Brad Sweet and Kerry Madsen were victorious in the two-night FVP Platinum Battery Shootout for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin last weekend.

For Sweet, it was his first win at the always racy 3/8-mile, while Madsen scored his third victory in the last four races at the track. 

The series now heads to Ohio to kick off the traditional “Month of Money,” which features a handful of high-paying events, capped off sprint car racing’s biggest event, the Knoxville Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on August 8-11.

A fitting tribute

On what would have been Jason Johnson’s 42nd birthday on Saturday, the feature event at Cedar Lake Speedway was extended to 41 laps to honor the late driver of the No. 41 machine. Also, following a moment of silence, the crowd erupted for 41 seconds, cheering as loud as it could to remember Johnson, at the request of his wife, Bobbi, and son, Jaxx. Tracks across the country honored Johnson with 41 seconds of cheering. 

Thank you @racecedarlake fans for packing the stands this weekend for the @FVPparts Platinum Battery Showdown! See you next year! #Forever41 pic.twitter.com/VutVN1p5Wj

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) July 8, 2018

Clean sweep

Sweet swept the entire night of racing in the opener at Cedar Lake Speedway, which marked the first time in his career he has accomplished that feat. The Californian was fastest in time trials, won the first heat race, won the dash and led all 35 laps of the A-Feature. The win was Sweet’s third of the season as he remains second in points. He followed that up on Saturday night by leading 30 laps and ending up second after a late-race duel with Kerry Madsen.

Mr. Cedar Lake

Kerry Madsen continues his mastery of Cedar Lake Speedway. After winning both nights at the track in 2017, the native of St. Marys, Australia, who now calls Knoxville, Iowa, home, was victorious in the finale this past weekend. Madsen prevailed in a great late-race battle with Sweet, who was looking for a weekend sweep. The veteran driver led the final three laps to earn his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series win of the season and first since last October at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Oklahoma.

Great rebound

After having engine trouble early in the night, which prevented him from taking a qualifying attempt in the opener at Cedar Lake, Donny Schatz had to start scratch on the field in the second heat race. The nine-time and defending series champion charged from ninth to fourth in that heat race, which put him in the 11th starting spot for the 35-lap main event. Schatz wound up finishing fourth, which earned him the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. The North Dakota native finished one spot better in third on Saturday night.

On the podium

Brent Marks continued a strong summer surge as he finished third on the opening night at Cedar Lake. The sophomore driver, who won his first career Outlaws race last month, earned his best Cedar Lake finish. Marks was fifth fastest in time trials, which put him on the front row of a heat race, where he finished second to race his way into the dash, where he ran third.

Up front for Shark Racing

The Shark Racing duo of Jacob Allen and Logan Schuchart both had solid nights in the opener at Cedar Lake. Allen finished sixth, while Schuchart was one spot behind in seventh. Allen finished second in the third heat race, which put him in the dash. The young driver ran fifth in that six-lap contest to line up on the inside of the third row for the main event. Allen turned in another solid performance in the finale at Cedar Lake, as he led eight laps en route to a sixth-place finish as he continues to chase his first-career Outlaws win. The young driver was second-fastest in time trials on Saturday night, finished second in the second heat race and also ran second in the dash, which put him on the front row to start the 41-lap main event.

A pair of top fives

Dominic Scelzi earned his second top-five finish of the season with the World of Outlaws on the final night at Cedar Lake, crossing the line fifth. The California native also ran the companion Upper Midwest Sprint Car Series (UMSS) event at Cedar Lake, finishing third. Scelzi donated all of his winnings from that race to Bobbi and Jaxx Johnson, in honor of Jason Johnson on what would have been his 42nd birthday. 

Hard Charger

David Gravel earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award in the finale at Cedar Lake, adding to his ever-growing total in that statistical category this season. The 26-year-old started 10th and worked his way up to fourth to garner his 19th top-five finish of the season as he solidly sits third in points.

In the top 10

Paul Nienhiser earned his best World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series finish of the season at Cedar Lake Speedway, crossing the line 10th. The solid showing marked his first top-10 finish of the season with the series and first in a couple of seasons with the touring group for the Illinois native who predominantly comes with the Midwest Open Wheel Racing Association (MOWA) and Interstate Racing Association (IRA).

Last year’s @braddoty18 Classic at @atticaracewyprk had 58 cars, the highest of any single-day #WoOCraftSCS show all season!

How many cars will sign in tomorrow?

— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) July 9, 2018

Up next

One of the busiest weeks of the season awaits the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series with four nights of racing in Ohio. First up, is the Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park on Tuesday, July 10. The Kings Royal at the famed Eldora Speedway follows, beginning on Thursday, July 12, with the running of the Joker’s Wild, with the Knight Before the Kings Royal on Friday, July 13, and the $50,000-to-win Kings Royal on Saturday, July 14. 

Gravel won the Brad Doty Classic last year. Schatz leads all active Outlaws drivers with three wins at the third-mile bullring. Schatz has won the Kings Royal each of the last two years, which made him the first driver in the history of the event to win it back-to-back. He already has a pair of wins at Eldora this season during the #LetsRaceTwo event in May.

Points update

Schatz continues to lead the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, but Sweet gained 12 points last weekend, with the gap now 92 markers between the pair. Gravel remains third. The battle for fourth rages on between Shane Stewart and Daryn Pittman. Stewart currently is 14 markers ahead of Pittman. Sheldon Haudenschild rides sixth, followed by Schuchart in seventh, Ian Madsen in eighth, Brent Marks in ninth and Kraig Kinser in 10th.