Brent Marks and Brad Sweet were both victorious as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series was back in action, after a 2,300-plus mile trip from California. Marks earned his third win of the season and his first at Eldora Speedway, while Sweet picked up a “W” at Lernerville Speedway to garner his eighth triumph of the season and his first at the historic track in Western Pennsylvania. One of the crown jewels of sprint car racing awaits this week as the Outlaws invade the famed Williams Grove Speedway for the National Open.

Emotional win

Brent Marks scored a very emotional win at Eldora Speedway last Friday, just a night after fellow driver Greg Hodnett passed away in a tragic accident at BAPS Motor Speedway in Pennsylvania. Marks, who hails from Myerstown, Pa., looked up to Hodnett and received much advice from the veteran driver over the years. For Marks, it was his third win of the season and his first-ever at the famed Eldora Speedway.

Late season surge

Brad Sweet continued his late season surge at Lernerville Speedway, winning the Commonwealth Clash. Sweet took the lead from Donny Schatz on lap-28 of the 35-lap contest and withstood a restart with three laps remaining to score his eighth A-Feature win of the season. Sweet had previously finished second in each of his last two starts at Lernerville, dating back to last season.

Master of Eldora’s bottom groove

Greg Wilson continued to show his prowess on the low side of the racing surface at Eldora Speedway. After transferring from the B-main into the A-Feature, Wilson turned in an exceptional performance, coming from the 23^rdstarting spot to finish third. That run garnered the Ohio native the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award. Wilson carried that momentum to Lernerville Speedway the next night, earning another top-10 finish.

Hometown pride

Tim Shaffer, who hails from Aliquippa, PA, which sits in the shadows of Lernerville Speedway, gave his home crowd plenty to cheer about during the Commonwealth Clash. After starting on the outside of the front row, Shaffer took the lead from Daryn Pittman on the sixth lap and stayed out front until lap-22, when Donny Schatz got by him. The veteran driver ended up finishing third to earn his sixth top-five finish of the season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.

Representing the Pennsylvania Posse

With the Dirt Classic at Lincoln Speedway postponed last Saturday night, out of respect for Greg Hodnett, Danny Dietrich made the trip to Western Pennsylvania to carry the torch for the PA Posse. Dietrich lined up 14^thand worked his way to a sixth-place finish, which was his seventh top-10 run of the season with the Outlaws.

It’s been a while

Brian Brown made his first start at Lernerville in a number of years. The native of Grain Valley, MO, has been spending the last few weeks in Central Pennsylvania and with the postponement of the Dirt Classic, he too, made the trip to Lernerville. That trip paid off to the tune of a solid ninth-place finish for the veteran driver.

Eventful day and night

Justin Henderson, who was making his second start of the season aboard the Sorokach No. 35 at Lernerville, had an eventful day. The team had trouble with their tow vehicle en route to the track, but made it to the track in time for hot laps. During the feature, Henderson was caught up by a spinning car, forcing him to restart at the tail of the field. The South Dakota native was able to work his way back through the field to finish 13^thin his first start at Lernerville in a number of years. Henderson will remain in the No. 35 machine for the National Open this weekend.

Veteran presence

Dave Blaney earned his best World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series finish of the season at Eldora, crossing the line fourth. The 1995 series champion started 13^thand methodically worked his way forward at a track, where he has numerous wins in the past. He closed in on Brent Marks in the late going in a battle for the lead, but then fell back a couple of spots.

Solid from start to finish

Hunter Schuerenberg had a very strong night at Eldora. He opened the evening by turning the fastest lap in the second flight of time trials, which also was the fastest time of the night. He was the only driver in the 12-second bracket of the 41 entries to earn his second fast time award of the season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. Schuerenberg followed that up by finishing second in the third heat race to earn a spot in the dash. He lined up fourth in the main event and finished seventh.

Plenty of passing

Rico Abreu and Jason Sides worked their way forward at Eldora to score top-10 finishes. Abreu started 21^stand powered his way to a ninth-place finish. Sides lined up 17^thand found himself 10^that the checkered flag.

Rare occurrence

It’s not very often that both Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz finish outside of the top-10, but that was the case at Eldora. Sweet, who started 10^th, finished 12^th. Schatz, who had to take a provisional to start 25^th, wound up in the 13^thspot. For Schatz, it was just the third time in the first 59 races of the season, in which he did not garner a top-10 finish.

Points update

Donny Schatz continues to lead Brad Sweet in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings as 12 feature events remain this season. The advantage for the nine-time and defending series titlist is currently 218 points. David Gravel remains third, followed by Daryn Pittman in fourth and Shane Stewart in fifth. Logan Schuchart is sixth in the standings, with Sheldon Haudenschild seventh, rookie Ian Madsen eighth, Brent Marks ninth and Kraig Kinser is back in the 10^thspot.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series travels to Central Pennsylvania for the Champion Oil National Open at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29. The winner of the finale on Saturday night will pocket $56,000 from a purse of over $150,000. The series has only raced once at the historic half-mile this season, due to three rainouts, with Lance Dewease picking up that win back in July in the Summer Nationals.