The Big Cat Pounces in Volusia Finale

BARBERVILLE, Fla. (February 15, 2015) – Brad Sweet became the third different winner in as many nights of World of Outlaws competition by racing to victory lane in Sunday night’s 30-lap feature that put the wraps on the Sprint Car racing portion of Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals.

After battling for the point with Paul McMahan in the early going, “The Big Cat” rallied back to race into the lead for keeps on the 23rd atop the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”

McMahan settled for runner-up honors while Daryn Pittman finished third to take the Big Gator trophy as DIRTcar Nationals champion.

While Sweet gridded the feature field fifth, pole starter McMahan outdueled fellow front row starter Kerry Madsen over the opening circuit to take command.

Sweet was on the move early aboard the Ollie’s Bargain Outlets No. 49, racing by Madsen for second by the fifth round and reeling in McMahan for the lead.

The duo battled it out for several laps, with Sweet surging ahead to lead the seventh lap, only to have McMahan briefly slip away after Sweet’s turn four bobble on the ninth lap.

“I passed him and then let him back by, I thought I gave it away,” Sweet said.

Sweet closed back in within several laps before ultimately charging by on the low side of turn two on the 23rd laps for keeps, slipping away in the closing laps to secure the win in the non-stop affair.

“The grease kept going away in three and four and then coming back, so I had to really keep searching around,” Sweet said.

McMahan settled for second in the CJB Motorsports No. 51, exclaiming that, “Second really sucks.”

“We were so bad last night, this is a godsend, we finally got our racecar back,” McMahan said afterward. “We got tight towards the end and Brad got by. Still, this is a positive way to end the weekend after the way it started.”

Pittman made his way past Madsen for third on the tenth round and held the position to the line in the Great Clips No. 9 to take the Big Gator. “It’s a tough trophy to win and a tough racetrack to start the year at, it was a great week all around for us.”

Jason Sides battled into fourth in the closing ten laps with Madsen rounding out the top five. Joey Saldana was sixth with Lucas Wolfe, Danny Lasoski, Terry McCarl and 17th-starter Donny Schatz completing the top ten.

Madsen established quick time in qualifying for the third night in a row, this time stopping the clocks at 12.829 seconds. Pittman, McCarl and Sweet topped heat race action with Cody Darrah winning the “B” Main.

(Photo courtesy of Max Dolder)

World of Outlaws – Sunday, February 15, 2015 Results:

Qualifying: 1. 29-Kerry Madsen 12.829, 2. 71m-Joey Saldana 12.835, 3. 51-Paul McMahan 12.877, 4. 7s-Jason Sides 12.933, 5. 1-Lucas Wolfe 12.964, 6. 2L-Danny Lasoski 12.987, 7. 9-Daryn Pittman 12.998, 8. 2-Shane Stewart 13.055, 9. 83-David Gravel 13.068, 10. 1s-Logan Schuchart 13.069, 11. 24-Terry McCarl 13.091, 12. 49-Brad Sweet 13.102, 13. 1a-Jacob Allen 13.116, 14. 98h-Dave Blaney 13.119, 15. 14k-Dale Blaney 13.139, 16. 45-Tim Shaffer 13.156, 17. 15-Donny Schatz 13.180, 18. 7-Craig Dollansky 13.188, 19. 10h-Chad Kemenah 13.190, 20. 4-Cody Darrah 13.230, 21. 11-Steve Kinser 13.230, 22. 77x-Wayne Johnson 13.261, 23. 63-Kody Swanson 13.265, 24. 27-Greg Hodnett 13.327, 25. 12-Robbie Stillwaggon 13.383, 26. 59-Danny Holtgraver 13.455, 27. 41-Jason Johnson 13.405, 28. 4s-Danny Smith 13.501, 29. 11k-Kraig Kinser 13.558.

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 3. 1s-Logan Schuchart, 4. 45-Tim Shaffer, 5. 7s-Jason Sides, 6. 1a-Jacob Allen, 7. 10h-Chad Kemenah, 8. 4s-Danny Smith, 9. 12-Robbie Stillwaggon. DNS: 77x-Wayne Johnson.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 24-Terry McCarl, 2. 2-Shane Stewart, 3. 71m-Joey Saldana, 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 5. 1-Lucas Wolfe, 6. 98h-Dave Blaney, 7. 4-Cody Darrah, 8. 59-Danny Holtgraver, 9. 63-Kody Swanson, 10. 11k-Kraig Kinser.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 2. 51-Paul McMahan, 3. 83-David Gravel, 4. 2L-Danny Lasoski, 5. 7-Craig Dollansky, 6. 14k-Dale Blaney, 7. 11-Steve Kinser, 8. 41-Jason Johnson, 9. 27-Greg Hodnett.

Dash (6 Laps): 1. 51-Paul McMahan, 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 3. 7s-Jason Sides, 4. 9-Daryn Pittman, 5. 49-Brad Sweet, 6. 1-Lucas Wolfe, 7. 71m-Joey Saldana, 8. 24-Terry McCarl.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 4-Cody Darrah, 2. 11-Steve Kinser, 3. 10h-Chad Kemenah, 4. 27-Greg Hodnett, 5. 41-Jason Johnson, 6. 63-Kody Swanson, 7. 59-Danny Holtgraver, 8. 11k-Kraig Kinser, 9. 12-Robbie Stillwaggon, 10. 4s-Danny Smith. DNS: 77x-Wayne Johnson.

“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet (5), 2. 51-Paul McMahan (1), 3. 9-Daryn Pittman (4), 4. 7s-Jason Sides (3), 5. 29-Kerry Madsen (2), 6. 71m-Joey Saldana (7), 7. 1-Lucas Wolfe (6), 8. 2L-Danny Lasoski (9), 9. 24-Terry McCarl (8), 10. 15-Donny Schatz (17), 11. 27-Greg Hodnett (22), 12. 2-Shane Stewart (10), 13. 1s-Logan Schuchart (12), 14. 83-David Gravel (11), 15. 10h-Chad Kemenah (19), 16. 45-Tim Shaffer (16), 17. 14k-Dale Blaney (15), 18. 7-Craig Dollansky (18), 19. 11-Steve Kinser (21), 20. 4-Cody Darrah (20), 21. 11k-Kraig Kinser (25), 22. 41-Jason Johnson (23), 23. 1a-Jacob Allen (13), 24. 98h-Dave Blaney (14), 25. 63-Kody Swanson (24).

Lap leaders: Paul McMahan 1-6, Sweet 7, McMahan 8-22, Sweet 23-30.