The World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Sprint Car Series is chugging along into the Sprint Car Capital of the World this week: Knoxville, IA.
In the mid-season, two-day event that is now called the Brownells Big Gun Bash, Team Outlaws will take on Team Knoxville for the last time until the Knoxville Nationals.
There are no shortage of storylines coming into the event, though.
Outlaws vs. Knoxville set for Brownells Big Guns Bash
Donny Schatz currently leads the way in the series standings, corralling nine wins in the first 32 races. He is always a big threat to win at Knoxville, and there are a lot of people wanting to take a victory or two away from him.
The biggest threats to stop Schatz this season have been David Gravel and Brad Sweet.
Both have been consistent in finishes, just in different ways.
Gravel has been able to do what few have in the past, keeping pace with Schatz in the win column so far this season. The Watertown, CT native has seen victory line eight times this season, one behind Schatz who has nine wins.
Sweet on the other hand has been able to finish in the top ten consistently, so consistently that he has only missed the top 10 four times all season. On top of that he has 22 top five finishes in the 32 races the series has run so far.
The two trail Schatz in the standings by 76 and 78 points respectively.
Another threat to knock the ball away from Schatz is defending Knoxville Nationals Champion Jason Johnson.
Johnson is one of two drivers who have been able to conquer the Nationals Feature Race in the past ten seasons not named Donny Schatz.
So far this season the, “Ragin’ Cajun,” has two wins and 20 top ten finishes on the season. He sits sixth in the points standings.
| World of Outlaws Sprint Car Points Standings | ||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Donny Schatz | 4518 | 0 | |
| 2 | David Gravel | 4442 | 76 | |
| 3 | Brad Sweet | 4440 | 78 | |
| 4 | Daryn Pittman | 4240 | 278 | |
| 5 | Shane Stewart | 4194 | 324 | |
| 6 | Jason Johnson | 4184 | 334 | |
| 7 | S. Haudenshild | 4074 | 444 | |
| 8 | Logan Schuchart | 4012 | 506 | |
| 9 | Joey Saldana | 3964 | 554 | |
| 10 | Jason Sides | 3914 | 604 | |
Team Knoxville
Whenever the World of Outlaws series visits Knoxville Raceway, the local drivers who compete at Knoxville every Saturday night are eager to put their skills up against the big guns.
This season, like it has been in past years, the Knoxville field is loaded.
Three Knoxville regulars, Brian Brown, Ian Madsen, and Kerry Madsen, have already garnered a WoO win on the year.
Each of them has consistently been a threat to win the Knoxville Nationals in the past few seasons, but they haven’t been able to close the door.
Although, each have had a good start to their Knoxville seasons, as they sit 1-2-3 in the Knoxville Cup Standings.
The Knoxville drivers may not be the biggest names, but they know the track better than anyone, which makes the WoO drivers competing against them an intriguing race to watch.
| Knoxville Cup Standings | ||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind | |
| 1 | Brian Brown | 1498 | 0 | |
| 2 | Ian Madsen | 1382 | 118 | |
| 3 | Kerry Madsen | 1379 | 121 | |
| 4 | Austin McCarl | 1259 | 241 | |
| 5 | Lynton Jeffrey | 1139 | 361 | |
| 6 | Brooke Tatnell | 1129 | 371 | |
| 7 | Terry McCarl | 1128 | 372 | |
| 8 | Josh Schneiderman | 985 | 513 | |
| 9 | Matt Juhl | 976 | 522 | |
| 10 | Davey Heskin | 954 | 544 | |
