Brad Sweet Opens ’20 All Star Sprint Season With DIRTcar Nationals Victory At Volusia

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – BARBERVILLE, FL – Officially activating the 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 season, Grass Valley, California’s Brad Sweet earned himself another Gator Trophy in the Sunshine State, this time climbing ahead two spots to clinch the DIRTcar Nationals sprint car opening night victory on Wednesday evening at Volusia Speedway Park.

The win, the fifth of Sweet’s career during All Star Circuit of Champions competition, secured the defending World of Outlaws champion a $5,000 payday; his second All Star triumph in as many seasons at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile Dirt Track.’

Ian Madsen, a former World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year, chased Sweet to the final checkers, followed by Cory Eliason, a hard charging Kyle Larson from 14th, and James McFadden.

“I can’t thank my team enough for their hard work this off season,” Brad Sweet said, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts, Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb, Team ASE, Factory Kahne, No. 49 sprint car. “Anytime you can roll out of the box and win is pretty special. It’s extra special with my daughter and wife here. It’s pretty neat to begin the year like this.”

Despite not taking command for the first time until lap 14, and dropping as far back as fifth after a restart due to caution on lap two, Sweet was a factor the entire 25-lap distance. Utilizing patience and finesse, the ‘Big Cat’ powered his way around Tim Shaffer to secure fourth on lap four, all before executing a perfect slider between turns three and four to regain third over James McFadden on lap six. Meanwhile, 2019 All Star Rookie of the Year Cory Eliason was at the front of the field, maintaining control while Ian Madsen kept a strong pace in the runner-up position. Madsen eventually moved by Eliason to take command on lap seven, using slower cars to help maneuver around the Rudeen Racing entry.

Also not deterred by slower cars, Sweet made his first bid for second on lap 12, relying on a familiar slider through turns three and four to hopefully secure his fate. Unfortunately, Sweet’s move was unsuccessful, ultimately forced to settle back into third. Two circuits later, Sweet was once again in a position to pounce, this time moving around Eliason before beating Madsen in a drag race back to the flagstand to officially lead lap 14. Sweet’s margin at the line was a mere-.023 seconds.

From that point forward, it was all Sweet at the front of the field, keeping Ian Madsen and Cory Eliason at bay the final 11 circuits to win by .9 seconds.

“Anytime you win, it’s fun. It was a great race,” Brad Sweet continued. “I was really searching for a line in three and four. The grease would go away, then someone would come by and splash up some water. It really altered the complexity of the race. You really had to be mindful of which lines you were taking and what was happening with the race track. My car could run up top, but it was definitely better on the bottom.”

What’s Next:
The All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their 2020 campaign with a second consecutive DIRTcar Nationals start on Thursday evening, February 6. Although sprint car competition will continue at the DIRTcar Nationals through Sunday, February 9, the All Stars will end their visit on Thursday, once again battling for a $5,000 top prize.

The Series will conclude their 2020 Florida vacation with a pair of East Bay Raceway Park starts on Monday and Tuesday, February 10-11. Dubbed the All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Winn-Dixie, the East Bay double will award a pair of $5,000 paydays.

Contingency Awards/Results: Volusia Speedway Park – Wednesday, February 5, 2020:
Event: 49th Annual DIRTcar Nationals
Entries: 34
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Paul McMahan – 13.439 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: James McFadden – 13.155 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Jacob Allen
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Logan Schuchart
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Brock Zearfoss
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Ian Madsen
JE Pistons Dash #1: Ian Madsen
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #2: Cory Eliason
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Donny Schatz
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Brent Marks
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Brad Sweet
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Kyle Larson (+10)
(Lincoln Electric, Hercules Tire, Rayce Rudeen Foundation: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 9-James McFadden, 13.155; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.218; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.220; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.261; 5. 21-Brian Brown, 13.346; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.399; 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.460; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel, 13.576; 9. 5-Brent Marks, 13.781

Group (B)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.308; 2. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.309; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.333; 4. 15K-Chad Kemenah, 13.419; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.493; 6. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.510; 7. 7-Shane Stewart, 13.567; 8. J4-John Garvin, 14.015; 9. 40-George Hobaugh, 99.140

Group (C)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.200; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.316; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.382; 4. 41-David Gravel, 13.440; 5. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.450; 6. 14P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.530; 7. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.723; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.747

Group (D)
1. 14-Tim Shaffer, 13.465; 2. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.477; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.536; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.608; 5. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.637; 6. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.988; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.025; 8. B15-Kurt Conklin, 99.000

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [6]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 8. 5-Brent Marks [9]; 9. 33M-Mason Daniel [8]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. 15K-Chad Kemenah [1]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 5. 7-Shane Stewart [7]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 8. J4-John Garvin [8]; 9. 40-George Hobaugh [9]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 5. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [6]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [7]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [3]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 5. 14-Tim Shaffer [4]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [6]; 8. B15-Kurt Conklin [8]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 5. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 14-Tim Shaffer [1]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 5. 5-Brent Marks [10]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [7]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [13]; 9. 3C-Cale Conley [8]; 10. J4-John Garvin [11]; 11. W20-Greg Wilson [9]; 12. 40-George Hobaugh [14]; 13. B15-Kurt Conklin [12]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [6]

A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [14]; 5. 9-James McFadden [6]; 6. 14-Tim Shaffer [4]; 7. 41-David Gravel [11]; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [8]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 10. 15K-Chad Kemenah [13]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10]; 12. 2-Carson Macedo [15]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich [12]; 14. 2M-Kerry Madsen [24]; 15. 83-Daryn Pittman [16]; 16. 13-Paul McMahan [17]; 17. 14P-Parker Price-Miller [19]; 18. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [9]; 20. 15-Donny Schatz [21]; 21. 7-Shane Stewart [20]; 22. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [18]; 23. 21-Brian Brown [22]; 24. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [7] Lap Leaders: Cory Eliason (1-6), Ian Madsen (7-13), Brad Sweet (14-25)