RPW Exclusive: Predicting the 2026 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Season

Column By: SHAUN BLIGHT, JACOB DOVE AND DYLAN TERRY / RPW – BARBERVILLE, FL – The 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season kicks off Wednesday evening at Volusia Speedway. An incredible 17 drivers have committed to running the full schedule, which puts to rest any thoughts of the series having trouble attracting full-time teams. RPW’s Shaun Blight, Jacob Dove, and Dylan Terry decided it would be a fun idea to preview and try to predict what the 2026 season has in store.

Without further adieu, here are our predictions for the upcoming season:

DYLAN: Donny Schatz Goes to CJB Motorsports – As Donny Schatz gears up for his 30th season on the World of Outlaws tour, this season will be somewhat of a breath of fresh air for the Fargo, ND driver. For the first time since the 2008 season, Schatz will be behind the wheel for a different team when cars hit the track at Volusia. Although the change of scenery will certainly take some time to work out some kinks, Schatz will be paired up with longtime crew chief Barry Jackson. Jackson has an extensive resume in his own right, having spent numerous years on the Outlaw tour himself, working with names such as Paul McMahon, David Gravel, Spencer Bayston, and more. Both Schatz and Jackson have similar personalities, so this could result in the duo having chemistry right off the bat. This pairing is definitely something to keep an eye on throughout the season, and I could even see them making some noise as soon as the green flag waves at Volusia.

JACOB: Donny Schatz Goes to CJB Motorsports – Heading into the 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season, I think one of the biggest storylines this year will be centered around 10 time champion Donny Schatz. After Schatz departed the Tony Stewart Racing team, he finished out the 2025 Outlaw season in multiple rides to keep his streak alive of consecutive points race appearances. While it wasn’t easy for Schatz to bounce around from ride-to-ride, he found a new home for the 2026 season with CJB Motorsports. The 48 year old out of Fargo, North Dakota hasn’t seen victory lane since Lincoln Speedway in 2024. I predict that Schatz will be rejuvenated with Barry Jackson and CJB Motorsports as a second car to Brenham Crouch, who will return to full time competition over at High Limit. Expect Schatz to have a chip on his shoulder and determined to show that he’s just not done yet and can still compete for wins.

SHAUN: Another Stout Rookie Class – Last year’s Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year battle between Garet Williamson and Chris Windom came down to the wire with Williamson picking up the edge, and I expect this year’s battle to be even better. Not only does this year’s battle feature five drivers competing for the honours, but it also features some of the biggest rising stars in dirt racing. The 2026 Chili Bowl Champion Emerson Axsom will be battling Shark Racing’s Ashton Togerson, who picked up his first 410 sprint car win last year at BAPS. Recently added to the list is Bill Rose Racing’s Kasey Jedrzejek, who won six races in 2025 between 360 and 410 Sprint Cars. Australian driver Scott Bogucki, who is a familiar face to those in the midwest, with several wins at Knoxville and Jackson Motorplex and Scotty Theil, a 7-time winner in 2025 between 360’s and 410’s, will put on one of the best rookie battles in series history.

DYLAN: Ashton Torgerson – From the time he was announced as the full-time driver of the Shark Racing #1A last summer, many people in the sprint car world questioned the decision. This didn’t phase the young driver whatsoever. Torgerson took the opportunity and ran with it. In his first full season in a 410 sprint car, Ashton turned many heads throughout the industry. By the end of the season, he registered a win, 5 Top 5 finishes, and 20 Top 10 finishes in 83 races. Over half of those appearances came either against the World of Outlaws or High Limit, with many of those appearances being Torgerson’s first ever visit to each facility. Now, with a year under his belt and more information to go off from, I feel like 2026 has an opportunity to be a special year for Torgerson. I expect him to be competing in the Top 10-15 on a nightly basis, and I wouldn’t even be surprised to see him capture a win at some point this season. He has the talent as he demonstrated last season, so don’t be surprised if Torgerson ends up making a strong push for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year award by year’s end.

JACOB: Spencer Bayston – A driver that I think will have a breakout season is another racer that has something to prove and that’s Spencer Bayston. The new driver of the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 out of Lebanon, Indiana has been on a winless streak that he’s been trying to break since leaving the CJB Motorsports ride and being relieved of his duties with the Jason Meyers Racing. Bayston ran very well at the end of 2025 with the Works Unlimited and Tarlton Motorsports teams on the west coast. This will be Bayston’s best equipment and a huge opportunity to compete for wins. While there is some pressure on Bayston to perform, however I think he can overcome it now that he has multiple years of experience in 410 Winged Sprint Cars.

SHAUN: Garet Williamson – Last year’s Rookie of the Year Garet Williamson will break through for his first 410 touring series win of his career. Garet posted ten top-10 finishes in 2025, and found more consistency as the season went on. Garet’s qualifying efforts especially got better as the season went on, and if that trend continues, he’s bound to win his share of races. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Garet wins more than once in 2026.

DYLAN: Donny Schatz Gets More Than 3 Victories – After struggling the past few seasons, a rejuvenated Schatz teams up with CJB Motorsports in 2026 with something to prove. I imagine that Donny will be a man on a mission this year, determined to prove the haters and doubters wrong. After not getting a single win during the entire 2025 season, Schatz will come out and tally more than three wins in 2026 as he takes a liking to his new home at CJB.

JACOB: Garet Williamson Wins Multiple Races – A bold prediction that I think will happen is defending Rookie of the Year winner Garet Williamson. The driver out of Columbia, Missouri returns behind the wheel of the Fischer’s Motorsports #23 machine in his sophomore season with the Outlaws. While Williamson didn’t capture a win in 2025, I think that Wlliamson come into his own and has multiple wins in 2026. The youth movement in Sprint Cars has been strong and Williamson shows consistency despite having a lot of victories. Look for him to turn it around this year not that he takes the rookie stripes off starting at Volusia Speedway Park. Much like Knoxville, Volusia is very high paced and Williamson thrives at high horsepower tracks like Knoxville. If the #23 team can get a good start at Volusia, I can see Williamson visiting victory lane a few times throughout the season.

SHAUN: Logan Schuchart Returns to Form – From 2019-2023 Schuchart won at least 7 races. Since then, he’s won just 3 in 2024 and only 2 last year. He and his team are just too good to keep down for too long. Logan doesn’t destroy equipment, and as the saying goes, in order to win races, you have to finish races. I think having both Shark cars on the same tour full-time again will certainly help as well, as their resources will be combined on a regular basis, instead of being spread thin across different locations.

DYLAN: Emerson Axsom – Axsom is riding a wave of momentum heading into his rookie year with the World of Outlaws. He is coming off his first career Chili Bowl title and has now returned to Klaasmeyer Petry Motorsports after a brief stint with the KCP Racing #18 team last season. During his brief time in the #18, it enabled the young driver the opportunity to visit a variety of tracks for the first time. Although the KPM team and Axsom traveled fairly regularly back during the 2024 campaign, they still weren’t able to get some of the tracks that Axsom was able to run throughout that KCP opportunity last season. The familiarity of traveling and having been to a lot of places already should help Axsom significantly heading into 2026, and it perhaps gives him somewhat of an advantage over the fellow rookies who will be making their debuts at many of the facilities that the Outlaws will be traveling to. Axsom showed speed right out of the gate last season at Volusia, so if he can replicate that in 2026, he may even have a stranglehold in the rookie of the year chase from the get-go.

JACOB: Emerson Axsom – A recent addition to the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year class was 2026 Chili Bowl Nationals champion Emerson Axsom. The young driver from Indiana had a brief stint last year with KCP Racing after Gio Scelzi departed the #18 ride. A lot of people saw this as Axsom getting more national seat time with the Outlaws for a full time effort in 2026. While his stint with KCP was short lived, Axsom returned to his Klaasmeyer Petry Motorsports #27 Sprint Car. After this past weekends racing with ASCS 360 Sprint Cars, on Tuesday Emerson Axsom took to social media to make his official announcement as a Rookie of the Year contender. Out of the rookie class including Ashton Torgerson, Scott Bogucki, Scotty Thiel, and Kasey Jedrzejek, I think Axsom will have the best season with even maybe 1 or 2 victories.

SHAUN: Ashton Torgerson – Speaking of Shark Racing, I think Torgerson picks up Rookie of the Year honours. I believe Emerson Axsom will be the favorite going in, and thats perfectly understandable based on the experience he’s had in 410, his Chili Bowl win, and the speed he’s already shown in 2026 with his team with the ASCS races at Volusia. I think the points battle will be incredibly close, and I do think one of Torgerson or Axsom (or both) will win a race in 2026, but I think that Shark Racing, with their resources and touring experience as a team will definitely help bring Torgerson along.

DYLAN: Spencer Bayston and Sheldon Haudenschild – Both Bayston and Haudenschild have something to prove heading into the 2026 World of Outlaws season.

Bayston in particular was almost at rock bottom last August after being let go from Jason Meyers Racing shortly following the conclusion of the Knoxville Nationals. He had struggled mightily in the JMR #14, while his teammate at the time Corey Day was in contention for wins on a nightly basis. After the split, Bayston spent the remainder of the year filling the seat of the Works Limited #X car and the Tarlton #21 machine both on the west coast. The change of scenery proved to be just what Bayston needed, as he began to produce results in both cars. He nearly even beat David Gravel in a photo finish at Tulare last September but wound up finishing 2nd by just a mere couple of inches. Bayston made the move to the Stenhouse Marshall Racing #17 prior to the World Finals in November, and the team had a respectable showing in their first weekend together. They tallied finishes of 13th, 5th, and 4th over the course of the three nights at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Bayston hopes to continue this wave of momentum heading into 2026 and will be under a lot of pressure to perform after struggling early on in the season last year.

Ironically, Sheldon Haudenschild departs from the SJM Racing ride that Bayston took over. Sheldon has spent the majority of his sprint car career with SJM, so his transition to KCP Racing in 2026 is certainly notable. Sheldon has 46 career victories with the World of Outlaws which is impressive, but he has never been able to take the “next-step” and put his name into title contention like many have been expecting him to do throughout the last handful of years. It’s no secret that he has speed, as he is either competing amongst the Top 5, or making his way forward in many of the features. His biggest problem is his lack of consistency, and his aggressive driving style. Both of these factors have come back to bite him in the past, taking away race wins and resulting in a fair amount of DNF’s. He did seem to begin to establish consistency down the stretch last season after he and SJM announced that they would both move on in 2026. He even ended the year on a high note in 2025, as he won his first crown jewel by capturing the victory in The National Open at Williams Grove Speedway in October. Even though the move to KCP brings some uncertainty, Sheldon will be joined by his longtime crew chief Kyle Ripper who also moves to the #18 team. This should provide him the opportunity to be comfortable and present some familiarity right away, and hopefully that is the case if the team wants to have success in 2026. Haudenschild will have an enormous amount of pressure to perform in his new ride, and if he can perform, it just might present him the opportunity to finally still be in title contention when the season winds down this coming fall.

JACOB: Sheldon Haudenschild – The driver that’s under the most pressure this season is Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild. After departing the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing team in 2025, everyone wanted to know what was next for him. Some thought maybe he would need a change of scenery and switch to the High Limit Series. Others thought maybe he would go back to racing his family’s #93 car. However, majority guessed that he would most likely takeover as the driver for KCP Racing in the #18 car. In most recent news, that’s exactly what was announced as Haudenschild enters his 10th consecutive season with the Outlaws. With a new team, different equipment, and different shop location, I believe this will put a lot of pressure on him to preform right out of the gate. Haudenschild has the talent and now needs to put it all together to compete for championships.

SHAUN: Spencer Bayston – After things didn’t go according to plan in 2025 while filling the impossible shoes of Corey Day, Bayston found himself without a ride. He bounced around before settling into the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing Team during World Finals at Charlotte, where he looked really, really good. If he can keep those results going, Bayston is going to be in contention for a lot of wins. If he doesn’t, this will be the second opportunity with a top-calibre team in two years, and you can gaurantee that Bayston is aware of that. Between his results at Charlotte, and this year’s Chili Bowl, Bayston reminded everyone just how capable his is. Here’s hoping its a sign of things to come for the Lebanon, Indiana driver.

DYLAN: David Gravel – Do I even really need to say much about this pick? Gravel is the two-time and defending champion of the series. His track record over the past two seasons speaks for itself, as the team has amassed 34 wins, 104 Top 5’s, and 129 Top 10’s in 143 starts. Gravel put up “video game” numbers in 2026, as the #2’s average finish of 4.13 last season was the best for a champion since Donny Schatz logged a 4.04 during the 2018 season. A big key to this was the fact that the team’s qualifying package was almost unbeatable last season. Gravel earned the QuickTime award in nearly half of the series’ events, tallying 32 of them in 70 starts. If the team is able to replicate this consistency in both qualifying and finishes in 2026, it will be very hard to choose anybody in the field to dethrone the pilot out of Watertown, CT. The entire crew is returning to the road in 2026, so I imagine Gravel will continue his recent dominance, enroute to winning another World of Outlaws title in 2026.

JACOB: David Gravel – Who wins the 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars championship? Look no further than back-to-back champion David Gravel. There’s no doubt that Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports #2 team is the team to beat once again this year. Crew Chief Cody Jacobs has been working very well with Gravel and the pairing looks to not be slowing down anytime soon. Gravel should have double digit wins once again and as long as he doesn’t have any DNF’s throughout the season, he should be crowned champion once again. Gravel’s consistency is one of the reasons why he is the top Sprint Car driver in the world. I predict that Buddy Kofoid and Carson Macedo will once again have a great season but will not be enough come November when the World Finals wrap up at Charlotte.

SHAUN: David Gravel – Until someone knocks him off the pedestal he’s on right now, I don’t see anyone matching Gravel’s consistency that he’s shown over the past few seasons. I do expect Buddy Kofoid and Carson Macedo to get their share of wins in 2026, but Gravel is just far too consistent for anyone to mount a serious challenge to his championship aspirations. David Gravel 3-peats in 2026.

DYLAN: 1. Gravel, 2. Buddy, 3. Macedo, 4. Schuchart., 5. Haudenschild

JACOB: 1. Gravel, 2. Buddy, 3. Macedo, 4. Bayston., 5. Schuchart

SHAUN: 1. Gravel, 2. Buddy, 3. Macedo, 4. Schuchart., 5. Schatz