RPW Exclusive: Previewing The ’25 World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Season; Can Gravel Repeat?

Column By: DERICK KRINER / RPW – GRANTVILLE, PA – After a successful 2024 season for the World of Outlaws and their drivers, what does the new season look like?

A lot of familiar faces and tracks are going to be a part of the tour.

The confirmed list of returning drivers include tour regulars like Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart, David Gravel, Gio Scelzi, Bill Balog, Carson Macedo, and Sheldon Haudenschild.

Still outstanding would be confirmation of whether Buddy Kofoid will be back on tour and what the plans are for the Bill Rose 6 and Premier 70. Fans will also get to look at a few new faces on a national tour and some familiar ones that are switching series.

Newcomers to the tour for 2025, at the moment, include Chris Windom, Garet Williamson, and Cole Macedo. There are still a few outstanding decisions for teams that were on tour last year and some that are expected to make the jump up to a tour this season. The current crop of drivers that are battling for top rookie honors is interesting.

Chris Windom is set to battle it out with two young drivers that have not competed fully on a 410 tour before. Even with Windom’s experience, it would be expected that the likes of Cole Macedo and Garet Williamson will be right in the hunt for RoY honors.

The main championship points battle will be interesting again in 2025. The past few seasons have featured battles that lasted well into the final few races of the season, keeping fans engaged. There was a lot of discussion around how the points battle would have fared differently in ‘24 had the week of Volusia not happened the way it did for several drivers, namely Carson Macedo. Macedo had a terrible first 4 races of the season, plagued with mechanical issues that put him in a hole to start.

David Gravel on the other hand, won the Big Gator Championship and took the week long points crown after having several strong finishes. If other drivers like Gio Scelzi and Donny Schatz can also keep Gravel close through the first week of the season, the points battle could maintain a close margin a lot longer.

Wins in 2024 were shared by a lot of series regulars and there was only one first time winner with TJ Stutts picking up a win against the Outlaws. Only two drivers won more than 10 races, that being the top two in points, Gravel and Macedo. With new tracks added to the schedule, we could potentially see some new winners. I would predict Cole Macedo to get his first Outlaw win and would not be surprised to see Williamson or Windom each do the same.

With new territory being on the 2025 schedule, fans will get to see a few new places with the Greatest Show on Dirt. Coming back to the schedule in the coming year are tracks like Ohsweken, Vado, Perris Auto, and New Egypt to name a few. Not all of the current field of drivers have experience at these facilities and local favorites may spoil the party for the Outlaws, but it is nice to see some tracks that have been off the schedule for well over 5 years, find their way back.

New editions to the schedule like Deer Creek, Cornwall, and Mississippi Thunder, add some new flavor to the traditional schedule. Tracks traditionally racing other divisions such as Late Models or Modifieds get to showcase to an international audience what 410’s can do on their surfaces.

Predictions on the season have David Gravel or Carson Macedo taking home the points title after both of them have been in the top 3 in points over the last few seasons. 10-win seasons would also be expected from both of those teams since they have done it in recent years.

Five-plus wins and improved results would also be expected for many of the returners like Buddy Kofoid, Logan Schuchart, Donny Schatz, and Gio Scelzi. Bill Balog will get his first win as a tour regular in my prediction, as he showed good speed at several tracks in 2024.

If Sheldon Haudenschild can kick the curse of wrecking or breaking while in contention for wins, he could very well win 10 shows in 2025. Rookie of the Year in my prediction will go to Cole Macedo as long as he can minimize the issues and have few poor results at tracks that he hasn’t been to, but this could be the closest rookie class in a while.