ROSSBURG, Ohio — Eldora Speedway is an iconic race track for any fan of sprint car racing.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is set for its first trip of 2025 to the half-mile oval. The #LetsRaceTwo weekend brings the stars of The Greatest Show on Dirt and welcomes the top non-winged sprint car drivers as the USAC National Sprint Cars will be in action both nights (May 2-3).
Eldora is the most visited track in World of Outlaws history and is set to extend that mark. The country’s top drivers have made 239 trips, including the second race in series history.
HAUD HEADS HOME
Ohio means home turf for Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild. The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing driver gets five nights of racing in his home state this month, beginning with the pair at Eldora.
“The Big E” is home to a pair of Haudenschild’s 43 career series victories, and they’ve both come during the month of May. His first was in 2021, and then last year, the 31-year-old led every lap of the #LetsRaceTwo opener to become the 34th different competitor with multiple World of Outlaws wins at Eldora.
Haudenschild heads home riding the momentum of taking the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 to his first victory at Tri-State Speedway. He’s fifth in points with eight top fives and 11 top 10s through the first 18 races of his ninth season on tour.
THE BOSS’ HOUSE
Donny Schatz has a tendency of showing off when he comes over to his boss’ house.
The 10-time World of Outlaws champion owns 19 victories at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, and 16 of them have come since joining forces with Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing in 2008.
Six Kings Royal crowns are in Schatz’s trophy room. The 2002 Historical Big One belonged to him. Eight times he’s topped an Eldora Feature in the month of May. There’s not much Schatz hasn’t done at the high-banked half mile.
A visit to Rossburg, Ohio, this weekend could be just what Schatz needs to right the ship in 2025. He and the No. 15 team have just two top fives so far, but the stats say they’ll likely add more this weekend.
The Fargo, N.D., driver hasn’t finished worse than fourth in his last six tries at Eldora, and five of those results were on the podium.
MILLION DOLLAR MAN
Any time Logan Schuchart visits Eldora Speedway is an opportunity to revisit his history-making moment in sprint car racing.
Logan Schuchart became the sport’s only winner of a seven-figure payday when he led flag-to-flag of 2023’s Eldora Million, adding the most monumental chapter to Shark Racing’s rags-to-riches story.
But the Million is far from Schuchart’s only success at Eldora. “The House that Earl Built” has always been kind to the Hanover, Pa., native. He’s claimed six total features, including four in World of Outlaws competition, which puts Eldora in a tie as his winningest track.
Schuchart has only missed the top 10 once so far in 2025. He trails point leader David Gravel by 72 markers and looks to make up ground in pursuit of his first championship.
THE BIG DAD-E
Chris Windom has focused on winged sprint cars for the past few years, but back in his wingless days, few were as good as “Big Daddy” at The Big E.
Windom has won eight Eldora main events without a lid. In USAC competition, he’s topped a trio with the national midgets and two apiece with Silver Crown and the national sprint cars. He also drove from sixth to victory with BOSS in 2016. An eighth-place run with the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2022 stands as his best winged result at the half mile.
The USAC Triple Crown champ currently leads the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year standings with the Sides Motorsports crew. He’s been in the top 10 on five occasions and already collected a trio of KSE Racing Hard Charger awards aboard the NOS Energy Drink No. 7S.
ELDORA EXCELLENCE
The four drivers listed above aren’t the only World of Outlaws gassers that have made the coveted trip to Eldora victory lane.
Defending series champion David Gravel is an eight-time winner. Among those are high-dollar scores of $175,000 (Kings Royal), $100,000 (Joker’s Jackpot), and $52,000 (Governor’s Reign). Five of his victories have come since joining his current Big Game Motorsports team.
Carson Macedo owns a trio of Eldora checkered flags. He topped a pair during Kings Royal week of 2021, then added another in July of 2023 with Jason Johnson Racing. It’s one of seven tracks where he’s won at least three races with the World of Outlaws.
Last year, Giovanni Scelzi got his first Eldora win when he took the KCP Racing No. 18 to a prelim score at the Double Down Duels.
BIG E BOUND
Expect a wide variety of entrants this weekend as many more competitors with diverse backgrounds are planning to fill the Eldora pit area.
Brady Bacon has #LetsRaceTwo on his schedule with TKH Motorsports. The versatile driver has won at The Big E both with and without wings. He conquered ASCoC in 2017 and picked up trophies with both the USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown divisions.
Emerson Axsom hasn’t missed a World of Outlaws race in 2025, and the streak will continue this weekend. The Franklin, Ind., native was on the podium in 2023 at Eldora with USAC and finished sixth in last year’s Kings Royal.
Anthony Macri plans to represent the Posse in the state that neighbors Pennsylvania to the west. The “Concrete Kid” has already won five times in the “Keystone State” in 2025. His best finish at Eldora is fourth on two occasions.
Kalib Henry is fresh off winning the ASCoC season opener and heading to Eldora in the Running Boxer No. 101. The Californian races primarily in Ohio these days and has competed in six races at Eldora, peaking at sixth last year.
And of course, it’s likely “Buckeye State” fans will get to see local talents such as Creed Kemenah, Cap Henry, Greg Wilson and others.
