BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — This weekend will signal the end of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars Series’ spring California swing, but there will be no shortage of Golden State sprint car racing in the coming weeks as the local scene continues to build.
The Outlaws conclude their visit with trips to Bakersfield Speedway on Friday and Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday.
The Outlaws have visited Bakersfield Speedway just three times since the turn of the century — 2005, ’16 and ’18.
- The winners from 2016 and ’18, Brad Sweet and Sheldon Haudenschild, will both look to pick up another victory as they hunt the championship.
Sweet enters the weekend with the most momentum after trouble struck David Gravel last weekend at Merced Speedway. “The Big Cat” hasn’t finished worse than fifth in the three races completed so far in his home state and has claimed the runner-up spot in the last two.
Haudenschild has collected top-10 finishes in the trio of California races, but he’s had to fight for the most recent two. After failing to transfer from the heat race directly to the feature, the Wooster, Ohio, native came out of the Last Chance Showdown at both the final night at Thunderbowl Raceway and Friday at Merced Speedway. In both features, Haudenschild charged from 21st to 10th.
- Fresh off his second series win of the year and 19th overall last week at Merced Speedway, Carson Macedo will look to add his name to the exclusive group of those with 20-plus WoO victories.
In Macedo’s lone Bakersfield Outlaw start, he finished a respectable seventh and in a pair of attempts at Perris, the Lemoore, Calif., native has earned finishes of ninth and second.
- The West Coast race tracks have not been kind to 10-time series champion Donny Schatz this spring, as his best finish is 12th through the three events. He’ll look to turn things around this weekend.
At Bakersfield, Schatz owns top 10s in all three starts he’s made at the quarter-mile, while at Perris he’s carrying a streak of six consecutive top-10 finishes with a 4.67 average finish over that span. He’s still searching for his first win at both facilities.
- David Gravel is looking to rebound after an incident at Merced.
The World of Outlaws point leader is one of two former series winners at Perris expected to compete on Saturday. Overall, he’s notched four top 10s in five starts at the Southern California track. At Bakersfield he’s made two starts with finishes of third and 12th.
- The Outlaws are not likely to see as many local teams this weekend, but Dominic Scelzi and Mitchell Faccinto intend to tackle both nights.
Scelzi has collected top-10 finishes in the last two events and Faccinto earned his second-best finish with the Outlaws with an 11th-place result at Thunderbowl Raceway.
- Speaking of the local California scene, the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360 Sprint Car Series is set to kick off its fifth campaign this Saturday at Placerville Speedway.
Last year, Ryan Robinson became the first driver not named Kyle Hirst to win the SCCT title after Hirst claimed the first three championships in series history.
Shane Golobic is currently the winningest driver in the series with eight triumphs to his credit.
Justyn Cox is the most recent Placerville SCCT winner.
- Watsonville, Calif.’s Ocean Speedway is set to begin its weekly 360-sprint car series this Friday.
Bud Kaeding picked up a trio of victories on his way to the track title in 2021.
A native of nearby Aromas, California, Justin Sanders is expected to be in action Friday night looking to pick up where he left off at his home track in 2021. Sanders tallied a whopping nine feature wins at Ocean Speedway last year.
Keyword: Cali Notes: Outlaw Swing Wraps Up & Local Scene Ramps Up