The “Month of Money” began on Monday, June 21, at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota. With five races in eight nights and over $100,000 on the line, Brad Sweet and the Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) No. 49 team unloaded at the 3/8-mile facility aiming to cash in.
Brad and the NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 started off Monday night putting down a 10.764 lap time, timing in third overall in flight A out of 43 cars. Sweet started second in the first Drydene heat race, where he went on to transfer into the Fast Pass Dash with a second place finish.
The Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) No. 49 started sixth in the Fast Pass Dash, where he went on to finish fourth after eight laps around the high-banked bull ring. After an intense battle early on in the 35-lap main event, Sweet came home with a top five finish- finishing fourth.
Night two of the Showdown brought in 41 cars for World of Outlaws competition, where the Grass Valley, California, native clocked in fifth overall in flight A with a lap time of 10.716. The NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 rolled out third for heat race action, where he went on to win after 10-laps, transferring him into the Fast Pass Dash for the second night in a row. Sweet drew the sixth starting spot out of the NOS Energy Drink can, and went on to finish there. After 50-laps of racing with $30,000 on the line, Sweet and the KKR, NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 came up just shy of the win, bringing home a solid second place run.
Thursday night kicked off three nights of racing at Jackson Motorplex for the 43rd Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals. Sweet came into the event as the winningest driver in World of Outlaw history at the Jackson Motorplex. A unique format was used for the event, but 36 cars signed in for night one. The No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS car stopped the clock at 12.934, qualifying fourth overall. With an eight-car invert for heat race competition, that put the current World of Outlaws point leader starting eight in the fourth Drydene heat race. After 10-laps around the speedway, the KKR No. 49 team finished second, putting Sweet as the high point man going into the Fast Pass Dash with 192 points. Sweet went from eight to seventh in the Fast Pass Dash after six laps of competition. The NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 ended up starting and finishing seventh in the main event.
Sweet came into Friday night’s action sitting third in AGCO Jackson Nationals points. With 35 410 Sprint Cars in attendance, the KKR No. 49 ended up going out late in the qualifying order, timing in 11th overall with a lap time of 13.039. Due to the eight car invert, Sweet rolled off sixth in the third heat race, crossing the finish line in second. The team sat first overall in Jackson Nationals points after heat race competition. Sweet rolled out fifth for the six lap Fast Pass Dash to determine his starting spot for the main event. The NAPA AUTO PARTS car went onto finish third in the dash, where they would later start from in the main event. After 30-laps around Jackson Motorplex, Sweet came home fourth and locked himself into the King of the Hill for Saturday night’s Jackson Nationals finale.
Jackson, Minnesota, got hit hard with rain Saturday, forcing the $50,000 to win 43rd Annual AGCO Jackson Nationals finale to be postponed until Sunday evening. The No. 49 car went into the finale tied for second in overall points and a chance to run the King of Hill Qualifying. Sweet found himself qualifying in the second King of the Hill round, where he put down a lap time of 13.179. That put him third quick overall in that group, not quite enough to move onto the third round. The NAPA AUTO PARTS, KKR No. 49 started fifth in the $50,000 to win finale, coming home a couple spots shy of the big prize with a third place finish.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the World of Outlaws travel to Cedar Lake Speedway for two night’s of racing in New Richmond, Wisconsin, Friday and Saturday night. Last year, Sweet and the NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 swept the weekend, pocketing $40,000.
Start/Finish-
Monday- Huset’s Speedway
Qualifying- 3rd
Heat- 2nd/2nd
Fast Pass Dash- 6th/4th
Feature- 4th/4th
Tuesday- Huset’s Speedway
Qualifying- 5th
Heat- 3rd/1st
Fast Pass Dash- 6th/6th
Feature- 6th/2nd
Thursday- Jackson Motorplex
Qualifying- 4th
Heat- 8th/2nd
Fast Pass Dash- 8th/7th
Feature- 7th/7th
Friday- Jackson Motorplex
Qualifying- 11th
Heat- 6th/2nd
Fast Pass Dash- 5th/3rd
Feature- 3rd/4th
Sunday- Jackson Motorplex
King of the Hill Round Two- 3rd
Feature- 5th/3rd
Points Standings- 1st (5,322 points) +60
Next Races-
Friday, July 2- Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, WI
Saturday, July 3- Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, WI
Team Website- www.kaseykahneracing.com
Watch live- www.dirtvision.com