With the Knoxville Nationals now in the books, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series begins a busy stretch which will take the series to six states in a four-week span for a total of 13 nights of racing. The traditional Fall West Coast Swing will encompass the majority of these races.

The trek west begins with the Outlaws invading North Dakota for a pair of races at the always popular River Cities Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway. Donny Schatz, the nine-time and defending series champion, is always the favorite when the series visits his home state. In fact, he has 10 wins at River Cities Speedway and four at Red River Valley Speedway.

The journey west will continue at Black Hills Speedway in South Dakota, where Shane Stewart broke Schatz’s three-race win streak at the track last year.  Big Sky Speedway in Montana follows, where Daryn Pittman has two straight wins and surprisingly Schatz has never won.

Up first as part of the West Coast Swing, is a trip to the Pacific Northwest and the always racy Skagit Speedway in Washington, where Shane Stewart and Daryn Pittman split wins last year. The Outlaws will then head to Grays Harbor Raceway, also in Washington on Labor Day evening, as Stewart looks for a second straight win. The only race of the season in Oregon follows at Willamette Speedway.

The Gold Cup Race of Champions will bring the series to Silver Dollar Speedway in California, with Stewart as the defending event winner. That will be followed by a visit to Placerville Speedway for the 49er Gold Rush Classic, which is an even promoted by Knoxville Nationals winner Brad Sweet and was won by David Gravel last year. The West Coast Swing will conclude in the scenic NAPA Valley at Calistoga Speedway, where Sweet and Schatz split wins last year.

Point battles

A number of drivers are locked in tight battles in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series point standings. At the top of the standings, Schatz continues to show the consistency that has won him nine titles, dating back to 2006. He has 44 top-10 finishes in 46 main event starts, with 35 of those being top-five performances. Schatz, who has 15 wins, is looking to extend of his streak of 20-plus win seasons, which currently is at five, which is a series record.

Brad Sweet is second in points and second in just about every statistical category to Schatz. Winning at Knoxville was the Californian’s fourth win of the season, which is tied for third-most on the circuit.

David Gravel sits third in points, less than 100 markers out of second. The 26-year-old has five victories and has the third-most top-10 and top-five finishes of the full-time drivers competing with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.

“We just want to win races,” Gravel said. “We have a shot at getting to second in points, which would be a good accomplishment. We’re going to continue to push hard and try to win races and the points will all take care of themselves.”

The battle for fourth continues between Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart. The pair is separated by 54 points, with Pittman, who has five wins currently ahead.

Logan Schuchart recently moved into a tie for the sixth spot in points with Sheldon Haudenschild. The duo is 88 points out of the top-five. Haudenschild has had a breakout season with four wins, while Schuchart has shown great consistency this season and recently picked up his first win of the year in the finale of the Ironman 55 weekend. Rookie Ian Madsen continues to solidly hold down the eighth spot.

Brent Marks, who has a pair of wins this season, is ninth in the standings, with Kraig Kinser rounding out the top-10.

“We are obviously still looking for wins,” shared Kinser. “The goal is to get the consistency up and get in the winner’s circle. That’s what the goal is every year. This year is no different.”

Jacob Allen, who has come close to winning a couple of times this season has gained a significant amount of ground in the point standings over the last month and is just 56 markers out of the top-10.

With 27 race nights remaining on the 2018 calendar, a lot can happen over the next two and a half months as the stretch run of the season begins for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.