By Jordan Morris
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series invades Fremont (Ohio) Speedway on Friday, June 3 for the Kistler Engines Smackdown, and I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich. for the Rumble in Michigan on Saturday, June 4
CONCORD, N.C. – June 1, 2016 – As the World of the Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series crosses the 1/3-mark of the season, the series will head into a weekend double-header with the Kistler Engines Smackdown on Friday, June 3 at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway, and the Rumble in Michigan at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich. on Saturday, June 4.
The Outlaws return to the track after two remarkable finishes at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday, May 27 and Lawrenceburg Speedway on Monday, May 30. Shane Stewart led the most laps at Charlotte but was passed on the final lap by Greg Wilson for the victory, then returned to lead the most laps and win at Lawrenceburg after he exchanged slide jobs with Rico Abreu all race and held off David Gravel on the final lap.
Making a Point
Seven-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz has not been nearly as dominant as he was in his 31-win 2015 campaign. Schatz, who still leads the series in wins, has only scored seven checkered flags so far this season, compared to 11 at this point last year.
Schatz currently sits second in the points standings, 37 markers behind year-long leader Brad Sweet. Sweet has seen Schatz chip away at his point lead since the Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln Speedway on May 19. In the two weeks since, Schatz has scored two wins, four top-fives and six top-10s compared to Sweet’s zero wins, one top-five and four top-10s.
Duck, Duck, Goose
The start of the 2016 season has seen a variety of drivers capture the checkered flag, as seven drivers have multiple wins this year, while another four have one win apiece. Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet have combined to win 13 of the 31 total races, while Daryn Pittman has four wins and both Joey Saldana and Shane Stewart have three apiece.
The 2016 season has seen drivers such as Lance Dewease, Jason Johnson, Jason Sides and Greg Wilson each win a race, after those four drivers combined to win just two total races all of last year.
Only Half the Battle
2013 World of Outlaws champion Daryn Pittman, who currently sits third in the standings, just 82 points behind Sweet, leads the series in pole positions and laps led, but is third in wins. Pittman has started on the pole-position for eight features, while his closest competitor, Joey Saldana has started first four times.
Starting up front has also helped Pittman lead the most laps of any driver in 2016. Pittman has controlled the top spot for 192 laps, while Saldana, who has led 155 total laps, sits second on the list.
Unfortunately for Pittman, starting up front has only been half of the battle. Even though he leads the series in both poles and laps led, he has only scored four wins, while Schatz, with his seven wins, has started on the pole just once and has led 79 total laps.
Inversion Lottery
In 31 races this season, the dash inversion draw has been as close to equal as possible. So far, a zero ball (no inversion) has been drawn the most at 10 times, while both the four and six balls have been picked nine times each. When there have been four heat races, an inversion draw of eight has happened three times, including most recently at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
Weekend Road Trip
The distance between Fremont (Ohio) Speedway and I-96 Speedway is less than 200 miles, or a three hour road trip in a car. The close proximity of the two tracks will allow fans to enjoy “The Greatest Show on Dirt” all weekend, while also being able to experience the road life of teams and officials as they make the overnight trek into Michigan.
For more race information and ticket purchasing options for the Kistler Engines Smackdown at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway on Friday, June 3, visit www.WoOSprint.com/Fremont-Speedway; and for the Rumble in Michigan at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich., visit www.WoOSprint.com/I-96-Speedway.
ABOUT THE TRACKS
FREMONT SPEEDWAY is a 1/3-mile, semi-banked oval. The track record is 11.732 seconds and was established by Lee Jacobs on May 3, 2003.
Previous A-Feature winners:
2014 – Donny Schatz on Oct. 18
2013 – Donny Schatz on Sept. 28
2011 – Jason Meyers on Oct. 15
1993 – Stevie Smith on May 22
1992 – Frankie Kerr on Aug. 8
1991 – Frankie Kerr on Aug. 10
1990 – Doug Wolfgang on May 19
I-96 SPEEDWAY is a 3/8-mile, semi-banked oval. The track record is 13.746 seconds and was established by Jason Sides on June 24, 2015.
Previous A-Feature winners:
2015 – Brad Sweet on June 24
2014 – Donny Schatz on May 31
2013 – Paul McMahan on June 1
2012 – Craig Dollansky on June 2
2011 – Jason Sides on May 30
2010 – Jason Meyers on May 22
2009 – Jason Meyers on May 30
2008 – Steve Kinser on July 25
2007 – Craig Dollansky on July 27
2005 – Steve Kinser on June 9
2004 – Steve Kinser on Sept. 24
1997 – Steve Kinser on June 15, Stevie Smith on Oct. 7
1996 – Sammy Swindell on July 22
1995 – Joey Saldana on July 24
DRIVER INFO
The following World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series drivers maintain websites:
Jacob Allen – Shark1s1a.com
David Gravel – DavidGravel89.com
Jason Johnson – JasonJohnsonRacing.com
Paul McMahan – PaulMcMahanRacing.com
Daryn Pittman – DarynPittman.com
Joey Saldana – JoeySaldanaRacing.com
Donny Schatz – DonnySchatz.com
Logan Schuchart – Shark1s1a.com
Jason Sides – SidesMotorsports.com
Shane Stewart – ShaneStewart.com
Brad Sweet – Bradsweetracing.com
Greg Wilson – GregWilsonRacing.com
For more driver information, visit: WoOsprint.com
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 7 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2, Lincoln Speedway on May 19, Weedsport Speedway on May 22); Brad Sweet – 6 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15, Plymouth Speedway on May 13); Daryn Pittman – 4 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16, USA Raceway on April 18, New Egypt Speedway on May 24); Joey Saldana – 3 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 22, Jacksonville Speedway on May 4);Shane Stewart – 3 (Arizona Speedway on March 6, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 23, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 30); David Gravel – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12, Tri-State Speedway on May 14); Kerry Madsen – 2 (Eldora Speedway on May 6 and 7); Lance Dewease – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20); Jason Johnson – 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Jason Sides – 1 (I-30 Speedway on April 26); Greg Wilson – 1 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 27).
LIVE ONLINE UPDATES: Listen to the LIVE race broadcast from both the Kistler Engines Smackdown at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway on Friday, June 3, and the Rumble in Michigan at I-96 Speedway on Saturday, June 4 on www.DIRTVision.com.
GET SOCIAL: Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, follow on Instagram at @WoOSprint or check out the latest videos on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws. The official hashtag is #WoOCraftSCS.
COMING UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series will travel back into the Hoosier State for a showdown at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind. on Wednesday, June 8. Following action on Wednesday, the series will head to historical Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa for the Budweiser Night with the World of Outlaws on Friday, June 10 and the Xtreme Shootout powered by Mediacom on Saturday, June 11.
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
|
Pos. |
Car |
Driver |
Total |
Diff |
Wins |
Top 5’s |
Top 10’s |
QT |
|
1 |
49 |
Brad Sweet |
4291 |
0 |
6 |
20 |
28 |
3 |
|
2 |
15 |
Donny Schatz |
4254 |
-37 |
7 |
19 |
29 |
2 |
|
3 |
9 |
Daryn Pittman |
4209 |
-82 |
4 |
19 |
24 |
3 |
|
4 |
2 |
Shane Stewart |
4179 |
-112 |
3 |
17 |
27 |
1 |
|
5 |
83 |
Joey Saldana |
4154 |
-137 |
3 |
14 |
24 |
8 |
|
6 |
5 |
David Gravel |
4099 |
-192 |
2 |
15 |
22 |
1 |
|
7 |
41 |
Jason Johnson |
3910 |
-381 |
1 |
6 |
17 |
2 |
|
8 |
1S |
Logan Schuchart |
3780 |
-511 |
0 |
3 |
11 |
2 |
|
9 |
7S |
Jason Sides |
3767 |
-524 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
|
10 |
7 |
Paul McMahan |
3706 |
-585 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
|
11 |
W20 |
Greg Wilson |
3566 |
-725 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
|
12 |
1A |
Jacob Allen |
3186 |
-1105 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
13 |
29 |
Kerry Madsen |
2634 |
-1657 |
2 |
7 |
13 |
0 |
|
14 |
24 |
Terry McCarl |
2212 |
-2079 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
15 |
1 |
Sammy Swindell |
2191 |
-2100 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
|
16 |
17W |
Bryan Clauson |
1918 |
-2373 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
|
17 |
11k |
Kraig Kinser |
1504 |
-2787 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
18 |
99 |
Brady Bacon |
1434 |
-2857 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
19 |
41X |
Dominic Scelzi |
1312 |
-2979 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
20 |
13 |
Clyde Knipp |
1208 |
-3083 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |