By Tony Veneziano

Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet, who are first and second in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings, respectively, split wins over the Memorial Day weekend. Schatz was victorious at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in North Carolina, while Sweet took the checkered flag first at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana. 

The Outlaws continue a busy stretch this week, with three races at three tracks in three states.

Taking advantage of lapped traffic

Brad Sweet took a page out of Donny Schatz’s book at Lawrenceburg Speedway, moving around on the track and ultimately using lapped traffic to his advantage to track down and pass the nine-time and defending series champion to take the lead and ultimately the win. For Sweet, it was his second victory of the season. Making the win even more impressive was the fact that the Californian came from the eighth starting spot.

An eventful dash

Schatz had a very eventful dash at Lawrenceburg Speedway. On the opening lap of that eight-lap contest, contact with another car led to the nose wing on the No. 15 being flipped and folded up, which caused the car to be a handful for the remainder of the dash. Also, Schatz was hit by a rock, which broke his helmet and gave him a bloody nose. Despite all of that, Schatz gained a spot and ran third in the dash. On the plus side, Schatz had his entire crew back at the track, with car chief Steve Swenson returning, after missing several races due to injury.

At your viewing pleasure already thanks to the fine folks at @dirtvision, tonight's #WoOCraftSCS highlights from @BurgSpeedway! Excellent action throughout the field. https://t.co/jAEXFGq0Sn

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) May 29, 2018

A trio of podiums

David Gravel and the CJB Motorsports team put in plenty of miles over the Memorial Day weekend. Following the event at Charlotte on Friday night, the team headed north to Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania, where it finished second and third, respectively. Gravel found himself on the podium again on Monday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway, crossing the line third. The Connecticut native opened the night by turning the fastest lap in time trials of the 34 entries.

Win streak snapped

Shane Stewart had his two-race win streak at Lawrenceburg Speedway snapped on Monday night but still had a solid run, coming home fourth to earn his eighth top-five finish of the season. That effort helped Stewart move into a tie for the fourth spot in points.

Season-best finish

Parker Price-Miller earned his best finish of the season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at Lawrenceburg Speedway with a fifth-place showing. The Indiana native, who is competing full-time with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, started 16th and steadily worked his way forward in the 35-lap event.

Plenty of passing

Aaron Reutzel earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award at Lawrenceburg Speedway, coming from the 22nd starting spot to finish seventh. Just behind him was teenager Gio Scelzi, who worked his way from 14th to eighth. Also, Joey Saldana cut the field in half, going from 21st to 10th.

Tonight’s #WoOCraftSCS @KSE_Racing Hard Charger was @AaronReutzel, who came from 22nd to 7th at @BurgSpeedway! pic.twitter.com/62bi9jrwW1

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) May 29, 2018

Hot streak continues

Schatz continued his torrid start to the 2018 season, by picking up his ninth win in the first 20 races of the season at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The nine-time and defending series champion started on the pole but did not lead until the 24th lap when he took the top spot from Shane Stewart. For Schatz, the win was the 11th of his career at the 4/10-mile.

Oh, so close

Stewart continues to chase his first win of the season. After leading the first 24 laps at Charlotte, he settled for second behind Schatz. Stewart has three runner-up finishes this season, two of those have been races he led a number of laps in, only to have Schatz pass him in the late going.

Podium streak continues

Logan Schuchart found himself on the podium for the third consecutive race. Following a pair of runner-up finishes at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio, the 25-year-old finished third at Charlotte. Schuchart opened the night by turning the fastest lap in time trials and won the first heat race to lock himself into the dash, where he finished fourth.

Quietly consistent

Brad Sweet has been among the most consistent drivers with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series again this season. Sweet ranks second in top-five and top-10 finishes, only to Donny Schatz. The Californian has been among the top 10 in 17 of the first 21 races of the season, with 12 of those being top-five performances.

What a race at @BurgSpeedway! @BradSweet49 parks the @NAPARacing machine after a #WoOCraftSCS thriller at The Burg! pic.twitter.com/PZj3iqaJqg

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) May 29, 2018

Continuing to learn

Ian Madsen finished sixth at Charlotte to earn his sixth top-10 finish of his rookie season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. The Australian has visited a number of tracks for the first time this season as he and the KCP Racing team continue to build a notebook. Madsen is solidly among the top 10 in points.

Another Hard Charger Award

Brent Marks came from the 20th starting spot to finish 12th at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. That earned him his fourth KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award of the season, which is tied for the series lead in that department. Marks had made up 87 positions in A-Feature events through May 25, which tops the series.

First timer

Gerard McIntyre made his first trip south to Charlotte from Central Pennsylvania. The PA Posse member finished a very solid 10th. McIntyre opened the night by turning the fourth-fastest lap in time trials of the 26 entries. He finished second in the first heat race, which earned him a spot in the dash, where he crossed the line sixth.

Outlaws debut

Logan Seavey, who has made a name for himself the last few years while racing Midgets for Keith Kunz’s powerhouse team, made his World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series debut at Charlotte, driving for Chase Briscoe Racing. Seavey raced his way into the main event through the B-main and advanced a few positions to finished 18th.

Moonlighting

NASCAR drivers and World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series team owners Kasey Kahne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. both competed at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Kahne finished 11th, while Stenhouse ran 16th. For Stenhouse, it was his first Outlaws start since 2009. 

At Lawrenceburg, Christopher Bell piloted the Chase Briscoe Racing machine to a ninth-place finish. Kyle Larson was also in action on Memorial Day. The Californian was running among the top three when he jumped the cushion and spun. Paul McMahan, who was running fourth, had nowhere to go, getting into Larson’s spun car to end the night for both.

#WoOCraftSCS Highlights courtesy of @dirtvision:

Watch @DonnySchatz continue his dominant 2018 with his 11th career victory at @TheDirtTrack!

Some great racing throughout the pack last night at Charlotte! https://t.co/uSdsCdGVNT

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) May 26, 2018

A few extra laps

With a break in the schedule on Saturday and Sunday, a handful of drivers made the trip north from Charlotte to Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania to take part in the Bob Weikert Memorial Weekend. In the opener of the two-night event, David Gravel finished second, with Logan Schuchart seventh and Brent Marks eighth. Jacob Allen also raced his way into the main event. In the finale, Gravel finished third, while Marks was ninth. Schuchart and Allen did not compete on the second night. Donny Schatz brought his late model to Port Royal and finished fifth both nights.

Yet another win for Mother Nature

It wouldn’t the 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season if rain didn’t affect an event. The return to Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey on Tuesday, May 22, was postponed due to rain. Series and track officials are currently exploring a possible rescheduled date.

Points update

Donny Schatz extended his lead over Brad Sweet to 108 points, with 21 shows now in the books. David Gravel remains third, 100 points out of second. Shane Stewart and Jason Johnson are currently tied for fourth in points, 32 markers behind Gravel. Daryn Pittman is sixth, 16 points out of the top five, while Sheldon Haudenschild fell a couple of spots to seventh, 14 markers out of sixth. Logan Schuchart currently rides eighth, with rookie Ian Madsen in the ninth spot. Kraig Kinser has worked his way into 10th for the first time this season.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series is set for a midweek event at Fairbury American Legion Speedway (FALS) in Illinois on Wednesday, May 30. The event will mark the series debut at the track, which has hosted the World of Outlaws Late Model Series for a number of years. The Outlaws then head to I-96 Speedway in Michigan on Friday, June 1, after a one-year hiatus at the venue. David Gravel won at I-96 in 2016. The weekend wraps ups at Wilmot Raceway in Wisconsin on Saturday, June 2. Gravel has a three-race win streak at the third-mile, located near the Wisconsin/Illinois border.