By Tony Veneziano
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — June 4, 2019 — The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series makes their first of two visits to River Cities Speedway this season on Friday, June 7 for the 1st Leg of the Gerdau Northern Tour. The 2019 season marks the 13th consecutive year the series has visited the always thrilling high-banked bullring. Donny Schatz has won seven of the last nine races for the Outlaws at the track in his home state. Schatz also won with the NLRA Late Model Series last August, during the 2nd Leg of the Northern Tour. The full-fendered machines will be part of the action again this week. This edition of Up to Speed sets the stage for 1st Leg of the Northern Tour.
The track
River Cities Speedway is a high-banked, three-tenths-mile. The track record of 9.269-seconds at 116.517 mph was established by two-time Outlaws champion Jason Meyers on August 21, 2009.
Past winners
Donny Schatz has won seven of the last nine and nine of the last 11 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races at River Cities Speedway. The North Dakota native has won 10 Outlaws races at River Cities Speedway in his career to lead all drivers.
Daryn Pittman, the 2013 series champion, won at the track in 2014. Kraig Kinser and David Gravel are also past winners at River Cities Speedway.
Special guest
Kasey Kahne, who retired from NASCAR competition at the end of the 2018, will be a special guest at River Cities Speedway. Kahne will be signing autographs from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on race day, which will mark his first trip to River Cities Speedway.
The players
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has 13 card-carrying members this year, led by Donny Schatz, who has three wins this season. Brad Sweet, who has two victories thus far in 2019, is currently second in points, with 2013 series titlist Daryn Pittman, who opened the season with two straight wins in third and David Gravel, who has three wins in fourth. Logan Schuchart is currently fifth in the standings on the strength of three wins.
Shane Stewart, who recently won his first race of the season is sixth in points. Carson Macedo, the lone rookie on the Outlaws tour this season is seventh in points. Ian Madsen, who won during the West Coast Swing is eighth in the standings, with Brent Marks ninth and Kraig Kinser 10th.
Also, on the road again in 2019 are Sheldon Haudenschild, veteran Jason Sides and young driver Jacob Allen.
Staggering stats
Donny Schatz has competed in each of the previous 23 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series events at River Cities Speedway and has finished in the top-10 in each and every one. The 10-time series champion has finished in the top-five in all but two of the previous Outlaws races at the tack, with those two finishes being seventh-place runs.
In the top-10
Daryn Pittman, the 2013 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion, won at River Cities Speedway for the first time in 2014. The veteran driver has 11 top-10 finishes in 14 starts, with eight of those being top-five performances.
Near the front
Brad Sweet has finished second in two of the last three races for the World of Outlaws at River Cities Speedway. The defending winner of the Knoxville Nationals has nine top-10 finishes in his career at the track, with seven of those being top-five showings. Sweet has finished sixth or better in each of his last eight starts at the track.
Plenty of starts
Jason Sides has competed in 21 of the previous 23 races contested by the World of Outlaws at River Cities Speedway. The veteran driver finished a career-best second at the track in 2011. Sides has recorded nine top-10 finishes in Grand Forks, dating back to 2008. Also, Kraig Kinser has been in attendance for the majority of the Outlaws races at River Cities Speedway. The third-generation driver won at the track in 2012 and has eight-career top-10 finishes there.
Side-by-side
David Gravel and Shane Stewart have nearly identical stats at River Cities Speedway over the years. Gravel, who won in Grand Forks in 2016 has nine top-10 finishes in 11 starts, while Stewart has seven top-10 runs in nine appearances. Stewart has three top-five finishes at the track, with Gravel checking in at two.
Dual threat
The Shark Racing duo of Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen have turned in some solid performances at River Cities Speedway over their last five years spent on the road with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Schuchart finished a career-best third at the track in June of 2016 and followed that up with a fourth-place showing in August of that same season. Allen, led his first-ever laps with the Outlaws in 2017 at River Cities Speedway. He finished just outside of the top-10 in both races at the high-banked bullring last year.
Crazy eights
Brent Marks has qualified for three main events at River Cities Speedway in his young career with the Outlaws and has finished eighth in each of those trio of races. Marks, who earned his first Outlaws win in June of 2018 and followed that up with two more victories, is currently ninth in points, after a strong weekend in Nashville, which saw him lead laps and contend for a win.
Building a notebook
Sheldon Haudenschild has been fast in each of his previous four starts at River Cities Speedway, but has not had much luck on his side. He led the first 11 laps of the main event last August at the track, before getting caught up in an accident. The Ohio native, who is now in his third full season on the road with the series, finished eighth in Grand Forks, during his rookie season of 2017.
Turning laps
Ian Madsen, who is the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner with the World of Outlaws, has made six starts in his career at River Cities Speedway. The Australian has a pair of top-10 finishes in those events, including a career-best seventh-place showing last June.
First timer
Carson Macedo, the leading contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season, will be making his first trip to River Cities Speedway aboard the No. 2 machine for Kyle Larson Racing. Macedo won earlier this season and is seventh in the current standings.
Oh, so close
Mark Dobmeier, the winningest sprint car driver in River Cities Speedway history, made a spirited charge last August against the World of Outlaws at his home track, coming from 17th to finish second. That finish marked Dobmeier’s best at his home track against the Outlaws and had the crowd on their feet in the waning laps. The Grand Forks native does have three-career Outlaws win, with two of those coming at the former Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota.
Defending their home turf
A strong contingent of local drivers are expected to challenge the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at River Cities Speedway, including Thomas Kennedy from Winnipeg as well as Austin Pierce, Jade Hastings, Jordan Adams and Wade Nygaard among others.
Tickets for the 1st Leg of the Gerdau Recycling Northern Tour for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at River Cities Speedway on Friday, June 7 can be purchased online at slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by calling 815-344-2023. Tickets can also be purchased at the River Cities Speedway track office, area ticket outlets and at the track on race day.
Save $5 on General Admission tickets at participating O’Reilly Auto Parts stores. Exchange O’Reilly receipt for a ticket at the main ticket booth on race day.
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