Kasey Jedrzejek admits he’s viewed the replay of last Friday’s race at River Cities Speedway over and over.
The 40-lapper couldn’t have started any better. Jedrzejek launched into the lead from the pole and set sail in lapped traffic. Even two-time and defending World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion David Gravel couldn’t chase him down. Jedrzejek appeared primed to take the Bill Rose Racing No. 6 to Victory Lane, but a pivotal Lap 15 restart cost him.
Gravel timed it perfectly on the outside and snatched the lead from the 21-year-old. Jedrzejek stayed up front the remainder of the race but couldn’t quite challenge to regain the lead, eventually crossing the finish line third.
“I probably have watched the race back like 10 times already, to be honest,” Jedrzejek said. “I still feel like I got a pretty decent launch. I’m guessing the top was probably a little bit better to get a little bit more of a run down the front straightaway than the bottom was. I just wasn’t sure where to choose to go on the restart. I felt like I got a decent launch across the bottom on the initial start, so I thought that I’d be okay for the second one, and I thought it still had a little bit of grip down there enough to get me going.”
Leading and not winning is bound to bring a measure of disappointment, but Jedrzejek has nothing to hang his head about. Rose gave him a shot to compete at the highest level of the sport, and he’s proving he belongs. Before the restart, the Lagrange, OH native was absolutely checked out, disposing of lappers with ease. But sometimes, a savvy veteran simply gets the best of a rookie. He’d made only six Feature starts with the World of Outlaws before going full-time. A podium this early in the year is something to be proud of.
“The whole night went really well, honestly,” Jedrzejek said. “We were very happy to come home third. It was a very solid night for us compared to how the past month has went. We’ve been pretty up and down with results, and it has been a little bit of a struggle, some bad luck, and things not going our way. So, we were all very happy with the way the night ended.”
There was another interesting element to Jedrzejek’s River Cities run. The Grand Forks, ND bullring is where his car owner Bill Rose also got his first podium with The Greatest Show on Dirt. The Plainfield, IN native started first and finished third in 2011, just like his driver did last week.
“Bill was telling us early in the week about that race and how he finished third, and it was his best result with the Outlaws,” Jedrzejek said. “So, to do it at the same track and end up running third, it was pretty cool and pretty neat to get my first podium with the Outlaws in that way.”
It was an overall encouraging night to cap a rollercoaster month of May for Jedrzejek. Now, he and every other driver on tour are getting geared up for a lucrative and busy summer stretch. Huset’s Speedway is dishing out nearly a million dollars in purse money during BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals week this month (July 17-20). The Kings Royal (July 17-18) takes place in his home state at Rossburg, OH’s Eldora Speedway and boasts plenty of riches up for grabs. The NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s (Aug. 12-15) offers the most generous purse from top to bottom in the sport. These are only a few of the many events that comprise the Summer of Money. Jedrzejek is ready to stop watching Friday’s replay and direct his entire focus to the future.
“I feel like we always get better everywhere we go throughout the night, but sometimes we’re just too late by the end of the night and we’re too far behind to make it up. So, I think it’s exciting to go back to some of these tracks. I’m excited to go to Huset’s in a couple weeks for some big money shows out there. I feel like that could be a place that I could be really good at.”
Jedrzejek’s rookie campaign continues this weekend with a three-track tripleheader at Hartford Speedway (Hartford, MI) on Friday, June 5, Plymouth Dirt Track (Plymouth, WI) on Saturday, June 6, and Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, WI) on Sunday, June 7. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.