SHARKS ON THE LAKE: Methodical Jacob Allen Aces the Bottom at Cedar Lake
Brad Sweet Misses Sixth-Straight Cedar Lake Win by 0.200-Seconds
NEW RICHMOND, WI – A pair of World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champions could do nothing to stop the new and improved Jacob Allen on Friday night at Cedar Lake Speedway.
Brad Sweet wanted it for the record books and Donny Schatz wanted it for the heart, but Jacob Allen wanted to prove his legendary father Bobby Allen wrong. Jacob’s victory, earned with a meticulous effort around the low side of the New Richmond, WI 3/8-mile, brings him to a popular three wins on the season.
“My dad took me on a bet that he thought I could maybe win three races this year, and it made me a bit mad,” Allen joked. “I’ve got three now, and now I gotta get one more to prove him wrong. It definitely takes a toll on you being out here on the road this long and not winning for so long, but giving it everything you’ve got. Already winning three this year feels so amazing.”
While Hanover, PA native fell as far back as fifth, all eyes were on the lead trio of Carson Macedo, Donny Schatz, and Brad Sweet. Macedo led the opening two circuits, Schatz controlled Laps 3-21, and Sweet quickly rose from 10th-to-third as the three orchestrated a nose-to-tail charge through lap traffic.
It appeared to be between those three throughout the first half, but everything changed on Lap 19 restart when Allen lined up inside of row two and he rocketed to second in the Pells Tire Service #1A. With Schatz committed to the fence, Allen slow-rolled the bottom and took to the lead on Lap 22.
A Lap 31 restart offered Sweet one last chance at stealing the win away, but he fell short by 0.200-seconds at the line as Allen continued his career-year and stopped Sweet’s streak.
“I can’t tell you enough how good this feels,” an ecstatic Allen noted. “My car has never been this balanced, and it just handled so well. This package we’ve put together for these type of race tracks has been incredible. We’ve been making the right decisions and I think I’ve been driving as good as ever.”
After five-straight World of Outlaws wins at Cedar Lake, three-time and defending Series champion Brad Sweet finally saw his historic streak come to an end. His second-place result extends his mark to a remarkable 10 consecutive top-two results (when finishing) at the track. He also extends his championship lead in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49.
“For whatever reason we just have a really good feel here at Cedar Lake, even when the car is off,” Sweet said after a close second-place run. “I was licking my chops on that restart thinking Donny would choose the bottom, but he went high and that flustered me. I did a bad job on that restart. Had I been a little closer I might’ve been able to pull off a last-lap miracle, but Jacob did a great job and earned that one. We’ve been off for a bit, so getting back on the podium at my favorite track feels great.”
Sheldon Haudenschild closed out the podium with a seventh-to-third run in the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17. The Wooster, OH native now has 12 podium finishes on the season, a Series-best with the World of Outlaws in 2022.
“I wanted to win that one just as bad,” Haudencshild said following his $100,000 victory last week. “I had a really bad 8-10 and got ate up off the start and was forced to do some battling. We had a good car, but the driver lacked a bit at the beginning.”
In an emotional bid to win one one for his late father, Danny Schatz, the 10-time champion Donny Schatz finished fourth aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance, Carquest #15. He led Laps 3-21, but faded late in the running and barely missed a podium appearance. Carson Macedo, who paced the opening two laps, finished fifth aboard the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41.
Rounding out the top-10 on Friday night was Giovanni Scelzi in sixth, James McFadden in seventh, Scotty Thiel took eighth-from-19th to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award, David Gravel scored ninth, and Logan Schuchart ended up 10th.
NOS NOTEBOOK (CEDAR LAKE SPEEDWAY, 7/1/22)
Jacob Allen has now claimed three of his four World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victories in the 2022 season alone. He’s now tied for 69th on the All-Time Win List alongside Dub May, Jack Hewitt, Ian Madsen, James McFadden, and Spencer Bayston.
Brad Sweet’s second-place finish ended his stellar streak of five-straight World of Outlaws wins at Cedar Lake, but continued his remarkable run of 10 consecutive top-two results at the track.
For the fifth consecutive race, a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Feature offered three different lead changes.
Carson Macedo extended his impressive performance in My Place Hotels Qualifying, clocking an 11.449 around Cedar Lake’s 3/8-mile to record his seventh QuickTime Award of 2022 in the Jason Johnson Racing #41. He leads the QuickTime category by three over David Gravel (4) and Sheldon Haudenschild (3).
NOS Energy Drink Heat Race wins went to Kraig Kinser (124th career), Donny Schatz (497th career), and Jacob Allen (42nd career). Schatz scored the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash win, while Scotty Thiel took home the MicroLite Last Chance Showdown.
UP NEXT (Sat) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series continues the Independence Day Spectacular on Saturday, July 2 at New Richmond, WI’s Cedar Lake Speedway. After this weekend, The Greatest Show on Dirt heads to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IA on Friday, July 8 and Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, WI on Saturday, July 9. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE, or watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.
NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (35 Laps) – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [10][$5,500]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$3,200]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$2,600]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo [2][$2,350]; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [12][$2,150]; 7. 83-James McFadden [5][$2,100]; 8. 73-Scotty Thiel [19][$1,950]; 9. 2-David Gravel [8][$1,900]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4][$1,850]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [13][$1,400]; 12. 84-Scott Bogucki [16][$1,200]; 13. 9-Kasey Kahne [17][$1,000]; 14. 5-Spencer Bayston [11][$950]; 15. 34DD-Brooke Tatnell [14][$900]; 16. 19-Paige Polyak [20][$900]; 17. 6-Bill Rose [21][$900]; 18. 97-Alan Gilbertson [23][$900]; 19. 1AU-Marcus Dumesny [9][$900]; 20. 7S-Robbie Price [24][$900]; 21. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [22][$900]; 22. 24T-Christopher Thram [15][$900]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6][$900]; 24. 22-Riley Goodno [18][$900]. Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-2, Donny Schatz 3-21 Jacob Allen 22-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 73-Scotty Thiel[+11]
NEW Championship Standings (After 33/77 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (4,502); 2. Carson Macedo (-18); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (-26); 4. David Gravel (-60); 5. Logan Schuchart (-70); 6. Donny Schatz (-152); 7. Spencer Bayston (-180); 8. James McFadden (-224); 9. Jacob Allen (-350); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-504).
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: NOS Energy Drink (Official Energy Product), Case Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ACME Trading, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), Micro-Lite LLC, MSD, My Place Hotels; manufacturer sponsors include Dirt Car Lift, FIREBULL, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, and Sea Foam.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.
Sources: Brian Walker, World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series PR
Photo – Trent Gower