BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Daryn Pittman drove to the win in a caution-free thriller in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series opener at Florida’sVolusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals on Friday night.
Pittman, who led two sprint car races this week at Volusia only to finish second, reversed his fortune Friday when he chased down Shane Stewart with five laps to go and held him off to the checkered flag.
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell raced to a third place finish, completing the World of Outlaws’ first all Oklahoma-native podium in the series’ 41-year history.
“I made some mistakes the first two nights and feel like we gave up a few spots, but we were a lot better tonight,” said Pittman, who is the overall DIRTcar Nationals championship leader in his quest for a third Big Gator trophy. “We got beat on the bottom the first couple of nights and I felt really good down there the first few laps and I kind of felt like that’s where the track was going to go. It was hard to stay patient and tell myself to stay down there and stick with it and luckily it worked out.
“When I was sitting there running fourth that top looked tempting, I wanted to get up there, but my car just felt good and I needed to stay patient and be there at the end. Finally, we had really good balance from beginning to end.”
Kasey Kahne Racing’s Brad Sweet finished in fourth, with and Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz in fifth.
David Gravel, Brian Brown, Lucas Wolfe, Carson Macedo, and Cory Eliason rounded out the top ten.
In DIRTcar UMP Modified action, the 92-car field was split into five features based on points earned this week at Volusia. The feature winners were Jesse Rupe, Brandon Green, Gordy Gundaker, Justin Haley and R.C. Whitwell.
Action in the DIRTcar Nationals continues on Saturday, featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Cars and the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds. For more information, visit DIRTcarNationals.com.
DIRTcar Nationals
Volusia Speedway Park – Barberville, FL
WoO NOS Sprint Car Series – February 8, 2019
1. Daryn Pittman
2. Shane Stewart
3. Christopher Bell
4. Brad Sweet
5. Donny Schatz
6. David Gravel
7. Brian Brown
8. Lucas Wolfe
9. Carson Macedo
10. Cory Eliason
11. Aaron Reutzel
12. Logan Schuchart
13. Parker Price-Miller
14. Paul McMahan
15. Kraig Kinser
16. Spencer Bayston
17. Ian Madsen
18. Sheldon Haudenschild
19. Shane Golobic
20. Jason Sides
21. Cale Conley
22. Brent Marks
23. Brock Zearfoss
24. Jacob Allen
25. Mason Daniel
26. Tim Shaffer
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
Feature Winners
Jesse Rupe
Brandon Green
Gordy Gundaker
Justin Haley
R.C. Whitwell
