By Tony Veneziano

A first-time winner graced victory lane for the second straight race in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series as Cory Eliason picked up the win at California's Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday. 

The Outlaws also continued to battle Mother Nature as the series lost its third race of the West Coast swing when the opener at Stockton was canceled due to rain. A pair of races this coming weekend will wrap up the California portion of the West Coast swing, followed by a trip to Arizona in a couple of weeks.

Another First-Time Winner

Cory Eliason became the third first-time winner this season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in the first seven races of the year. With his win at the Stockton Dirt Track, Eliason became the second straight first-time victor, following Aaron Reutzel’s maiden trip to the winner’s circle at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA, on March 9. 

Still super pumped from last night. To finally say we are @WorldofOutlaws winners is amazing and I hope there is many more to come. I can’t thank this whole @RothMotorsports team@for all the hard work and dedication behind me to push me and prove we can do this. pic.twitter.com/YVZ3esXVy6

— cory eliason (@Cory_Eliason) March 18, 2018

Eliason, who led 22 laps at Tulare, en route to a then-career-best finish of second, dominated at Stockton, pacing the field for all 30 laps, after starting on the pole. With his win, Eliason became the 141st different driver in series history to pick up a feature win, dating back to the series inaugural season of 1978.

Continuing To Defend Their Turf

A week after six California drivers finished among the top 10 at Tulare, five Golden State natives were in the top 10 at Stockton, led by Eliason. Carson Macedo was also in the top five, as was Tim Kaeding. Dominic Scelzi was seventh, with Willie Croft rounding out the top 10. 

Season Best

Ian Madsen finished a season-best second at the Stockton Dirt Track on March 17. The native of St. Marys, Australia, is in the midst of his first full season on the road with the Outlaws, piloting the No. 18 for KPC Racing, based out of the Des Moines, Iowa, area.

Sooner Strong

Shane Stewart and Daryn Pittman, who both hail from Oklahoma and now call the Indianapolis area home, had solid runs at Stockton. Stewart took the checkered flag in the third spot, which matched his best finish of the season, while Pittman was eighth. Pittman earned the Hard Charger Award, after starting 20th. The consistent finishes helped each of the veteran drivers advance in the point standings as well.

Two For Two

Tim Kaeding has made a pair of starts behind the wheel of the No. 7S machine for Jason Sides and has finished in the top 10 both times. At Stockton, he finished a season-best fifth, powering his way from the 13th starting position. Look for Kaeding to continue in the No. 7S this coming weekend at Ocean Speedway and Bakersfield Speedway.

Moving On Up

Carson Macedo continued his strong West Coast swing with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. After a fifth-place showing at Tulare, the Californian ran fourth at Stockton to earn his best finish of the season with the series. 

Tough Sledding

Brian Brown, Rico Abreu, and Brad Sweet all had trouble while running among the top five at Stockton, which was described as a very “technical” track after rain saturated the area all week leading up to the race.

Solid finish for our @DCSolar @ENEOSUSA car tonight. Thanks to my guys hard work!!! We all need the rain to go away. Tough being out here not racing.

— Shane Stewart (@shanestewart_2) March 18, 2018

Brown, who was fastest in time trials, spun while running second. Abreu then had trouble while running second, just a few laps later. Sweet was running fifth with three laps to go when he came to a stop. Sweet was able to restart at the tail of the lead lap and salvaged a 12th-place finish.

Battling Mother Nature

With the opener at Stockton rained out, five of the first 11 races this season were affected by inclement weather. Add one more race to that list, as the originally scheduled event at Placerville Speedway on Wednesday has already been postponed to September 12 due to continued rain and more expected at the quarter-mile track early this week.

Points Update

Donny Schatz continues to lead the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings with seven races in the books. Sheldon Haudenschild is second, 46 points out of the lead. At Stockton, Schatz ran 14th, which was his first non-top five finish of the season. 

It's Raceday! .@DonnySchatz and the @WorldofOutlaws series will get back on-track tonight!

Fun Facts: Schatz has won three (3) #WoOCraftSCS events at #StocktonDirt & set track record @ 12.566 sec on 3/21/15

?@StocktonDirt

???️@dirtvision pic.twitter.com/JM8dKG4nww

— Tony Stewart Racing (@TonyStewart_Rcg) March 17, 2018

Brad Sweet is currently third in the standings, just four markers behind Haudenschild. Shane Stewart moved up to fourth in points, with Jason Johnson rounding out the top five. David Gravel climbed up to sixth in the standings following the event at Stockton, with Daryn Pittman seventh, Cory Eliason eighth, Paul McMahan ninth, and Brian Brown 10th.

Up Next

This Friday, the Outlaws visit Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA, for the second straight year. Brad Sweet was victorious last year in the series' first race at the quarter-mile in nearly a decade. On Saturday, the series heads to the third-mile Bakersfield Speedway, where Sweet also won in 2017.