2014 World of Outlaws Preview

The 2014 season is going to be a good one.  Can Daryn Pittman do it again?  Will Schatz overcome his struggles in qualifying and win the championship? Tim Kaeding played the role of the spoiler last year, but full-time this year, and it’s the King’s last run at the title.

It appears we have 15 teams attempting to run the full season, with a handful of teams competing about half of the schedule.  I’ve never looked forward to the start of a new season as much as this one.  So here is my 2014 WoO Preview!

The EA WoO pre-season power rankings: 1. Schatz, 2. Pittman, 3. Saldana, 4. McMahan, 5. Kaeding, 6. S. Kinser, 7. Swindell, 8. Madsen, 9. Sweet, 10. Sides, 11. Darrah, 12. K. Kinser, 13. Schuchart, 14. Rose, 15. Allen.   

Donny Schatz is my pick to win the championship.  23 wins last year, but 14 points shy of the championship.  I think we will see Donny and Ricky Warner figure out the qualifying point situation, and it’s their second year with the same tires and rules.  Schatz got off to a slow start in 2013, which cost him the championship in my opinion.  That won't happen in 2014.  I have a hunch this could be his best season yet.

Daryn Pittman has the target on his back now.  Everyone is gunning for him and he will certainly have a long list of challengers.  I don’t know if he can win it back to back seasons as tough as the competition is, and his run of luck has to change with only one DNF in 2013 you have to figure.  But he proved time and time again last year that he was the man.

I am picking Joey Saldana third 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.  You know the guy who sits back at the poker table quietly and learns everyone’s tells?  He usually plays well once he has things figured out.  I look for big things this year from Joey.

Paul McMahan had a solid 2013 finishing third in points, despite his car owner not committing to the WoO tour until they were 10 races into the season.  I think Paul wins more races in 2014 but they have to get more top fives to compete for the title, and those are going to be tougher to get this season.

Tim Kaeding might win 10-12 races this coming season, but can he be consistent all season and get top five’s and top ten’s on his off nights to be competitive in the points?  Probably not, so I’m picking him fifth.

You might be surprised to see Steve Kinser as my sixth pick.  He finished eighth last year and I expect him to rebound this year and win some races.  He is going to want to finish his WoO career on a high note.  I’m hearing that Steve is going to get support outside of their shop in Bloomington with engines.  I heard a rumor from two sources that Steve reached out to Karl Kinser for help over the winter and something was brewing there, but nothing has surfaced as fact. Wouldn’t that be cool, to see Steve and Karl unite one more time!

Sammy Swindell is my pick for seventh right now, but he could finish much higher at the end of the season.  He is the smartest guy in the business and if anyone can figure out how to rebound from a so-so season last year, it is this guy. I look for more wins, but the consistency is always his achilles heel.

Kerry Madsen has crew chief Tyler Swank this year with him and I think that bodes well for his chances to get some wins after a roller coaster season in 2013.  Hope they can go out and win five races this year, they won an All-Stars race at Bubba Raveway Park in Florida already.  

Kraig Kinser is expected to be back in the family owned 11k car.

Bill Rose is coming back on the full tour as well with new sponsorship.

Brad Sweet is going full-time WoO this year in the KKR #49.  I look for him to be fast and win a few races.  His potential is high, and he should be in solid equipment.  Surprised he is committed to the WoO full-time.  I really thought he was going to make it NASCAR.   

Cody Darrah is probably on his last legs with the #4 team in his fourth season with KKR.  Time to perform, and usually when a guy with three full seasons has that experience under his belt with the same team, he should shine.  I hope Cody has a breakout year and shows just how talented of a young man he is.  But if he doesn’t, I look for someone else to be in the #4 next year.   

Jason Sides had his ups and downs in 2013.  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 2014 to be a contender.

Logan Schuchart is the grandson of legend Bobby Allen, and he has been racing quite a bit in Pennsylvania the past few years.  Grandpa is taking the Shark Motorsports team on the road and they will compete for rookie of the year.  His rookie of the year opponent is his teammate, the son of Bobby, Jacob Allen.  Both guys are young and inexperienced with the road and the tracks they will see, but their car owner is a master of squeezing every ounce out his equipment.  This will be one of the best stories of the 2014 season to see how this team performs.

As the season goes we will see drivers Shane Stewart in his Larson-Marks #2, David Gravel in the Phoenix Racing #59, Brian Brown in his #21, and probably Greg Wilson in the W20 quite a bit.  

Craig Dollansky built his own sprint car team up and then turned the reigns over to Todd Quiring last year to help him focus more on racing than the business side of owning the team.  I'm hearing he is staying put in the Big Game #7, but will racing a more regional schedule in the Midwest, possibly at Knoxville Raceway every week, Huset's, IRA, MOWA, etc.