Florida: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

We are officially six races in to the 410 sprint car season and it was an incredible start. There was great racing at Volusia and even better racing at East Bay. Some drivers already made statements, while others are still searching for speed. See who stood out during the season openers for the World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing.

Check out World of Wings for standings, trends, rankings and more.

The Good

Tyler Courtney – Sunshine was the only driver to pick up multiple wins in Florida. He got one at Volusia and one at East Bay. It was a great start to his season and the 7BC looks to be one of the best cars in the country early on.

David Gravel – Gravel picked up a win at Volusia and the Big Gator. He left Volusia leading the World of Outlaws points and was consistently fast in every race. He looks to be the one to beat for the Outlaw championship.

Brad Sweet – The Big Cat continued to be the most consistent driver in the country. When he doesn’t win, he is almost always in the top five. It probably wasn’t the result the team was looking for, but Sweet’s season is already off to a great start.

Corey Day – Day got off to a slow start at Volusia but he really turned things around at East Bay. He nearly won the second feature and already finds himself tied with Brad Sweet at the top of the High Limit standings.

Anthony Macri – Macri was the only non World of Outlaw or High Limit regular to make every feature event in Florida. He earned a second place run at Volusia and was charging through the field at East Bay before Brent Marks made contact and sent him spinning. Macri looks to be in mid-season form already and a big year could be coming.

Gio Scelzi – Scelzi kept himself close to David Gravel in the Outlaw standings. He was very consistent and qualified well. If this is any indication of how the season will go, then Scelzi could very well be the second best car on the Outlaw tour.

Tanner Thorson – What a start to Thorson’s High Limit season. He battled with Kyle Larson for the win during the first feature, eventually settling for third. In the second feature, he charged from deep in the field, nearly finding himself in the top 10. Thorson could be a surprise contender for one of the High Limit charters.

Landon Crawley – Crawley didn’t get the feature results he needed at Volusia but he was so impressive. No one expected Crawley to have that kind of speed right out of the gate. He will be fun to watch as his gets better with more laps under his belt.

Brian Brown – Brown was fast all week at Volusia. He was one of the best cars in time trials and was battling with the best cars in the country. He didn’t make the trip to East Bay but it was a great start to his 2024 season.

Cole Macedo – If Landon Crawley wasn’t the surprise of the week, than it certainly was Cole Macedo. Macedo wasn’t even on the early entry list, but he teamed up with Kevin Newton and had the no. 16T dialed in. His second place run was easily one of the highlights of the week. I am not sure what his season plans look like, but it was an impressive debut for Macedo.

The Bad

Ridge & Sons Racing – It’s still very early in Cory Eliason’s tenure with RSR, but he looked very underwhelming in all six races. He made a couple A-Mains, but really didn’t gain any momentum throughout the week. Aaron Reutzel struggled in both races at East Bay, eventually calling it a night after going a lap down in the second feature.

Bill Balog – Balog finds himself here not because of his performance on the track, but because he suffered multiple engine failures during his opening week with the World of Outlaws. He showed great speed on the track, and looked to be very competitive against his Outlaw rivals. However, to be successful on the Outlaw tour, consistency is key in every aspect of the team. Volusia is notoriously hard on motors, so hopefully this isn’t a reoccurring theme.

Justin Peck – Like Balog, Peck isn’t here because of his performance on the track. The Buch Motorsports no. 13 was super fast all week in Florida, but Peck barely got the results to show for it. He was charging hard in the first High Limit feature, but got collected with Chris Windom and ended his night. Peck fell pretty far in the early standings, but it is a long season and this team just needs some luck to go their way.

Devon Borden – It was Borden’s first time out in the Grove Racing no. 45, so I am not looking too much into this one. However, Borden was basically nowhere to be found at East Bay. He did not qualify well and found himself deep in B-Mains. I think he will turn things around when he gets back behind the wheel of the Stehman no. 23.

The Ugly

Carson Macedo – My preseason prediction that Macedo would win the Outlaws title took a major hit after Volusia. The JJR no. 41 just didn’t look right and seeing Carson Macedo in B-Mains was surprising. It was an ugly start to the season for Macedo and he will need to turn it around quickly if he wants to stay in the championship fight.

Cap Henry – I am not sure what happened to Cap Henry at East Bay, but he flat out looked slow. He showed good speed in the no. 2MD at times last season, so to see him struggle like that was strange. His teammate, Conner Morrell, looked to have decent speed, so I don’t expect Henry to look this bad as the season progresses.