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World Of Outlaws Notebook: The West Coast Swing Continues

World Of Outlaws Notebook: The West Coast Swing Continues

Tony V's World of Outlaws Weekly Notebook: This week, the West Coast Swing continues with a pair of races at the Stockton Dirt Track.

Mar 13, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
World Of Outlaws Notebook: The West Coast Swing Continues

By Tony Veneziano

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series is the busiest racing series in all of motorsports and thus there is always news and notes from the nearly 90-race schedule that the series maintains. Keep up with all of the happenings here at FloRacing via the World of Outlaws Weekly Notebook. This week, the West Coast swing continues with a pair of races at the Stockton Dirt Track.

First-time winner

Aaron Reutzel scored his first career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series A-Feature win on March 9 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. 


The native of Clute, Texas, started fourth and ran among the top five early, before falling back to sixth at one point. Following a caution with 15 laps remaining, Reutzel made a charge to the front, taking the lead with five laps remaining, to become the second driver thus far in 2018 to score their first-career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series win, joining Sheldon Haudenschild. The 35-lapper was a thriller as Reutzel, Cory Eliason, and Haudenschild all traded the lead at various points, running side by side for numerous laps.

Defending their turf

California drivers had a strong showing against the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at Thunderbowl Raceway. Three of the top five and six of the top 10 finishers (seven if you count Outlaws regular Brad Sweet, who hails from the Golden State) were California natives. Cory Eliason led the way with a career-best second-place finish, after leading a total of 22 laps in the 35-lap main event.

Familiar faces

Jason Meyers and Tim Kaeding, a pair of longtime stalwarts on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series trail, were in action at Thunderbowl Raceway. 


Kaeding, making his first start aboard the No. 7S for Jason Sides, earned the Hard Charger Award, coming from the 16th starting spot to finish eighth. Meyers, a two-time series champion, finished ninth, which was his third top 10 finish in the same number of starts this year.

Strong showings for Scelzi brothers

Dominic and Giovanni Scelzi both had strong showings at Thunderbowl Raceway, which is considered their home track. Dominic finished fourth in the 35-lap main event, while Giovanni was 11th. Giovanni was fastest in Flight A of time trials in just his third appearance with the Outlaws. Both brothers made their way into the Craftsman Club Dash, which put them among the top eight starts in the main event.

New track record

Sheldon Haudenschild was fastest in Flight B of time trials and fastest overall of the 43 entrants at Thunderbowl Raceway, establishing a new track record in the process. 


The previous mark had been set by Brad Sweet in 2015. Haudenschild led eight laps of the main event before contact with a lapped car and then the front stretch wall while leading, ended his night.

First-timer

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid made his World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series debut at Thunderbowl Raceway. The 16-year-old, who won with the King of the West Sprint Series last year, finished seventh in a heat race. He then raced his way from the C-main into the B-main, where he finished ninth, just a handful of spots out of a transfer position.

Rain, rain, go away

For the third time this season, rain interrupted a scheduled World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event. The second night at Thunderbowl Raceway was canceled and will not be re-scheduled. On the stat sheet, the series has two races canceled so far in 2018 due to rain and one event that was re-scheduled.

Points update

Donny Schatz, the nine-time and defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion, extended his lead over Sheldon Haudenschild in the series standings to 52 markers with six races completed in 2018. 


Schatz is the only driver who has finished in the top five in each and every race this season. Brad Sweet is currently third in the standings, just two markers behind Haudenschild. Jason Johnson is fourth, with Shane Stewart in fifth, two markers behind Johnson. David Gravel is currently sixth, followed by Daryn Pittman in seventh, Brian Brown in eighth, Tim Shaffer in ninth, and Paul McMahan in 10th.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series heads to the Stockton Dirt Track in Stockton, CA, for a two-night event this Friday and Saturday. Brad Sweet won the finale at Stockton last year after the opener was rained out. Schatz and Rico Abreu are past winners at Stockton, as are NASCAR star Kyle Larson and Kerry Madsen.