Column By: BRIAN WALKER / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – MERCED, CA – Championship leader David Gravel was involved in a Lap 13 crash (running sixth) but rebounded from the work area to salvage a season-worst finish of 15th.
He still holds the top spot in the standings with a 10-point margin over Brad Sweet.
10-time Series champion Donny Schatz was collected in a Lap 1 crash and returned from the work area to finish two laps down in 22nd-place.
That’s three consecutive finishes outside of the top-10 for the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 since heading west.
Carson Macedo’s 19th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory pushes him beyond Brad Doty to reach 31st on the All-Time Win List. Brad Sweet’s dry spell is extended to 24 consecutive races since his last victory at Skagit (WA) on September 4, 2021.
Giovanni Scelzi established a new track record by turning in a lap of 10.057 seconds around Merced Speedway. He became the eighth driver in eight races to earn the Slick Woody’s QuickTime Award this season.
NOS Energy Drink Heat Race wins went to Giovanni Scelzi (19th career), Kerry Madsen (186th career), David Gravel (185th career), and Tyler Courtney (8th career).
Brad Sweet scored the pole position after outrunning Giovanni Scelzi in an exciting side-by-side battle in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Sheldon Haudenschild won his third MicroLite Last Chance Showdown of the year, a Series best mark.
16-year-old Corey Day (Clovis, CA) started his first-career World of Outlaws Feature and drove forward to finish 14th-from-22nd in the Jason Meyers owned #14.