With just one night remaining in the 2024 season for dirt racing’s premier three series, the World of Outlaws World Finals once again delivered an unforgettable night of white-knuckled racing and excitement. David Gravel locked up his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Series championship, while Carson Macedo (World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars), Bobby Pierce (World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models) and Mat Williamson (Super DIRTcar Series) each emerged victorious.
All Dirt Roads Lead to Gravel
Macedo did everything he could in his quest to catch Gravel in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship hunt, winning Friday night’s 25-lap feature in convincing fashion. But in the end, bolstered by a 15-win season, Gravel locked up the series championship with one night remaining in the 2024 season.
“My car was incredible,” Macedo said after the race. “Once I saw what I needed to do, I started moving around. I could get through the middle of (turns) one and two. When you get passed for the lead and put together the effort to get back by the leader, it’s a testament to how good your car is. I felt really solid.”
Macedo started from the pole and – despite briefly giving up the lead to Buddy Kofoid midway through the race -- raced to his first-ever win on the fourth-tenths mile clay oval at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“It’s definitely a chess game,” the Lemoore, Calif. hotshoe said of the challenging Dirt Track at Charlotte. “As the lines move around, you’ve got to be able to move around with them. I think your car being really good helps too. I felt really confident when Buddy got around me that I could get back around him.
“It feels good to win the battle tonight. But, obviously to lose the war, that’s a little bitter sweet. Congrats to the No. 2 team and David on winning the championship. We fought all year. We fought as hard as we could, and someday, maybe we can be sitting in that spot.”
Kofoid held on for second, with Justin Peck finishing on the podium for the second night in a row. Gravel’s fourth place finish was enough to earn the Watertown, Conn. racer his first career Sprint Car series title.
“We’ve still got one race to go, but it feels good going into tomorrow just racing for a win,” Gravel said. “I want to touch that trophy and raise that trophy above my head. I’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve been close a lot of years and been on the podium a lot in points. To finally get it done, to do it with Levi, being a dad and having a family, it just feels really, really cool. There’s a small list of World of Outlaw champions and I’m proud to be one of them.”
Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne finished fifth.
Pierce Tightens Points Gap with Shepphard in Late Models
In World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model action, Pierce left nothing on the table in an effort to catch points leader Brandon Shepphard in a wild Friday night feature marred by three cautions. Entering the race 34 points behind Sheppard and eight behind second place Nick Hoffman, Pierce needed to live up to his nickname of “Smooth Operator” throughout a chaotic 35-lap affair to remain in the title hunt.
Starting in the third row after the pill draw, Pierce found the power to work his way forward. Hoffman, meanwhile, found only heartbreak after a broken rear end brought his race – and likely his championship aspirations – to a premature end.
In the closing laps, Pierce battled side-by-side with Winfield, Tenn. racer Mike Marler. With three circuits remaining, Marler drove into the cushion and fell off the pace, as Pierce cruised to victory.
“I didn’t know he jumped the cushion,” Pierce said in Victory Lane. “It’s easy to suck yourself in up there. When I got the lead I was just hoping I didn’t do that, but the car got better as the race went on… I was worried when I pulled that six pill. I get down on myself starting in the third row. This competition is tough.
“Awesome car, like I said. Awesome race track too. I’ve been waiting for a Charlotte like that. Throwing sliders for the win is always an awesome race. We really needed this night. We’re still in the hunt.”
Pole-sitter Cade Dillard finished second, with Marler falling to third. Thursday’s feature winner Ricky Thornton Jr. was fourth and Kyle Bronson rounded out the Top 5.
With the win, Pierce gained 12 points over Sheppard in the championship hunt, which comes to a dramatic conclusion at Saturday’s season finale with Pierce now only 22 points behind.
Battle of the Mat’s in the Super DIRTCar Series
The Super DIRTCar series A-main was the battle of the Mat’s as points leader Mat Williamson and Matt Sheppard, sitting in second, both chased their second win of the night after claiming their heats.
The 2019 Super DIRTCar Series Champion, Williamson, started on the pole and never gave up the lead in the 30-lap show, getting him six laps shy of a 400 leading lap season. Sheppard, who sat 26 points behind Williamson, fought his way through traffic from fifth to third, taking the bottom to pass Justin Haers in Lap 10. Sheppard, with his eyes on Williamson, gets lucky as Demetrios Drellos finds the wall in Lap 12 giving Sheppard the perfect opportunity to get within 0.203 of a second of Williamson.
Despite four cautions and two with Sheppard on his heels, Williamson continued to dominate the field, clinching his ninth win of the 2024 season and fourth at the Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“What a race,” Williamson said as he got out of his car. “When he (Sheppard) starts the night behind you have to be on your toes and I had to really nail the restarts and be pretty good.”
Securing his 31st Super DIRTCar career win – tying him with Jack Johnson for ninth all time – Williamson is one step closer to the 2024 Super DIRTCar Championship. He is now 30 points ahead of Matt Sheppard, followed by Anthony Perrego, Tim Spears and Jimmy Phelps.
TICKETS:
The 2024 season concludes Saturday with feature racing and a championship ceremony for all three series. Saturday single-day tickets start at $65. Tickets are available online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets or at the gate.
KEEP TRACK:
Follow all the World of Outlaws Final action through the hashtag #WorldFinals. Connect with The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on X, Facebook and Instagram.
