Sweet Picks Up Second Outlaws Win of the Season

Brad Sweet extended his World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series points lead Friday night while earning his 36th career victory at Lake Ozark Speedway.

Mother Nature was the biggest winner of the weekend, as two of three scheduled events were canceled due to rain. But weather was race friendly on Friday as the Outlaws stopped at Lake Ozark Speedway in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.

The No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS team started the night off strong, qualifying fourth and finishing second in their heat. This earned Sweet a starting spot in the Fast Pass Dash, which determined the starting order of the first three rows of that night’s feature.

Sweet dropped to fourth on the green flag of the dash, but in the closing laps the No. 49 Kasey Kahne Racing machine came to life, powering back up to finish the eight-lap dash in second.

Starting second in the feature, Sweet rocketed out front at the green flag, leading the first 30 laps
and amassing a nearly four-second lead, before a red flag fell on lap 31. Bunching the field up, Sweet slipped to second on the restart to David Gravel. Never giving up, the NAPA car trailed Gravel closely for the next handful of laps. Sweet was able to work his way back to the lead with only three laps to go and held on to the lead to bring home his second World of Outlaws Series win of the season. NAPA guests that were in attendance joined Sweet and team victory lane.

Saturday’s race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., was rained out early Saturday morning, so the teams headed straight to Jacksonville, Ill., for Sunday’s scheduled event.

The weather cooperated as the night began in Jacksonville. Sweet qualified fifth and finished second in his heat. Rain began to fall before the feature event, forcing officials to cancel the rest of the event for the night. No make-up date has been announced.

The World of Outlaws will return to action this weekend with races on Friday at Riverside International Raceway in West Memphis, Ark., and Saturday at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.

Start / Finish:
Friday, April 26, Lake Ozark Speedway, Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.: 2 / 1
Saturday, April 27, I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo.: rained out
Sunday, April 28, Jacksonville Speedway, Jacksonville, Mo.: rained out
Points Standing / Total: 1st / 1834 pts.

Next Race: Friday, May 3, Riverside International Raceway, West Memphis, Ark.
How to Watch or Listen: www.dirtvision.com

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