World of Outlaws: 2024 Season Preview

With the addition of High Limit Racing, the World of Outlaws find themselves in a battle to remain the premier sprint car racing series in the United States. In 2024, the series will increase standard race purses to $70,000 and double the tow packages for full-time teams. Despite the peaked interest in High Limit, the WoO still have the best points fund and tow package.

While some drivers like Brad Sweet, Spencer Bayston and Jacob Allen made the switch to High Limit, it looks like it will be most of the usual suspects on the roster for 2024. Announcements are still coming in, and I will continue to update this as they do.

2 David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports

2023 Stats

• Races: 80
• Wins: 13
• Top 5: 53
• Top 10: 68
• Earnings: $793,423

David Gravel comes into the 2024 World of Outlaws season as the favorite to win the championship. Furthermore, he currently sits at 88 career WoO wins, placing him 10th on the all time wins list. Along with chasing his first career WoO championship, Gravel has his eyes set on 100 wins. With Brad Sweet making the move to High Limit, a 12 win season for Gravel is not out of the question.

Gravel picked up 13 wins in 2023, including a High Limit Racing win at Lernerville. Depending on what happens with Carson Macedo, Gravel could be looking at a historic season with the WoO. We can’t crown him just yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gravel rack up 20 or more wins in 2024.

41 Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 80
• Wins: 9
• Top 5: 50
• Top 10: 68
• Earnings: $475,178

Carson Macedo and the JJR no. 41 team left many of us wondering if they were going to make the switch to High Limit in 2024. That will not be the case, as the team and Carson share the same goal of winning a World of Outlaws championship. In 2024, there might not be a better time for Macedo to chase that dream, as the absence of Brad Sweet makes Macedo the clear number one contender to David Gravel.

Macedo endured a season of scary crashes and injuries in 2023, but still managed to be one of the most consistent drivers on the World of Outlaws roster. He finished outside of the top 10 just 12 total times, and was one of the highest earning drivers in all of sprint car racing in 2023. Macedo’s numbers nearly mirror Gravel’s, outside of Gravel winning four more races in 2023. That could be the difference that Macedo needs to make up for in 2024 if he wants to have a shot at the championship.

1S Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 80
• Wins: 7
• Top 5: 29
• Top 10: 54
• Earnings: $1,278,448

Logan Schuchart made history after winning the Eldora Million last season. If you look at his numbers, that victory really inflated things for the Shark Racing driver. Schuchart had an average year by his standards, and will look to have a more consistent season in 2024. Based on the current roster, Schuchart could easily battle for a top three position in the points standings.

Despite having seven wins in 2023, his 29 top fives were what really hurt him in the championship race. In comparison, David Gravel knocked off 53 top fives on his way to a second place finish in the standings. There is no doubt that Schuchart has the team and the speed to improve on his 2023 season, but he will need to be a little more consistent if we want to start talking about a championship.

18 Gio Scelzi – KCP Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 79
• Wins: 2
• Top 5: 20
• Top 10: 53
• Earnings: $274,760

Gio Scelzi could be another name looking to battle Gravel for the 2024 championship. His impressive rookie campaign earned him a fourth place finish in the points standings. After Brad Sweet, David Gravel, and Carson Macedo, there was a large gap back to Scelzi. In order to close that gap in 2024, Scelzi will need to find victory lane more than one time with the Outlaws (his other win was not in WoO competition).

Scelzi’s 49 top 10s were good enough for fourth, but that number will need to increase in 2024. The KCP no. 18 machine is bad fast, and I would expect to see Scelzi in victory lane multiple times next season. Can he compete with Gravel for the championship? Maybe not, but he could definitely jump up to second or third in the standings.

15 Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 79
• Wins: 5
• Top 5: 24
• Top 10: 48
• Earnings: $427,525

The “Donny Schatz is washed” crowd took a bit of a hit after he won the King’s Royal at Eldora last season. However, when looking at Schatz’s standards, 2023 was a down year for him and the Tony Stewart Racing team. He ended up sixth in the series points, and struggled for most of the season with the Ford power plant under the hood. Still, you can never rule Schatz out when talking about championship contenders.

Many are saying it will be a battle between Gravel and Macedo (if he returns), but you won’t find me ruling out Schatz in the championship battle. Zeb Wise and the Rudeen Racing team found a lot of success with the Ford motor at the end of 2023, and I expect that to translate over to Schatz as well. I think we could be in for a Schatz “comeback season” in 2024.

17B Bill Balog – B2 Motorsports

2023 Stats

• Races: 54
• Wins: 9
• Top 5: 18
• Top 10: 23
• Earnings: $96,055

In a somewhat surprising move, Bill Balog announced that he would be running the full WoO schedule in 2024. He will content for the rookie of the year honors with Landon Crawley. Balog is no stranger to running for points, as he did so with the IRA and All Stars for many years. I really like this decision for Balog, with Jacob Allen and Spencer Bayston moving to High Limit, there is plenty of room for Balog to have success with the Outlaws.

Balog had a great season in 2023, picking up nine wins, including a pair with the All Stars. A move to the WoO guarantees Balog a shot at some big time points fund money. If Balog can carry his 2023 momentum into 2024, I wouldn’t rule out a victory or two, as well as a decent finish in the points standings.

17 Sheldon Haudenschild – SJM Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 80
• Wins: 3
• Top 5: 19
• Top 10: 47
• Earnings: $241,151

One of the big rumors floating around this off-season was that Sheldon Haudenschild would be one of the first drivers to make the switch to High Limit. That didn’t come to fruition, as Haudenschild will be back with the Outlaws in 2024 and looking to put 2023 in the past. Last season, I, along with many others, expected Haudenschild to make a big jump and possibly contend for a championship. He struggled mightily, and could not put the SJM Racing no. 17 at the front of the field on a consistent basis.

I expect Haudenschild and his team to really turn things around in 2024. Double-digit wins is not out of question. If he wants to battle for a championship, he will have to cut back on the DNFs and be more willing to settle for top five and top 10 finishes.

3Z Brock Zearfoss – Brock Zearfoss Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 82
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 1
• Top 10: 11
• Earnings: $94,603

Disappointing is an understatement when describing Brock Zearfoss’ 2023 season. He could not find victory lane and he only finished in the top five one time in 82 starts. I was unsure that Zearfoss would return to the Outlaws in 2024, but he was one of the first drivers to announce his plans. While I’m not sure a championship is realistic, Zearfoss will undoubtedly improve in 2024.

His experience over the last few seasons with the Outlaws will help and I expect to see Zearfoss in the top 10 in points at the end of the year. For that to happen, he will need to improve on his 11 top 10s in 2023.

7S Landon Crawley – Jason Sides Motorsports

2023 Stats

• Races: 3
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 0
• Top 10: 1
• Earnings: $2,300

Landon Crawley spent just two races behind the wheel of a 410 in 2023. He managed a top 10 in his second time out in the Sides’ Motorsports no. 7S. I really don’t know what the goals and expectations are for this team, but throwing the soon to be 16-year-old driver into the fire is probably a good way for him to learn.

Crawley had a couple wins in 360 action in 2023, and raced with ASCS in 2022. He doesn’t have a ton of points racing experience. I think it will be a learning year for Crawley, but if there is anyone who can provide the knowledge, it’s longtime Outlaw Jason Sides.

20G Noah Gass – Ran-No-Gass LLC

2023 Stats

• Races: 81
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 3
• Top 10: 4
• Earnings: $68,603

Noah Gass is back with the Outlaws for 2024. He didn’t make the necessary jump in 2023, but he absolutely improved, making a lot more features than he did in 2022. Gass looked strong in weekly competition at Huset’s on a few occasions and seems to really enjoy those types of tracks.

We saw Danny Dietrich make a few starts in a Randy Gass car, and he nearly won a High Limit race. We know that the equipment is solid, we just need to see Gass rack up some consistent finishes. I don’t expect him to light the world on fire, but I do expect to see even more improvement in 2024.

6 Bill Rose – Bill Rose Racing

2023 Stats

• Races: 54
• Wins: 0
• Top 5: 0
• Top 10: 0
• Earnings: $21,450

You can’t deny that Bill Rose is passionate about sprint car racing. The veteran racing endured a season of injuries and bad luck in 2023. While he wasn’t able to have any finishes inside the top 10, we did see glimpses of speed.

I think 2024 can only be better for Rose when you compare it to 2023. Again, there probably are not a ton of expectations here, but I will certainly be rooting for Rose to find some success.