ONLY THE BEGINNING: Brent Marks Takes New Team to Victory Lane in Season Finale

Brad Sweet and Kasey Kahne Racing #49 Crowned 2021 Champions

CONCORD, NC - November 6, 2021 - Saturday's World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season finale had a little bit of everything.

There was heartbreak for Logan Schuchart, glory for Brent Marks, long-awaited success for Brock Zearfoss, a mind-blowing run for Donny Schatz, and the culmination of a championship for Brad Sweet.

In the end, it was Myerstown, PA's Brent Marks standing on the World Finals stage in only his third outing with his new operation, Murray-Marks Motorsports. While it's the ending to 2021 for The Greatest Show on Dirt, it's only the beginning to Marks' newest chapter.

The Myerstown Missile was handed the lead on Lap 21 of 25, as for the second night in a row, Logan Schuchart fell victim to terribly bad luck. The Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products driver dominated the entirety of the Feature until the right rear wheel let go and sent him into the fence with four laps left.

For Marks, the victory marked his first-ever win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. He's at seven-career World of Outlaws wins with three of them coming in 2021.

"It was the right place at the right time, for sure," Marks mentioned. "Honestly, we're a 14th-15th here, but we've been working hard all year long to get better everywhere and it's paying off. I can't say enough about this whole team. From Allen Murray and his family to all of our partners, we have so many amazing backers. The future is looking good.

Although the former full-timer won't return to platinum status in 2022 with the Series, his victory and recent success could be an ode to an eventual reunion with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

"I miss being on the Outlaw tour, but we're starting fresh here and trying to build a good program so when we do come back, we're ready for it," Marks added."

Behind Brent, his cousin Brock Zearfoss finished a season-high second-place with a spectacular run aboard the Moose's LZ Bar & Grill #3Z. It marked the culmination of a grinding season for The Jonestown Jet, who was in position for wins, podiums, and top-fives throughout the year, but bad luck hounded the team. In the 80th and final race of the year, he found redemption for himself.

"Better late than never," Zearfoss said with a grin. "We had the opportunity to win several races, but so many things kept us behind that little bit. The people behind me have brought me up when I'm down. I keep saying it, but we really have been getting better since Knoxville. We were battling for the win and I got too antsy I think. Just having the opportunity to win is special for us."

Rounding out the podium was Donny Schatz with a wild 25th-to-3rd bid, the longest KSE Hard Charger performance of the season. It's a momentum-building moment for the 10-time champion, who expects to return to title contention in 2022 with Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing.

"That's what is expected of me," Schatz said. "We found ourselves in every bad position and we just didn't change enough stuff. We finally did and we changed everything except the seat, steering wheel, and driver. I'm glad we got a respectable finish to end the year."

Rounding out the top-10 in the season finale was championship runner-up David Gravel in fourth, championship podium finisher Carson Macedo in fifth, Kerry Madsen in sixth, Giovanni Scelzi in seventh, Spencer Bayston in eighth, 2021 champion Brad Sweet in ninth, and Parker Price-Miller in tenth.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series enjoys a short three-month off-season before firing off a 90+ race grind in 2022 with the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia (FL) Speedway Park on February 10-12. Get your TICKETS HERE.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (25 Laps): 1. 19-Brent Marks[4]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[5]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz[25]; 4. 2-David Gravel[2]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 6. 14-Kerry Madsen[13]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[3]; 8. 5-Spencer Bayston[14]; 9. 49-Brad Sweet[8]; 10. 11-Parker Price Miller[12]; 11. 73-Justin Peck[11]; 12. 83-Kasey Kahne[26]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser[20]; 14. 26-Cory Eliason[17]; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[22]; 16. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[9]; 17. 21-Brian Brown[24]; 18. 19P-Paige Polyak[15]; 19. 0-Lynton Jeffrey[21]; 20. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[16]; 21. 2C-Wayne Johnson[27]; 22. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 23. 9-James McFadden[6]; 24. 93-Jac Haudenschild[10]; 25. 39-Buddy Kofoid[18]; 26. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[19]; 27. 71-Shane Stewart[23]; KSE Hard Charger – Donny Schatz (+22)

FINAL 2021 Championship Standings: 1. Brad Sweet (10,594); 2. David Gravel (-80); 3. Carson Macedo (-134); 4. Donny Schatz (-136); 5. Logan Schuchart (-312); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (-360); 7. James McFadden (-800); 8. Kraig Kinser (-1230); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1422); 10. Jacob Allen (-1782); 11. Wayne Johnson (-2185); 12. Jason Sides (-2548).

CONQUERING CONCORD: World Finals Win Adds to David Gravel's Charlotte Dynasty

Brad Sweet Officially Clinches 2021 World of Outlaws Championship

CONCORD, NC - November 5, 2021 - With the points situation a foregone conclusion, David Gravel was relaxed and comfortable as he returned to The Dirt Track at Charlotte, one of his best tracks on tour.

The Watertown. CT native followed up the return of World Finals with his 69th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win, bringing the Big Game Motorsports driver to 11 victories in the 2021 season alone. He's already got a career-best runner-up result in the bag when it comes to the championship, so for DG, it's all about building momentum for a run at the title in 2022.

He found his next glimmer of hope for that sophomore season with Tod Quiring's operation in Friday's opener to the NGK/NTK-sponsored season finale, an event that saw him use both skill and luck to park the #2 in victory lane.

Leading the final 12 laps after Logan Schuchart's unfortunate demise, the 29-year-old held off a relentless run from Brian Brown to earn his fourth win in the last five races at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. More impressive, Gravel's handful of W's at the 4/10-mile oval has occurred with three different organizations including CJB Motorsports, Jason Johson Racing, and now Big Game.

The consistent championship contender surpassed Joey Saldana and Jason Meyers on the tracks' Outlaw win list, leaving him now second to Donny Schatz, who owns 13 wins at the Concord, NC facility. Gravel returns to The Dirt Track on Saturday evening with a chance at his second sweep (2019) of World Finals weekend.

"The track was good," Gravel noted. "The curb got gnarly in turns one and two. I didn't want to make any mistakes in lap traffic, but I knew I slowed down a little bit. It's hard to give something up and move out of your lane during something like that. It feels good to get a win. I hadn't quite sealed up second in the points yet, so I wanted to get that done. Now let's go tomorrow and have some fun and hopefully get another.'

Friday's 0.881-second victory was another big boost in the confidence with Cody Jacobs as crew chief on Gravel's #2. An 11-win season with championship runner-up honors in their first season together is something that stands as wildly impressive against The Greatest Show on Dirt.

Finishing second with a last-lap, last-corner pass was Kerry Madsen. The Madman slid by Brian Brown coming to the checkered flag and earned his 14th top-five finish in 22 World of Outlaws races this year aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #14.

Rounding out the podium in the World Finals opener was Grain Valley, Missouri's Brian Brown, who returned to the site of his first-career World of Outlaws win in 2014. He threw several attempts at the lead on the final restart but fell just short aboard the FVP Parts, Casey's General Stores #21.

"What a fun race," Brown said afterward. "I took the lead with that slider for lead, but David got me back each time. Our engines with Charlie Garrett take off so good, and that's what you're seeing here tonight." Hopefully, we're back up here talking to you guys tomorrow night, too."

The main story through the opening half of the 30-lap NOS Energy Drink Feature was Logan Schuchart, another Charlotte ace looking to extend his successes at the track.

The Shark Racing superstar roared to the lead on Lap 2 with a brilliant three-wide move and ran off with a commanding lead until a flat left rear tire sent the Drydene Performance Products #1S to the work area on Lap 18. He still recovered to finish a respectable ninth-place, but that only leaves them hungrier for a victory lane trip tomorrow night.

Also on the spectrum, Brad Sweet and the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 team officially clinched their third consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship. Established as a new dynasty, the group will be officially crowned following Saturday's season finale and then honored in Sunday's champions celebration.

Rounding out the top-10 on Friday night was Carson Macedo and JJR in fourth, Donny Schatz and TSR in fifth, Brent Marks in sixth with newly-formed Murray-Marks Racing, initial leader Kasey Kahne in seventh, champion-elect Brad Sweet in eighth, dominant figure Logan Schuchart in ninth, and KSE Hard Charger Justin Peck in 10th-from-24th.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will conclude the 2021 season with the 80th and final event on Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. If you can't attend the NGK/NTK World Finals in person, you can watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (30 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[1]; 2. 14-Kerry Madsen[5]; 3. 21-Brian Brown[6]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz[11]; 6. 19-Brent Marks[10]; 7. 83-Kasey Kahne[2]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet[15]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 10. 73-Justin Peck[24]; 11. 5-Spencer Bayston[8]; 12. 71-Shane Stewart[22]; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[25]; 14. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[12]; 15. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[9]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen[21]; 17. 93-Jac Haudenschild[16]; 18. 55-Cole Macedo[19]; 19. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[23]; 20. 0-Lynton Jeffrey[17]; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser[14]; 22. 9-James McFadden[7]; 23. 26-Cory Eliason[18]; 24. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[13]; 25. 2C-Wayne Johnson[20]; Lap Leaders: Kasey Kahne 1; Logan Schuchart 2-18; David Gravel 19-30. KSE Hard Charger - Justin Peck (+14)