Abreu, Sweet, Schatz Victorious on Outlaws West Coast Swing

Abreu, Sweet, Schatz Victorious on Outlaws West Coast Swing

Rico Abreu, Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz all picked up wins as the West Coast Swing continued for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.

Sep 11, 2018 by Tony Veneziano
Abreu, Sweet, Schatz Victorious on Outlaws West Coast Swing

Rico Abreu, Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz all picked up wins over the last week as the West Coast Swing continued for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Abreu was the biggest winner, pocketing $15,000 in the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in California. Sweet was victorious in the Gold Cup opener, while Schatz won at Willamette Speedway in Oregon. This week, the West Coast Swing concludes, with a visit to Placerville Speedway and a two-night event at Calistoga Speedway.

Fan favorite

Rico Abreu received a huge ovation for winning the Gold Cup for the second time in his career. The California native passed Tanner Thorson on the 26thlap for the lead and stayed out front for the rest of the rough-and-tumble 40-lapper. For Abreu, it was his second high-paying win of the season with the Outlaws, as he was also victorious in the $20,000 opener of the Ironman 55 weekend, which served as the 2017 edition of the race, after it was rained out last year. Making the win even more impressive is the fact that the oldest member on Abreu’s pit crew is just 23 years of age, with the other two, checking in at 18-years-old and 22-years-old.

Home state win

Brad Sweet was victorious in the opener of the Gold Cup Race of Champions to earn his sixth win of the season for Kasey Kahne Racing. That victory kept a hot-streak alive, in which either him or teammate Daryn Pittman have victorious during four of the last five weekends with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Sweet, who started fifth, took the lead from fellow California native Tim Kaeding on lap-17 and would stay out front for the remainder of the 30-lap contest.

Rolling right along

Donny Schatz earned his 19thwin of the season at Willamette Speedway on September 5. For the nine-time and defending series champion, it marked his 19thwin of the season and second at the three-tenths-mile. The North Dakota native traded the lead a couple of times with Logan Schuchart en route to the triumph. Schatz is now just one win away from extending his streak of 20-plus win seasons to six, which would add to the series-record he already holds.

Defending their turf

Drivers who hail from the state of California claimed 8 of the top-10 finishing positions in the opener of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. Brad Sweet, who is both a World of Outlaws regular and a Californian, led the charge, by scoring his sixth win of the season. Tim Kaeding ran second, followed by his brother Bud Kaeding. Shane Golobic was fourth, with Cory Eliason, who led eight laps, in fifth. Kyle Hirst was sixth, with Justin Sanders seventh and Andy Forsberg eighth. The only two non-California-based World of Outlaws drivers in the top-10 were Ian Madsen in ninth and Shane Stewart in 10th.

The story was much the same in the finale as again California-born drivers again claimed eight spots in the top-10. Abreu led the way with his win, with Kaeding second and Cory Eliason third. Shane Stewart was the high-best finish World of Outlaws driver in fourth, while Donny Schatz was eighth and Brad Sweet ninth. Buddy Kofoid was fifth, followed by Justin Sanders in sixth and Shane Golobic in seventh. Andy Forsberg rounded out the top-10.

A strong combination

The pairing of Tim Kaeding and Jason Sides has paid big dividends in the handful of races they have run together this season. Kaeding finished fifth in the Knoxville Nationals, driving the No. 3 Sides Motorsports machine and followed that up with a pair of runner-up finishes on both nights of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway.

Career weekend

A night after becoming the youngest driver ever to be fastest in time trials with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, on the opening night of the Gold Cup, 16-year-old Buddy Kofoid finished a career-best fifth in the finale of the event. The Californian dominated the dash, winning by nearly five-seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. Kofoid recently made his first trip to the Midwest, where he competed in Ohio, driving the No. 11N machine. He also scored the richest win of his career earlier this season, taking the $10,000 finale of the Summer Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Washington. 

Brothers on the podium

Tim Kaeding and Bud Kaeding both finished on the podium on the first night of the Gold Cup. The brothers have won numerous races at Silver Dollar Speedway in each of their storied careers. T. Kaeding took the lead from Cory Eliason on the ninth lap and led a total of eight circuits, driving a team car to longtime World of Outlaws competitor Jason Sides.

A rare sight

In the Gold Cup opener, Donny Schatz failed to finish among the top-10, which was just the third time in the first 55 races of the season in which he wasn’t among the top-10 in the finishing order. The nine-time and defending series champion crossed the line 12th, after starting in the 17thspot. Schatz still handily leads the series standings as well as having the most top-10 and top-five finishes this season.

Close again

Logan Schuchart added another second-place finish to his tally for the season at Willamette Speedway. The Pennsylvania native took the lead from Donny Schatz on the fourth lap and would pace the next 10 circuits. Schatz got back by Schuchart in lapped traffic. Schuchart had one last chance, following a late race caution led to a single-file restart, but he was not able to get a run on the leader.

Late race charge

David Gravel made a late-race charge at Willamette Speedway to finish third. Early in the race, he fell back to seventh and methodically worked his way back to the front. Gravel’s CJB Motorsports team recently welcomed a couple of new crew members to work with longtime crew chief Barry Jackson.

Moonlighting

Kyle Larson competed with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at Willamette Speedway. After spinning on the opening lap of the first heat race, Larson started 13thin the main event. He steadily worked his way forward and crossed the line sixth.

Points update

The gap at the top of the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings sits at 238 in favor of Donny Schatz over Brad Sweet. David Gravel is solidly in the third spot, followed by Daryn Pittman in fourth and Shane Stewart in fifth. Logan Schuchart sits in the sixth spot, with Sheldon Haudenschild seventh, rookie Ian Madsen eighth, Brent Marks ninth and Kraig Kinser in 10th.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman head to Placerville Speedway in California on Wednesday, September 12 for the 49er Gold Rush Classic, which will pay $20,000 to the winner of the 49-lap event. The Brad Sweet-promoted race will be the highest-paying one-day event in the state of California this season. David Gravel won at the quarter-mile bullring last year, while Donny Schatz is also a past winner. The Outlaws wrap up their West Coast Swing on September 14-15 at the picturesque Calistoga Speedway. Sweet and Schatz have split wins at the half-mile each of the last two seasons. Schatz has four wins at Calistoga, while Sweet has three. Daryn Pittman and Jason Sides are also past winners at the track.