CONCORD, N.C. — “Hot Sauce” is back in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car victory lane.
Giovanni Scelzi opened a brand new chapter in 2026. He teamed with Spire Motorsports as the NASCAR operation opted to add sprint cars to their stable. That paired him with one of the best crew chiefs in the business, Eric Prutzman.
The combination got hot with three straight wins last month, one at Lakeside Speedway and two at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. They had no intentions of slowing down on Spire’s home turf with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Scelzi started the Dave Smith Motors World of Outlaws World Finals with a top 10 on Thursday, and he upped his game to another level on Friday. The Californian lined up on the front row and ripped by polesitter Sheldon Haudenschild on the opening circuit and set sail. Tanner Holmes charged into the runner-up spot late and closed in on the No. 77’s tail tank but ran out of time as Scelzi took the checkered flag.
“The cushion got lipped up there pretty quick after they tilled it,” Scelzi said. “Man, I know we were all angry at first, but kudos to the track crew. Thank you to the fans for staying here. We’ve been here for nearly 12 hours. To get a win in Spire’s home state is awesome with the Chili’s 77 car. It’s very, very cool to win here. It’s been seven years since I won here last.”
Scelzi becomes the 24th different winner with The Greatest Show on Dirt in 2026, meaning the record for the most in one season could be tied on the final night of the campaign. The 24-year-old is now at 11 career World of Outlaws triumphs, equaling him with Fred Rahmer for 48th most. Spire Motorsports etched their name in the history books by becoming a World of Outlaws winning organization.
Tanner Holmes recorded his best career World of Outlaws finish with a runner-up in the Buch Motorsports No. 13.
Sheldon Haudenschild and the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18 crew rounded out the podium.
Cameron Smith and Buddy Schweibinz completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[2]; 2. 13-Tanner Holmes[3]; 3. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 4. 1A-Cameron Smith[4]; 5. 69K-Buddy Schweibinz[7]; 6. 41-Carson Macedo[10]; 7. 83-Michael Kofoid[13]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[9]; 9. 2-David Gravel[11]; 10. 71-Parker Price Miller[6]; 11. 14-Rico Abreu[17]; 12. 27-Emerson Axsom[12]; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[15]; 14. 23-Garet Williamson[19]; 15. 39M-Anthony Macri[14]; 16. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[21]; 17. 15-Donny Schatz[25]; 18. 1S-Logan Schuchart[24]; 19. 19-Brent Marks[20]; 20. 7S-Chris Windom[18]; 21. 17B-Bill Balog[5]; 22. 17-Spencer Bayston[22]; 23. 24D-Danny Sams III[16]; 24. 7NY-Matt Farnham[8]; 25. 71R-Logan Rumsey[23]; 26. 2C-Cole Macedo[26]; 27. 28M-Conner Morrell[28]; 28. 16C-Skylar Gee[27]
