Brad Sweet on his way to Friday’s win at Federated Auto Parts Raceway on I-55. (Photo by Mark Funderburk)
PEVELY, Mo. — Brad Sweet doesn’t need any help to hit the winning lane at Federated Auto Parts Raceway on I-55, but that’s exactly what he got Friday night.
The four-time defending champion used a contact between Carson Macedo and David Gravel to top the 40-lap feature.
It’s Sweet’s third win in the first 13 races of the season and marks the fifth time the Grass Valley, California native has reached that mark in his illustrious career.
The Kasey Kahne Racing driver continued to build on his incredible record on I-55. Sweet now owns six third-mile wins, making him a tie for the distance he has won the most. He now has a streak of eight consecutive podium finishes at the facility and has an average finish of 1.75 at the track.
Sweet’s 82nd career win with “The Greatest Show on Dirt” puts him within two points to tie Stevie Smith for 10th all-time. His 264th podium finish put him 10th in the all-time top 3 with Daryn Pittman.
“I’m just excited to put the Napa Auto Parts car on the winning track,” said Sweet. “Hats off to my boys. We’ve been incredibly consistent and good here at Pevely. Hopefully we can come back tomorrow and do it again. We just need to make a few improvements. I just can’t thank them enough. We had a rough couple of nights and a good rebound here tonight gives us a little confidence to come back tomorrow.”
Early in the race, the battle between David Gravel and Carson Macedo quickly brewed as the latter slipped Sweet early into second place while Gravel paced the field.
In an early restart, Gravel and Macedo rode side by side for several laps, Gravel rounded the cushion and Macedo was glued to the ground. Eventually, Gravel prevailed in Big Game Motorsports No. 2 through but not for long.
As the leaders pulled into traffic at half-time, Macedo quickly caught up. The Jason Johnson Racing driver rolled off gravel for top spot as he struggled with a slower car. In the next corner, Gravel retook the lead with a slide job.
Drama ensued just a few laps later when Gravel slipped slightly over the favored bottom groove at turns three and four, giving Macedo a chance. Macedo went in hard, but as he pulled alongside Gravel, he drifted up and into the side of Gravel’s machine. The contact sent Gravel into a 360-degree spin, flattening his left rear end. Macedo managed to stay in control and keep his car in tact but fell back to third place for the subsequent restart due to yellow flag timing. The incident gave the lead away to Sweet.
“I’m not sure what happened to David,” Sweet explained his point. “Luckily I went to the front in this corner and took the lead. I wasn’t sure what happened. I think Carson and David may have struggled to get to that bottom. The ground really became the dominant track and you really couldn’t pass heavily lapped cars. It was just a tough fight for the position.”
Macedo took to social media after the race to take responsibility and apologize. He said he would never intentionally ruin anyone, especially a competitor who is so close to him on points.
While some luck might have helped Sweet take the lead, he proved he deserved to run there by pulling away after the restart with 14 laps to go.
Fighting broke out behind Sweet all the way, including for second place. Macedo, James McFadden and Logan Schuchart all began swapping gliders as the laps dwindled and Sweet distanced himself. In the end, Sweet crossed the checkered flag by more than two seconds.
Brad Sweet (photo by Mark Funderburk)
After Sweet, it was James McFadden who embarked on an exhilarating drive from 14th to 18th June aboard the No. 83 Roth Motorsports.
“We got into the top 10 early there and then got stuck in the fence entering the corner,” McFadden recalled. “We dropped to 18th or 20th place and fought back there. I felt like it was getting really, really slow down there in (turns) three and four and I was like, ‘Well, why not? Let’s crack a little, I’ve got nothing to lose.” Then I started picking up cars up there, so hats off to my Roth Motorsports boys. They gave me a really good car all night.”
Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart completed the top 3.
“It’s just nice to get our boys onto the podium,” said Schuchart. “You worked really hard. When I came to this place, I knew it was a place where we’ve often finished in the top five and won the Ironman. We can get on the podium but it seems we can’t win races but we’re close.”
The end
Function (40 rounds): 1. 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 2. 83-James McFadden[14]; 3. 1S-Logan shoe style[6]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 6. 52-Blake Hahn[23]; 7. 11-Michael Kofoid[15]; 8. 5-Spencer Bayston[22]; 9. 9-Kasey Kahne[13]; 10. 2-David Kies[1]; 11. 24-Rico Abreu[16]; 12. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[7]; 13. 13-Justin Peck[20]; 14. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[11]; 15. 20G-Noah Gass[9]; 16. 35-Zach Hampton[10]; 17. 15-Donny darling[3]; 18. 7S-Robbie Price[21]; 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 20. 39M-Anthony Macri[12]; 21. 51B-Joe B Miller[19]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen[24]; 23. 14T-Tim Estenson[18]; 24. 24W – Garet Williamson[8]
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