2018 All HammerDown! Team – December 31, 2018. Rocklin, CA.HammerDownUSA.com, today, named the 2018 All-HammerDown! Team. Brad Sweet, the Champion of the Racer’s Racing Series, heads the list of the 40 driver “team”.
The All-HammerDown! Team includes drivers that finished in the top 40 in HammerDownUSA.com’s Racers’ Racing Series point standings. Points are awarded for a 60-race schedule of big-race events. You have to finish in the top eleven positions in an A-Feature to score points. This year there were 177 drivers that earned points but only the top 40 receive All-HammerDown! status.
Three drivers continued their streak of making the All-HammerDown! Team in each of the 16 years since the honor was created in 2003. The legendary trio is: Daryn Pittman, Joey Saldana, and Donny Schatz. Eight drivers made the All-HammerDown! team for the first time in their careers: Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston, Dave Blaney, Chad Boat, Parker Price-Miller, Freddie Rahmer, Gio Scelzi, and Trey Starks. The age range of the 40 driver team goes from Scelzi at age 17 to Blaney at age 56.
“To me, the All-HammerDown! Team is simply a way to ‘tip my cap’ to a group of drivers that excelled this season,” said Bobby Gerould, editor of HammerDownUSA.com. “We tinkered with the points system this time around, making it even tougher to score points. The results delivered a diverse group of 40 drivers that, I think, any race fan would love to watch do their thing.” Gerould continued, “From the beginning, in 2003, when we started this deal, it was meant to highlight the highest paying races and at the same time encourage drivers to challenge themselves by traveling to different tracks across the country.”
The 2018 All-HammerDown! Team is dedicated to the memory of two GREAT racers, Greg Hodnett and Jason Johnson. Hodnett was an eleven-time member of the All-HammerDown! Team. Johnson made it a dozen times.
The 16th annual All-HammerDown! Team, in alphabetical order:
- Rico Abreu – St. Helena, CA. – Age 26. Abreu won the 2018 Gold Cup Race of Champions (Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA.) on his way to his sixth consecutive All-HammerDown! honor. Rico was runner-up in the Chili Bowl (Tulsa Expo Speedway, Tulsa, OK.), as well as a second place finisher on his Knoxville Nationals preliminary night (Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA.). Abreu won five, winged Sprint Car, features in 2018, including the opening night of the Ironman 55 (I-55 Raceway, Pevely, MO.)
- Jacob Allen – Hanover, PA. – Age 24. Allen is one of eight drivers to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the first time. In a year of marked improvement, Jacob finished the season with nine World of Outlaws top-five finishes. He finished fifth at the Ironman 55, sixth at the Kings Royal (Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH.), and sixth at the WoO annual stop at Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, WI.)
- Brady Bacon – Broken Arrow, OK. – Age 28. Bacon made the All-HammerDown! Team for the ninth time in his career. Racing midgets, Sprint Cars, and Silver Crown, Bacon’s biggest win was in the midget at the BC 39 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Speedway, IN.) Bacon finished third in USAC National Midget points, and fifth in USAC National Sprint Car points.
- Spencer Bayston – Lebanon, IN. – Age 20. Bayston earned his first All-HammerDown! honor in a season that highlighted his versatility. He was the Indiana Midget Week champion but also succeeded in a winged Sprint Car, capturing the Dean Knittel Memorial (Atomic Speedway, Chillicothe, OH.). Bayston finished third on the final night of the Chili Bowl and he was fourth in the opening leg of the World Finals (Charlotte Dirt Track, Concord, NC.).
- Christopher Bell – Norman, OK. - Age 24. Bell won two showcase midget events, the Chili Bowl, and Turkey Night (Ventura Raceway, Ventura, CA.), to bookend his fifth All-HammerDown! selection. Outside of his NASCAR duties, Bell won a World of Outlaws feature at Eldora, was fifth in the BC39, and he finished seventh in the Rick Ferkel Classic (Atomic Speedway).
- Dave Blaney – Hartford, OH. – Age 56. The former World of Outlaws champion would have made the All-HammerDown! Team many times had we been honoring drivers in the 90’s. As it turns out, this is Dave’s first All-HD nod. Blaney finished fifth in All-Star points, with one win and a dozen top-fives. He was runner-up at the Rick Ferkel Classic. He finished fifth at Eldora against the World of Outlaws at the Knight Before the Kings Royal.
- Chad Boat – Phoenix, AZ. – Age 26. Boat earned his first All-HammerDown! honor for his outstanding 2018 season. He finished second in USAC National Midget points, and he was runner up in the BC 39. Boat was on the podium at Turkey Night, and he finished third in Indiana Midget Week points. Boat was tenth at the Chili Bowl.
- Brian Brown – Grain Valley, MO. – Age 40. Brown made his eighth straight All-HammerDown! Team on the strength on an eight-win season. He was excellent at Knoxville Raceway, winning seven 410 features. He was on the podium at the Jackson Nationals (Jackson Motorplex, Jackson, MN,) the 360 Nationals at Knoxville, and the Jim Nace Memorial (Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove, PA.).
- Tyler Courtney – Indianapolis, IN. Age 24. Courtney made his second consecutive All-HammerDown! Team. He was the 2018 USAC National Sprint Car champion, while finishing fourth in USAC National Midget points. Courtney won 14 features and finished in the top five, a whopping 46 times. He was runner-up in Indiana Midget Week points, and runner-up at the Sprint Car Smackdown (Kokomo Speedway, Kokomo, IN.).
- Danny Dietrich – Gettysburg, PA. – Age 29. Dietrich earned All-HammerDown! status for the sixth year in a row. He won ten A-Mains on the season and finished in the top-five 33 times. Dietrich’s feature wins all came in his home state (BAPS, Lincoln, Port Royal, Williams Grove). His best points earning event toward All-HammerDown! status was a fourth place finish in the Dirt Classic V, at Lincoln Speedway (Abbottstown, PA.).
- Cole Duncan – Lockbourne, OH. – Age 26. Duncan made the All-HammerDown! Team for the second time in his career. Duncan won the $10,000 to-win Rick Ferkel Classic to close Ohio Speedweek. Duncan also won ten grand during Pennsylvania Speedweek at Path Valley Speedway (Spring Run, PA.). Duncan was runner up in the Dean Knittel Memorial.
- Cory Eliason – Selma, CA. – Age 27. Eliason made the All-HammerDown! Team for the second time in his career. He won World of Outlaws events at Stockton (Stockton Dirt Track, Stockton, CA.), and Calistoga (Calistoga Speedway, Calistoga, CA.). He was on the podium at the Kings Royal (Rossburg, OH.), the Gold Cup and the Trophy Cup (Tulare, CA.).
- Justin Grant – Ione, CA. – Age - 28. Grant had another stellar season, winning the Sumar Classic Silver Crown event at Terre Haute, as well as the Smackdown at Kokomo. Grant finished in the top-eight in all of the three premier USAC National divisions in 2018 (2nd in Silver Crown, 8th in Sprint Car, 7th in Midget). Grant won his preliminary night at the Chili Bowl and finished seventh on the final night.
- David Gravel – Watertown, CT. – Age 26. Gravel made the All-HammerDown! Team for the seventh consecutive year. He finished third in the World of Outlaws final point standings, winning five features. Gravel won the WoO June stop at Knoxville Raceway and he finished tenth in the Knoxville Nationals. He was runner-up on opening night of the National Open (Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA.). He completed his season with 29 WoO top-fives.
- Sheldon Haudenschild – Wooster, OH. – Age 25. “Young Sheldon” finished seventh in World of Outlaws points, winning five A-Mains, with 18 top-five finishes. His best points earning moments in RRS points races included a second in the WoO stop at Las Vegas in March (Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Las Vegas, NV.), and a runner-up at the 49’er Gold Rush Classic (Placerville Speedway, Placerville, CA.). Haudenschild finished third at the Knight Before the Kings Royal.
- Tim Kaeding – San Jose, CA. – Age 40. “TK” earned his 15th All-HammerDown! selection in a season that saw him finish fifth in the Knoxville Nationals, and second at the Gold Cup. He won the Gold Cup’s Civil War show and finished fifth with the World of Outlaws at Stockton, CA. Kaeding was also fifth in the Peter Murphy Classic (Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, CA.).
- Chad Kemenah – Findlay, OH. – Age 47. Kemenah finished third in All-Star Circuit of Champions points. He won three A-Mains in 2018, and he was on the podium at the Sprint Car World Championship race (Mansfield Motor Speedway, Mansfield, OH.). Kemenah finished seventh in the Knoxville Nationals. This is Kemenah’s 12th All-HammerDown! selection.
- Kyle Larson – Elk Grove, CA. Age 26. Larson showed his desire to compete by running a handful of races on the dirt as his NASCAR schedule permitted. He won the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville (Sarver, PA.), and the Front Row Challenge (Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA.). Larson was runner-up at the Brad Doty Classic (Attica Raceway Park, Attica, OH.), and the Turkey Night Grand Prix. He finished third in the Knoxville Nationals.
- C.J. Leary – Greenfield, IN. – Age 22. Leary won six A-Mains in 2018 on his way to his second All-HammerDown! selection. He finished fourth in Indiana Sprint Week points, and sixth in USAC National Sprint Car points. He was on the podium at both the Haubstadt Hustler (Tri State Speedway, Haubstadt, IN.) and the Smackdown at Kokomo. Leary finished fifth at the Sumar Classic Silver Crown race at Terre Haute, IN.
- Carson Macedo – Lemoore, CA. – Age 22. Macedo’s fantastic, nine-win, 2018 season included major “road wins”; such as the Dirt Classic at Attica. He won features in five different states (CA., IA, NY, OH, PA.). Macedo was runner-up at the Knoxville 360 Nationals, and he finished sixth in the Knoxville Nationals. This is his third All-HammerDown! Team selection.
- Ian Madsen – Saint Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia. – Age 34. Madsen finished as the highest ranked international driver in the Racer’s Racing Series in 2018. Ian won the opening leg of the World Finals (Charlotte Dirt Track, Concord, NC.). Madsen was named the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year with the World of Outlaws. He was eighth in WoO points. He finished eleventh at the Knoxville Nationals.
- Kerry Madsen – Saint Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia. – Age 47. Madsen is the all-time international leader in making the All-HammerDown! Team. 2018 marks Kerry’s 12th selection. His best runs included a World of Outlaws win at Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, WI.), and an All-Star checkered flag in Jackson, MN. He won eight features in the United States overall.
- Paul McMahan – Hendersonville, TN. – Age 48. McMahan earned his 15th career All-HammerDown! selection. He won the Ohio Speedweek opening race at Attica, and captured a victory in Dundee, NY. McMahan finished in the top-ten at both the Kings Royal and the Williams Grove National Open.
- Daryn Pittman – Owasso, OK. – Age 40. Pittman is one of just three drivers to make every All-HammerDown! Team. He finished fourth in World of Outlaws points in 2018, winning nine WoO A-Mains, in nine different states! Pittman finished second on the final night of the Williams Grove National Open.
- Parker Price-Miller – Kokomo, IN. Age 20. ”PPM” is one of eight drivers to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the first time. He started 76 events in 2018, winning twice, and finishing in the top-five 16 times. Price-Miller scored an eighth place result at the Sprint Car World Championship (Mansfield, OH.).
- Freddie Rahmer – Salfordville, PA. – Age 22. …Freddie made the All-HammerDown! Team for the first time in his career. The Pennsylvania gasser won his first World of Outlaws feature event this season (Lincoln Speedway in July). Rahmer was runner-up at two of PA’s biggest events, the Jim Nace Memorial and the Tuscarora 50 (Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA.).
- Aaron Reutzel – Clute, TX. – Age 28. …Reutzel won the All-Star Circuit of Champions points title in 2018. He captured eleven wins on the season, including nine with the All-Stars, and one victory with the World of Outlaws. Reutzel finished fourth in the Knoxville Nationals. He was runner-up at the Sprint Car World Championship race in Mansfield, OH.
- Joey Saldana – Brownsburg, IN. – Age 46. …Saldana was on the podium at the Brad Doty Classic, and he finished fourth in the 360 Nationals at Knoxville. Joey had six top-five runs with the World of Outlaws on the season. Saldana is one of three drivers to make the All-HammerDown! Team in all 16 years of its existence.
- Gio Scelzi – Fresno, CA. – Age 17. Scelzi, who just turned 17 years-old, established himself as one of the top Sprint Car drivers in the nation. Scelzi won the opening night of the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, and he finished fourth on his preliminary night at the Knoxville Nationals. He became the youngest ever (16 at the time) to start the Nationals’ Saturday Night A-Main. Scelzi was runner-up in the final Trophy Cup points (Tulare, CA.).
- Donny Schatz – Fargo, ND. - Age 41. Another amazing season for Schatz netted him his tenth World of Outlaws championship. He won the Kings Royal for the third year in a row. He snared the Jackson Nationals, the Brad Doty Classic, the Tuscarora 50, and the World Finals as well. Schatz finished second at the Knoxville Nationals. The final victory tally for his work on USA soil showed 22 WoO sanctioned wins.
- Logan Schuchart – Hanover, PA. – Age 26. Schuchart’s fourth consecutive All-HammerDown! nod comes after a sixth place finish in the 2018 World of Outlaws point standings. Schuchart won two WoO A-Mains, and posted 24 top-five finishes. He took home the prestigious Ironman 55 trophy, and he finished eighth in the Knoxville Nationals. Schuchart closed his season with a strong runner-up at the World Finals.
- Tim Shaffer – Aliquippa, PA. – Age 51. Shaffer had a season to remember. The “Steel City Outlaw” won the late-April, Sprint Car World Championship feature event ($100,000 to-win) at Mansfield Motor Speedway. Shaffer also padded his wallet with a $27,000 win at the Dirt Classic V (Lincoln Speedway). Shaffer won features in three states (Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania) among them, the Pete Jacobs Memorial (Wayne County Speedway, Orrville, OH.).
- Ryan Smith – Kunkletown, PA. – Age 30. The “Kunkletown Kid” made the All-HammerDown! Team for the third time in his career. Smith won two A-Mains in All-Star Circuit of Champions competition. His biggest score was the Jim Nace Memorial. He also showed he could win “on the road” by capturing an All-Star victory at Angell Park Speedway in Wisconsin. He finished fifth on the final night of the Williams Grove National Open.
- Trey Starks – Puyallup, WA. – Age 23. Starks earned his first career All-HammerDown! honor. He won four A-Mains in 76 starts in 2018, including the opening night of Pennsylvania Speedweek at Williams Grove. His best points earning moments in Racer’s Racing Series events were a pair of sixth place finishes at the National Open (night one) and the Dirt Classic V at Lincoln Speedway.
- Shane Stewart – Bixby, OK. – Age 42. Stewart made the All-HammerDown! Team for the 15th time in his career. He finished fifth in the World of Outlaws point standings with one feature win (Eldora) and 18 top-fives. Stewart was on the podium at the Front Row Challenge (Oskaloosa, IA.), and he finished ninth in the Knoxville Nationals. Stewart is one of six drivers to make the All-HD Team 15 times.
- Brad Sweet – Grass Valley, CA. – Age 32. Sweet had a spectacular year. The Racer’s Racing Series high points earner won the Knoxville Nationals, and was on the podium at BIG races such as the Kings Royal and the World Finals. Sweet won at his home track (Placerville, CA.) in the 49’er Gold Rush Classic, one of his nine World of Outlaws victories on the season. Sweet finished sixth at the Chili Bowl, showing he can still wheel a midget with the best.
- Kevin Thomas Jr. – Cullman, AL. – Age 27. Thomas earned his fourth career All-HammerDown! selection following a 21-win 2018 season. “KTJ” was fast from the first green flag, finishing ninth at the Chili Bowl. He won BIG races in Indiana and California by snaring the Haubstadt Hustler (Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, IN.), and the Perris Oval Nationals (Perris, CA.). Thomas had runner-up finishes in the Silver Crown ranks at DuQuoin, and Springfield. He finished third in the BC39.
- Tanner Thorson – Minden, NV. – Age 22. Thorson garnered his second All-HammerDown! Team honor. He finished fourth in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals A-Main, and he won nine features on the season. Thorson won in midgets, as well as winged Sprint Cars. He captured the 58th running of the Johnny Key Classic at Ocean Speedway (Watsonville, CA.). Thorson also made his debut in the NASCAR Truck series in 2018.
- Chris Windom – Canton, IL. – Age 27. Windom earned his eighth career All-HammerDown! nod on the strength of his outstanding Silver Crown prowess, and his Indiana Sprint Week Championship. Windom won both the Ted Horn 100 (DuQuoin, IL.) and the Bettenhausen 100 (Springfield, IL.) in the Silver Crown ranks. Windom won races in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
- Lucas Wolfe – Mechanicsburg, PA. - Age 32. Wolfe captured the Williams Grove Speedway and overall Central Pennsylvania points championships in 2018. Wolfe won the prestigious Weikert Memorial Race at Port Royal, and he finished third on the opening night of the National Open at “The Grove”. He finished 2018 with ten A-Main victories across Pennsylvania and New York.
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Sources: , Jim Allen, AllStarSprint.com, Tyler Altmeyer, The Fresno Bee, Anthony Corini, Troy Hennig, Bryan Householder, Inside Line Promotions, Lance Jennings, Dick Jordan, KevinThomasJr.com, Richie Murray, Petersen Media, SpeedSport.com, SprintSource.com, Gary Thomas, TriStateSpeedway.com, USACRacing.com, Lonnie Wheatley, WorldofOutlaws.com, YorkDispatch.com.