YORK HAVEN, Pa. — The summer stretch continues with another busy week of action for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.
First, Sprint Car racing’s fiercest rivalry resumes with three races over four nights in Pennsylvania where the Posse awaits. Then, it’s north to New York for the season’s one visit to the “Empire State.”
The Greatest Show on Dirt gets the week started with a Wednesday visit to BAPS Motor Speedway for the Bricker’s Bash. The series made a thrilling return to BAPS for the first time in 32 years last season. Then, the weekend brings the tour to the iconic Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) for the C&D Rigging Summer Nationals on July 26-27. With weather wiping out the Morgan Cup finale in May, the traditional $5,000 bonus carries over to Friday’s opener, making it $17,000-to-win before a $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday.
After racing wraps up at “The Grove,” the teams will journey to New York’s Weedsport Speedway on July 28. The Empire State Challenge will be 2024’s lone visit to New York for the World of Outlaws.
Let’s take a look at the weekend’s top storylines:
FEELING LIKE A KING
There’s no denying David Gravel is atop the sprint car world. Last week he won three of the five races he contested including Eldora Speedway’s 41st running of the Kings Royal, pushing his 2024 earnings over half a million dollars. The Watertown, Conn. native hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since May 25 at Atomic Speedway. Gravel leads the Series standings by 66 markers as he chases his first title.
The stats suggest the hot streak could continue for Gravel and his Big Game Motorsports team with four races in five nights ahead. Last year, Gravel topped the return to BAPS in his debut at the facility. Williams Grove is the winningest track on his résumé as he’s taken eight trips to victory lane.
Weedsport has also been incredibly kind to the 32-year-old. Three of the last four races at the New York oval were topped by him, putting him in a tie with Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz for the most Weedsport wins. The one race he didn’t win was a runner-up in 2022.
NOT GOING QUIETLY
While Gravel may look unstoppable at the moment, Donny Schatz continues to lurk and won’t go down without a fight in the hunt for his 11th title. Gravel said it himself after the Kings Royal of Schatz, “You can’t put that guy away.”
Despite Gravel’s incredible week, Schatz only gave up eight points in the championship chase. He passed a combined 48 cars in the three Series races leading to finishes of second, fourth, and second and also grabbed a win a week and a half ago at Wilmot.
Schatz’s only BAPS start led to a 12th place run last season, but his success at Williams Grove is off the charts. The 10-time series champion owns 21 World of Outlaws victories at the half mile, which ranks behind only Steve Kinser’s tally of 38. Over at Weedsport, the driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 hasn’t missed the top 10 in seven tries and has three victories (2015, 2016, 2022).
POSSE TURNED OUTLAWS
With the strong landscape of sprint car racing in Pennsylvania, the Posse often send stars to the national ranks. And such is the case for a pair of World of Outlaws stars returning to their roots this week.
Logan Schuchart is amid his 11th season with the World of Outlaws since departing the Hanover, Pa. porch for the tour in 2014. Last year, Schuchart got a long-awaited first Williams Grove victory when he pulled off a miracle last lap pass to top the Summer Nationals opener. The Shark Racing driver picked up a BAPS podium when the series returned last year.
Jonestown, PA native Brock Zearfoss is taking on his fourth season with The Greatest Show on Dirt. In 2017, before he even became a full-time competitor, Zearfoss drove Aaron Long’s No. 58 to a World of Outlaws win at Williams Grove to represent the Posse. The “Jonestown Jet” owns four local podiums at BAPS.
CA POSSE
California is thousands of miles from Pennsylvania with dirt tracks characterized much differently, but a pair of current World of Outlaws drivers from the “Golden State” have excelled in Pa.
Fresno, Calif.’s Giovanni Scelzi has won at both Pennsylvania tracks on the agenda. Two years ago, he and KCP Racing topped a local show before joining the World of Outlaws tour. Rewind the clock even further back to 2018 when “Hot Sauce” scored his first series victory at Williams Grove to become the youngest winner in World of Outlaws history – a record that still stands.
Carson Macedo has collected a trio of Williams Grove trophies including the 2021 National Open, making him only the second Californian to claim the crown jewel. The Lemoore, Calif. driver is yet to win at BAPS in two attempts with a best of fourth last year.
PA PRIDE
As always when the World of Outlaws invade the “Keystone State,” the Posse will be ready to give their best to protect the porch. Pennsylvania always gives the nation’s best Sprint Car drivers some of the toughest competition they’ll face all year.
Anthony Macri (Dillsburg, Pa.) leads the way for the local contingent. His 12 wins in 2024 are tied for the most in the nation, and 10 of them have come within the borders of Pennsylvania including one at BAPS and a trio at Williams Grove. The “Concrete Kid” has beaten the World of Outlaws three times in his career, but those checkered flags came courtesy of Port Royal Speedway (twice) and Lincoln Speedway.
Gettysburg, Pa.’s Danny Dietrich is always a threat in the Gary Kauffman Racing No. 48 when the World of Outlaws come to town. A pair of his five career Series victories occurred at Williams Grove, and he’s topped a total of 31 races at the half mile, including two this year. He’s won twice locally at BAPS this year, upping his total there to 20.
Troy Wagaman Jr. (Hanover, Pa.) and Heffner Racing have proven to be a potent combo this season. Wagaman took the iconic No. 27 to Williams Grove Victory Lane on April 26, and he’s run on the podium in half of his 12 Feature starts there this season. He also won at BAPS last October and has finished sixth or better in four of his five tries at the York Haven, Pa. oval this year.
Expect these three to be joined by the likes of Freddie Rahmer (Salfordville, PA), Chase Dietz (York, PA), Dylan Norris (Hanover, PA), and many more at BAPS and Williams Grove.
EMPIRE STATE EXCELLENCE
While not as notorious as the PA Posse, New York boasts its own group of locals eager to have strong showings when the country’s top sprint car talent invades.
Sharon Springs, N.Y.’s Danny Varin is always stout at Weedsport. He started on the pole of last year’s World of Outlaws visit, and he’s already an Empire Super Sprints (ESS) winner there in 2024, topping a race earlier this month.
Super DIRTcar Series star Larry Wight likes to trade the Big Block Modified for a Sprint Car when The Greatest Show on Dirt visits New York. “Lightning” has finished in the top 10 in his last three World of Outlaws runs at Weedsport and won there with ESS last October.
Matt Farnham (Tanawanda, N.Y.) nearly won with the All-Stars at Weedsport last year, leading many laps before finishing fifth.
This trio along with more New Yorkers are expected to enter the Weedsport pit area on Sunday.