World of Outlaws sprint cars among first to return to competition

The World of Outlaws national sprint car circuit is poised to be the first major North American sports sanctioning body to return to competition in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Outlaws announced they’ll run a no-fans, invitation-only event Friday, May 8 at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. The 48-car field will be limited to full-time Outlaws teams, “as well as local, regional and national stars, following a selection process guided by the World of Outlaws,” the organization said in a release.

That means Carson Macedo of Lemoore, who drives for the Kyle Larson Racing Outlaws team, will be in action. He won one of the last races held before the national sports shutdown went into full effect, March 15 in Pennsylvania.

Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi tweeted that he expects to race along with his brother Gio Scelzi. They’re not Outlaws regulars but they finished 17th and 18th in season points last year to fit one of the invitation criteria.

Cory Eliason of Kingsburg is currently 14th in series points, qualifying him for an invitation. And Outlaws rookie Mason Daniel of Springville tweeted that he’ll race.

Besides not allowing fans (the race will be shown on the DirtVision internet subscription service), Outlaws said all social distancing rules will be followed and participants will be required to use personal protection equipment including face masks.

Knoxville is the home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and the Super Bowl of the sport, the 60th annual Knoxville Nationals scheduled Aug. 12-15.

Racing has already begun to return to tracks in places around the country including last weekend in South Dakota and this weekend in Texas.