Now that the 2023 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season is complete, take a look at the final standings.
Latest race(s): The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Nov. 1-4).
Brad Sweet (1st): Sweet rolled into The Dirt Track at Charlotte for World Finals with a somewhat comfortable lead, but it’s never over until it’s over. “The Big Cat” made sure there was no doubt by the end of the week, putting together a pair of fourths on Thursday and Friday before laying down the exclamation mark to his season with a victory in the finale.
The trio of nights put the final margin of victory at 60 points for Sweet as he and the Kasey Kahne Racing crew wrapped up their fifth consecutive championship. Five straight moves them within one of Steve Kinser’s all-time record of six in a row.
Sweet used the consistency he’s mastered over the past few years en route to the title, piecing together the most top 10s this season (63) and not posting a single DNF throughout the campaign.
David Gravel (2nd): For the third year in a row, David Gravel occupied the runner-up spot at season’s end behind Sweet. But the Watertown, CT native gave Sweet everything he could handle as he continues to hunt his first championship. The driver of the Big Game Motorsports #2 led the Series in victories with 12 and podiums with 35 – a personal best for Gravel. What likely kept Gravel from reaching the mountaintop was a trio of DNFs throughout the season that proved difficult to overcome.
Carson Macedo (3rd): Keeping the top three in points the same for the third straight year, Carson Macedo posted his third consecutive third place run in the standings with Jason Johnson Racing. Early in the year, it appeared as if the Lemoore, CA native may challenge for his first championship as they held the lead multiple times. A frightening June wreck at Knoxville threw a wrench in their season. They won four times following the accident but struggled to regain their early season form and ultimately came home third.
Giovanni Scelzi (4th): After initially wowing behind the wheel of a Sprint Car as young as 15 years old, Giovanni Scelzi completed one of the most anticipated rookie seasons in Series history. And “Hot Sauce” lived up to the hype. Scelzi and his KCP Racing crew were one of the most consistent on tour all year long. At season’s end, Scelzi finished up fourth in points, matching Jeff Swindell (1981) and Brad Doty (1982) for the best Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year campaign ever. Scelzi’s season was highlighted by a victory at Beaver Dam Raceway.
Logan Schuchart (5th): It was another solid year for Logan Schuchart and his Shark Racing crew as they took on their 10th year on the tour. Schuchart crossed the 700 Feature start milestone in the back half of 2023. Schuchart started off the year by grabbing the Big Gator at the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals and went on to collect six victories during the season. The end result was Schuchart coming home in the top five in the standings for the fourth time in his career.
Donny Schatz (6th): The 2023 season was somewhat up and down for Donny Schatz and his Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing crew. After struggling a bit out of the gate, Schatz got hot in May with six podiums in an eight-race stretch including a weekend sweep at Attica and Sharon. Schatz later went on to claim his sixth Kings Royal title in July. Schatz landed on the podium a strong 15 times, but a handful of bad nights proved difficult to overcome as he finished up sixth in points.
Sheldon Haudenschild (7th): Year seven on the World of Outlaws tour for the always exciting Sheldon Haudenschild resulted in a seventh-place result, the fourth time he’s occupied that spot in his career. Driving the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17, Haudenschild surpassed 40 top 10s and posted a trio of victories. The highlight of Haudenschild’s year undoubtedly came on night one of the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals when he drove from 16th to the win, sealing the deal with a last lap pass.
Spencer Bayston (8th): The sophomore season for Spencer Bayston ended exactly the same as the rookie year – eighth in points. Bayston even drove the CJB Motorsports #5 to the same amount of top 10s in 2023 (39) that he did in 2022. The second year on tour for the Lebanon, IN native was highlighted by a win at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in August.
Brock Zearfoss (9th): For the third straight year, Brock Zearfoss took his family-owned team on tour with the World of Outlaws. The “Jonestown Jet” put the #3Z in the top 10 on eight occasions, and his campaign peaked with a top five run at US 36 Raceway in April. Zearfoss finished up ninth in points.
James McFadden (10th): It was a career year for James McFadden aboard the Roth Motorsports #83. McFadden entered 2023 with five career Series victories and more than doubled that mark with six triumphs by the end of the year. His first of the year in March at Volusia Speedway Park was Dennis Roth’s 100th as an owner, becoming only the sixth to reach that mark, and the first World of Outlaws win for the Toyota TRD 410.
Robbie Price (11th): After climbing aboard the Sides Motorsports #7S in May of 2022, Robbie Price remained in the seat for his rookie World of Outlaws campaign in 2023. Price started the year strong with a sixth-place effort in the season opener and went on to tally three more top 10s during the campaign including a fifth at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. His efforts led to an 11th in the standings.
Noah Gass (12th): Returning for year number two with the World of Outlaws, Noah Gass showed strides over the course of the year. The Mounds, OK native made 10 more Features in 2023 than he did during his rookie campaign and posted his best career finish, seventh at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
Jacob Allen (13th): Like his teammate Schuchart, Jacob Allen took on his 10th season with the World of Outlaws. The first half of the year saw many bright points for Allen as he tallied a trio of podiums. But after the Ironman 55 in August, Allen took a pause from racing due to extenuating circumstances. He returned this past weekend to wrap up his 13th place run in points at World Finals.
Bill Rose (14th): Plainfield, IN’s Bill Rose again competed with the World of Outlaws in 2023 with his best run of the year coming during the Series debut at Ogilvie Raceway. In the latter half of the season, Rose combatted injuries and served as a crew chief on his car as a variety of drivers stepped in to ensure the #6 remained on the road.
For the full 2023 points standings: CLICK HERE.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will commence its 2024 season at the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb. 8-10, 2024. For tickets, CLICK HERE.