Over at Sharon, Dale Blaney is fresh off driving brother Dave’s No. 10 to victory. He’s also a seven-time Sharon winner with ASCoC.
Atomic has yet to host a sprint var race in 2025, but there’s no doubt Cole Duncan is a local favorite. He won the track’s final four races of 2024.
Expect many more locals including the likes of Craig Mintz, Trey Jacobs, Creed Kemenah, Greg Wilson, Bryce Lucius and more to compete in at least one and potentially all three events.
