Sweet, No. 49 Team Pick Up Ninth Win of Season at Lincoln

This week’s World of Outlaws action for the No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) team started with Brad Sweet driving to the team’s ninth victory of the season at Lincoln Speedway on Wednesday. That marked Sweet’s 67th career World of Outlaw win, placing him 12th on the all-time win list.

The No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS team started off the evening fastest overall in hot laps. With a field of 48 cars, qualifying was split into two 24-car flights. Sweet was the 18th car to qualify in flight B, stopping the clock at 13.474. The Kasey Kahne Racing team then qualified third overall in their flight.

Sweet lined up second in the third heat race of the evening, where he went on to win on a last-corner pass. The No. 49 team pulled the number six for their Fast Pass Dash starting position. Six laps was the distance, and Brad finished second. 

The No. 49 rolled off from the front row for the 35-lap main event. Sweet was running second, then took the lead on lap 12. After a phenomenal battle with Donny Schatz for most of the race, Sweet came out on top at the end, claiming his ninth victory of the 2021 season.

Friday night, the No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS switched their focus to the Morgan Cup, held at Williams Grove Speedway Friday and Saturday. With a 39-car field, qualifying was yet again split into two separate flights. Sweet was the 12th car out in flight B, timing in seventh-quick with a time of 16.949.

Sweet rolled out in the fourth starting spot in heat race three, where he went on to finish fourth. Missing the Fast Pass Dash, the NAPA AUTO PARTS team lined up 14th and gained just one position to finish 13th in Friday night’s 25-lap main event.

Saturday night brought completely different track conditions than the night before. After racing on a fast, heavy track Friday evening, the No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS team had to adapt to the slower, slick conditions on Saturday. Forty cars were in attendance for the final night of the Morgan Cup, splitting the cars into two qualifying flights. The Grass Valley, California, native went out seventh in flight two, timing in second-quick with a lap time of 18.480.

Sweet lined up first in heat four; he finished second, transferring him into the Fast Pass Dash. After drawing the fifth starting spot, he gained one position in the six laps. Sweet ran in eighth most of the 30-lap main event before the No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS came home with a 12th place finish.

“The week started off at Lincoln with our ninth win of the season,” Sweet said. “Unfortunately, both of our runs at Williams Grove weren’t what we know we’re capable of, but my NAPA AUTO PARTS guys never give up. We will rebound and be ready for Bridgeport Motorsports Park Tuesday night.”

The No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS switches their focus to Bridgeport Motorsports Park for Tuesday, May 18th. Following Bridgeport, the Outlaws will head to Ohio for two nights of racing action. The Kasey Kahne Racing team will be at Attica Raceway Park Friday night and Sharon Speedway on Saturday. Going into next weekend, Sweet has two top-five finishes at Attica Raceway Park. Out of four starts at Sharon Speedway, Sweet picked up a victory there in 2012 for the Lou Blaney Memorial.

Start / Finish:
Wednesday, May 12: 2 / 1
Friday, May 14: 14 / 13
Saturday, May 15: 4 / 12
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 3,114 pts. (+60)

Next Race: May 18, Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Swedesboro, NJ; May 21, Attica Raceway Park, Attica, OH; May 22, Sharon Speedway, Hartford, OH
How to Watch or Listen: www.dirtvision.com

NAPA: @NAPARacing
Brad Sweet: @BradSweet49
Kasey Kahne Racing: @KKRdirt