By Alex Nieten
BEAVER DAM, WI (July 9, 2024) – An off weekend gave teams a chance to recharge, but now it’s time to get back to business for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars with a trip to the “Badger State.”
The Greatest Show on Dirt is bound for three races over four nights in Wisconsin with more than $40,000 on the line to win.
First up is the rescheduled finale of the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial at Beaver Dam Raceway. Mother Nature forced the event’s postponement from June 1 to Wednesday July 10, giving teams the chance to compete for a midweek $20,000 payday.
Then, after a day off on Thursday, it’s off to Wilmot Raceway for the Federated Auto Parts Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40. The track just north of the Illinois border will host a two-night World of Outlaws show for the first time on Friday and Saturday, July 12-13.
These three nights kick off a busy slate of 10 races over 19 nights for the country’s best Sprint Car drivers.
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Let’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:
UNBEATABLE AT BEAVER DAM?: Over the last three years, Beaver Dam Raceway has become Sheldon Haudenschild’s personal bank.
Out of the last six World of Outlaws races contested at the 1/3 mile, Haudenschild has won five of them including the most recent visit in May when he drove from sixth to victory. He also owns the track record with an 11.025 second lap. Haudenschild’s triumph in May made Beaver Dam the track where he’s won the most, and it also gave him sole possession of the most World of Outlaws victories there.
The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 has already been taken to Victory Lane by Haudenschild seven times this year. If the Wooster, OH native can roll to another win on Wednesday, it’ll be his third $20,000 payday of 2024.
SURGING SHARK: After struggling at times throughout the first four months of the season, Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing have quickly turned things around at an important time of year.
They’re the most recent World of Outlaws winners having claimed last Saturday’s Cedar Lake visit. Prior to that, Schuchart had gone winless in 2024. While the Series took Fourth of July weekend off, Schuchart and the Shark crew carried their momentum back to home territory for some Pennsylvania Speedweek action. The Hanover, PA driver topped two of the four races he entered (Grandview and Hagerstown) and bagged a pair of fourths at the other two.
Now Schuchart returns to the World of Outlaws trail with even more momentum. He’ll chase his first Beaver Dam win where he’s earned top fives in five of his last eight attempts including a pair of podiums. He’s also in search of his first Wilmot triumph. Three years ago, he led 21 laps before finishing a personal best of second at the 1/3 mile.
SO, SO CLOSE: It’s difficult to come closer to winning at Beaver Dam in recent years than current point leader David Gravel.
His last seven starts have resulted in six podium finishes including a pair of runner-ups last year. The one time he didn’t finish inside the top three he still put together an impressive charge from 13th to fifth. If Gravel can take the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 to Victory Lane on Wednesday, Beaver Dam would become the 50th different track he’s won at with the World of Outlaws.
Gravel has already topped nine races with The Greatest Show on Dirt this year. The next victory will mark his fifth double-digit win season. He’s also only three checkered flags away from becoming the eighth competitor to reach 100 wins.
WILMOT WINNERS: The World of Outlaws have a brief history with Wilmot that dates to 2006, and only three of the current full-time drivers on the roster have been able to win at the “Badger State” dirt track.
David Gravel leads the way with four Wilmot victories under his belt. Unlike his Beaver Dam luck, where Victory Lane always finds a way to elude him, he always seems to find a way to win at Wilmot. His four checkered flags have come with three different teams – twice with CJB Motorsports (2016 and 2017) and one apiece with Roth Motorsports (2014) and Jason Johnson Racing (2020). Now, he’ll head to Wilmot with Big Game Motorsports in search of more success.
Next on the list is the winner of the two most recent Badger 40s – Carson Macedo. The last pair of visits have seen the Californian slip by Donny Schatz for the top spot and drive away to victory. A win on Friday would put Macedo in the company of Gravel as the only other driver to top three in a row at Wilmot.
The final current full-timer with a Wilmot win has been in attendance for all 11 Series races contested at the track – Donny Schatz. The 10-time Series champion led every lap of the 2019 Badger 40, and he’s also been remarkably consistent at Wilmot. The Fargo, ND legend hasn’t finished worse than ninth and owns an average result of 4.27.
NORTH POLE KNOWLEDGE: The final three races in Wisconsin of 2024 for the World of Outlaws means the final three races in home territory for Bill Balog during his rookie campaign.
The “North Pole Nightmare” owns plenty of laps and success at both tracks on this week’s agenda. Beaver Dam is the site of Balog’s one career World of Outlaws victory (2016), and he’s won with the Interstate Racing Association (IRA) on 19 occasions there. Wilmot is home to 21 of his 140 career IRA trophies. The Hartland, WI driver’s best World of Outlaws finish at Wilmot is seventh in 2020.
With 16 top 10s in 30 starts, it’s been a productive rookie campaign for Balog to this point. He’s led laps in two Features so far this year (I-55 and Paducah) but is still looking for his first victory. Three nights at two tracks in home territory that have been very kind to him stand out as prime opportunities for Balog to break through into Victory Lane.
IRA INVASION: Wisconsin is IRA country, and many of the regulars from the region are expected to be in attendance this week looking to make some noise against the country’s best drivers.
Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan, WI) is a 28-time Feature winner with IRA, and a combined six of those have come courtesy of Beaver Dam and Wilmot. He also grabbed a top 10 during the World of Outlaws visit to Beaver Dam in May and owns a pair of Wilmot top 10s with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
Beaver Dam, WI’s own Scotty Neitzel is a two-time IRA champion that enjoys competing with the World of Outlaws when they roll through town. Neitzel’s one career Series top 10 came at Beaver Dam back in 2003, and earlier this year he drove from 23rd to 13th to grab the KSE Racing Hard Charger.
This duo is expected to be joined by many more from the area including Austin Hartmann (Plymouth, WI), Danny Schlafer (Sussex, WI), Preston Ruh (Elkhart Lake, WI), and others.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
WHEN AND WHERE
Wednesday, July 10 at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, WI
Friday-Saturday, July 12-13 at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, WI
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CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (31/73 Races):
1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (4312 PTS)
2. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 (-58 PTS)
3. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-80 PTS)
4. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing No. 18 (-94 PTS)
5. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-148 PTS)
6. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-180 PTS)
7. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 (-242 PTS)
8. Bill Balog – B Squared Motorsports No. 17B (-468 PTS)
9. Brock Zearfoss – Brock Zearfoss Racing No. 3Z (-712 PTS)
10. Landon Crawley – Sides Motorsports No. 7S (-816 PTS)