CONCORD, N.C. — The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season concluded Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Here are five takeaways from the four-day stretch at the World Finals.
1. David Gravel Isn’t Finished Yet
For three years, the World of Outlaws title has come down to a battle between Brad Sweet and David Gravel. And for three years, Gravel has left The Dirt Track at Charlotte the runner-up.
Entering the World Finals, Gravel knew his title hopes were a longshot, as he ran his calculations on the 50-point deficit between his No. 2 Big Game Motorsports entry and the No. 49 Kasey Kahne Racing car.
He put up an admirable fight the first two nights, picking up a win and a sixth-place finish.
But on Saturday, things quickly fell apart for the Connecticut native. Due to an engine issue, Gravel was unable to finish his heat race and was relegated to the B main. As a result, the team changed engines.
“I knew we had plenty of time, but obviously bummed that we lost our chance to run in the dash, to start up front and have shot to win $25,000,” Gravel said. “That was a bummer.”
But the 31-year-old raced from 21st to finish seventh in the feature. While it wasn’t enough to earn Gravel the title, or win the race, the performance was still something to take pride in.
“Did what we could do with the cards we were dealt. I don’t know if you could ask for much more than that with the circumstances,” Gravel said. “We’ll get one (a championship) one day.”
2. It’s Hard To Beat Brad Sweet
It’s been difficult for any team to beat the consistency of Brad Sweet’s Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb operation.
Why? The five-time champion lent his opinion.
“Some of that’s mentality and some of that’s just experience,” Sweet said. “Some of it’s confidence in the driver and some of it is your ability to make the right changes to the race car. And all of that comes with experience.”
Sweet ended the year with 11 WoO victories, 44 top-five finishes and 64 top 10s and his fifth consecutive title.
“You get to a point where it’s really hard to beat a guy with my experiences, my knowledge, Eric (Prutzman), my team — everything we have at KKR,” Sweet said. “It’s hard to beat someone who has all the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Sweet has been a full-time Outlaw since 2014.
3. Shark Racing Is Ready For Respite
All three Shark Racing entries — piloted by Logan Schuchart, Tanner Holmes and Jacob Allen — made it to the A main on Thursday and Saturday. Schuchart appeared in all three features.
The No. 1s driver capped off his year with a third-place result in Saturday night’s finale, which was enough to secure fifth place in the standings.
“You always want to win the race, but to charge forward, be right there for the lead and knowing we had something for the leaders — to end the season with a podium, I’m happy for my guys, that they can end on a high note,” Schuchart said.
There were plenty of smiles in the Shark Racing pits following the race, but Schuchart noted the team is ready for the offseason.
“We’re in bad shape right now, as far as cars and parts and engines, so it’s definitely going to be a rebuilding period for us,” Schuchart said. “The next two months, there’s going to be a lot of time spent in the shop.”
4. Don’t Underestimate The Talent Pool
On Friday night, none of the eight drivers who raced in the dash were World of Outlaws regulars.
Brent Marks, Tyler Courtney, Brian Brown, Justin Henderson, Justin Peck, Rico Abreu, Chase Randall and Austin McCarl competed in the non-Outlaw dash.
“It was pretty cool to be a part of that, especially at such a hard race,” noted Randall, who is this year’s Knoxville Raceway track champion in the 360 division. The World Finals rookie had a bit of an up-and-down week, as he only made one of three features, finishing 15th in Friday night’s A main.
Two-time All Star Circuit of Champions title winner Courtney chimed in.
“You respect the hell out of the Outlaws, but it’s always cool when you get to kick them out of the dash like that,” Courtney said. “I think it just speaks to the Outlaws though, for it to be that big of a deal for them not to be in the dash speaks for itself.”
Courtney and WoO champion Brad Sweet were the only drivers to finish in the top five all three nights.
5. Gio Scelzi Has Quite A Future Ahead
In his rookie World of Outlaws season, Gio Scelzi finished fourth in the standings, ahead of Schuchart and 10-time series champion Donny Schatz.
Though his goal was to finish top five in points, there was still a hint of shock on the 21-year-old’s face as he described his banner year on the Outlaw tour.
“I knew I had to beat a Logan, a Donny, a Sheldon (Haudenschild) — one of the guys who was in that fourth, fifth, sixth area,” Scelzi said. “We’ve had a good amount of top fives and top 10s, we just haven’t won as much as we’ve wanted to.”
Scelzi owns one win, 18 top-five finishes and 50 top 10s in 73 races this year.
With his fourth-place finish in the points, the KCP Racing driver has tied Brad Doty (1982) and Jeff Swindell (1981) as the highest-finishing rookie in World of Outlaws history.
“That was a long time ago, so that shows how difficult it is to be a rookie out here. I’ve raced a lot of World of Outlaws races before this year, but being full time is definitely a different dynamic,” Scelzi said.