Brad Sweet earned his third victory of 2023
Brad Sweet took advantage of the misfortune experienced by front runners David Gravel and Carson Macedo just after the halfway point of Friday night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series feature at the Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 to grab the winner’s trophy. The win on night 1 of the I-55 Outlaw Showdown was the driver of the No. 49 car’s third feature win of 2023.
The Kasey Kahne Racing driver from Grass Valley, California earned the win at the track located in Pevely, Missouri in a race shown live by DirtVision.com.
A total of 34 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results: 1. Carson Macedo(10.372), 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Sheldon Haudenschild, 4. Brock Zearfoss, 5. Logan Schuchart, 6. Zach Hampton, 7. David Gravel, 8. Anthony Macri, 9. Robbie Price, 10. Garet Williamson
Heat 1 Results: 1. Carson Macedo, 2, Logan Schuchart, 3. Noah Gass, 4. Kasey Kahne, 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr.
Heat 2 Results: 1. Brad Sweet, 2. Garet Williamson, 3. Zach Hampton, 4. James McFadden, 5. Tim Estenson
Heat 3 Results: 1. David Gravel, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Sheldon Haudenschild, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Joe B. Miller
Heat 4 Results: 1. Brock Zearfoss, 2. Giovanni Scelzi, 3. Anthony Macri, 4. Rico Abreu, 5. Justin Peck
Last Chance Showdown Finish: 1. Robbie Price, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Blake Hahn, 4. Jacob Allen
WoO Sprints Dash Results: 1. David Gravel, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Donny Schatz, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Giovanni Scelzi, 6. Logan Schuchart, 7. Brock Zearfoss, 8. Garet Williamson
Feature Re-cap: The 40-lap feature began with Gravel leading Sweet, Macedo, Schatz and Schuchart. On the second circuit, Macedo took the runner-up position away from Sweet. Further back, Scelzi moved into the top-5 by passing Schuchart.
By the 5th lap, Schatz faded back sixth as Sweet moved in on Macedo to challenge for second but a caution for Williamson slowed the pace on lap 7. On the restart, Scatz returned to the top-5 along with Kofoid while Gravel and Macedo continued to run up front.
Macri flipped to bring out a red flag on lap 13 collecting Peck, Allen, Estenson and Miller. All drivers were reported to be uninjured.
Haudenschild rose to fifth and then fourth on the restart passing Schatz and Schuchart. At the halfway point, the top-4 of Gravel, Macedo, Sweet and Haudenschild tightened up as they began to encounter slower traffic.
Macedo took the lead from Gravel on lap 23 but Gravel crossed over to retake the top spot with Sweet closing. Macedo and Gravel made contact on lap 25 which sent Gravel for a spin as they worked through traffic. That mishap elevated Sweet to the lead with Haudenschild second.
On the lap 25 restart, Schatz flipped to bring out a second red flag. Price was also collected with extensive damage being done to both machines. Both drivers were unhurt. When the race returned to yellow flag conditions, Haudenschild had a right rear tire to begin going down.
The top-5 at that time was Sweet, Haudenschild, Schuchart, Macedo and Scelzi. Haudenschild began to fade with that low tire. Sweet had pulled away to a big lead but lost that advantage when Haudenschild stopped on track at lap 32.
Sweet drove away from the field when green flag action resumed. Macedo, McFadden and Schuchart engaged in a furious fight for positions within the top-5. In the end, Sweet would sail under the checkered flag to claim his third victory of the season.
Feature Results: 1. Brad Sweet, 2. James Mcfadden, 3. Logan Schuchart, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Giovanni Scelzi, 6. Blake Hahn, 7. Buddy Kofoid, 8. Spencer Bayston, 9. Kasey Kahne, 10. David Gravel, 11. Rico Abreu, 12. Brock Zearfoss, 13. Justin Peck, 14. Sheldon Haudenschild, 15. Noah Gass, 16. Zach Hampton, 17. Donny Schatz, 18. Robbie Price, 19. Sam Hafertepe Jr., 20. Anthony Macri, 21. Joe B. Miller, 22. Jacob Allen, 23. Tim Estenson, 24. Garet Williamson
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