By Alex Nieten
JACKSON, MN (August 13, 2024) – The “Summer of Money” rolls on for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars with Minnesota the next destination.
The Greatest Show on Dirt trucks to Jackson Motorplex this weekend (Aug. 16-17) for the 46th running of the FENDT Jackson Nationals. The final night offers up a purse exceeding $100,000 with $25,000-to-win and $2,000-to-start the NOS Energy Drink Feature.
Friday’s show will feature a standard World of Outlaws format, but Saturday will showcase a slight twist. The drivers that lock into the Toyota Dash will instead partake in a King of the Hill. They’ll draw for seeding, and the lowest seed will take on the second lowest seed in a race against the clock with the fastest time advancing to face the next seed. The winner of the last round will sit on the pole of the $25,000-to-win finale.
The event has more than four decades of history. Marv DeWall won the first in 1979, and the list of champions features many of the best to ever wheel a Sprint Car. This weekend will attract a hungry roster of competitors ready to add their names.
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Let’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:
CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT RESUMES: Last week at the Knoxville Nationals points weren’t a concern, but the battle for the 2024 World of Outlaws title resumes at Jackson.
David Gravel still sits atop the standings as he has for the last several weeks. While a 12th-place run at the Knoxville Nationals wasn’t what he and Big Game Motorsports were hoping for, Gravel still hasn’t missed the top 10 in a standard points race since May 25 at Atomic.
Donny Schatz is still within striking distance but has some work to do with a 98-point gap between himself and Gravel. Consistency has carried the 10-time Series champion to a chance at his 11th this year. The Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 hasn’t finished worse than 11th in a standard points night in 2024.
Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing team currently reside 42 markers behind Schatz. The Lemoore, CA driver has only missed the top five four times in the last 15 races, but he’ll have to limit the bad nights to climb back into the battle with Gravel.
Giovanni Scelzi and KCP Racing (204 points behind Gravel) and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Roth Motorsports (252 points behind Gravel) round out the top five.
THREE-PEAT: There’s been one man to beat over the last two years when the big money is on the line at Jackson, and his name is Carson Macedo.
Two years ago, Macedo drove from eighth to the front and led the final 19 laps for his first Jackson Nationals title. Then, in 2023 the Lemoore, CA native slipped by James McFadden with 10 laps to go and survived a wild duel with Brad Sweet in the closing laps for another $25,000 payday.
History is on the line this weekend for Macedo as no driver has ever topped three in a row through 45 events. The stats suggest he has a strong chance with the Jason Johnson Racing team. Since joining forces with JJR in 2021, Macedo hasn’t missed the Jackson top five in eight tries and owns a 2.9 average finish over that stretch.
In addition to chasing three Jackson Nationals championships in a row, if Macedo can win either night he’ll equal Logan Schuchart and Brad Sweet for the most overall Jackson victories with the World of Outlaws with his fourth.
RETURN TO FORM?: Only a few years ago Logan Schuchart was nearly unbeatable at Jackson, and he’ll see if he can return to that form this weekend.
Schuchart put together a dominant stretch from 2020 to 2022 when he won four of six races at Jackson including the 2020 and 2021 Nationals. The two races he didn’t win resulted in finishes of second and third leading to a 1.5 average finish over the six races.
Since that magical run, the Shark Racing pilot has experienced some struggles at the Minnesota dirt track. In his last four starts he’s posted finishes of 11th (twice), a 21st, and a sixth. If he can find his way to Victory Lane again either night this weekend, he’ll take sole possession of the most Series wins at Jackson.
THE BOSS’ HOUSE: It’s an important weekend for David Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports crew. Team owner Tod Quiring is also the owner of Jackson Motorplex.
The current point leader has already won 13 World of Outlaws races this year, but he’ll be in search of his first ever visit to Jackson Victory Lane. He’s yet to break through in his 24 attempts.
Gravel has been close on many occasions to a Jackson win. He’s been on the podium five times including a trio with the Big Game team. Two of those podium efforts were runner-ups in 2019 and 2021.
JETTIN’ IN JACKSON: In addition to the roster of full-time World of Outlaws competitors, the Jackson Nationals is likely to attract a variety of other drivers who’ve experienced success at the facility.
Chase Randall and the TKS Motorsports team plan to make the trip to Jackson. The Waco, TX native rolls into the weekend as the most recent 410 Sprint Car winner at the oval, topping a 38-car field at the Midwest Sprint Touring Series (MSTS) race on July 26. The “Quickest Chicken” also won a Jackson 360 race in 2022.
If Kerry Madsen joins the field at Jackson, he’ll undoubtedly be one to watch. The “Mad Man” owns a trio of World of Outlaws victories there. He won with Big Game Motorsports in 2017 and then twice with Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing in 2021. Now, he wheels the Vermeer Motorsports No. 55.
Scott Bogucki is a Jackson winner this year, claiming the season opener in the Liebig Motorsports No. 10. The Australian and the Liebig crew are fresh off an impressive eighth-place run in the Knoxville Nationals championship Feature.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
WHEN AND WHERE
Friday-Saturday, August 16-17 at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, MN
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CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (44/70 Races):
1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (6076 PTS)
2. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 (-98 PTS)
3. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-130 PTS)
4. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing No. 18 (-204 PTS)
5. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-252 PTS)
6. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-326 PTS)
7. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 (-354 PTS)
8. Bill Balog – B Squared Motorsports No. 17B (-784 PTS)
9. Brock Zearfoss – Brock Zearfoss Racing No. 3Z (-1016 PTS)
10. Kraig Kinser – Premier Motorsports No. 70 (-1232 PTS)