By Alex Nieten
ROSSBURG, ON (May 1, 2025) – One of the biggest storylines when the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season began was the rookie class, and it’s living up to the hype.
Cole Macedo got the ball rolling last August when he announced he was joining The Greatest Show on Dirt with TwoC Racing. News was quiet for a few months, but once the off-season arrived the commitments kept on coming.
The 2025 campaign started with six rookies signed on, but they weren’t done there. Following the conclusion of Volusia’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Conner Morrell came aboard to make it seven debut drivers.
What’s so compelling about this class is the lack of a clear favorite. The 2023 and 2024 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year recipients – Giovanni Scelzi and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid – put together historic runs. They both pulled far away on their paths to becoming Rookie of the Year, but this year’s fight looks poised to come down to the World of Outlaws World Finals.
Let’s see how the rookies stack up with roughly a quarter of the season in the books.
Chris Windom (Sides Motorsports No. 7S) – 1st in rookie points, 9th in overall points: The deal for Chris Windom to join Sides Motorsports came together late in the off-season, but that hasn’t slowed the new pairing down.
The year didn’t start the way they would’ve hoped at DIRTcar Nationals, but when Windom returned to Volusia Speedway Park for the Bike Week Jamboree, he grabbed an eighth-place finish. The USAC Triple Crown champion followed that up with a 10th the next night and went on to collect top 10s in three of the next seven races after Volusia.
The consistency has Windom atop the rookie points and ninth overall. He’s taken the NOS Energy Drink No. 7S to a trio of KSE Racing Hard Chargers.
“Ultimately, I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied with where we’re running because I don’t feel like you should ever be satisfied until you’re contending for wins on a weekly basis,” Windom said. “But as far as being happy with it being a new team and kind of getting throw together late, I’m definitely happy with the speed. I didn’t know for sure what was going to come about going into this deal, and I feel like it’s exceeded my expectations as far as the car speed we’ve had at half miles, quarter miles, really all tracks we’ve gone to.”
Garet Williamson (Fischer Motorsports No. 23) – 2nd in rookie points, 10th in overall points: Windom is by no means comfortably leading the rookies as he’s got Garet Williamson breathing down his neck.
After a strong pick-and-choose 2024 with Fischer Motorsports, Williamson was an immediate favorite for Rookie of the Year when he committed to the World of Outlaws in 2025. He made every Feature during DIRTcar Nationals without the help of a provisional and then reeled off four consecutive finishes of 13th or better after the season opening event. Since then, the Columbia, MO native has bagged four top 10s.
Williamson is only four markers behind Windom for the top spot.
“I think we’re kind of where we expected,” Williamson said. “We haven’t exceeded expectations nor have we been below where we thought, so I think we’re doing alright. We’d like to clean up some of our finishing positions. Twentieth and above isn’t where we want to be ever, but we’re learning, so I think that’s just part of it. I think we’re going to keep getting better every week.”
Cole Macedo (TwoC Racing No. 2C) – 3rd in rookie points, 11th in overall points: Another one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year entering the season was Cole Macedo as he looked to join his brother Carson as one of the winners. After a rough start, he’s proving why many viewed him as one of the top contenders.
Macedo and the TwoC Racing crew battled mechanical issues during all of DIRTcar Nationals, but then the tour returned in March the Lemoore, CA driver drove from 19th to fifth. Two races later, he led laps at Talladega Short Track before finishing fourth. He’s still the only rookie with a top five finish so far, and he’s also grabbed three more top 10s since the impressive Talladega drive.
After being as far down as sixth, he’s climbed to third in the rookie standings and trails Windom by 58 points.
Hunter Schuerenberg (Vermeer Motorsports No. 55) – 4th in rookie points, 13th in overall points: The potent pairing of Hunter Schuerenberg and Vermeer Motorsports reunited ahead of 2025 and hit the road with the World of Outlaws.
Like many of his fellow rookies, Volusia served up some struggles for Schuerenberg, but he did manage to close out the Florida trip with a seventh-place finish. The Sikeston, MO native followed that with another top 10 at Talladega. He also finished 10th at both Kennedale Speedway Park and Cotton Bowl Speedway.
He’s been as high as third, but Schuerenberg currently resides in the fourth position in rookie points.
Zach Hampton (Bill Rose Racing No. 6) – 5th in rookie points, 14th in overall points: Less than a month before the season started Zach Hampton linked with Bill Rose to wheel the No. 6 with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
Hampton cracked the top 15 for the first time at Talladega with a 14th-place outing, and then the next night he wheeled from 22nd to seventh for his first World of Outlaws top 10 at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
Skylar Gee (Logan Fenton Racing No. 99) – 6th in rookie points, 15th in overall points: Leduc, AB, Canada’s Skylar Gee followed in the footsteps of his father Tim Gee when he made plans to take on the World of Outlaws with Logan Fenton Racing in 2025.
Gee grabbed his first top 10 of the season at Talladega, and shortly after he pieced together an impressive drive from 26th to 13th at Kennedale to grab KSE Racing Hard Charger honors aboard the No. 99.
Conner Morrell (Bill Rose Racing No. 28M) – 7th in rookie points, 16th in overall points: The final competitor to toss his name into the group of 2025 rookies was Bradenton, FL’s Conner Morrell.
The highlight of the 21-year-old’s debut season thus far came in the “Lone Star State.” Morrell made the Toyota Dash and ran up front during the entire Feature at Kennedale on his way to a seventh-place result, his first World of Outlaws top 10.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car campaign continues for all of the rookies this weekend at Eldora Speedway’s #LetsRaceTwo on May 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
For the remaining 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.
ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/new-kids-on-the-block-where-the-world-of-outlaws-rookies-stand-after-april/
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The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, NOS Energy Drink (Official Energy Product), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Federated Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Milton Hershey School (Official Education Partner), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), Real American Beer (Official Beer), Simpson Performance Products (Preferred Safety Gear Partner), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Toyota (Official Vehicle), and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel). Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), CASM Safety Products, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Evolve Transporters, FIREBULL, Honest Abe Roofing, Intercomp, J&J Auto Racing, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), Lifeline USA, Micro-Lite LLC, MSD, Smith Titanium Brake Systems, SPA Technique, WELD Racing, and WIX Filters.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.