WoO Notebook: Mississippi Thunder Debut Awaits

FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. – Another busy week awaits as the home stretch for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season draws closer.

First, a new track is ahead as the Outlaws debut at Mississippi Thunder Speedway on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Models have made 10 trips to the Fountain City, Wis., track, but it’ll be the first ever for their sprint car counterparts.

The Interstate Racing Ass’n sprint cars have served up some thrillers at Mississippi Thunder, and fans should expect no different when the country’s top talent rolls into town.

Two off days follow the Mississippi Thunder debut before the tour invades North Dakota for two nights. The weekend opens with the 35th visit in series history to Grand Forks, N.D.’s River Cities Speedway on Friday, Aug. 22.

Of the more than 400 tracks longtime World of Outlaws announcer Johnny Gibson has visited, River Cities has the honor of being his favorite.

The three-race week wraps up at West Fargo, N.D.’s Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 23. It’ll be the 71st trip to the three-eighths-mile as the track strengthens its status as the most visited within the borders of the Peace Garden State.

Below are a look at the current top storylines entering the week:

– The midweek stop at Mississippi Thunder may serve as a rare equalizer.

Even if a facility is new to the Outlaws, usually a driver’s early experience might lead them to a track before they embark on a full season, but that’s simply not the case in this instance. Nearly every single full-time competitor will be making their first laps there.

That means most teams will enter the pit area with empty notebooks. Nobody has pages filled out from dozens or even a few previous races. Could it offer a chance for a new winner to arise? Tuesday will answer that question.

– The exception to the previous section? That would be Bill Balog. Of the full-time World of Outlaws competitors, he’s the only one to have made laps at the Wisconsin track.

It hasn’t been many laps, as he’s raced there on just one occasion, but the result was an encouraging one. Balog won with IRA at Mississippi Thunder 13 years ago on the way to the fifth of his now 10 titles with the series.

With just two races remaining in his now-home state this year, the Hartland, Wis., resident will be looking to celebrate a victory with the countless Badgers that support him.

He’s won twice already this year (Talladega Short Track and Huset’s Speedway) and enters the week fresh off two top fives in Minnesota.

– The trip home to North Dakota over the weekend will look a little different for Donny Schatz. For the first time since 2007, he won’t be aboard a Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing entry as he continues his three-week stretch with Big Game Motorsports support.

The 10-time series champion had to hop in Dave Lunstra’s car this past Saturday at Jackson after a Friday crash at Ogilvie in the Big Game No. 15, and that remains the plan for the remainder of the month now.

Schatz’s River Cities résumé is remarkable. He’s competed in all 34 World of Outlaws races at the quarter mile, won a dozen of them, and missed the top five on only three occasions. His worst River Cities finish? Eighth.

He’s been plenty successful at Red River Valley as well with six victories with the Outlaws and was on the podium in the most recent visit in May.

While Schatz’s debut with Big Game didn’t go as he hoped, the Fargo, N.D., driver did rebound with a Jackson top 10 in Lunstra’s machine.

– There’s one man with all the momentum entering this week, and his name is Carson Macedo.

The Lemoore, Calif., driver and his Jason Johnson Racing team swept the Minnesota weekend at Ogilvie and Jackson, upping their total in the season win column to nine. They’ve topped five of the last 12 races this year. Macedo is one checkered flag away from his fourth 10-win season.

Like the majority of World of Outlaws competitors, Macedo will make his Mississippi Thunder debut Tuesday. He’s a two-time River Cities winner (2022 and 2024) and has finished sixth or better in his last eight visits to the quarter mile.

He’s also topped Red River Valley twice and hasn’t finished worse than eighth in six tries.

Macedo is still looking to surpass Michael “Buddy” Kofoid for the runner-up spot in points. Currently 52 markers separate the two Californians.

– Earlier this year Sheldon Haudenschild checked off a track that had long eluded him when he finally won at Haubstadt, Ind.’s Tri-State Speedway, and he’s ready to replicate that at one of the ovals ahead.

It’s been a similar story for Haudenschild at River Cities. He’s made 15 trips to the Grand Forks, N.D., bullring without a trip to victory lane with several close calls.

The Wooster, Ohio, native has been a River Cities runner-up on three occasions (2021, 2023, and 2024), started on the front row five times, and led feature laps there six times.

Haudenschild is fresh off finishes of fifth and sixth at Ogilvie and Jackson with the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink team. He’s fifth in points and on the hunt for his first win since conquering Red River Valley on the final day of May.

– As always, every lap of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season is available to stream live with a DIRTvision subscription.