WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Jim Boyd Memorial Brings World of Outlaws to Wisconsin for First 2024 Visit

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are trucking from the “Buckeye State” to the “Badger State.”

Beaver Dam Raceway is this week’s destination for The Greatest Show on Dirt. The Wisconsin oval welcomes the country’s best Sprint Car drivers for two nights (May 31-June 1) of action at the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial. The opener offers up a $12,000 payday before the stakes are raised for Saturday’s $20,000-to-win finale. The pair of races will be the 34th and 35th in Series history at the 1/3 mile.

This weekend is set to mark the first two of six scheduled nights of racing in Wisconsin in 2024 for the World of Outlaws.

The battle for the championship lead is tightening. Spots inside the top five are swapping. The summer of money is approaching. A region is ready to face off with the World of Outlaws for the first time in 2024. All pieces that promise to contribute toward another thrilling weekend of action.

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Let’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:

CLOSER AND CLOSER: A battle atop the point standings between two hungry drivers quickly appears to be shaping up. Eight wins and remarkable speed has carried David Gravel to the point lead for much of 2024. But an unflinching consistency has positioned Carson Macedo within striking distance as they both chase their first title.

Heading into Beaver Dam, Gravel leads Macedo by 32 markers – the closest Macedo has been all year. The last 17 races for Gravel have led to a whopping seven wins and a dozen top two finishes. But sprinkled in that stretch are also finishes of 23rd, 11th and 21st. Over that same time frame, Macedo has only won twice compared to Gravel’s seven, but he’s finished no worse than ninth and owns a 3.6 average result over the stretch.

Looking at Beaver Dam, Gravel is yet to win at the Wisconsin oval, but he’s been so close. The Watertown, CT native has been on the podium in five of his last six Beaver Dam tries including two runner-ups last year. Macedo also doesn’t own a World of Outlaws win at Beaver Dam, but he did drive Joe Gaerte’s #3G to Victory Lane at a 2017 Interstate Racing Association (IRA) race.

HOME GAME: For the first time during his rookie World of Outlaws campaign, Bill Balog will get the chance to race in front of home fans. The North Pole, AK native made the move to Wisconsin earlier in life and established himself as one of the best drivers in the region’s history before joining The Greatest Show on Dirt.

Balog owns a huge total of 19 IRA victories at Beaver Dam, most recently claiming a 2021 visit. It’s also home to his one career World of Outlaws victory. Back in 2016 Balog bested former champion – Daryn Pittman – to pick up a wildly popular upset win.

It’s been a productive debut season with the World of Outlaws for Balog and the B Squared Motorsports team. He’s picked up 13 top 10s in 24 races. He’s fresh off an 18th to fourth drive at Fremont for his sixth top five of the season. And the campaign has been highlighted by a pair of podiums at Paducah and Attica.

BADGER MASTER: Over the last few years Sheldon Haudenschild has been the clear man to beat whenever the World of Outlaws roll into Beaver Dam.

The Wooster, OH native has driven the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17 to Beaver Dam Victory Lane in four of the last five visits. The Wisconsin 1/3 mile is currently tied with Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the winningest track on Haudenschild’s World of Outlaws résumé.

The 2024 campaign has already led to five victories for Haudenschild including one last weekend at Atomic. The next one will push the team NOS Energy Drink driver to 40 for his career.

CAN HOT SAUCE GET HOT?: After taking the point lead back in March, Giovanni Scelzi and KCP Racing have cooled off slightly.

Scelzi began the year with seven straight finishes of seventh or better including a pair of podiums and an average finish of fourth. The last five races have led to a best of fifth and an average result of eighth. The consistency is still there, but he’ll need slightly better results to climb back into the championship battle.

Fortunately for “Hot Sauce,” Beaver Dam could be the place to begin a hot streak. The Fresno, CA driver topped the opening night of last year’s Jim Boyd Memorial, and he’s always consistent at Beaver Dam. Scelzi hasn’t finished worse than eighth in five tries and also nearly won the 2021 visit, leading 19 laps before finishing second.

WISCONSIN WARRIORS: With this weekend being the first trip to Wisconsin of 2024, a collection of the state’s locals will be looking to see how well they can defend home turf against the nation’s best.

Sheboygan, WI’s Scotty Thiel is always stout at Beaver Dam. He’s bagged four IRA wins at the 1/3 mile, most recently taking a 2022 checkered flag. Thiel’s best Beaver Dam finish in 10 tries with the World of Outlaws is 13th (2022).

There’s another Scotty with plenty of experience under his belt, and it’s Beaver Dam’s own Scotty Neitzel. He’s fresh off claiming his first IRA win in two years at Wilmot Raceway. Neitzel picked up a Beaver Dam IRA victory back in 1995, and its home to his one career World of Outlaws top 10 (eighth in 2003).

This duo is expected to be joined by more “Badger State” locals including Austin Hartmann (Plymouth, WI), Dave Uttech (Kenosha, WI), and more.