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World of Outlaws

SUMMERTIME SPECIALIST: Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing Picking Up Early Season Steam

Schatz has turned his season around heading into River Cities and Ogilvie

GRAND FORKS, ND (June 1, 2023) - Temperatures are on the rise as summer nears, and Donny Schatz is beginning to heat up.

Tracks get slick. Grip is scarce. And humidity plays with the density of air. These conditions have always brought out the best in the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion. And 2023 has been no exception.

After combating struggles through the first couple months of the campaign, Schatz has resembled his prime self since the beginning of May. In the last nine races, Schatz has collected six podiums, including a pair of victories at Attica Raceway Park and Sharon Speedway. The podium tally would likely be seven if it weren’t for a late-race flat tire at Atomic Speedway. He’s also missed only one Toyota Dash over that stretch – a key aspect to their success.

“We’ve gotten ourselves qualified. I think that’s the most important part,” Schatz commented. “You can’t start in the third and fourth row of the Heat Races and think you’re going to get in the Dash unless something drastic happens. Nobody really does that. The guys have worked hard. They’ve done their homework, just kind of fine-tuned.

“Like I said, it’s all about getting qualified well. Then, you can work on your car a little bit and try a few different things in the Heats and the Dashes. The tracks where you have to drive with any sort of control, we’ve been good at. Lawrenceburg (Speedway) we weren’t all that good at, but honestly it was completely different than when we’ve been there in the past. Normally, there was a little bit of a bottom at times, but this was basically just a death slider race. That’s why we didn’t have the best result. But pretty much everything else the last month has been great – a couple wins and some podiums. You’ve got to be consistent. That’s where we want to be.”

A primary catalyst to their results is the performance of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing team’s Ford FPS 410 engine. With steadfast diligence, they’ve made progress in their motor program, leading to a more comfortable feeling and allowing Schatz to drive the way he prefers.

“Everybody at Ford and Ron Shaver that have been working on it are just continually trying to improve with baby steps,” Schatz said. “We’re getting pretty close. We’re getting back to where I can move my foot and being able to race.”

In addition to the program being in a good place, Schatz noted the Ford’s functionality excels during the summer stretch.

“The cylinder heads on these Ford motors are very efficient,” Schatz explained. “They are super efficient. Sometimes they get running to where they get pumping so hard that when you start to close the butterflies off and cut the air off, they keep running a little bit. And that’s where it kind of helps us come these summertime months when the air is bad. There’s not as much air in there to mix it with fuel and do that.”

Looking ahead, the schedule suggests Schatz could continue his current pace. Next up is a visit to one of his home tracks – River Cities Speedway (Grand Forks, ND) – on Friday, June 2 – where the Fargo, ND driver’s record is impeccable. In 29 Series starts, he’s won 12 times, podiumed on 21 occasions, and finished no worse than seventh.

“It’s a forgiving place,” Schatz said of his results at River Cities. “I’ve learned where you can get yourself in trouble and not get yourself in trouble. And we’ve been very fortunate to always have a good race car there. Everything’s really just worked there. There are multiple grooves. Everytime we go there we seem to have a pretty decent racetrack.”

Another upcoming event close to home for Schatz is the Husets High Bank Nationals (June 21-24) in Brandon, SD – also the home state of his crew chief Steve “Scuba” Swenson. The four-day event will conclude with a $250,000-to-win Feature – the richest payday in World of Outlaws history.

“It’s definitely a place I cut my teeth at,” Schatz said of Husets. “I spent a lot of Sunday nights there. I tore a lot of stuff up there. I made a lot of memories there, and I’ve managed to win a few races too. We’re looking forward to it. I think when everybody heard it was paying $250,000 to win, we all thought, ‘Man, is Tod (Quiring, track owner) insane?’ But it’s cool that we can get that opportunity to race for that sort of money. It’s what you strive for. They work hard at trying to put on the best races they can.”

Schatz will be poised to maintain his recent performance for the remainder of the season as the third-winningest driver in Series history is in pursuit of his 11th championship. The early season troubles dug him a sizable hole but continuing to perform the way he has and maintaining a pragmatic perspective could lead the racing legend back into the title hunt.

“To win a championship you’ve got to be consistent,” Schatz said. “When you can’t win, you’ve got to have seconds and thirds. We’ve been in that form the last month, but I think we’ve dug just a little bit too big of a hole to dig out of it. But there’s still a lot of racing left, so we’re just going to keep down this path to get as much of it as we can, and maybe we’ll still have an opportunity going right down to the last race to have a race for a championship.”

Catch Donny Schatz in action with the World of Outlaws this weekend at River Cities (June 2) & Ogilvie Raceway (June 3). For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch all of the action on DIRTVision.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Northern Swing Brings World of Outlaws to River Cities, Ogilvie Debut

The Greatest Show on Dirt shifts regions of the country for its next big stretch

GRAND FORKS, ND (May 31, 2023) - For the first time in 2023, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are northbound.

After two consecutive weekends in Ohio followed by a Monday visit to Indiana, nearly 15 hours of driving will bring the tour to its next destination.

The Greatest Show on Dirt heads to River Cities Speedway (Grand Forks, ND) on Friday, June 2 for the Gerdau presents the 1st Leg of the Northern Tour followed by the Series debut at Ogilvie Raceway (Ogilvie, MN) on Saturday, June 3.

The weekend promises to bring plenty of excitement. River Cities is known for offering some of the most thrilling action with many grooves and plenty of space for sliders. The quarter mile bullring is known as longtime Series announcer, Johnny Gibson’s, favorite track for a reason.

Ogilvie provides the unknowns of a track new to the Series with no experience imbalance. No drivers will have an advantage in the laps department, and all will be vying for the right to be called the first winner in Series history at the Minnesota track at the Wagamon Brothers presents the Big O Showdown.

BUY RIVER CITIES TICKETS

BUY OGILVIE TICKETS

Let’s look at the top storylines to watch this weekend:

MACEDO ON THE MOVE: After a short, rough stretch that saw Carson Macedo post an 11.5 average finish over four races, the Jason Johnson Racing driver has rebounded in a big way.

Macedo has earned top five finishes in five consecutive races with four podiums in that span. Over that stretch, his average finish sits at a superb 2.6. The recent performance has elevated him into a tie for the points lead with Brad Sweet.

River Cities on Friday presents the Lemoore, CA native with an opportunity to take sole possession of the top spot. In six starts in Grand Forks, Macedo has podiumed in half including a win last June.

DONNY’S DOMAIN: North Dakota is where Donny Schatz has called home all his life, and the Fargo driver has had quite the home field advantage in Grand Forks.

Schatz has appeared at all 29 Series visits to River Cities Speedway. In those starts, he’s won 12 times, landed on the podium on 21 occasions, and owns an astonishing 2.5 average finish. His only two finishes outside of the top five were a pair of sevenths. From 2015 to 2018, Schatz topped seven of eight River Cities races.

The 10-time Series champion cooled off slightly over Memorial Day Weekend from his recent hot streak but did still notch a podium on the second night at Atomic. He heads into the weekend aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 tied for fifth in points.

GRAND FORKS GLORY: While Schatz has made it difficult for others to experience Victory Lane at River Cities, a handful of other active competitors have conquered the quarter mile.

Four-time and reigning champion – Brad Sweet – is the defending River Cities race winner after claiming last August’s visit. “The Big Cat” has won two of the last three to make himself one of only five drivers with multiple triumphs at the facility. A third victory on Friday would equal him with Craig Dollansky for the second most River Cities wins.

The driver currently third in points – David Gravel – topped a 2017 visit to Grand Forks. While it has been six years since that victory, he’s been solid as of late with no finish worse than seventh in his past seven River Cities starts.

Two years after Gravel’s triumph, Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart made the trip to River Cities Victory Lane. The win was one of four podiums that Schuchart has picked up at the facility in 15 attempts.

Kyle Larson snagged a 2020 World of Outlaws win at River Cities with a wild last lap, last corner pass.

EMPTY NOTEBOOKS: The debut at Ogilvie will present a unique set of circumstances for the drivers and teams. Occasionally, some drivers will have previous experience at a track before the World of Outlaws visit. But Ogilvie so seldom hosts winged Sprint Car racing that there haven’t been opportunities for laps. It will be as close to a clean slate race as you can get.

The most recent World of Outlaws track debut was last March when Brad Sweet bested the field at Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico.

Another recent Series track debut yielded a major milestone moment in the sport’s history when Donny Schatz collected his 300th World of Outlaws win at Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in 2021. That same year the World of Outlaws also had their first races at Magnolia Motor Speedway (won by Sheldon Haudenschild) and Dirt on The Rev (won by David Gravel).

ON THE GASS: During his time with the World of Outlaws tour, Noah Gass has proven River Cities to be one of his best tracks.

Two years ago was when the Mounds, OK native first tackled select Series events, and in 13 starts in 2021, Gass’ earned his best finish (12th) in Grand Forks. Then last year during his rookie campaign as a full-time competitor, Gass picked up one of his two top 10s on the year at the bullring.

Through 16 Feature starts in 2023, Gass’ best result is 14th in Pevely, MO, and he’ll look to better that mark Friday where he’s found past success.

NOSA NAMES: River Cities is a routine stop on the Northern Outlaws Sprint Association (NOSA) tour, meaning some of the top northern names may be in attendance looking to compete on home turf against the best.

Per usual, Mark Dobmeier leads the charge for the locals. Less than two weeks ago, the Grand Forks native collected his Series-best 176th career NOSA win at River Cities. Of his 44 career World of Outlaws top-10s, 20 have come at his home track including a pair of podiums.

Austin Pierce is another of the consistently strong local competitors. In the last two seasons he’s racked up 13 NOSA victories at River Cities, and the Grand Forks oval is home to his one career World of Outlaws top 10 (2016).

Other NOSA names to watch include Jade Hastings, Brendan Mullen, Greg Nikitenko, and more.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE

Friday, June 2 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND

Saturday, June 3 at Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, MN

ON THE INTERNET

World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (24/80 Races):

1. 49 – Brad Sweet (3344PTS) 2. 41 – Carson Macedo (-3344PTS) 3. 2 – David Gravel (-8PTS) 4. 1S – Logan Schuchart (-148PTS) 5. 15 – Donny Schatz (-174PTS) 6. 17 – Sheldon Haudenschild (-174PTS) 7. 18 – Gio Scelzi (-254PTS) 8. 5 – Spencer Bayston (-280PTS) 9. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss (-434PTS) 10. 1A – Jacob Allen (-504PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (11 Drivers):

5 wins – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne Racing #49)

4 wins – David Gravel (Big Game Motorsports #2)

3 wins – Rico Abreu (Rico Abreu Racing #24), James McFadden (Roth Motorsports #83)

2 wins – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15), Carson Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing #41)

1 win – Buddy Kofoid (CMS Racing #11), Sheldon Haudenschild (Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing #17), Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports #21), Logan Schuchart (Shark Racing #1S), Anthony Macri (Macri Motorsports #39)

FEATURE LAPS LED (14 Drivers):

140 laps – Brad Sweet

106 laps – Rico Abreu

95 laps – Carson Macedo

92 laps – David Gravel

90 laps – James McFadden

46 laps – Buddy Kofoid

44 laps – Logan Schuchart

43 laps – Brent Marks

41 laps – Donny Schatz

37 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild

11 laps – Anthony Macri

10 laps – Cory Eliason

9 laps – Gio Scelzi

3 laps – Brady Bacon

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (9 Drivers):

7 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo

6 QuickTimes – David Gravel

3 QuickTimes – Logan Schuchart

2 QuickTimes – Anthony Macri, Rico Abreu

1 QuickTime – Brian Brown, Donny Schatz, Buddy Kofoid, Gio Scelzi

HEAT RACE WINNERS (21 Drivers):

14 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo

13 Heat Wins – David Gravel

8 Heat Wins – Buddy Kofoid

7 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz

5 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild

4 Heat Wins – Brent Marks, Rico Abreu

3 Heat Wins – Gio Scelzi, Anthony Macri

2 Heat Wins – Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Parker Price-Miller, Justin Peck, Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden

1 Heat Win – Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Cory Eliason

TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (33 Drivers):

19 Dashes – Carson Macedo

18 Dashes – David Gravel

16 Dashes – Brad Sweet

13 Dashes – Logan Schuchart

12 Dashes – Donny Schatz

10 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Rico Abreu, Gio Scelzi

8 Dashes – Buddy Kofoid

6 Dashes – Jacob Allen, Brent Marks, James McFadden

5 Dashes – Spencer Bayston, Brock Zearfoss

4 Dashes – Anthony Macri

3 Dashes – Justin Peck, Danny Dietrich

2 Dashes – Brian Brown, Cory Eliason, Parker Price-Miller, Robbie Price, Tyler Courtney

1 Dash – Kasey Kahne, Freddie Rahmer, Devon Borden, Garet Williamson, Aaron Reutzel, Brady Bacon, Chad Trout, Dylan Norris, Cap Henry, Stuart Brubaker, Kyle Larson

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (17 Drivers):

3 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild

2 LCS Wins – Robbie Price, Parker Price-Miller

1 LCS Win – Brock Zearfoss, Gio Scelzi, Noah Gass, Hunter Schuerenberg, James McFadden, Wayne Johnson, Ryan Timms, Ayrton Gennetten, Spencer Bayston, Logan Schuchart, Kraig Kinser, Freddie Rahmer, Henry Malcuit, Cole Macedo

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (20 Drivers):

2 Hard Chargers – Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden, Tyler Courtney, Sheldon Haudenschild

1 Hard Charger – Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi, Robbie Price, David Gravel, Logan Schuchart, Justin Peck, Blake Hahn, Buddy Kofoid, Joe B. Miller, Kyle Larson, Hunter Schuerenberg, Kyle Moody, Freddie Rahmer, Brad Sweet, Skylar Gee, Cole Duncan

PODIUM FINISHES (20 Drivers):

11 Podiums – David Gravel

10 Podiums – Brad Sweet

9 Podiums – Carson Macedo

6 Podiums – Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu

4 Podiums – Buddy Kofoid, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild

3 Podiums – Brent Marks, James McFadden

2 Podiums – Jacob Allen

1 Podium – Danny Dietrich, Brian Brown, Kasey Kahne, Devon Borden, Spencer Bayston, Parker Price-Miller, Brady Bacon, Anthony Macri, Kyle Larson

TOP 10 FINISHES (40 Drivers):

22 Top 10s – Carson Macedo

21 Top 10s – Brad Sweet, David Gravel

17 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart

15 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild

14 Top 10s – Gio Scelzi

13 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston, Buddy Kofoid

12 Top 10s – Rico Abreu, Donny Schatz

10 Top 10s – James McFadden

8 Top 10s – Justin Peck

7 Top 10s – Jacob Allen

6 Top 10s – Brent Marks

5 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney

4 Top 10s – Kasey Kahne, Danny Dietrich

3 Top 10s – Brian Brown, Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss

2 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Blake Hahn, Brady Bacon, Anthony Macri, Kyle Larson, Parker Price-Miller

1 Top 10 – Robbie Price, Zeb Wise, Devon Borden, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Joe B. Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brandon Rahmer, Chad Trout, Lance Dewease, Cap Henry, Cole Macedo, Stuart Brubaker, Skylar Gee, Cole Duncan

2023 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:

No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)

1. Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)

2. Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2)

3. Sat, Feb 11* / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / James McFadden (1)

4. Sun, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)

5. Mon, March 6 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (3)

6. Sat, March 18 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Rico Abreu (1)

7. Fri, March 24 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Buddy Kofoid (1)

8. Sat, March 25 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Brad Sweet (1)

9. Fri, March 31 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brad Sweet (2)

10. Sat, April 1 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / James McFadden (2)

11. Fri, April 7 / U.S. 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)

12. Sat, April 8 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS / Rico Abreu (2)

13. Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (3)

14. Fri, April 28 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL / David Gravel (4)

15. Sat, April 29 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Brady Bacon (1)

16. Fri, May 5 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Logan Schuchart (1)

17. Sat, May 6 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Rico Abreu (3)

18. Wed, May 10 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Anthony Macri (1)

19. Fri, May 12 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brad Sweet (4)

20. Fri, May 19 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Donny Schatz (1)

21. Sat, May 20 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH / Donny Schatz (2)
22. Fri, May 26 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Brad Sweet (5)

23. Sat, May 27 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Carson Macedo (2)

24. Mon, May 29 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN / James McFadden (3)

HOMEGROWN: McDermand, Mounce/Stout Motorsports Emerging as Title Contenders Illinois driver returns home for Xtreme Outlaw tripleheader this weekend at Tri-City, Wayne County

CONCORD, NC (May 31, 2023) – In a world of Midget racing Goliaths, Chase McDermand is the proverbial David on the national scene. Armed with two cars, a few engines and his parents’ plumbing business as a sponsor on the side, he’s competing with — and beating — some of the best the sport has to offer.

The 22-year-old from Springfield, IL, is in his second full season with Mounce/Stout Motorsports and has won twice with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota already this year. Hot on the trail of his first national championship, McDermand is showing what’s possible with his mostly homegrown operation.

“I just try to do the most with what I have, and we’ve been able to do quite a bit with that,” he said. “We’ve been really blessed to have the success that we’ve had. I’m proud of the team as a whole.”

The Series returns to his home state of Illinois for a three-day race weekend this Thursday-Saturday at Tri-City Speedway and Wayne County Speedway. He’s currently 89 points out of the Series points lead with roughly three quarters of the season left to be contested.

Despite posting back-to-back third-place finishes last week at Millbridge Speedway, his gap to points leader Cannon McIntosh jumped 30 points after McIntosh swept both nights of competition. That gap doesn’t scare him, though, and neither does his competition.

“On the track, they’re all just racecars,” McDermand said. “When I can, I try to just see numbers. It doesn’t matter what engine is under the hood or who’s driving the car — to an extent — they’re all just racecars out there.”

He said it’s how he tries to approach the situation every time he straps into his car. Competing night-in and night-out against drivers with corporate sponsors, driver development programs and revered crew chiefs doesn’t faze him. It’s a challenge he’s willing to take on in pursuit of something he’s wanted for a long time.

“I remember just five or six years ago, being at the races at Jacksonville or Lincoln watching the Midget Week shows, wanting to be a part of where I am right now,” McDermand said. “Now that we’re here, we’re in contention for the championship. It just makes it real.”

Though he’s right where he needs to be in the standings, he did not begin the season in that position. A rough start to his night in the season opener in Du Quoin, IL, sent him back to the trailer early without a spot in the main event, dropping him way down in the standings. But the team rallied the next night, climbing from 12th on the starting grid to second by the checkered flag.

Since then, it’s been smooth sailing for McDermand and the team, posting podium finishes in all but two events thus far.

“After Du Quoin, I feel like it’s been uphill in terms of good progress,” McDermand said. “We’ve had good speed. Just putting whole nights together and taking advantage of good starting positions, which we were able to do in the last four or five nights … it’s important to hit the ground running every night.”

From a historical perspective, McDermand is relatively new to the national Midget scene, but has a nice resume already built. He’s a graduate of the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, garnering three consecutive championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

He paired with car owners Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout at the end of the 2021 season before taking on the entire POWRi national circuit together in 2022, where he won three races and placed fifth in the points standings against the toughest talent at Keith Kunz Motorsports, Chad Boat Industries and Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports.

Now in the thick of a championship battle, McDermand has reflected a bit on the impact of he and the team’s progress on their chances to win it all in 2023.

“As a whole, this is really the first time we’ve had a chance to run for a championship,” McDermand said. “The results have shown that the more experience I have, the better I am as a driver. The more experience the team has running up front, having speed, also makes them better. Both of those things combined [has been] giving us good results.”

McDermand and the Mounce/Stout Motorsports team are back in action with the rest of the stars of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series pres. by Toyota this Thursday-Saturday, June 1-3, at Tri-City Speedway and Wayne County Speedway (IL).

Tickets for all three nights will be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to the track to watch in person, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Midgets Take on Tri-City, Wayne County Before Summer Break

NASCAR stars Briscoe, Stenhouse expected to compete, Shelton makes Xtreme debut

PONTOON BEACH, IL (May 29, 2023) – The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota heads back to Illinois for a three-race weekend this Thursday-Saturday, June 1-3, at two tracks the tour has yet to hold competition.

Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL, kicks things off on Thursday, June 1 with the first of three 30-lap, $4,000-to-win Features for the weekend. The following two will be held at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, IL, Friday-Saturday, June 2-3.

The three-day stretch is the last batch of Xtreme Outlaw races before a multi-week summer break which ends with the next Series event on the calendar at Doe Run Raceway on Friday, July 21. Coupled with a visit to Southern Illinois Raceway the following evening, the weekend kicks off a stretch of four consecutive race weekends – culminating with a five-races-in-five-days, Speedweek-style event at five different tracks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Aug. 8-12.

Tickets for this weekend’s races will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to the tracks to watch in person, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend:

GATEWAY TO THE DIRT – With the NASCAR events taking place in St. Louis this weekend, Cup Series regulars Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be taking advantage of the nearby Xtreme Outlaw races and competing on the dirt.

Briscoe was scheduled to compete with the Series last week at Millbridge Speedway but suffered terminal mechanical failure in the opening Hot Laps session, ending his week early. He’ll now pilot a Mahindra Tractors, Spike Chassis #5 for Paul May Motorsports Friday and Saturday night at Wayne County.

Stenhouse is set to make his Series debut, piloting a third entry for Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports. The 2023 Daytona 500 winner took a Midget on track for the team during USAC’s marquee BC39 event in Indianapolis last year and has linked back up with them to take on Tri-City Thursday and Wayne County on Saturday.

GUESS WHO’S BACK – News of Holly Shelton’s long-awaited return to the seat of a dirt Midget broke several weeks ago, and now the time has come to get on track.

Shelton, the 27-year-old open-wheel racer from Gold River, CA, put her driving career on hold at the end of the 2018 season after three years driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports. She got the itch to compete again over the winter and has since paired with her close friends at Bundy Built Motorsports to get a car prepared for her Xtreme Outlaw debut Thursday at Tri-City.

Read More – Holly Shelton Returns to Midget Racing with Xtreme Outlaws June 1 at Tri-City

She’ll pilot a Spike Chassis with Bundy Built power in the event – a car which she tested last Thursday at Millbridge Speedway. She said it’s taken some adjustments to get used to her new power plant, compared to the Toyota Racing engine she’d driven with KKM, but is ready for the new challenge on a fast racetrack that she prefers over the smaller, more technical tracks.

GOING STREAKING – A dominant sweep of the Double Down Showdown at Millbridge last week boosted Cannon McIntosh’s lead in the Series points standings up to 89. He’s now finished either first or second in each of the last five Series races.

Next, he tackles the 1/3-mile and 1/5-mile ovals of Tri-City and Wayne County – both of which he’s done well racing in the past. In his last three starts at Tri-City, McIntosh hasn’t finished worse than seventh, and had a best finish of third there at the 2020 Gold Crown Midget Nationals. At Wayne County, he has two career top-10s with a best finish of fourth in the 2020 Jason Leffler Memorial.

He'll play teammate to Stenhouse this weekend as part of the Dave Mac stable, now emerging as the most competitive Midget teams in the nation.

HEADING HOME – It’s been a great stretch of races since the season opener for Chase McDermand. With podium finishes in each of the last four Series races, he’s riding a great wave of momentum as the Series heads back into his home state this weekend.

McDermand, 22, of Springfield, IL, has surged from lower than 20th in the points standings after the first race in March all the way up to second, now 89 points behind leader McIntosh with 3/4 of the season remaining. He did lose some ground in the standings to McIntosh after the two races at Millbridge, but back-to-back third-place finishes kept the championship goal within reach.

Historically, McDermand has not seen much of either track on tap for this weekend, but did finish eighth at Wayne County and 15th at Tri-City a year ago.

BACK FOR MORE – Gavan Boschele made his first starts of the season with the Series last week at Millbridge, posting finishes of sixth and fourth at the controls of the Keith Kunz Motorsports, Bullet/Toyota #5G.

Boschele, 15, of Mooresville, NC, is slated to race all three nights this weekend, making his debut at both facilities. He’ll have several of his KKM teammates beside him including Jade Avedisian, Gavin Miller, Taylor Reimer, Ryan Timms and Cooper Williams.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

When and where
Thursday, June 1 at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, IL
Friday-Saturday, June 2-3 at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, IL

On the internet
Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota
Twitter – @Xtreme_Outlaw
Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw
Facebook – @XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG

Live broadcast
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com. Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month.

Current championship points standings (view full standings)
1. Cannon McIntosh (1520pts); 2. Chase McDermand 1431pts (-89); 3. Jade Avedisian 1422pts (-98); 4. Gavin Miller 1414pts (-106); 5. Chance Crum 1314pts (-206); 6. Kyle Jones 1288pts (-232); 7. Taylor Reimer 1279pts (-241); 8. Ethan Mitchell 1248pts (-272); 9. Zach Daum 1224pts (-278); 10. Landon Brooks 1220pts (-3000).

Toyota Feature winners (3 drivers)
4 wins – Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports)
2 wins – Chase McDermand (Mounce/Stout Motorsports)
1 win – Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz Motorsports)

Toyota Feature laps led (10 drivers)
69 laps – Cannon McIntosh
26 laps – Thomas Meseraull
24 laps – Jade Avedisian, Chase McDermand
22 laps – Shane Cottle
21 laps – Ashton Torgerson
18 laps – Zach Daum
15 laps – Gavin Miller
2 laps – Ryan Timms
1 lap – Nick Drake

Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Awards (5 drivers)
2 awards – Ethan Mitchell, Cannon McIntosh
1 award – Gavin Miller, Daniel Whitley, Hayden Reinbold

Heat Race winners (16 drivers)
3 wins – Jade Avedisian
2 wins – Chance Crum, Nick Drake, Cannon McIntosh, Chase McDermand, Ethan Mitchell
1 win – Austin Barnhill, Shane Cottle, Gavin Miller, Thomas Meseraull, Corbin Rueschenberg, Kyle Jones, Rico Abreu, Zach Daum, Hayden Reinbold, Briggs Danner

High-points honors (7 drivers)
1 honor – Gavin Miller, Chance Crum, Rico Abreu, Daniel Whitley, Landon Brooks, Briggs Danner, Hayden Reinbold

Last Chance Showdown wins (8 drivers)
2 wins – Kyle Jones
1 win – Landon Brooks, Karter Sarff, Howard Moore, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer, Henry Chambers, Chance Crum

DIRTVision Hard Charger Awards (7 drivers)
1 award – Mitchel Moles, Chase Johnson, Ryan Timms, Chance Crum, Zach Daum, Gavan Boschele, Taylor Reimer

Podium finishes (11 drivers)
6 podiums – Cannon McIntosh
5 podiums – Chase McDermand
2 podiums – Gavin Miller
1 podium – Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull, Jade Avedisian, Kyle Jones, Zach Daum, Ryan Timms, Ashton Torgerson, Taylor Reimer

Top-10 finishes (28 drivers)
6 top-10s – Cannon McIntosh, Jade Avedisian, Chase McDermand, Gavin Miller
4 top-10s – Zach Daum, Kyle Jones, Chance Crum, Ethan Mitchell
3 top-10s – Landon Brooks, Thomas Meseraull, Taylor Reimer, Ryan Timms
2 top-10s – Corbin Rueschenberg, Briggs Danner, Gavan Boschele
1 top-10 – Shane Cottle, Mitchel Moles, Chase Johnson, Austin Barnhill, Daniel Adler, Sam Johnson, Rico Abreu, Ashton Torgerson, Daniel Whitley, Don Droud Jr., Mariah Ede, Nick Drake

2023 Schedule & Winners – Race No. Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Fri, March 10 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Cannon McIntosh (1)
2. Sat, March 11 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Jade Avedisian (1)
3. Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Cannon McIntosh (2)
4. Fri, May 5 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS / Chase McDermand (1)
5. Sat, May 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Chase McDermand (2)
6. Tue, May 22 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (3)
7. Wed, May 23 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (4)

PERFECTION: Carson Macedo Sweeps the Night at Atomic for Second Win of Season

The Lemoore, CA native makes his first trip to Victory Lane since early March

CHILLICOTHE, OH (May 27, 2023) - So many variables that could go wrong go into a night of racing with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.

A poor pill draw could harm a qualifying effort. A mistimed heat race start. A low draw for the Dash. And of course, the chaos of a 24 car Feature can derail a night at any moment.

Coming out on top of every single one of the phases of a night of racing is a monumental task – one that Carson Macedo managed to conquer on Saturday night at Atomic Speedway.

Macedo sped to the Simpson QuickTime Award, topped CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One, and dominated the Toyota Racing Dash. Then finally, Macedo outdueled Donny Schatz in the NOS Energy Drink Feature before holding off a late charge from David Gravel to cap a sweep of the night at the Chillicothe, OH oval.

And the icing on the cake? Macedo celebrated his 27th birthday the day before, making the victory a belated birthday gift.

“My guys did an incredible job all night,” Macedo said. “Hell of a job to sweep the night. QuickTime. Won the Heat. Won the Dash. And to get the win in the Feature was pretty special. We’ve been on a little bit of a dry spell in the win column, but it feels good to get one tonight. I know we’ve been really close. We’ve been in contention just haven’t been able to close it out but happy with the job that we could do tonight.”

As Macedo mentioned, the victory ended a dry spell – snapping a 19-race winless streak dating back to Volusia Speedway Park on March 5. Macedo now owns 30 career World of Outlaws wins – enough to equal Bobby Allen for 22nd all-time. The Lemoore, CA native is only the third Californian to reach the 30-win mark – joining Brad Sweet (84 wins) and Jason Meyers (58 wins). After struggling early in his career at the 3/8ths-mile, Atomic is now the 21st different track Macedo has won at in Series competition.

“(Crew Chief) Philip (Dietz) just did a great job with my car,” Macedo said. “I think in the past here I’ve really struggled with the car driving around itself center off. I feel like no matter what I did here in the past I would end up with my right-rear hanging off the corners.”

Macedo’s path to his second win of the season was anything but an easy drive.

Starting from the pole, Macedo rocketed to the lead on the opening circuit aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41 as Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, and David Gravel went three-wide for second behind him.

Schatz arose with the runner-up spot and immediately went to work chasing down Macedo. On an early restart Schatz went side by side with Macedo for multiple laps in a fierce battle for lead. Macedo managed to maintain.

On the next restart with 26 laps to go, Gravel slid Schatz to takeover second briefly before Schatz came rolling back by a few laps later. Not long after he reclaimed second, Schatz rolled the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 on the bottom to perfection by Macedo to lead lap 18.

Over the next several laps, Macedo and Schatz displayed driving excellence with a back and forth duel. Macedo snatched the lead back on the cushion only to have Schatz come back by when Macedo struggled with a slower car.

On lap 24, Macedo roared around the cushion to take the top spot for good. The 27-year-old pulled away from Schatz and held off a charging David Gravel to complete the sweep of the night.

“There were so many stages of the race that I didn’t know where to be,” Macedo explained. “I felt like Donny was making such good speed down on the bottom. The couple times that I moved down I felt like I was in no man’s land down there. And I kind of thought that sticking to the top and whatever that gave me was going to be my result. I feel like the top, luckily for me, cleaned off really nice there with probably about 15 or 12 (laps) to go. And I could just feel myself grip back up.”

Behind Macedo, Gravel claimed the runner-up spot for his Series-best 11th podium of the season with Big Game Motorsports. The Watertown, CT native came away very satisfied with the result and found restart positioning to be vital toward achieving it.

“I made a little mistake on one of the lapped cars but honestly really happy to run second,” Gravel said. “I thought there for a while I wasn’t going to be on the podium, and my car was really good on the restarts restarting fourth. Every time I restarted fourth, I could get a good run down the straightaway. Restarting third on the bottom on that flat I just couldn’t get going.

“We had three different bar combinations in tonight, trying all sorts of things. And to be trying all these things and be on the podium is a good night.”

Rounding out the top-three was Donny Schatz after challenging for the victory throughout the race. The 10-time champion and his team continued to stay hot with their sixth podium in the last eight races. Schatz put forth all his effort, even trying a lower line when the track became top-dominant, but fell a little short of his third triumph of 2023. While he badly wanted the win, Schatz came away encouraged after yet another strong outing.

It's pretty hard to get back to that bottom once you’ve abused them (tires),” Schatz said. “I tried it and lost another spot, but second or third, it’s not a win so not much difference to me. When you go for the win, sometimes that’s what happens. Hats off to the whole Carquest team. These guys have a great race car. What we did in the Dash was incredible around the bottom line, and we just kind of have good drive everywhere.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Gio Scelzi completed the top five.

With Brad Sweet finishing 11th, both Macedo and Gravel closed on him in the championship hunt. Sweet now leads Gravel by only 10 markers and Macedo by 14.

Cole Duncan earned the night’s KSE Racing Hard Charger with a drive from 17th to 10th.

Macedo’s Simpson QuickTime to begin the night was his sixth of the season (tied for most) and the 25th of his career.

Macedo’s victory in CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One was the 91st of his career. Buddy Kofoid topped NOS Energy Drink Heat Two for his ninth career Heat win, and David Gravel claimed NOS Energy Drink Heat Three for the 214th Heat victory of his career.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Indiana on Monday, May 29 for Lawrenceburg Speedway’s Federated Auto Parts Memorial Day Spectacular. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[4]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz[3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[6]; 6. 71-Michael Kofoid[5]; 7. 83-James McFadden[11]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart[9]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen[8]; 10. 22-Cole Duncan[17]; 11. 49-Brad Sweet[7]; 12. 5-Spencer Bayston[15]; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[14]; 14. 9P-Parker Price Miller[19]; 15. 91-Cale Thomas[12]; 16. 20G-Noah Gass[22]; 17. 101-Cody Maroske[18]; 18. 1-Nate Dussel[16]; 19. 4-Danny Smith[25]; 20. 81-Lee Jacobs[23]; 21. 7S-Robbie Price[20]; 22. 2S-Nathan Skaggs[21]; 23. A79-Brandon Wimmer[10]; 24. 83X-Nate Reeser[24]; 25. 99-Skylar Gee[13]

ACING ATOMIC: Brad Sweet Rolls to Dominating Atomic Victory

The defending champion matches his 2022 win total early in 2023

CHILLICOTHE, OH (May 26, 2023) - Brad Sweet continues to make powerful statement after powerful statement on the racetrack.

Last weekend the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championship point leader opened the door slightly for the competition to close in with a pair of sub-par runs. To start this weekend, he kicked it shut.

Sweet dominated Friday night at Chillicothe, OH’s Atomic Speedway – leading every lap of the NOS Energy Drink Feature on his way to a Series-best fifth win of the 2023 campaign. The Grass Valley, CA native held off charges from Kyle Larson and Carson Macedo to secure the checkered flag. Sweet is well aware that winning with The Greatest Show on Dirt is tough enough as is. But throw in having to beat a NASCAR Cup Series champion who has accomplished so much on dirt and it makes it even more gratifying.

“It’s good to win any race, but you always want to beat the best,” Sweet said. “And this World of Outlaws group is a great group of drivers. Then you bring in Kyle Larson and some of these other guys, too. Kyle is a talent that is so versatile and wins in every car. So, when he’s here and you can beat him, it definitely gives us a little more street credit.”

Sweet’s fifth win of the season marked the 84th of his World of Outlaws career – bringing him into a tie with Stevie Smith for the 10th most all-time. “The Big Cat” has already matched his win total from last season. Atomic is now the 46th different track he’s visited Victory Lane at in World of Outlaws competition.

“It was a fun race tonight,” Sweet said. “It was tricky. I’m just excited to get the first night out of the way and hopefully come back tomorrow stronger.”

After winning the Toyota Racing Dash, Sweet started the main event from the pole position with Larson to his outside. When the green flag flew, Sweet wasted no time jumping ahead of his brother-in-law.

As the lead duo neared the tail of the field, the race’s first yellow flag flew on lap 10 – setting up what would become a theme of the race. Whenever thick traffic was ahead of the leaders, the yellow lights would turn on for another caution nearly without fail.

While these yellows gave Sweet the benefit of clean air, it also lined up Larson alongside him for each restart. Sweet had to stay on top of his game aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing/Napa Auto Parts #49 to hold back Larson each time the green flag flew. And that’s exactly what he did.

Sweet exceled on every restart – gapping Larson by enough to make a move in Turns 1 and 2 impossible. Larson stayed close enough on one attempt to throw a slider but came up short.

“I was trying to trick him,” Sweet said of his strategy on the restarts. “I was trying to pick different spots to take off. The bottom was getting slicker, but I didn’t want to take off up top because I didn’t think it was good enough. You couldn’t put your right-rear in good dirt. It was just kind of a curb against the wall.”

On a late restart, Larson slipped off the track exiting Turn 2, allowing Carson Macedo to take the runner-up spot. As the laps dwindled, Macedo ran down Sweet as he entered traffic. Macedo attempted a slider when the white flag flew but couldn’t clear Sweet. As the two entered the final set of corners, the yellow flew once again – setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

On the restart, Sweet pulled ahead without issue and went on to win by slightly less than nine tenths of a second.

“I’m just really happy,” Sweet said. “You’ve got to control these races sometimes. I’m not sure if I had the best car or not. It’s hard to say. It was really tricky to see when you got to lapped traffic. You really got a feel off Turn 2, and the cushion kind of went over the turn, so I got a little free trying to keep my tires under me and not get spinning. But I think the key was definitely staying out front.”

After his late mishap that dropped him to fifth, Larson rebounded to reclaim the runner-up spot in only his second Series start of the year. The result marked Larson’s 57th career World of Outlaws podium and it came aboard the Paul Silva #57. Larson found himself wishing that lapped traffic could’ve been more of a factor as he battled for the win.

“I really just needed some long runs,” Larson said. “Everytime we caught traffic a yellow would come out. I just never got the opportunity to race in traffic, but I felt really good. I made a mistake there on whatever restart that was and got over the edge and fell back to fifth. Then I got rolling really good there in (Turns) 3 and 4 got back to their back bumper there at the white (flag). Then I was kind of happy there for that final caution and honestly was hoping they would get racing. I got a good launch off the top and was able to pass Carson there.”

Macedo held onto third to round out the podium – his seventh top-three finish of the season with Jason Johnson Racing. The birthday boy thought he might’ve had a shot to win on the final circuit until the last caution came out, dimming his hopes of a win on his birthday.

“I was bummed to see the caution come out,” Macedo admitted. “I didn’t clear him off of (Turn) 2, but I thought maybe I could throw something at him into Turn 3 and off of Turn 4. But it just didn’t work out that way. The yellow came out, and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll have another shot.’ Brad was kind of chugging up there at the top, and I thought maybe he was going to fire off on the cushion. When he didn’t, I did and I don’t think it really gave me a very good run to that green-white-checkered. Then Kyle starts throwing bombs at me, and I was trying to race him. I knew that was going to be tough to win that battle.”

Completing the top-five was David Gravel and Skyler Gee. Gee made his way into the top-five from 19th – earning him the KSE Hard Charger for the night.

Sweet extended his advantage in the points to 28 markers over Gravel and 36 over Macedo.

David Gravel claimed the Simpson QuickTime Award – his Series-leading sixth of the year and the 103rd of his career.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to David Gravel. NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were claimed by James McFadden, Carson Macedo, and Donny Schatz.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are back at Atomic Speedway Saturday, May 26 before Monday’s (May 29) Federated Auto Parts Memorial Day Spectacular at Lawrenceburg Speedway. For tickets to Atomic, CLICK HERE. For tickets to Lawrenceburg, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet[1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 4. 2-David Gravel[4]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee[19]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 7. 5-Spencer Bayston[16]; 8. 83-James McFadden[7]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[8]; 10. 71-Michael Kofoid[12]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 12. 9P-Parker Price Miller[10]; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[21]; 14. 22-Cole Duncan[15]; 15. 91-Cale Thomas[9]; 16. 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 17. 1-Nate Dussel[17]; 18. 7S-Robbie Price[14]; 19. A79-Brandon Wimmer[20]; 20. 78-Justin Clark[24]; 21. 101-Cody Maroske[22]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen[13]; 23. 29-Cole Macedo[18]; 24. 5J-Jake Hesson[23]; 25. 4-Danny Smith[25]

HAUD’S HOME: Sheldon Haudenschild’s Comfort in Ohio

The Wooster native hopes for more home state success this weekend at Atomic

CHILLICOTHE, OH (May 25, 2023) - A group of race fans gather around the back of the Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing hauler on a Friday afternoon at Attica Raceway Park.

They’re waiting to get a word or take a photo with their home state hero — Sheldon Haudenschild. He’s the kid who thrilled them early in his career on the Ohio ovals on his way to Sprint Car stardom. He’s the son of the legendary Jac Haudenschild, who also left an impression on these same fans with his courage behind the wheel. He’s the man who receives a warm applause everytime his name is announced in “The Buckeye State.”

Haudenschild cut his teeth in Ohio, racing near his hometown of Wooster. He followed in his father’s footsteps — perfecting the “Haud line” and racking up checkered flags at tracks like Attica, Wayne County Speedway, Waynesfield Raceway Park, and more. And it’s because of those reasons Haudenschild is so admired in the community.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are halfway through a four-race stretch in Haudenschild’s homeland. The final two nights are set for this weekend (May 26-27) at Chillicothe’s Atomic Speedway, a little over an hour south of Ohio’s capital of Columbus. As the 29-year-old navigates his seventh season with The Greatest Show on Dirt, trips home become more and more welcome.

“It’s always good to be home a little bit and kind of get your mind off things for a minute,” Haudenschild said. “And then show up to tracks that we’ve raced in the past and kind of grew up racing — especially Attica and Chillicothe, kind of where me and (crew chief Kyle) Ripper got our start, just places where you adapt to quick once you get back there and kind of feel like you never left.”

Haudenschild’s 2023 campaign to this point has been one of peaks and valleys. After beginning the season with four top 10s in the first five races, he missed the top 10 in three of the next five. The highlight of his year is a victory at U.S. 36 Raceway in early April. He’s reached the podium on three other occasions, including a runner-up at Tri-State Speedway on a night when he led 16 laps of the Feature. After 21 races, he sits sixth in points.

The performance aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17 has left Haudenschild with mixed feelings. The comfort in the car is there, but he wishes that comfort led to slightly better results.

“I feel like it’s just kind of OK,” Haudenschild said to describe his season. “I feel good in the car, and I’m happy car-wise, just kind of not on paper where we want to be. Obviously, we’d like a couple more wins and feel like we’ve had some good runs going that maybe didn’t go our way, but that’s all part of it. You’ve got to enjoy the lows and the highs.”

Fortunately for him, the most recent weekend of racing yielded his most consistent pair of races so far. In front of hometown fans, Haudenschild finished fourth on Friday at Attica and came home third on Saturday at Sharon after charging from 11th.

History suggests Haudenschild should continue building momentum this weekend at Atomic. He’s the most recent World of Outlaws winner at the 3/8ths mile, and during his most recent All-Star Circuit of Champions visit to the Chillicothe facility in 2016, he won. In five of his past six Sprint Car starts at Atomic, Haudenschild has finished on the podium.

Haudenschild’s success on home turf isn’t merely due to the number of laps. It’s as if the Ohio racetracks are built for his style. High-banked. Slick. A big cushion to rip. Those characteristics create a track right in Haudenschild’s wheelhouse.

“I think they (the tracks) definitely get a lot slicker than some of the places we go,” Haudenschild explained. “I think it’s having laps and being comfortable and knowing how the track plays out through the night from being here in the past is helpful. It’s a comfort level.”

The Ohioan will carry that comfort level into this weekend’s two-night tilt at Atomic looking to add to his history of home state success. But no matter the results, the fans will support him all the same. They’ll take photos. They’ll get autographs. They’ll watch proudly as one of their own continues to cement himself as one of the most talented and exciting drivers to ever wheel a Sprint Car.

“It’s just stress free being home,” Haudenschild said. “And I’m just enjoying it.”

For tickets to Atomic Speedway this weekend, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

ANTE UP: McIntosh Sweeps Double Down Showdown at Millbridge

Reimer charges to second from 12th, McDermand with fourth-straight podium in P3

SALISBURY, NC (May 24, 2023) – Since moving to North Carolina from Oklahoma over the offseason, Cannon McIntosh has made Millbridge Speedway his new home-away-from-home. He faced 22 other invaders at his weekly race place Wednesday night and expelled every one for the second-straight night, winning the DIAEDGE Double Down Showdown in a sweep of the week’s events.

With eight wins in weekly Micro Sprint competition already this season, McIntosh was among the most prepared drivers in the field for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota’s return to the 1/6-mile speedway. It came at exactly the right time after he was bested by Chase McDermand in back-to-back races three weeks ago in Kansas.

But this week, McIntosh was simply not going to be denied. Not in his own backyard.

“It’s definitely rewarding after running second a couple weekends,” McIntosh said. “Being able to come back here and show resilience and show what the team’s about.”

He and the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports team showed what they were about early, turning in a fastest Qualifying lap of 9.884 to snag the Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Award. From there, a fourth-to-second run in Heat #3 put him fifth on the starting grid for the Toyota Racing Feature.

McIntosh, 20, of Bixby, OK, immediately jumped to his preferred lane on the outside, right up against the wall at the drop of the green and began picking off his forward opponents. By Lap 10, he reached the rear bumper of his most formidable foe – Chase McDermand – and wasted no time in getting by with a big slide job in Turns 3-4 to take the lead.

“I kinda just went off of feel and when I could feel the car load-up, and then get back to the throttle,” McIntosh said. “We’d get really good runs on guys there. I just started making moves, and it started clicking once I got by the first car. I got into a rhythm, and we were really good in traffic.”

McIntosh was strong in traffic, having zero issues getting through multiple waves of slower cars and maintaining his gap on the field until a handful of caution periods slowed the race’s pace down after the halfway point.

Further back in the field, Taylor Reimer was mounting a big charge to the front from her 12th-place spot on the starting grid. She had advanced her Keith Kunz Motorsports #25K all the way to fourth before the halfway point and was hot on the tail for a podium spot as the race dipped under 10-to-go.

“I just ripped through the middle, honestly,” Reimer said. “There were a couple guys on the bottom, a lot were trying the top. From the Micro race, I knew there really wasn’t anything on the top. It was fine for the Micros, but I knew once it got to the Midgets with all the horsepower we have, it was gonna be tough to run up there.”

Reimer, 23, of Tulsa, OK, was one of the few drivers in the field also piloting a Micro Sprint over the two-day stretch and used the extra seat time to her advantage. After getting by her KKM teammate Gavan Boschele for third, she set her sights on McDermand in second.

One final restart with three circuits remaining put Reimer right on McDermand’s bumper. The two battled for the spot relentlessly until McDermand’s slide job attempt forced contact between them in Turn 3, shooting McDermand way up the track in Turn 4 and allowing Reimer to grab the spot from underneath him.

“She came all the way up to the wall that time, so I just had to throw it down underneath of her,” McDermand said. “I realized at the last second that I probably wasn’t going to clear, so I tried to throw it sideways and that’s when my right-rear hit her.”

“He slid me because he had so much momentum; he wasn’t just going to let off,” Reimer said. “I was ripping through the middle, he slid me, and we made contact there. It pushed him up the track, thankfully it didn’t wreck either of us and we were able to continue on.”

Back out front, McIntosh was on cruise control as he crossed underneath the checkered flags unchallenged to bag the $5,000 grand prize.

“We were able to stay out of trouble and keep our nose clean,” McIntosh said. “That was our key to being able to win this week. I felt like we had the speed all week, it was just a matter of staying out of trouble and keeping this thing in one piece.”

Reimer was able to gather her car back up after the contact with McDermand and crossed the line in second, notching her best Series finish of the year thus far.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit; my guys always give me a great car and I just felt like I haven’t delivered yet,” Reimer said. “To get this for them is really important to me. I’m still chasing that win. I know if I just keep doing well and finishing top-fives, top-threes, the win will come.”

McDermand crossed in third for the second night in-a-row, making for his fourth-straight podium in his last four Series starts. Though he lost some ground in the points standings to McIntosh, he’s still confident in what’s to come this season.

“There’s a lot of tracks left to go,” McDermand said. “I feel like maybe the bigger tracks are more in my wheelhouse, so hopefully that’ll kinda turn the tides back toward us.”

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota jumps back into action next weekend at Tri-City Speedway (June 1) and Wayne County Speedway (June 2-3) in Illinois.

Tickets will be on sale at the gates on race day. If you can’t be at the tracks, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh[5]; 2. 25K-Taylor Reimer[12]; 3. 40-Chase McDermand[1]; 4. 5G-Gavan Boschele[4]; 5. 97-Gavin Miller[3]; 6. 71-Jade Avedisian[8]; 7. 67-Ryan Timms[2]; 8. 98-Briggs Danner[6]; 9. 55D-Nick Drake[10]; 10. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[7]; 11. 71E-Mariah Ede[14]; 12. 26-Chance Crum[15]; 13. 55-Trevor Cline[9]; 14. 7U-Kyle Jones[11]; 15. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[19]; 16. 71M-Jake Andreotti[13]; 17. 5LK-Kyle Strickler[21]; 18. 97K-Carson Hocevar[17]; 19. 17B-Austin Barnhill[20]; 20. 2X-Landon Brooks[16]; 21. 5D-Zach Daum[18]

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series is brought to fans by important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Toyota (Title sponsor of the Midgets Series), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier) and SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider). Other partners include: TJ Forged and Whitz Racing Products.

MILLBRIDGE MASTERY: McIntosh Wins Night 1 of DIAEDGE Double Down Showdown

SALISBURY, NC (May 23, 2023) – Tuesday night turned into a house party for Cannon McIntosh.

The house: Millbridge Speedway. The party: his third win of the season with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented Toyota.

The Oklahoma native moved to Mooresville, NC in the off season and made Millbridge a new home for racing – helping build a Micro Sprint team with his dad and winning weekly shows at the 1/6-mile track himself.

On Tuesday night, he scored his biggest win yet at the track during the first night of the DIAEDGE Double Down Showdown with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets – accompanied by a $4,000 payday.

“It was nice to come back here and do what we know how to do and put this thing back in Victory Lane,” McIntosh said. “This thing was lights out all night. I felt pretty confident in what I was doing on the track. All the pieces came together and we were able to win.”

McIntosh was never shy about his speed all night, running the fastest time in his Hot Lap group, running the fastest time in his Qualifying group and winning the TJ Forged Heat Race. That placed him as the second highest points earner behind Hayden Reinbold, who scored the Whitz Quick Time Award and also won his Heat Race.

However, with Reinbold drawing the number six pill in the invert draw that placed Chase McDermand – who won the last two Xtreme Outlaw Midget shows – on the pole and McIntosh in fifth for the 30-lap Feature.

When the main event commenced, outside polesitter Gavin Miller, looking for his first career national Midget win, rocketed around the outside of McDermand to take the lead on the first lap.

While McDermand tried to hunt him back down, McIntosh was already on the move behind them, up to third by Lap 4. Two laps later, up to second past McDermand.

He wasn’t the only one on a climb too. After fading in the first two laps, Jade Avedisian was climbing her way up through the field, getting back to third by Lap 9 and looking to spoil McIntosh’s appetite for the win, which eluded him last year.

Miller, McIntosh and Avedisian waged a war for the lead by the halfway point, trading slide jobs like it was a choreographed dance. McIntosh ended up having the better footing, winning the battle with a slider through the middle of Turns 1 and 2.

With the lead in hand, McIntosh stayed glued to the top and let the party rage on behind him. And while he had already won the war for the lead, Miller and Avedisian kept it going for second. The close racing between the two Keith Kunz Motorsports drivers resulted in contact in Turn 3, sending Avedisian into the wall and collecting six other cars with her. She was able to continue and rally back for a ninth-place finish.

With 10 laps to go, McIntosh worked on making qualifying laps out of each one. When the white flag hit the air, he had a straightaway lead on Miller. Then, a caution.

Green-white-checked finish.

Miller pushed his #97 Toyota-power car as hard as he could in the final two laps, looking underneath McIntosh in the final corner, but the GEARWRENCH #08 car for Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports was perfect around the top and sprinted with ease to the checkered flag first.

“I couldn’t see behind me, but I felt like we had a really good car,” McIntosh said. “I felt confident every lap, so I knew if I just hit my marks, we’d be fine. Don’t know how close [Miller] was behind us but felt really good. It was about as good as you could ask for in a car and try to go back and do the same thing tomorrow.”

While Miller had to settle for second, it was his third straight top-10 finish and second straight podium with the Series – in his first start at the North Carolina track.

“I struggled off exit,” Miller said. “I just needed to be up a little higher. Cannon could get through a little better than we could, but we’ll figure it out.”

McDermand finished third, ending his winning streak, but still satisfied as it was also his first time at Millbridge.

“Really just needed to get off the corner better, needed more forward drive there,” McDermand said. “Once the track progressed throughout the race, I fell off a little bit. Just struggled to get off the corner.”

Rounding out the top five were Briggs Danner in fourth and Mariah Ede in fifth – career best finishes for both and their first top five with the Series. Gavan Boschele, the inaugural Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota winner, was the DIRTVision Hard Charger, going from 20th to sixth.

McIntosh’s house party brought him his fourth career Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series win – now the winningest drive with the Series – and added 40 points to his lead in the championship standings over Avedisian (-71).

UP NEXT: The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota returns to Millbridge, Wednesday, May 24, for the final night of the DIAEDGE Double Down Showdown. Tickets are available at the gate, or you can watch the race live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS Feature (31 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh[5]; 2. 97-Gavin Miller[2]; 3. 40-Chase McDermand[1]; 4. 98-Briggs Danner[7]; 5. 71E-Mariah Ede[12]; 6. 5G-Gavan Boschele[20]; 7. 26-Chance Crum[18]; 8. 67-Ryan Timms[17]; 9. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 10. 7U-Kyle Jones[15]; 11. 11X-Brent Crews[10]; 12. 17B-Austin Barnhill[13]; 13. 55-Trevor Cline[19]; 14. 25K-Taylor Reimer[8]; 15. 5D-Zach Daum[11]; 16. 97K-Carson Hocevar[14]; 17. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[9]; 18. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[6]; 19. 55D-Nick Drake[4]; 20. 2X-Landon Brooks[16]

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: World of Outlaws Set for Atomic Doubleheader, Monday at Lawrenceburg over Memorial Day Weekend

Two more nights in Ohio and final trip to Indiana are next for The Greatest Show on Dirt

CHILLICOTHE, OH (May 23, 2023) - High banks and high speeds await the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars this Memorial Day weekend.

First up is two nights at Chillicothe, OH’s Atomic Speedway (May 26-27) – marking the ninth and 10th visits for The Greatest Show on Dirt at the 3/8 mile. Then, on Monday, May 29, the Series heads to southeast Indiana where Lawrenceburg Speedway hosts the Federated Auto Parts Memorial Day Spectacular. The night will be Lawrenceburg’s 19th time welcoming the World of Outlaws.

Add it all together, and the result is three races in four nights at two of the most exciting tracks that the Series invades all year.

BUY ATOMIC TICKETS

BUY LAWRENCEBURG TICKETS

Let’s look at this weekend’s top storylines:

TIGHT TOP-THREE: Through a quarter of the 2023 campaign, three names have separated themselves atop the standings, but they’ve been unable to separate from each other. Brad Sweet leads the way in pursuit of his fifth consecutive title with David Gravel (-20 points) and Carson Macedo (-30 points) close behind.

Sweet’s one World of Outlaws appearance at Atomic resulted in a fourth-place effort last season. “The Big Cat’s” last seven starts at Lawrenceburg have seen him finish no worse than eighth, including a victory in 2018.

Gravel also has only one World of Outlaws start at Atomic – finishing seventh last season. But the driver of the Big Game Motorsports #2 has made five All-Star Circuit of Champions starts there, earning three top fives, including a runner-up in 2011. In 10 Lawrenceburg attempts, Gravel owns top fives in half of them.

Macedo’s made several laps at Atomic with the All-Stars, finishing as high as third in 2018. The Lemoore, CA native hasn’t had quite the performance he’d like at Lawrenceburg with only one top-10 finish in four starts, but he’ll look to change the trend on Monday.

HOT SCHATZ: In only a few short weeks, Donny Schatz has gone from struggling to crack the top 10 to the hottest driver on tour.

After seven consecutive finishes of 11th of lower, Schatz has rebounded in a massive way with five podiums in the last six races. Two of them are wins at Attica Raceway Park and Sharon Speedway this past weekend for his first two wins of the season.

Schatz’ performance at the two tracks ahead this weekend suggests the stretch could continue. At Atomic, the pilot of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 has topped four of the eight races in Series history. In seven starts at the Chillicothe oval, the Fargo, ND native’s average finish is 2.57.

At Lawrenceburg, Schatz is a three-time winner and owns podiums in nine of his 15 starts.

HUNGRY HAUDENSCHILD: This past weekend proved to be a productive outing in home territory for Sheldon Haudenschild.

The Wooster, OH native finished fourth at Attica, then posted his fourth podium of the season at Sharon. With momentum on his side, Haudenschild hopes to find himself in Victory Lane at least once during the upcoming trio of races.

As luck would have it, Haudenschild won the most recent Series visit at both Atomic and Lawrenceburg aboard the Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing #17. Haudenschild is also a former All-Star winner at Atomic (2016).

SHARK STRIKE?: The Shark Racing teammates – Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen – have been so close to scoring a victory for Bobby Allen’s team at the tracks ahead this weekend.

Schuchart made his first World of Outlaws start at Atomic last year. That night he came home in the runner-up spot. In Schuchart’s first five starts at Lawrenceburg, he didn’t finish within the top 10. But in his last two starts, Schuchart has posted results of second and third.

Last year at Atomic, Allen followed Schuchart to the checkered flag to complete the podium in his first Atomic attempt. Allen hasn’t been quite as strong as his teammate at Lawrenceburg, but he did post his first top 10 at the facility during the most recent visit.

HOOSIER HOPEFULS: The trip to Lawrenceburg is the last World of Outlaws race in Indiana for the season, so that means it’s the last opportunity for the tour’s two Hoosiers – Spencer Bayston and Bill Rose – to have strong outings in their home state.

Bayston has stood in Lawrenceburg victory lane in the past – topping a 2018 United States Auto Club (USAC) race. Last year, with his current team – CJB Motorsports – the Lebanon, IN native finished fifth in the World of Outlaws trip to “The Burg.”

Rose, out of Plainfield, IN, has made countless laps at Lawrenceburg in his Sprint Car career both with and without a wing. The 58-year-old finished second in a 1997 USAC race, and fast forward to 2009 when he earned another runner-up – this time with the All-Stars.

ATOMIC ACES: With a strong local Sprint Car scene, a few Buckeyes stand out as drivers who could contend for a World of Outlaws upset.

Cole Duncan undoubtedly leads the charge of local favorites. The Lockbourne, OH native has collected dozens of Atomic wins over the years including five in 2022. Last year, Duncan earned a World of Outlaws top-five finish when the Series visited Chillicothe.

Last Friday, Cap Henry put together a strong run at Attica (sixth) to make Ohio proud and could do the same at Atomic. Henry has already earned a pair of top fives in Chillicothe this year including a second in April.

More locals to watch include Travis Philo (Bowling Green, OH), Kory Crabtree (London, OH), Nate Reeser (Circleville, OH), and more.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all the action on DIRTVision.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE

Friday and Saturday, May 26-27 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, OH

Monday, May 29 at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, IN

ON THE INTERNET

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (21/80 Races):

1. 49 – Brad Sweet (2934PTS) 2. 2 – David Gravel (-20PTS) 3. 41 – Carson Macedo (-30PTS) 4. 1S – Logan Schuchart (-126PTS) 5. 15 – Donny Schatz (-156PTS) 6. 17 – Sheldon Haudenschild (-168PTS) 7. 5 – Spencer Bayston (-240PTS) 8. 18 – Gio Scelzi (-258PTS) 9. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss (-414PTS) 10. 1A – Jacob Allen (-450PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (11 Drivers):

4 wins – David Gravel (Big Game Motorsports #2), Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne Racing #49)

3 wins – Rico Abreu (Rico Abreu Racing #24)

2 wins – James McFadden (Roth Motorsports #83), Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15)

1 win – Carson Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing #41), Buddy Kofoid (CMS Racing #11), Sheldon Haudenschild (Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing #17), Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports #21), Logan Schuchart (Shark Racing #1S), Anthony Macri (Macri Motorsports #39)

FEATURE LAPS LED (14 Drivers):

106 laps – Rico Abreu

104 laps – Brad Sweet

92 laps – David Gravel

65 laps – Carson Macedo

60 laps – James McFadden

46 laps – Buddy Kofoid

44 laps – Logan Schuchart

43 laps – Brent Marks

37 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild

36 laps – Donny Schatz

11 laps – Anthony Macri

10 laps – Cory Eliason

9 laps – Gio Scelzi

3 laps – Brady Bacon

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (9 Drivers):

5 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo, David Gravel

3 QuickTimes – Logan Schuchart

2 QuickTimes – Anthony Macri, Rico Abreu

1 QuickTime – Brian Brown, Donny Schatz, Buddy Kofoid, Gio Scelzi

HEAT RACE WINNERS (21 Drivers):

12 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo

11 Heat Wins – David Gravel

6 Heat Wins – Buddy Kofoid

5 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz

4 Heat Wins – Brent Marks

3 Heat Wins – Gio Scelzi, Anthony Macri, Rico Abreu

2 Heat Wins – Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Parker Price-Miller, Justin Peck, Brock Zearfoss

1 Heat Win – James McFadden, Brian Brown, Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Cory Eliason

TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (32 Drivers):

16 Dashes – Carson Macedo, David Gravel

15 Dashes – Brad Sweet

12 Dashes – Logan Schuchart

9 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu

7 Dashes – Gio Scelzi

6 Dashes – Buddy Kofoid, Jacob Allen, Brent Marks

5 Dashes – Spencer Bayston, Brock Zearfoss

4 Dashes – Anthony Macri, James McFadden

3 Dashes – Justin Peck, Danny Dietrich

2 Dashes – Brian Brown, Cory Eliason, Parker Price-Miller, Robbie Price, Tyler Courtney

1 Dash – Kasey Kahne, Freddie Rahmer, Devon Borden, Garet Williamson, Aaron Reutzel, Brady Bacon, Chad Trout, Dylan Norris, Cap Henry, Stuart Brubaker

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (17 Drivers):

2 LCS Wins – Robbie Price, Sheldon Haudenschild

1 LCS Win – Brock Zearfoss, Parker Price-Miller, Gio Scelzi, Noah Gass, Hunter Schuerenberg, James McFadden, Wayne Johnson, Ryan Timms, Ayrton Gennetten, Spencer Bayston, Logan Schuchart, Kraig Kinser, Freddie Rahmer, Henry Malcuit, Cole Macedo

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (18 Drivers):

2 Hard Chargers – Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden, Tyler Courtney

PODIUM FINISHES (19 Drivers):

10 Podiums – David Gravel

9 Podiums – Brad Sweet

6 Podiums – Carson Macedo

5 Podiums – Rico Abreu, Donny Schatz

4 Podiums – Buddy Kofoid, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild

3 Podiums – Brent Marks

2 Podiums – Jacob Allen, James McFadden

1 Podium – Danny Dietrich, Brian Brown, Kasey Kahne, Devon Borden, Spencer Bayston, Parker Price-Miller, Brady Bacon, Anthony Macri

TOP 10 FINISHES (38 Drivers):

19 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, Brad Sweet

18 Top 10s – David Gravel

16 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart

13 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild

12 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston

11 Top 10s – Gio Scelzi, Rico Abreu

10 Top 10s – Michael Kofoid, Donny Schatz

8 Top 10s – Justin Peck

7 Top 10s – James McFadden

6 Top 10s – Jacob Allen, Brent Marks

5 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney

4 Top 10s – Kasey Kahne, Danny Dietrich

3 Top 10s – Brian Brown, Cory Eliason

2 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Brock Zearfoss, Blake Hahn, Brady Bacon, Anthony Macri

1 Top 10 – Robbie Price, Zeb Wise, Devon Borden, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Parker Price-Miller, Joe B. Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg, Kyle Larson, Brandon Rahmer, Chad Trout, Lance Dewease, Cap Henry, Cole Macedo, Stuart Brubaker

2023 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS: