By Tony Veneziano
SUN PRAIRIE, Wisc. — August 18, 2016 — The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series visits the historic Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on Sunday, August 21 for the first ever. The Sun Prairie Sprint Car Classic will feature the Outlaws, plus the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association (IRA) at the third-mile bullring. The Badger Midget Auto Racing Association will also be in action. Every World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series full-time driver, other than Brad Sweet, will be visiting the track for the first time. This edition of Quick Hits, sets the state for the Sun Prairie Sprint Car Classic at Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, August 21.
Winner, winner
Brad Sweet is the only full-time World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series competitor that has raced at Angell Park Speedway and the only driver that has won at the track. All of his starts came in a midget between 2007 and 2010. Sweet was victorious at Angell Park Speedway in a USAC race on the Fourth of July in 2010, taking the lead on the final lap. Sweet also has a pair of runner-up finishes at the third-mile bullring in USAC competition in 2008 and 2009. The 30-year-old has also raced a couple of times at the track with the Badger Midgets. Sweet has three overall top-five finishes at Angell Park Speedway in his career.
Honorary Chessehead
Donny Schatz is the winningest active driver with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in the state of Wisconsin. The seven-time and defending series champion has won a total of seven races in his career with the series in the Badger state. Five of those wins have come at Cedar Lake Speedway on the Western border of the state, while he also has a pair of victories at Beaver Dam Raceway. Schatz won earlier this season at Cedar Lake and was second at Wilmot Raceway last month and has finished on the podium in all four races in Wisconsin in 2016.
High five
Joey Saldana has racked up five wins in the state of Wisconsin in World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series action in his career. The veteran driver has scored three triumphs at Beaver Dam Raceway, along with victories at Cedar Lake Speedway and the Plymouth Dirt Track. Saldana, who is just two wins short of 100 career A-Feature victories with the Outlaws led a number of laps at Cedar Lake last month, en route to a third-place finish.
Four Score
Daryn Pittman, the 2013 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion has four wins in Wisconsin in his career with the series. Three of those victories have come at Beaver Dam Raceway, while he also was victorious at Wilmot Raceway in 2008. Pittman has seven wins this season, driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, which is tied for second-best in the series, with his teammate Brad Sweet and David Gravel.
Winning on Wisconsin soil
Paul McMahan has won once in Wisconsin in his career with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. That triumph came in 2007 at Cedar Lake Speedway. The veteran driver is in the midst of his first season driving the No. 7 for the Destiny Motorsports team. McMahan has finished just outside of the top-10 in all four races in Wisconsin this year, with a pair of 11th and a pair of 12-place efforts.
Solid season in Wisconsin
David Gravel has finished eighth or better in all four races for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in Wisconsin this season. The highlight was a flag-to-flag win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Badger 40 at Wilmot Raceway last month, which saw Gravel score the win over Schatz. Gravel finished second in the finale at Cedar Lake Speedway in early July, after earning the Hard Charger Award the night before, coming from 15th to eighth. The 24-year-old finished fifth at Beaver Dam Raceway in June in the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial.
Top-10 streak
Shane Stewart is four for four in earning top-10 finishes with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in the state of Wisconsin this year. The veteran driver finished sixth at both Beaver Dam Raceway and Wilmot Raceway, while he was fourth and 10th at Cedar Lake Speedway. Stewart has five victories thus far in 2016 and is just outside of the top-five in points.
One to remember
Logan Schuchart scored his breakthrough first-career, World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series win last month at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin. The young driver took the lead from veteran driver Joey Saldana and held off Donny Schatz for the win. Schuchart drives for the two-car Shark Racing team, which is owned by his grandfather, Hall of Famer Bobby Allen, one of the original Outlaws. Schuchart has finished in the top-10 in all four races for the Outlaws in Wisconsin this season. Schuchart’s teammate Jacob Allen finished in the top-10 at Beaver Dam and ran as high as second at Wilmot.
Pair of Jasons
Jason Johnson and Jason Sides both have a pair of top-10 finishes in Wisconsin this season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Johnson finished fourth in the final at Cedar Lake Speedway last month and was seventh at Wilmot Raceway. He scored the biggest win of his career last weekend, taking the $150,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals. Sides ran eighth at Wilmot Raceway last month and was 10th at Beaver Raceway in June.
Rookie contenders
A pair of drivers are contending for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Greg Wilson, from Ohio, who is a two-time champion with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, leads the rookie battle and picked up a victory on Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte, which was his second with the Outlaws. Clyde Knipp, an 18-year-old from Missouri, who just graduated from high school in May, also is embarking on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tour for the first time.
Two for Two
The Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association (IRA) has raced twice at Angell Park Speedway this season and Scotty Thiel picked up the win in both events. The driver, who hails from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is currently second in points as he chases his first IRA title. Thiel has qualified for a pair of events with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series this season, including at Beaver Dam Raceway, where he matched his best-career finish with the series, coming home 15th.
Strong IRA contingent
Jeremy Schultz leads the IRA standings by 48 markers over Thiel. Schultz has one victory, to go along with 15 top-10 finishes in 19 starts. Scott Neitzel, who won a 360-sprint car race at Angell Park Speedway last Sunday night, is third in points. He has a pair or IRA wins this season and also has 15 top-10 finishes. Matt Vandevere rides fourth in points, with Kyle Marten rounding out the top-five.
Always a threat
While he is not running the full IRA schedule, Bill Balog leads the series in wins, with five. In 14 IRA starts with the series in 2016, he has 12 top-10 finishes, with 11 of those being top-five performances. Balog scored his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in Wisconsin back in June at Beaver Dam Raceway in the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial.
Tickets for the Sun Prairie Sprint Car Classic on Sunday, August 21 can be purchased online at https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by phone at 815-344-2023 and at the track on race day.
For more information on tickets, visit www.slspromotions.com.
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