By Tony Veneziano

Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet, who are first and second in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings, split a pair of wins over the weekend. Schatz was victorious at Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri, while Sweet took the checkered flag first at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Oklahoma. The series heads to Ohio and Indiana this coming weekend for a trio of races as a busy month of May continues.

On the board

After a few runner-up finishes this season, Brad Sweet finally was able to get that elusive first win of the season at Salina Highbanks Speedway on Saturday. He led the first 22 laps of the feature last year before finishing third. Sweet is solidly in the second spot in the point standings.

Add one to the list

With his win at Lake Ozark Speedway on Friday, Donny Schatz added to the list of tracks that he has won at with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Schatz now owns victories at three tracks in the state of Missouri in his career. Altogether, the nine-time series champion has won at over 80 tracks across the country, as well as in Canada and Australia. 

Passing cars

Shane Stewart, who started on the pole at Salina, ended up passing the most cars on the night. After getting into a marking tire and water barrel on the outside of turn four while leading on the opening lap, the Oklahoma native charged his way back to a 10th-place finish. Stewart made a trip to the work area for front end repairs before lining back up at the rear of the field.

Quick time and a new track record

Spencer Bayston was fastest in time trials at Lake Ozark Speedway, which marked the first time in his career that he has topped the qualifying charts with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. The 2017 USAC National Midget Series champion turned a lap of 11.351 seconds, which established a new track record. That lap was nearly 0.4 seconds faster than the previous track record, which was set in 2007.

Shark Racing on the front row

Jacob Allen started on the pole and led the first six laps at Lake Ozark Speedway after winning the dash. Logan Schuchart, who is Allen’s teammate at Shark Racing, also started on the front row and was battling among the top three during the first half of the race. However, Schuchart had to limp his car home to a 10th-place finish after another car got into him while he was in the top five, causing damage to his machine.

In the top five

David Gravel continued his recent surge by recording two more top-five finishes. He finished second in his first visit to Lake Ozark Speedway and was fifth at Salina Highbanks Speedway. The solid run at Salina made up for Gravel's disappointing finish in 2017, when another car got into him as he led the first lap, causing him to flip and ending his night.

Season-best finish

Brent Marks recorded his best finish of the season at Salina Highbanks Speedway. The sophomore driver crossed the line seventh, after starting 10th. Marks now has six top-10 finishes this season as he closes in on the top 10 in points.

On the podium

Kerry Madsen picked up his best finish of the season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at Lake Ozark Speedway, crossing the line third. The veteran driver was just one spot off the podium at Salina, coming home fourth to earn his second straight top-five finish.

A new track

Sammy Swindell has raced at hundreds of tracks in his Hall of Fame career. One, though, that he had never competed at was Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri. Swindell added the 1/3-mile to the list of venues he has raced at on Friday. Brake issues forced him to have to pull off the track around the halfway point of the main event.

It’s been a while

Zach Chappell, who competed full-time with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in 2007, made his first 410-sprint car start with the series since that season at Salina. Running what he called a “very old” engine, his race came to an end on the ninth lap.

Points update

Donny Schatz gained a few points on Brad Sweet over the weekend to extend his lead in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings to 80 markers. Sheldon Haudenschild remains third, 46 points out of second and 126 out of the lead. Shane Stewart is fourth, just 10 points out of third. David Gravel moved up to fifth and is eight markers out of fourth. Jason Johnson is sixth, just six points behind Gravel. Daryn Pittman sits seventh, 20 markers behind Johnson. Logan Schuchart is eighth, with Cory Eliason ninth and Ian Madsen 10th.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series heads to the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio on Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, for a sprint car doubleheader with the USAC National Sprint Car Series. Donny Schatz won a couple of races at Eldora last season, while Logan Schuchart, Kerry Madsen, Tim Shaffer, and Christopher Bell all also won Outlaws races at the half-mile. On Sunday, May 13, the series heads to Tri-State Speedway in Indiana for the third time, with the first two being postponed by rain. Parker Price-Miller earned his first Outlaws win at the quarter-mile in 2017.