It’s February and every racing fan should know exactly what that means:
Racing season is here and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car season kicks off this week. It’s good to be back, and we wanted to prepare our readers for the 80+ race season that starts on Thursday in Florida.
Below you’ll find our season preview, complete with storylines, the schedule and team previews to get you ready for 2022. Thanks for reading.
The Schedule
Like usual, the World of Outlaws schedule will take drivers and teams through a gauntlet from week one on. The 93-day slate features racing nearly every weekend from February to the first days of November.
We’d usually type out the schedule here, but due to the vast size of it, here’s the graphic the series produced:
2021 Big Race winners
Big Gator Trophy (Volusia) – Logan Schuchart
Bristol Throwdown – David Gravel
Huset’s 50 – Aaron Reutzel (running open schedule in ’22)
Jackson Nationals – Logan Schuchart
Brad Doty Classic – Spencer Bayston
Kings Royal – Tyler Courtney & Kyle Larson
Ironman 55 – Sheldon Haudenschild
Knoxville Nationals – Kyle Larson
National Open – Carson Macedo
The Storylines
How to stop Brad Sweet: Going back to the first years of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, drivers and teams that win championships happen to stick together and earn multiple crowns in time. Brad Sweet and the Kasey Kahne Racing NAPA Auto Parts team has been no exception, winning a third-straight championship last year and finishing on the lead lap in every race on the schedule. That’s the secret for competitors who want the title. No matter what happened to Sweet’s car in a race, his crew got it back on the track. That gave Sweet an extra boost that he utilized to get another big trophy. The biggest thing for his competitors will be to never quit on a night.
Bonus bucks: The World of Outlaws will implement a payout system this season that will award its full-time drivers with bonus money. The highest, full-time series driver will earn an extra $1,000 and every driver in the top 12 for the regulars will receive at least $500 for their results in each race. This is a pretty cool deal that the tour is doing and really incentivizes drivers on both the sprint car and late model side. That’s just a cool deal I wanted to note.
The Return of the Historical Big 1: The Historical Big 1 will return to the cycle at Eldora, making what was two big races for the week of the Kings Royal due to COVID-19 a normal occurrence each year. Obviously, the Kings Royal will remain the big race that week and no one is saying that it shouldn’t, but marquee events with names and years of history are always a plus to have. There’s a reason the series is going to Bristol and continuing to grow the events that were already big on the schedule. Adding another race that’s bigger than a normal one will be another positive.
Huset’s adds some spice: What Tod Quiring has done since taking over Huset’s Speedway has been nothing short of special to the series and he’s once again upping the ante. The track will award $100,000 to the winner of the Huset’s High Bank Nationals, doubling the winner’s check for what was previously the Huset’s 50. There’s now four races on the schedule that award a six-digit check to the winner with the big one at Huset’s, the Historical Big 1 and Kings Royal at Eldora as well as the biggest race of the year in the Knoxville Nationals.
Three unique rookies: The rookie class in the World of Outlaws is usually a sight to see, with fans wanting to catch the next breakout driver and figure out if a team has what it takes to compete with the series. This year is a special one, with the addition of former NASCAR star and longtime team owner Kasey Kahne throwing his hat into the ring. I’ve gone on the rant on our podcast but the name drop of Kahne running the series full-time is going to be – and already is – very big for the series. That’s nothing to take away from Spencer Bayston or Noah Gass either. I’d tab Bayston as the favorite to win rookie of the year at this point, but it’s intriguing to see what he can do. Gass is an 18-year old just getting his feet wet, but we’ll be able to see his improvement on paper through the year.
A mature roster: I struggled with how I wanted to word this heading, but the roster that the series has right now is as identified as ever. All of the contenders for the championship have been established names in the sport and have created their brands that continue to grow. I think that’s a big component to what it takes to grow as a series, and we break it down driver-by-driver below:
Kasey Kahne Racing
49 | Brad Sweet
3x World of Outlaws champion (’19-’21)
2018 Knoxville Nationals winner
Brad Sweet is going for his fourth-straight series title in 2022 and has shown no signs of slowing down. As we noted, the defending champ raced every lap of every race the series sanctioned a year ago and that’s a feat that few drivers do in any form of motorsports. With a series-high 16 wins, Sweet said in interviews that he thought he was capable of more – and he is, he finished with the same amount in six less races during his first title year. He hasn’t shown a weakness since he rose to the top and stands as the ‘safest’ pick to take home another in ’22.
9 | Kasey Kahne
2022 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender
In one of the most intriguing announcements of the ‘silly season,’ Kahne announced he’d be chasing a full schedule in 2022, replacing James McFadden who is heading to Roth Motorsports this year. Having a driver with the brand that Kahne has built will be great for the tour and will feature a year of eyes on him seeing if he can earn his first career World of Outlaws victory. I think we’ll see Kahne do it, and anything else he accomplishes will be gravy. It’s going to be fun, regardless, to see him in a No. 9 ripping every week.
Tony Stewart Racing
15 | Donny Schatz
10x World of Outlaws champion (’06-’09, ’12, ’14-’18)
10x Knoxville Nationals winner (’06-’09, ’11-’15, ’17)
Donny Schatz had his worst World of Outlaws points finish since 2005 last season with the World of Outlaws. He finished in fourth place. Some might point to that as slowing down after the peak of a driver’s career, but Schatz’ numbers would prove them wrong. From the Knoxville Nationals to the end of the season, the Tony Stewart Racing driver accrued the highest number of points in the series, overcoming a tough stretch in the middle of the year that saw Kerry Madsen win in the No. 14 part-time TSR car. Schatz proved at the end of the year that he’ll be fine and maybe going back to the black-and-yellow paint scheme can channel some of that juju from his title years.
Big Game Motorsports
2 | David Gravel
2019 Knoxville Nationals winner
2013 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
David Gravel ran a NASCAR Truck Series race during the 2020 season that was one of what was supposed to be a five-race deal for the driver if a pandemic hadn’t hit the world. However, Gravel missed some action in the World of Outlaws tour that season that might have gotten him a championship. In 2022, he’ll chase that same goal – one that he’s very capable of making. The veteran earned 11 wins last year, the second best total in the series, and got under his own with a new team. Now, in his second tour with Big Game Motorsports, expect Gravel to challenge Sweet. This could be a really encapsulating title battle.
Jason Johnson Racing
41 | Carson Macedo
2019 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
Carson Macedo is coming off his best season in the sport, collecting 11 wins last season including victories at Knoxville, Eldora and Williams Grove – the homes of the three biggest events of the season. Macedo captured the National Open at the grove to put an exclamation point on a successful year in the No. 41. The California native even beat out Donny Schatz for third in the standings. He’s back this year, with a new look and sponsor on his car as he tries to take the next step in his career with the series. If everything goes right, don’t be surprised to see Macedo going toe-to-toe for a championship in November.
Shark Racing
1S | Logan Schuchart
2020 World of Outlaws runner-up
Logan Schuchart finished in the runner-up spot in the 2020 World of Outlaws title chase, but recorded a fifth-place finish in the standings a year ago. With a team that was battling part shortages seemingly left and right in 2021, Shark Racing had to fight hard to earn the spot in the top five. Schuchart is no slouch, and he’s going to chase another Jackson Nationals this season. The No. 1S car could get back to the title fight, but the luck has got to be there.
1A | Jacob Allen
Jacob Allen is running his throwback paint scheme on the regular for 2022, marking the first time in a long time that the pair of Shark cars won’t have similar designs (Ok look I’m only 23, a couple years is a long time to me). Allen is still chasing his second career win in the series and could very well get it this year. Regardless, if Shark Racing can avoid bad luck a supply chain issues, the team could get back into contention like they were headed pre-2021.
Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing
17 | Sheldon Haudenschild
2017 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
Sheldon Haudenschild is my biggest wildcard for the 2022 season. The young driver turned veteran returns for his sixth year in the series piloting the No. 17 car once again. Haudenschild captured eight victories – the fourth most in the World of Outlaws last year – but came home in sixth in points. Late-race issues mostly caused by luck soiled what might have been his best year in the sport last season. It’s a common theme amongst these drivers and teams – and that’s a note to how deep the talent in the tour is – but watch out for the NOS 17 car. If they catch the right breaks, this year could be different.
Roth Motorsports
83 | James McFadden
2021 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
Australia native James McFadden moves to Roth Motorsports in 2022 after earning rookie of the year honors a season ago. His former team owner in Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 9 car McFadden drove last year. The pair of teams have worked closely together and McFadden is a driver with the talent necessary to running the No. 83 for years to come. If the wins follow, we’ll see his name and face a lot in the years to come.
Kinser Racing
11K | Kraig Kinser
2004 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
2005 Knoxville Nationals winner
Kraig Kinser is back for yet another year with the World of Outlaws, driving for his own team in the No. 11K. The son of 20-time series champion Steve Kinser and ’05 title winner himself hasn’t won with the tour since 2017. Although, with four top-five finishes last year, Kinser showed his best cards in recent memory. If he can catch lightning in a bottle, he’ll be back in victory lane this year.
CJB Motorsports
5 | Spencer Bayston
2022 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender
Spencer Bayston will embark on his first full tour with the World of Outlaws in maybe the most intriguing spot for the series. Driving for CJB Motorsports, the now-rookie will look to build on what has already been a successful early career in the sport. Bayston won the Brad Doty Classic a year ago (and has appeared on our podcast which is like a really big deal) and showed he has what it takes. Now, we wait and see how a full year treats a talented driver.
Brock Zearfoss Racing
3Z | Brock Zearfoss
I’ve mentioned luck more times than I can count in this preview, but if there is any driver that knows about it, it’s the pilot of the No. 3Z. Brock Zearfoss faced a mass of adversity and draws of crappy cards in his first year with the tour last season, but is back to keep fighting. The Pennsylvania driver will take things on for a second round in 2022 and if he has any better luck this year, he’ll show improvement on the tour.
Rico Abreu Racing
7S | Jason Sides
2003 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year
Jason Sides had a unique year with the World of Outlaws a season ago, with a highway accident derailing the momentum he built in the early months of racing in 2021. The fan favorite will, however, race again this year in his familiar No. 7S machine.
Gass Racing
20G | Noah Gass
2022 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender
As the newest name to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, Noah Gass will take on an ambitious role competing for Rookie of the Year in 2022 with the tour. In the appearances Gass made for the series last year, he captured a best finish of 12th and continued to improve through the season. The 18-year old wants to learn, straight from the best sprint car drivers in the world. He’ll do that at the very least in 2022.
Bill Rose Racing
6 | Bill Rose
Bill Rose will return to the series for another full-time season with the tour. After being out of the car since early last year, Rose will again tour with the series in his regular No. 6 ride. As the oldest driver in the tour, Rose has done a lot in his career with racing, including owning a USAC team and winning the 2018 Buckeye Outlaw championship. He’s on tour to have fun, and hopefully we get to watch him do it all year.
…
The World of Outlaws kicks off the year on Thursday, but many of the drivers competing will race on Tuesday and Wednesday – pending any weather cancelations – in non-points races that will basically serve as a warmup to the weekend. Each of the five races, however, will contribute to the DIRTCar Nationals ‘Big Gator Trophy,’ awarded at the end of the week. We’ll have all of the coverage here at ARD and can’t wait to get the season started. We hope you have as much fun as we do.
