Brad Sweet and the No. 49 Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) machine are the car and team to beat right now on the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series tour. 

The veteran driver has won five of the last seven races for the series and finished among the top-five in all 11 races in the month of June and 13 straight, dating back to Memorial Day evening at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana. Those stats have propelled Sweet into the lead in the series standings as he looks to dethrone 10-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz and claim his first title and the second for KKR. Sweet and his fellow competitors now prepare for a busy month of July, which will see them in action 13 times in a 24-day span.

Another big money win

Brad Sweet earned $41,000 for winning the AGCO Jackson Nationals at Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota, just a week after taking home $20,000 in the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin. Sweet has won two of the three highest-paying events thus far in 2019, with a handful more on the horizon as the “Month of Money” kicks off at the famed Eldora Speedway in a few weeks. Sweet now leads the series with seven wins.

Winning outside of the Golden State

With his win on the second night of the Jackson Nationals, Carson Macedo scored his first World of Outlaws win outside of his home state of California. Both of his previous series victories, came at Silver Dollar Speedway in the Golden State. Macedo led all 30 laps, in a non-stop race, to pick up the win at Jackson over Daryn Pittman and Logan Schuchart.

Three in a row

Brad Sweet extended his win streak to three races in the opener of the Jackson Nationals. That streak began at Knoxville Raceway and continued at Beaver Dam Raceway. For Sweet, it was his series-leading sixth win of the season and helped him extend his lead in the standings as he chases his first Outlaws title.

Quick time

David Gravel was fastest in time trials on the first two nights of the Jackson Nationals to bring his series-leading total of Fast Time Awards this season to seven. Brad Sweet is next on the list with five. A total of 15 drivers have been fastest in time trials this season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, including 11 of the 13 drivers competing with the series full-time.

A stout field

With $41,000 on the line to the winner of the Jackson Nationals and $3,000 paid just to start the main event on the final night, a stout field of 40-plus cars was in attendance. A couple of the “surprise” invaders including Tim Shaffer and Jac Haudenschild. That duo qualified for the main event each of the three nights. A handful of Knoxville Raceway regulars were also in attendance, led by Brian Brown and Justin Henderson. Mark Dobmeier also made the trip down from Grand Forks, N.D.

A rare occurrence

Donny Schatz had an engine failure while leading the dash on the second night of the Jackson Nationals. The Tony Stewart Racing team then sprang into action, changing the power plant prior to the main event. Over the course of Schatz’s eight titles that he has won as a member of TSR, the number of times the team has had to change engines on a race night is certainly in the single digits. Schatz would finish eighth in the main event that night. He would rebound even more in the finale to finish on the podium in second.

Best-career Outlaws finish

Matt Juhl finished 10th on the second night of the Jackson Nationals, which marked his best-career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series finish. The native of Tea, S.D., competes occasionally with the Outlaws when the series visits the Upper Midwest. Juhl won with the Nebraska 360 Sprint Series earlier this season at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska, with a thrilling last lap pass of Hall of Famer, Terry McCarl.

Right place, right time

Brent Marks came up just short of qualifying for the main event in the finale of the Jackson Nationals or so he thought, after crossing the line fifth in the B-main, which transferred four to the A-Feature. As the cars were pushing off for the main event, Lynton Jeffrey stopped on the track and a crew member of his, stepped on the track, which is an automatic disqualification. As the First Alternate, Marks, who was ready to go in the push lane, was able to start the feature. The Pennsylvania native worked his way from 24th to 14th in the 35-lapper.

20,000 reasons to smile

To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial at Beaver Dam Raceway on June 22, the winner’s share of the purse jumped to $20,000. Brad Sweet took home the extra cash in what was his second-career win at the high-banked, third-mile. The Californian also won the event in 2014, one night after a vicious wreck in Iowa left him with a broken ankle. Sweet took the lead from Shane Stewart on lap-3, en route to the big payday. Kasey Kahne, who signed autographs earlier in the day as a special guest of the track, was able to celebrate with the team in victory lane.

Nearly a storybook ending

It was an emotional day for the Jason Johnson Racing team returning to Beaver Dam Raceway, a year after team founder/driver Jason Johnson lost his life in an accident at the track. With David Gravel behind the wheel, the No. 41 was fastest in time trials, won the first heat race and wound up finishing third in the 40-lap main event. Gravel started sixth and charge to the front, receiving huge cheers from the Wisconsin faithful in attendance.

From one extreme to the other

Sammy Swindell, the three-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion, turned in his best run of the season with the series at Beaver Dam. The veteran driver came from the 20th starting spot to finish 10th for the Thone Motorsports team, which earned him the Hard Charger Awards. Less than 48 hours later, Swindell was informed that the team was ceasing operations, due to increased business commitment, and is thus looking for a ride to fill in his 2019 schedule.

Mother Nature wins another

As has been the case all too often this season, inclement weather claimed another World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race. This time, it was Dubuque Speedway on Sunday, June 23, in what was supposed to be an inaugural event. The rainout was the 16th of the season for the series and will not be re-scheduled.

Bump in the purse

The purse for the Rushmore Showdown at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D., on August 23, received a boost from NOS Energy Drink recently, as it was announced the winner’s share would be doubled to $20,000. Last year, Brad Sweet was victorious at the sprawling half-mile, taking the lead from Jacob Allen, who was in search of his first-career Outlaws win, in the late going. Donny Schatz, the 10-time and defending series champion won three straight races at Black Hills Speedway in 2006, 2007 and 2011. Shane Stewart found his way to victory at the track in 2017.

Point standings

Brad Sweet has extended his lead over Donny Schatz to 72 markers. Daryn Pittman is currently third, with David Gravel fourth, 12 points behind him. Logan Schuchart rounds out the current top-five. Shane Stewart rides sixth, followed by Carson Macedo in seventh, Ian Madsen in eighth, Sheldon Haudenschild in ninth and Brent Marks in 10th.

Up next

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink return to Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D., on Wednesday, July 3 for the first time since 2016. Shane Stewart won that event, while three-time series champion Sammy Swindell won the inaugural Outlaws race at the venue, back in 1985. The Outlaws then head to Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin for a pair of races on July 5-6. A return to Hartford Speedway in Michigan awaits on July 12, followed by the series annual visit to Wilmot Raceway in Wisconsin on July 13.

By: Tony Veneziano