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World of Outlaws Black Ice Brawl
Magnolia Motor Speedway | Columbus, Mississippi
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Race Recap  

BIG CAT BREAKTHROUGH: Brad Sweet Wins Magnolia for First World of Outlaws Victory of Season

Brad Sweet had been banging on the door of his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car win of 2023 entering Saturday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway, and the door finally collapsed.

Heading into the evening, the four-time and defending champion had posted three runner-ups in his last four races, but victory had eluded him. He and the Kasey Kahne Racing team continued to field fast car after fast car, a win just outside their grasp, and finally persistence paid off. “The Big Cat” would not be denied on Saturday at the second Series visit to the Columbus, MS oval, snatching the lead on lap 10 and holding off a few late challenges to claim the checkered flag.

The victory marked a major milestone for the pilot of the Napa Auto Parts #49 as he became only the 11th driver in Series history to reach 80 wins. Sweet also was the fourth fastest to hit the mark, trailing only the legendary trio of Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, and Doug Wolfgang.

“Anytime you get your name mentioned with those guys, the legends of the sport, that’s pretty cool,” Sweet said. “80 wins, it’s just not possible without my guys at KKR. They’ve given me a great opportunity over these last 10 years. Ever since I teamed up with Eric (Prutzman), Andrew (Bowman), and now we got Tye Wolfgang and we’re clicking well.”

Sweet led the field to green after topping the Toyota Racing Dash, but it was second-starting Sheldon Haudenschild ripping the top to lead the opening lap. It was evident early on that Sweet would be a factor as he didn’t allow Haudenschild to pull ahead as they worked through to opening portion of the race.

As the leaders entered traffic, Sweet found his opening and threw a slider at Haudenschild to take the top spot. Haudenschild was unable to turn underneath the Napa Racing #49 to regain the lead, and Sweet wasted no time setting sail.

Brad Sweet and Sheldon Haudenschild
Brad Sweet and Sheldon Haudenschild battled for the lead early at Magnolia (Trent Gower Photo)

Traffic remained a factor and allowed Haudenschild to narrow the gap at one point, but Sweet worked through slower cars well enough to keep the NOS Energy Drink #17 behind him.

“This track is extreme one way or the other,” Sweet said of the conditions during the Feature. “The grip is extreme and the slick is extreme ice. You’ve got to be really careful on the throttle.”

Sweet’s biggest challenger arose in the form of the current point leader, David Gravel. Coming to 11 laps to go, Gravel, who started 10th, wheeled the Big Game Motorsports #2 into the runner-up spot and quickly closed on Sweet. As the two navigated traffic, Gravel appeared poised to take a swing at the lead but couldn’t find the right opening. Late cautions giving Sweet clean air made it even more of a task for Gravel.

“I got a little conservative there. If I could retry, I’d definitely try the bottom there,” Gravel admitted. “I just didn’t want to throw it away. I felt like it was probably pretty easy to crash there if you tried too hard and made a mistake. I did get tight on the cushion in the last corner. Brad did a great job. I think in lapped traffic we had the better car, We probably had the car to win, but clean air and everything worked out for him.”

Sweet ultimately cruised to his 80th win with a seventh tenths of a second advantage over Gravel. Sweet has now won at 45 different tracks in World of Outlaws competition.

“I just tried to hustle,” Sweet said. “I just wanted to win for my guys. They deserve it. We want to get some momentum going early in the year, and the car is handling good.”

Gravel held on for second, notching his Series-leading fifth podium of the season and the 198th of his World of Outlaws career. The effort also earned him the night’s KSE Racing Hard Charger honors. Though he felt he had a car to win, Gravel still came away satisfied with the effort, especially after starting the main event 10th.

“Like I said, I think we had the car to beat tonight,” Gravel said. “We passed a lot of fast racecars on a really aggressive track. That was a workout. That was a lot of fun, and hopefully we’re up here (on the podium) a lot more.”

Completing the top-three was Sheldon Haudenschild. The third-place effort marked his first podium of the season aboard the Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing #17. Leading laps and a season best performance served as a much-welcomed confidence boost for Haudenschild as he looks to build early season momentum.

“This is definitely where this car belongs. My guys work too hard for this thing not to be up front,” Haudenschild said. “We’ve been working hard. This first little part of the season we haven’t got a bunch of races in, and we’ve struggled a little bit, so to get this NOS Energy Drink car up here is just a huge confidence boost. I feel like this is where we belong.”

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) for the Federated Auto Parts Texas Outlaw Nationals (March 31- April 1). For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS

A Feature (35 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[10]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz[3]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu[6]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen[14]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 9. 8-Aaron Reutzel[11]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart[12]; 11. 9-Kasey Kahne[9]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[19]; 13. 5-Spencer Bayston[15]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[13]; 15. 11-Michael Kofoid[8]; 16. 17B-Bill Balog[7]; 17. 20G-Noah Gass[17]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl[16]; 19. 7S-Robbie Price[21]; 20. 84-Brandon Hanks[22]; 21. 83-James McFadden[18]; 22. 47-Eric Riggins Jr[24]; 23. 44-Carson Short[23]; 24. 9P-Parker Price Miller[20]

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Results  
Feature Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
11049Brad Sweet 350.00026Running150$10,000
210+82David Gravel 35-0.691Running146$6,000
32-117Sheldon Haudenschild 35-1.2729Running144$3,500
43-115Donny Schatz 35-2.360Running142$2,800
54-141Carson Macedo 35-3.301Running140$2,500
66024Rico Abreu 35-4.281Running138$2,300
714+71AJacob Allen 35-5.014Running136$2,200
85-318Giovanni Scelzi 35-5.375Running134$2,100
911+28Aaron Reutzel 35-6.421Running132$2,050
1012+21SLogan Schuchart 35-7.636Running130$2,000
119-29Kasey Kahne 35-8.770Running128$1,600
1219+755Hunter Schuerenberg 35-9.693Running126$1,400
1315+25Spencer Bayston 35-10.383Running124$1,200
1413-13ZBrock Zearfoss 35-10.989Running122$1,100
158-711Michael Kofoid 35-12.122Running120$1,050
167-917BBill Balog 35-12.340Running118$1,000
1717020GNoah Gass 34-1 LapsRunning116$1,000
1816-288Austin McCarl 34-1 LapsRunning114$1,000
1921+27SRobbie Price 34-1 LapsRunning112$1,000
2022+284Brandon Hanks 33-2 LapsRunning110$1,000
2118-383James McFadden 29-6 LapsDNF108$1,000
2224+247Eric Riggins Jr24-11 LapsDNF106$1,000
2323044Carson Short 21-14 LapsDNF104$1,000
2420-49PParker Price-Miller 16-19 LapsDNF102$1,000
KSE Hard Charger: David Gravel
Last Chance Showdown Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
11055Hunter Schuerenberg 120.00012Running0$0
2209PParker Price-Miller 12-1.331Running0$0
34+17SRobbie Price 12-4.554Running0$0
43-184Brandon Hanks 12-5.483Running0$0
56+144Carson Short 12-6.192Running0$0
67+147Eric Riggins Jr12-7.320Running0$0
78+111KKraig Kinser 12-8.874Running90$300
89+16Bill Rose 11-1 LapsRunning90$250
95-413Todd Fayard 11-1 LapsRunning90$225
1010016THKevin Newton 11-1 LapsRunning90$200
1111024WGaret Williamson 0-12 LapsDNS90$200
Dash 1 Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
12+149Brad Sweet 80.0008Running0$0
21-117Sheldon Haudenschild 8-1.447Running0$0
33015Donny Schatz 8-4.371Running0$0
44041Carson Macedo 8-5.433Running0$0
56+118Giovanni Scelzi 8-5.941Running0$0
65-124Rico Abreu 8-7.532Running0$0
Heat 1 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
11041Carson Macedo 100.00010Running
22024Rico Abreu 10-2.202Running
37+417BBill Balog 10-4.146Running
4402David Gravel 10-4.963Running
56+13ZBrock Zearfoss 10-7.716Running
69+388Austin McCarl 10-9.879Running
75-29PParker Price-Miller 10-10.798Running
83-555Hunter Schuerenberg 10-11.475Running
98-147Eric Riggins Jr10-12.455Running
1010016THKevin Newton 9-1 LapsRunning
Heat 2 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
11017Sheldon Haudenschild 100.00010Running
23+149Brad Sweet 10-1.237Running
32-111Michael Kofoid 10-2.662Running
45+18Aaron Reutzel 10-5.799Running
54-11AJacob Allen 10-6.862Running
66020GNoah Gass 10-8.280Running
78+184Brandon Hanks 9-1 LapsRunning
89+113Todd Fayard 9-1 LapsRunning
97-211KKraig Kinser 4-6 LapsDNF
1010024WGaret Williamson 0-10 LapsDNS
Heat 3 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
11018Giovanni Scelzi 100.00010Running
22015Donny Schatz 10-2.211Running
3309Kasey Kahne 10-4.934Running
4401SLogan Schuchart 10-5.665Running
58+35Spencer Bayston 10-8.123Running
66083James McFadden 10-10.105Running
75-27SRobbie Price 10-11.887Running
87-144Carson Short 10-13.236Running
9906Bill Rose 9-1 LapsRunning
Qualifying Flight 1 Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
12241Carson Macedo Lemoore, CA11.5010.000
2217Sheldon Haudenschild Wooster, OH11.514-0.013
3818Giovanni Scelzi Fresno, CA11.519-0.018
41424Rico Abreu St. Helena, CA11.589-0.088
51811Michael Kofoid Penngrove, CA11.595-0.094
62315Donny Schatz Fargo, ND11.648-0.147
72055Hunter Schuerenberg Sikeston, MO11.660-0.159
8449Brad Sweet Grass Valley, CA11.700-0.199
919Kasey Kahne Enumclaw, WA11.709-0.208
10212David Gravel Watertown, CT11.734-0.233
11131AJacob Allen Hanover, PA11.742-0.241
12241SLogan Schuchart Hanover, PA11.757-0.256
1399PParker Price-Miller Kokomo, IN11.758-0.257
14178Aaron Reutzel Clute, TX11.774-0.273
15167SRobbie Price Cobble Hill, BC11.866-0.365
1673ZBrock Zearfoss Jonestown, PA11.908-0.407
171920GNoah Gass Mounds, OK11.913-0.412
182883James McFadden Alice Springs, NT11.928-0.427
191217BBill Balog North Pole, AK11.945-0.444
201511KKraig Kinser Bloomington, IN11.970-0.469
21644Carson Short Marion, IL12.055-0.554
221047Eric Riggins JrCharlotte, NC12.070-0.569
23384Brandon Hanks Burlison, TN12.100-0.599
24255Spencer Bayston Lebanon, IN12.164-0.663
252988Austin McCarl Altoona, IA12.376-0.875
261113Todd Fayard D'lberville, MS12.925-1.424
27266Bill Rose Plainfield, IN12.938-1.437
282716THKevin Newton Terre Haute, IN13.290-1.789
29524WGaret Williamson Columbia, MO13.290-1.789
Hot Laps Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
12241Carson Macedo Lemoore, CA11.5760.000
21511KKraig Kinser Bloomington, IN11.620-0.044
31811Michael Kofoid Penngrove, CA11.651-0.075
42315Donny Schatz Fargo, ND11.676-0.100
51217BBill Balog North Pole, AK11.679-0.103
6212David Gravel Watertown, CT11.710-0.134
71424Rico Abreu St. Helena, CA11.721-0.145
8217Sheldon Haudenschild Wooster, OH11.737-0.161
999PParker Price-Miller Kokomo, IN11.775-0.199
10167SRobbie Price Cobble Hill, BC11.787-0.211
111920GNoah Gass Mounds, OK11.798-0.222
122055Hunter Schuerenberg Sikeston, MO11.805-0.229
13178Aaron Reutzel Clute, TX11.811-0.235
141047Eric Riggins JrCharlotte, NC11.831-0.255
15131AJacob Allen Hanover, PA11.843-0.267
16255Spencer Bayston Lebanon, IN11.866-0.290
17241SLogan Schuchart Hanover, PA11.928-0.352
182883James McFadden Alice Springs, NT11.957-0.381
19384Brandon Hanks Burlison, TN11.964-0.388
201113Todd Fayard D'lberville, MS11.996-0.420
2119Kasey Kahne Enumclaw, WA12.024-0.448
22449Brad Sweet Grass Valley, CA12.223-0.647
232988Austin McCarl Altoona, IA12.278-0.702
24818Giovanni Scelzi Fresno, CA12.330-0.754
2573ZBrock Zearfoss Jonestown, PA12.339-0.763
262716THKevin Newton Terre Haute, IN12.563-0.987
27644Carson Short Marion, IL12.655-1.079
28266Bill Rose Plainfield, IN12.685-1.109
29524WGaret Williamson Columbia, MO16.835-5.259
DIRTVision Highlights  
Event Info  

World of Outlaws Black Ice Brawl
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Magnolia Motor Speedway
495 US-45
Columbus, Mississippi 39701 

Event Description
"The Mag" hosts The Greatest Show on Dirt for the second time in track history. Sheldon Haudenschild topped the only other appearance on the Black Ice in 2021.

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series

Feature Laps Length
35

Event Schedule
2:00PM Pit Gates open
5:00PM Grandstand Gates open
6:30PM Hot Laps/Qualifying with Opening Ceremonies and Racing to Follow

*All times Central

Ticket Options  
Options And Prices
General Admission: $35 / $40 Day of Race
Children 12 and Under: $10


Discounts
None

Grandstand Type
Concrete bleachers

Parking Cost
Free

Camping Cost
Free

Frequently Asked Questions  
Type of Grandstand
Concrete bleachers

Stadium Seating
Lawn chairs are allowed

Personal Coolers
Small coolers are allowed, only 14 inches or smaller

Alcohol Sales
Alcohol is allowed in, no glass bottles

Smoking Policy
No smoking in the grandstands

Parking Cost
Free

Camping Cost
Free

Track Info  

Magnolia Motor Speedway
495 US-45
Columbus, Mississippi 39701 

Track Phone
(662) 240-3478

Track Type
0.375; Gumbo dirt oval

Sprint Car Track Record
12.065 seconds by Logan Schuchart on 3/12/21

Track Map
Competitor Info  
Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Competitor Info
https://dirtcarmembers.com/upload/9a8963-25%20Magnolia.pdf

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