BARBERVILLE, Fla. — The time has nearly come for the best sprint car drivers in the world to begin their annual grind across the country.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars Series will start its 46th season with three nights at Volusia Speedway Park as part of the DIRTcar Nationals. The campaign is scheduled to include 87 races at 36 tracks in 19 states.
There are a variety of noteworthy storylines to follow as the Outlaws kick a nine-month journey to crown the next series champion.
Sweet Eyes Fifth Straight Title
Since becoming the 10th different World of Outlaws champion in 2019, Brad Sweet has been in no hurry to relinquish the top spot.
Sweet enters this year riding a streak of four consecutive championships, and “The Big Cat” hopes to make it a full paw of titles in 2023. The Grass Valley, Calif., native is back aboard his familiar Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49 looking to give Kahne his sixth title as an owner. During the run of four straight, Sweet has shown few signs of weakness.
The first championship saw Sweet lead the series in victories for the first time in his career, posting 16 triumphs in 72 races. In the next three years, Sweet sat atop the top-five column every season.
The only hope for the competition may be the fact that Sweet’s consistency dipped slightly last year. After winning 21 percent of the WoO races in 2021 and earning top-five finishes in 61 percent of the events, Sweet topped just seven percent of last season’s races and finished within the top five 59 percent of the time.
Gravel Hopes for Elusive First Championship
Perhaps Sweet’s biggest threat will come from David Gravel.
The 30-year-old has come so close to winning an Outlaw title. From 2016 to ’19, Gravel finished third in the standings all four seasons. If a NASCAR opportunity hadn’t kept him out of a few races in 2020, Gravel would’ve likely been in the thick of the title fight. Gravel has finished runner-up in the last two seasons and will look to climb atop the podium this year for his first championship.
The pair of second-place results in the points have been in the seat of the Big Game Motorsports car, and Gravel is returning to the Tod Quiring-owned team for a third consecutive season. The pairing has already picked up 18 victories.
Mighty Macedo
Another challenger will be Californian Carson Macedo.
The 26-year-old is entering his fifth year as an Outlaw full-timer and has found a cozy home with Jason Johnson Racing. After spending his first two WoO campaigns with Kyle Larson Racing, Macedo moved to the JJR No. 41 ahead of 2021. With Phil Dietz turning the wrenches, the pairing has quickly become a contender.
No driver has tallied more wins in the last two seasons than Macedo’s 22. His victories have included major triumphs in the National Open and Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals. On top of stacking wins, Macedo has proven to be consistent with JJR. The Lemoore native has at least tied for third on the list of most top-five finishes in both 2021 and ’22.
His performance has led to back-to-back third-place finishes in the standings.
This year Macedo will look to jump two spots on the points podium and join Sweet and Jason Meyers as California-born Outlaw champions.
Can Donny Return to Championship Form?
After Sweet ended Donny Schatz’ run of five straight championships in 2019, a consistent storyline over the ensuing seasons has been whether the 10-time Outlaw champion can return to the mountaintop.
This year will be no exception as Schatz finished fourth in points for a second straight year in 2022 but also punctuated the campaign with a strong stretch. After only managing to score 13 top-fives in the first 42 races last season, Schatz finished within the top-five in 15 of the final 27 events, including four of the five wins he posted on the year.
Among those victories were his 11th Knoxville Nationals win and back-to-back triumphs at the World Finals to close out the season.
Schatz kicked off last season with a win in the season opener but had to wait 44 races before making the second trip to victory lane. This year the Fargo, N.D., legend is back for another season with Tony Stewart Racing and will look to maintain consistency throughout the entire campaign as he hunts for his 11th title.
Lucky No. 7 For Haud?
Fan favorite Sheldon Haudenschild is ready for what he hopes will be a lucky seventh season with the Outlaws.
Haudenschild is back for another go at a championship in the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing No. 17, the car that’s been his ride for all but one of his WoO campaigns.
The son of the legendary Jac Haudenschild has proven he can win on any night. The 29-year-old has amassed 31 victories during his six seasons with SJMR, including nine last year, his personal best for one season. Haudenschild is one of two drivers to win at least seven races in each of the last three campaigns.
A measure of consistency has been the only thing holding Haudenschild back from challenging for a title. While he’s been within the top-three in terms of most victories in two of the past three seasons, he hasn’t ranked in the top-three of most top-five finishes in any of those years.
If the Wooster, Ohio, native can improve his results on the nights he’s not in victory lane, he should be in the hunt for the championship.
The Sharks Reach a Decade on Tour
Shark Racing teammates, Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen, are back for their 10th year following the full Outlaw tour.
Schuchart enters 2023 looking to regain his 2020 form that saw him finish a career-best second in points. Last year, Schuchart was sixth in the standings, but his results saw a slight drop from the previous two seasons.
Back in 2020, Schuchart won seven races and tallied 35 top-five finishes during the 54-race campaign. He followed that up with another seven victories and 37 top-fives across 77 starts in 2021. Last year, though, Schuchart’s numbers fell just a bit with five wins and 26 top-fives in 69 features.
The other half of the Shark duo, Allen, is coming off a breakout season in 2022 that he’ll look to top this year.
The driver of the No. 1a set personal best marks in victories (four), podiums (10), top-five finishes (15), and top-10s (36).
Both Schuchart and Allen topped their prelim night at the Knoxville Nationals in 2022, and both finished in the top five of the finale. With another year of experience under their belts, Schuchart and Allen should be consistent contenders up front throughout the year.
McFadden & Zearfoss Hit Third Year
James McFadden and Brock Zearfoss are set for their third seasons, respectively, with the Outlaws.
Over the last two years, McFadden has established himself as a consistent force on the tour. McFadden drove for Kasey Kahne during his 2021 rookie season before making the move to Roth Motorsports last year. McFadden returns to the seat of the iconic Roth No. 83 this year.
Both of McFadden’s full-time seasons have resulted in seventh-place efforts in the points, good enough to earn him rookie-of-the-year honors in 2021. The Aussie has reached at least 20 top-fives each of the past two years and won at least one race, too.
Zearfoss will embark on WoO year three with his family-owned Brock Zearfoss Racing.
Last year “The Jonestown Jet” scored his first series victory since 2017. He also posted more top-five finishes and a better average finish compared to his 2021 rookie campaign. Zearfoss fell a spot in the standings from year one to year two, dropping from ninth in 2021 to 10th last season.
Sophomore Seasons
Spencer Bayston, Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, Kasey Kahne and Noah Gass will all return for a third season on tour.
Bayston, who won two races on his way to finishing eighth in the standings, will once again tackle the tour with CJB Motorsports.
Injuries derailed Kahne’s season last year and the championship winning team owner raced in only 29 main events last year. The 42-year-old returns to the seat of his KKR No. 9 with hopes of a smoother season.
Also planning to be back for round two is Noah Gass. The 19-year-old learned plenty as a rookie last year and is hoping for more success as a sophomore. Gass picked up a pair of top-10s in 2022.
Rookie of the Year Battle
Gio Scelzi and Robbie Price are expected to battle for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year award.
Scelzi and KCP Racing plan to follow the WoO tour and enter the year with high hopes having already proven their potency as a team. Scelzi is entering his third year as the full-time pilot of the KCP No. 18. Scelzi has captured three of his five career Outlaw victories with KCP and sat on the pole of the 2021 Knoxville Nationals with the Iowa-based team.
The Fresno, Calif., phenom became the youngest winner in series history courtesy of topping a 2018 National Open prelim when he was just 16 years old.
KCP Racing will be gunning for their second rookie of the year award in the last six years as they claimed the honor with Ian Madsen behind the wheel in 2018.
After taking over driving duties at Sides Motorsports in May last year, Robbie Price is back aboard the No. 7s for his official rookie season. Price proved he could compete with the nation’s top drivers last year despite a relative lack of experience. Coincidentally, Price’s run at rookie of the year will come 20 years after his car owner, Jason Sides, earned the honor with the Outlaws in 2003.
Bill Rose will also be back on tour. The 58-year-old native of Plainfield, Ind., will take another crack at topping his best season to date with the WoO which came in 2012 when he finished 11th in the standings.
Rose will again be behind the wheel of his own No. 6 machine.