2015 World of Outlaws Preview

It’s a new year and the scoreboard is set to zero for everyone. They all have hope for a great season to come. Some will win, some will struggle. Can Donny Schatz win a seventh championship? Will Daryn Pittman recapture the title? Can Joey Saldana build on his succes last year and win his first championship? After 6 wins last year will Kerry Madsen and his team take a step up and win more and be a serious contender? Can Paul McMahan and Shane Stewart be players this season? A lot of questions will be answered by the time the World Finals comes in November.

There will be 14 teams attempting to run the full season and it should be a very competitive one. Looking back one year ago we had Steve, Sammy, and Tim Kaeding in the picture. We still may see Steve on a limited schedule this year on the tour and I wouldn’t be shocked if Sammy is back in a sprint car at some point this summer. But the series has picked up Shane Stewart, Jason Johnson, and Craig Dollansky is back to even things out.

Here are my WoO pre-season power rankings: 1. Schatz, 2. Pittman, 3. Madsen, 4. Saldana, 5. Stewart, 6. McMahan, 7. Gravel, 8. Dollansky, 9. Sweet, 10. K. Kinser, 11. J.Johnson, 12. Sides, 13. Schuchart, 14. Allen.

1. Donny Schatz is my pick to win the championship. 23 wins in 2013, 26 wins in 2014, and he is the defending series champion. Donny and Ricky Warner figured out the qualifying situation in 2014 and won the championship by a big margin. The only thing that changes for this team is the shock package. The shocks they were running on are no longer allowed with some rule changes. Donny was open about his feelings on this rule change when it was announced and if there is one thing that can slow them down it’s this. But honestly, they are the best team in the business and I’m sure they will figure it out, it is just a matter of time. If they win a race in Volusia, look out. But I think it will be tougher for Schatz this year with the target on his back and the competition is going to be so much tougher than in years past. I think it will be tough for them to win 20 plus races again this year, but after winning 6 of the last 9 years it is hard to bet against them winning the championship for a seventh time.
Predicted WoO win total: 18

2. Daryn Pittman and the KKR team were solid again last year winning 12 races, up from their total of 8 wins in their 2013 championship season. But Schatz found another gear in 2014 and now these guys have to find an answer to keep pace. Winning more races isn’t going to be easy, but I think they find a way to do it and challenge Schatz deep into the season.  
Predicted WoO win total: 15

3. Last year I picked Kerry Madsen sixth in my pre-season rankings and he finished fourth exceeding my expectations. Since bringing in crew chief Tyler Swank last year they have been bad fast. They won the Royal, won the Iron Man, were third at the Knoxville Nationals, and then they swept the All Star series 3 night show at Ocala to start this year. They won 6 features last year and I look for these guys to win more this year, maybe a lot more.
Predicted WoO win total: 12

4. I am picking Joey Saldana fourth this year, but I would not be surprised to see him challenge for the championship. 2013 was a building year for the 71m Motter Motorsports 2.0 and in 2014 they won 7 features. They set quick time an astonishing 24 times last year, they just need more top five finishes to go with that to get into the points chase. The 71m has a change at Crew Chief with the departure of Davey Whitworth who has left to deal with some health problems. Randy Wolfe is coming in to turn the wrenches. I look for big things this year from Joey.
Predicted WoO win total: 10

5. Shane Stewart is back on the WoO tour full-time in 2015. This is a long time coming for Shane who was the best driver without a WoO ride for several years. He was the 2005 WoO Rookie of the Year and has 5 career WoO wins, including 2 last year. He hasn’t been on the tour full time since 2008 and he is hungry, as is his new Larson-Marks team and crew chief Steve Suchy. They were a new team in 2014 and they were smart to only race 50 nights last year to build a foundation, work out the team chemistry, and they got better as the season went. They won at Eldora, looked good at Knoxville, and won again at Lebanon, Oregon late in the season with a good west coast swing. I think they are prepared to win some races and continue building on that foundation to challenge for a championship in years to come.
Predicted WoO win total: 7

6. Paul McMahan had a solid 2013 and 2014 finishing third in points both seasons in the CJB #51. They won 4 races in 2013 and increased to 5 in 2014. I think Paul might win a few more races in 2015 but they have to get more top fives to compete for the title, and those are going to be tough to get this season with as tough as the series is going to be.
Predicted WoO win total: 6

7. David Gravel finished tenth in points in 2013 despite missing a few shows. He wasn’t a full-time driver on the tour to start the year and then he was hired to drive the Roth 83 after Tim Kaeding left the team in the spring. Gravel has to be licking his chops this year as for the first time in his career he has a solid ride at the start of the season and he has a real shot to compete. He won 5 features last year and should make a good impression again this year. It is some tough competition out there but I think this team steps up and improves in 2015.
Predicted WoO win total: 6

8. Craig Dollansky is back on the road full-time after a season off to race locally in the Midwest. After parting ways with car owner Tod Quiring, he has teamed up with Destiny Motorsports to bring back his trademark #7 car and there are a lot of unknowns as to how this team will perform. Scott Benic is the crew chief. Dollansky is a proven veteran with experience but will they have the equipment to compete up front consistently? We will find out.
Predicted WoO win total: 3

9. Brad Sweet will be in his second year in the KKR 49 and after a solid first half of the 2014 season with 5 wins they struggled the second half of the season inexplicably. His last win was on June 28 and their average finish the first half of the season was 8.8 while their second half average was 9.9. With 28 top five’s and a sixth place finish in points it is hard to call 2014 a disappointment, but after the way they started the year they seemed to have lost their mojo a bit. I am anxious to see how this team performs. They could be a top 5 team, or they could be struggling to make the top ten. 
Predicted WoO win total: 2

10. Kraig Kinser is out on the road in the family owned entry. This will be an interesting team to watch this season with Kraig getting all of the resources that were being be split into two teams in the past. I’m hearing that Scott Gerkin is working on the engines for Kraig back home in the shop, but probably won’t travel full-time with them. I think this could be a good story in 2015. Kraig is an underrated driver I feel. He has 16 career WoO wins, but after he peaked in 2005 with 6 wins, finished 5th in WoO points, and won the 2005 Knoxville Nationals he left to try out ARCA and NASCAR and although he did well, he didn’t get an opportunity to move up the ranks there like Kyle Larson has and you have to wonder how tough that has been on him and his confidence. I am excited for Kraig to have this opportunity with more resources at his disposal and I hope he can have a breakout season.
Predicted WoO win total: 2

The Field:
Cody Darrah is probably on his last legs with the #4 team in his fifth season with KKR. They will run a part-time schedule unless sponsorship dollars come in. I truly feel that Cody has talent he just hasn’t had the car under him that he needs. From what multiple sources have told me is that KKR has a program and the driver needs to adapt to that program. The driver has little input on setup. I just don’t think this has been a good fit for Cody. Sometimes things don’t work out. Paul McMahan didn’t gel at TSR, but look at how successful he has been since then. Shane Stewart didn't gel with the Rudeen or Roth teams in the past either, but no one doubts his talent. There is a lot to be said for team chemistry.

Jason Johnson is bringing his own team on the road with the World of Outlaws this year. He hasn’t been on the road full-time with the Outlaws before but has a lot of experience off and on the past decade out there in-between his ASCS title runs. He has 1 career WoO win will likely pick up a win or two this year. He should be fun to watch.

Jason Sides had his ups and downs the past few years. I don’t anticipate much changing for Sides Mototsports this year but you never know, he could win a few races. He has been on the road full-time since 2003 and he certainly has proved he can drive and compete, but he needs to find some consistent speed in 2015 to be a contender. He didn’t time in the top five once last season so not qualifying well is where they need to improve the most to get themselves in position for starting in the dash and getting some feature wins.

Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen are taking the Shark Motorsports team on the road again with family patriarch Bobby Allen. Both guys are young but gained a lot of experience last year. Their car owner is a master of squeezing every ounce out his equipment. They are the underdogs out there for sure. Hopefully one of them can pull off a win this year.

Good luck to all the World of Outlaws teams this year. Also my best wishes to the WoO crew who travel up and down the road to help put on the “Greatest Show on Dirt” night in and night out. Have a safe year and put on some great racing!