YORK HAVEN, Pa. — Make room on the porch, Pennsylvania. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is on the way.
The Greatest Show on Dirt is ready to punctuate the busiest stretch of the season by bringing the sport’s fiercest rivalry back to life. Three battles between the World of Outlaws and PA Posse take center stage this week as the two sides face off for bragging rights.
It begins with a Wednesday, July 29, visit to BAPS Motor Speedway for the Bricker’s Bash. The tour returned to BAPS in 2023 after a more than three-decade absence, and it’s become a staple of the summer schedule since. This week will mark the sixth trip to BAPS in series history.
Mechanicsburg’s Williams Grove Speedway takes the spotlight over the weekend for the C&D Rigging Summer Nationals on Friday-Saturday, July 31-Aug. 1.
The famed oval is the second most visited track in World of Outlaws history with 243 nights of racing. Friday’s opener will set the stage for a $20,000-to-win/$1,500-to-start finale on Saturday.
OUTLAW EXCELLENCE
The numbers clearly point to two drivers among the World of Outlaws roster as favorites this week, and it’s the two champions.
Donny Schatz has made a habit of sending Pennsylvania fans home disappointed from Williams Grove throughout his legendary career. The historic oval is home to 21 of his 317 career World of Outlaws triumphs, making it the winningest track on his résumé. The 10-time champion is enduring a dry spell there in recent years.
His last win there came at the 2020 National Open. Pennsylvania is home turf for CJB Motorsports, and Schatz’s crew chief Barry Jackson calls Carlisle, Pa., home and owns an extensive notebook for the tracks in the area, so it’s tough to doubt the combination this week.
Like Schatz, David Gravel has won more at Williams Grove than anywhere else during his tenure with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
In May this year, the Watertown, Conn., native became the sixth different driver with at least 10 World of Outlaws victories at Williams Grove when he snatched the Morgan Cup from the Posse. Gravel is also a former BAPS winner, claiming the 2023 Bricker’s Bash.
PREVAILING ON THE PORCH
Schatz and Gravel will be alongside several more World of Outlaws invaders that have conquered Williams Grove in the past.
Carson Macedo has beaten the Posse four times at the paperclip-shaped track. The first was a 2020 local race when he was driving for Kyle Larson Racing. The three since have been in World of Outlaws competition aboard the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41, including a pair of National Open titles.
Sheldon Haudenschild boasts a pair of Williams Grove trophies. He topped the Summer Nationals opener in 2021 before returning to victory lane at last fall’s National Open for $75,000.
The Wooster, Ohio, native heads to Pennsylvania with the momentum of 13 podiums in the last 18 races with the KCP Racing team, and they recently took the second spot in points.
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid claimed his first Williams Grove checkered flag in 2024 with Roth Motorsports at the National Open prelim. The Penngrove, Calif., native is currently third in the standings.
It wasn’t a winged sprint car, but Emerson Axsom topped a USAC National Sprint Car race at Williams Grove in 2023. Axsom leads the 2026 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year presented by Five Star Bodies standings.
SHARK WEEK
The calendar lined up perfectly as Hanover’s Logan Schuchart will return home with the Shark Racing team during Shark Week.
The 33-year-old cut his teeth in Pennsylvania before jumping on the World of Outlaws tour and becoming a veteran that’s now navigating his 13th campaign. He’s been on the BAPS podium six times, but a victory has eluded him.
Schuchart beat the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2012 for the first of his four Williams Grove wins. The latest of those came in 2023 with the World of Outlaws.
Schuchart returns to familiar territory on his best run of the season. He’s reeled off 13 consecutive top 10s, including podiums in the last three. The Shark No. 1s is fourth in the standings, 70 markers behind Carson Macedo for fourth.
KING’S CASTLE
Heading to Pennsylvania means heading to the home state of the recently crowned and now two-time Kings Royal champion, Anthony Macri.
The Eldora crown jewel was Macri’s third World of Outlaws win this season and the fourth for the Macri Motorsports No. 39m. Kasey Kahne wheeled it to a popular first series victory at Williams Grove in May to earn a de facto score for the Posse.
Macri headlines the Posse contingent as they aim to defend home turf, and it would come as no surprise if his win tally grew even more this week. The Dillsburg, Pa., native owns eight BAPS trophies. One of them came against the World of Outlaws last summer. He won both PA Speedweek shows at Williams Grove this year, and he bested the World of Outlaws at the half- mile to give the 2025 Morgan Cup to the Posse.
POSSE POWER
Macri is far from the only “Keystone State” competitor capable of conquering the World of Outlaws invaders this week.
Nobody in the country has won more 410 sprint car races in 2026 than York’s Chase Dietz with a whopping 17, which is five more than the second most. All of them have come within Pennsylvania’s borders aboard the Stehman Motorsports No. 23d, including four at BAPS and one at Williams Grove. Dietz bagged his first World of Outlaws win at “The Grove” last fall.
Lance Dewease must always be looked at any time the World of Outlaws invade Williams Grove. His 118 wins there are the most all-time and outrank the second highest by 28.
Of those 118, 17 came against the World of Outlaws. That trails only Steve Kinser (38), Donny Schatz (21), and Mark Kinser (18). The 60-year-old legend from Fayetteville, Pa., has already been to Williams Grove Victory Lane twice this year in the Rich Eichelberger No. 8.
Troy Wagaman Jr. has won at both tracks on the agenda this week in 2026. The Hanover, Pa., native triumphed at BAPS on March 29. He’s captured a pair of Williams Grove victories this year, including one with ASCoC.
Additional Posse representatives expected to compete include Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Dylan Norris and many more.
