NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — More than 5,000 drivers have competed with the World of Outlaws, but only 152 of them can call themselves winners with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
And even less can call themselves multi-time winners — such as Brock Zearfoss.
His first win came in his eighth series start, but it took another five years before he claimed his second at Wisconsin’s Cedar Lake Speedway in July of 2022 — a victory that will forever be one of the most memorable moments of his career.
“It wasn’t handed to us,” Zearfoss said. “We had to work for it. It really wasn’t easy, but we did have a lot of luck that night. I think we were running fifth and Gio (Scelzi) crashed, and it ended up being second, third and fourth all going to the work area at the same time. So, we got up to second. That part was kind of a blessing.
“Also, the bottom was really good on the restarts, and Brad (Sweet) chose the high line and gave us the bottom. We just had a really good restart and was able to get in front of Brad and kind of run away a little bit. I think there were four or five cautions in 16 laps. It wasn’t toward the end of the race. We still had a long way to go. It just went our way. It was having some luck there and being in the right spot to capitalize. It all went right that night, and we were able to hold on to win.”
This night was different. First and foremost, the Cedar Lake triumph came aboard his family-owned No. 3z. Brock Zearfoss Racing became a winning team against the toughest competition. Winning as a hired gun is one thing. Beating the best of the best in your own car that you’ve built into a contending organization is another.
“It had its own special feeling,” Zearfoss said. “Obviously, winning your first one is way different than anything else. This one was a little more gratifying. It’s hard to win Outlaw races, but we did it with our family team. We were doing things one step at a time, trying to make our program better each year. It’s not that our team wasn’t capable of doing it. It’s just hard when you’re running with the best cars every night, and you can’t make errors. A lot of learning. It was definitely gratifying to be able to do it with our family team and to be able to celebrate with my guys.”
This weekend offers the opportunity for Zearfoss to return to the meaningful site when the World of Outlaws campaign rolls into Cedar Lake for two nights of action June 28-29. No matter how many more victories he adds, no matter what other accomplishments he attaches to his résumé, he’ll always hold that night at Cedar Lake close to heart.
“I think it’s a special place for me to go back to,” Zearfoss said. “Being our first win as a family team and a full-time Outlaw, it’s always going to be a place that I’ll remember for a while. I always enjoy going back there. The fans are really great in Wisconsin for the Outlaws. This time of year is fun up there, lot of stuff going on. It’s always going to be a special place for me.”
Zearfoss heads to Cedar Lake beginning to piece together some momentum as he navigates his fourth campaign. After struggling last year, Zearfoss is on pace to put up better numbers in most statistical categories in 2024. Improvements that have Zearfoss not only looking forward to Cedar Lake, but to the duration of his fourth year with the series.
“We made some changes before Eldora, and our season has really gotten better since Eldora,” Zearfoss said. “We’re trending toward running where we should be… We’re working hard at it. Our program has gotten a lot better since making changes, and I’m excited to finish the rest of the season.”