News Director 
Column By: ALEX NIETEN / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – CONCORD, NC – Another chapter of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car history is ready to come to a close.
After thousands of laps at dozens of tracks from coast-to-coast, #AllDirtRoads have led the nation’s best Sprint Car drivers to Concord, NC where The Dirt Track at Charlotte awaits. The Greatest Show on Dirt’s 47th season of showcasing the highest level of the sport will conclude this week with the World of Outlaws World Finals.
The four consecutive evenings will kick off with Sea Foam Qualifying Night on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Two Sea Foam Qualifying sessions will set NOS Energy Drink Heat Race lineups for Thursday and Friday’s complete racing programs with $15,000-to-win Features. Points accumulated from those two nights will then line up Heats for Saturday’s $25,000-to-win/$1,750-to-start season finale. All-in-all, nearly $250,000 in purse money is up for grabs for the expected stout field of competitors.
Joining the Sprint Cars all week at the North Carolina facility will be the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds.
And when the checkered flag flies and the dust settles Saturday night, the three Series champions will be crowned.
Let’s look at the week’s top storylines:
A NEW CHAMPION: For the first time since 2019, fans will see a brand new World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car champion arise from World Finals.
David Gravel enters the week primed for his first title after finishing second the past three seasons. He and Big Game Motorsports hold a 74-point advantage with three races to go. They’ve pieced together a memorable season with 14 wins, 31 podiums, more than 300 Feature laps led, and an average finish of fifth on the dot.
Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing team still have a shot if things fall their way as they sit second. Macedo has also assembled an excellent campaign with 11 victories, 32 top threes, 12 Quick Times, and an average result of 5.15.
Gravel can seal the deal this week at a track that’s been very kind to him. He’s won at the 4/10-mile dirt track six times with three different teams (CJB Motorsports, Jason Johnson Racing, and Big Game Motorsports). His six checkered flags rank second for the most World of Outlaws wins at Charlotte.
Macedo has yet to win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, but since joining JJR he’s been knocking on the door. The Lemoore, CA native has taken the No. 41 to five Charlotte top fives, including a pair of podiums. His best result is a 2022 runner-up.
It’s not only the prestige of being a World of Outlaws champion that Gravel and Macedo are after. The honor also brings a massive payday. This year’s champion banks $350,000 while the runner-up goes home with $210,000. If Gravel holds on, he’ll make more than a million dollars in earnings this season.
CHARLOTTE SUPREMACY: There’s been one man to beat whenever the World of Outlaws roll into Charlotte, and that man is 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz.
He’s made 64 Series appearances at the North Carolina oval, and nobody comes close to his total of 14 victories. That number is more than double the second most wins. Schatz has also podiumed in more than half of his visits with 33 top threes.
Schatz heads to Charlotte with his spot in the standings just about secured. The Fargo, ND native is third with more than 100 points separating him from both second and fourth. Finishing up the season in his current position would be the 17th time Schatz has ended the year in the top three of the standings.
FIGHT FOR FIFTH: The battle for the title won’t be the only one to watch in Charlotte. A three-car fight for a spot in the top five between Giovanni Scelzi, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Logan Schuchart will be finalized.
Scelzi currently holds the spot with the KCP Racing team. The Series sophomore elevated his performance in year two on tour with more victories (three), podiums (nine), laps led (220), and Quick Times (four) over his Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year campaign last season. “Hot Sauce” has made 13 Feature starts at Charlotte and collected 10 top 10s highlighted by a 2019 victory in Bernie Stuebgen’s No. 71.
Haudenschild is Scelzi’s closest competitor as he trails him by 38 points. The Wooster, OH native owns the third most wins this season with eight under his belt and already set a personal-best mark with 24 podiums in 2024. Charlotte hasn’t traditionally been Haudenschild’s best track, but he’s shown flashes of strength with podium runs in both 2020 and 2022.
Schuchart sits seventh with an outside shot at surpassing both Haudenschild and Scelzi. The Shark Racing No. 1S is 38 markers behind Haudenschild and 76 back of Scelzi. Fortunately for Schuchart, Charlotte is one of his best tracks. Four of his 42 career wins have come at “America’s Home for Racing,” which is tied for the most on his résumé.
The fifth finisher in the standings will collect a $113,750 check at year’s end while sixth and seventh will claim $109,375 and $105,000.
ROOKIES NO MORE: Three competitors with vastly different paths jumped on the World of Outlaws tour for the first time in 2024. Charlotte will bring their rookie seasons to a close.
The first season for Michael “Buddy” Kofoid has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s racked up seven wins and 25 podiums aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83 – numbers a veteran would be proud of. Charlotte hasn’t been the kindest track to the Californian, but his season suggests the fortune could turn around as he closes out his debut campaign.
After more than 20 years of Sprint Car racing that includes 10 Interstate Racing Association (IRA) titles, Bill Balog decided 2024 was the time for his debut World of Outlaws campaign. The “North Pole Nightmare” has impressed with 10 top fives and more than 30 top 10s. Balog is a former fifth-place finisher at Charlotte (2017).
Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Jason Sides was bringing freshly turned 16-year-old Landon Crawley to the No. 7S for a season with The Greatest Show on Dirt. But Crawley quickly proved he belonged by setting Simpson Quick Time at the Volusia season opener. The season has had its ups and downs for the teenager, but he’s shown the skill is there with runs such as a top 10 at Eldora Speedway and 25th to 10th drive at Attica Raceway Park. Crawley makes his Charlotte debut this week.
SAME FACES, NEW PLACES: Sprint Car silly season got off to an early start, which means fans will be treated to a handful of drivers getting laps in new rides ahead of 2025.
Fresh off finishing second in the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) points with Tarlton Motorsports, Cole Macedo is set to unite with his new team. Before Macedo and TwoC Racing hit the road with the World of Outlaws next year, they plan to get some laps at World Finals.
Justin Peck recently inked a deal with Rudeen Racing and will debut in the No. 26 this week. Last year Peck, nearly bagged his first World of Outlaws win at Charlotte, leading laps before finishing second.
After some recent races in Liebig Motorsports machine, Ryan Timms and the team have added World Finals to their calendar. Timms’ four starts so far in the No. 10 have led to four top 10s including a pair of podiums.
After competing with NARC out in California, the new pairing of Spencer Bayston and Jason Meyers Racing will make the long haul east for World Finals. Bayston’s best Charlotte showing is a fourth in 2018.
Hank Davis will be making his 410 Sprint Car debut aboard the Michael Dutcher Motorsports No. 17GP this week before he looks to deliver an American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) owner’s championship to TwoC Racing next weekend in Oklahoma.
STACKED FIELD: Along with the full-time World of Outlaws roster and the cast of competitors hopping in new rides, many more noteworthy names are planning to fill the pit area.
Fresh off his first Series top 10 in three years, Sammy Swindell has World Finals on his agenda. It’ll be “Slammin’ Sammy’s” first Charlotte laps since 2020. The three-time World of Outlaws champion is a two-time winner at “America’s Home for Racing” (2000 and 2012).
Anthony Macri is tied as the country’s winningest Sprint Car driver with 15 victories, and the Pennsylvanian intends to make the trip south to Charlotte. His best finish in 10 tries there is ninth in 2022.
One of Late Model racing’s most elite drivers, Ricky Thornton Jr., will make his highly anticipated World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car debut in Bernie Stuegben’s No. 71. “RTJ” won two of the three World of Outlaws Late Model races during World Finals last year.
Many more names including Garet Williamson, Kasey Kahne, Daison Pursley, and more are expected to invade Charlotte.
