2021 All HammerDown! Team – December 30, 2021. Rocklin, CA. HammerDownUSA.com, today, named the 2021 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. Drivers must finish in the top eleven positions in an A-Feature to score points. This year there were 161 drivers that earned points at the biggest races in the United States.
“The talent pool in racing today is so deep,” said Bobby Gerould, editor of HammerDownUSA.com. “Any driver that made the top-40 should be proud.”
Two drivers continued their streak of making the All-HammerDown! Team in each of the 19 years since the honor was created in 2003. The legendary duo is Daryn Pittman, and Donny Schatz. Three drivers made the All-HammerDown! team for the first time in their careers: Justin Peck, Hunter Schuerenberg, and Zeb Wise. The age range of the 40-driver team extends from Wise at age 19 to Lance Dewease at age 56.
The 2021 All-HammerDown! Team is dedicated to the memory of Bobby Marshall, an ‘original outlaw’ that was consistently supportive of our HammerDown! endeavors.
The 19th annual All-HammerDown! Team, in alphabetical order:
- Rico Abreu – St. Helena, CA. – Age 29. Rico made the All-HammerDown! Team for the ninth year in a row. He won four feature events between winged Sprint Cars and midgets. Rico won his preliminary night at the Chili Bowl (Tulsa Expo Raceway, Tulsa, OK.), and he took home the All-Star’s feature at the Four Crown Nationals (Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH.). Abreu also won the Friday night feature at the Trophy Cup (Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, CA.).
- Jacob Allen – Hanover, PA. – Age 27. Allen made the All-HammerDown! Team for the fourth time in his career. He finished tenth in World of Outlaws points with 20 top-ten WoO runs. Allen had a nice charge at the King’s Royal (Eldora) where he started 24th and finished ninth. He was on the podium at the Outlaws’ late August stop at Huset’s Speedway (Brandon, SD.)
- Brady Bacon – Broken Arrow, OK. – Age 31. Bacon made the All-HammerDown! Team for the 12th time in his career. Bacon won the USAC National Sprint Car Championship for the fourth time. He finished in the top-five in 86% of all the USAC National Sprint Car events. He was runner-up in the USAC Nationals at Huset’s. Bacon scored points with a wing on as well, finishing seventh at the Indiana All-Star Sprint Invasion (Circle City Raceway, Indianapolis, IN.).
- Spencer Bayston – Lebanon, IN. – Age 23. Bayston won four races in 2021 and each of them generated BIG headlines. He won the Brad Doty Classic and the Attica Ambush (Attica Raceway Park, Attica, OH.) Bayston also captured the Lou Blaney Memorial (Sharon Speedway, Sharon, OH.) and the Nittany Showdown (Port Royal Raceway, Port Royal, PA.)
- Brian Brown – Grain Valley, MO. – Age 43. Brown scored his eleventh consecutive All-HammerDown! Team honor. He won eight, winged Sprint Car A-mains across four states in 2021 (Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Pennsylvania). He won his preliminary night at the Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA.), and was on the podium at the World Finals (The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Concord, NC.).
- Tyler Courtney – Indianapolis, IN. - Age 27. “Sunshine” won the first of two King’s Royal’s at Eldora Speedway worth $175,000! He captured 14 feature wins overall in 2021, showing the diversity that defines a Racer’s Racer. Courtney won nine times in a winged Sprint Car, three times in a Sprint Car without a wing, and once each in a midget and Silver Crown car. This is Courtney’s fifth straight All-HammerDown! selection.
- Lance Dewease – Fayetteville, PA. – Age 56. Dewease won both the Weikert Memorial ($29,000 at Port Royal) and the Mitch Smith Memorial (Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA.) in 2021. The Hall of Fame member (2018) took home eight checkered flags between ‘The Grove’ and Port Royal. Dewease raced 46 events and finished in the top-five 31 times! This is his 12th All-HammerDown! selection.
- Danny Dietrich – Gettysburg, PA. – Age 33. Dietrich earned All-HammerDown! status for the ninth year in a row. He won six A-Mains in 2021 between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Dietrich posted several impressive runner-up finishes in BIG races. He was runner-up at the World of Outlaws season opening event, as well as the King’s Royal, The Mitch Smith Memorial, and the Jim Nace Memorial (Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove, PA.).
- Cory Eliason – Selma, CA. – Age 30. Eliason made the All-HammerDown! Team for the fifth time in his career. He finished as runner-up in the final All-Star Circuit of Champions points, winning two A-Mains in the series. Eliason added a victory in a 360 at Knoxville, IA. He was on the podium at the Simone Classic (Keller Auto Speedway, Hanford, CA.).
- Shane Golobic – Fremont, CA. – Age 30. Golobic made the All-HammerDown! Team for the fourth time. “Sugar Shane” won the Anthony Simone Classic and the 61st running of the Johnny Key Classic (Ocean Speedway, Watsonville, CA.). Golobic scored nine, winged Sprint Car victories, all coming in the Golden State (Bakersfield, Hanford, Petaluma, Placerville, Stockton, and Watsonville).
- Justin Grant – Ione, CA. – Age 31. Grant made the All-HammerDown! Team for the fifth year in a row. He started 2021 with a runner-up finish in the Chili Bowl. Grant scored BIG wins in the Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo (Kokomo Speedway, Kokomo, IN.), and in the Hangtown 100 (Midgets at Placerville Speedway, Placerville, CA.). A model of consistent greatness, Grant finished third in USAC National Midget, Silver Crown, and Sprint Car points.
- David Gravel – Watertown, CT. – Age 29. Gravel, the runner-up in World of Outlaws points, made the All-HammerDown! Team for the tenth year in-a-row. Highlights for Gravel included wins in the Outlaws return to Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, TN.), and at the World Finals. Gravel captured eleven WoO features in 2021 (14 wins overall), and he finished in the top-five 41 times!
- Sheldon Haudenschild – Wooster, OH. – Age 28. Sheldon finished sixth in World of Outlaws points, winning eight WoO A-Mains (nine overall), with 35 top-five WoO finishes. He highlighted his season by sweeping the Ironman 55 (I-55 Raceway, Pevely, MO.). Sheldon also captured his first career win at Williams Grove. This is Haudenschild’s seventh straight All-HammerDown! selection.
- Cap Henry – Bellevue, OH. - Age 31. Henry won two All-Star features in 2021 on his way to his second consecutive All-HammerDown! selection. He finished sixth in All-Stars points with ten top-five finishes in All-Star sanctioned events. Henry was runner-up in Fremont Speedway’s Jim and JoAnne Ford Classic (Fremont, OH.).
- Kraig Kinser – Age 37. Kraig made his 14th career All-HammerDown! Team. He finished eighth in World of Outlaws points, with four top-five finishes. Kraig was runner-up on the opening night of the Outlaws’ April stop at I-55 Speedway. Kinser finished fifth on the opening night of the Gold Cup (Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA.). He scored 20 top-ten finishes and competed in every WoO race.
- Buddy Kofoid – Penngrove, CA. – Age 20. Kofoid won a hotly contested 2021 USAC National Midget championship. His excellent season included the points championships at Indiana Midget Week, as well as the Trophy Cup. Kofoid was runner-up at both the Hangtown 100, and the Turkey Night Grand Prix (Ventura Raceway, Ventura, CA.).
- Kyle Larson – Elk Grove, CA. – Age 29. Larson earned his tenth All-HammerDown! honor in another amazing season. He won the Chili Bowl, a King’s Royal, and the Knoxville Nationals! He added a Front Row Challenge victory (Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA.) worth $21,000, as well as a $20,000 victory in the K-C Classic (Atomic Speedway, Chillicothe, OH.). In Winged Sprint Cars and Midgets, Larson posted 18 feature event wins despite running only when time allowed in his NASCAR schedule. Oh, by the way, he won the NASCAR Cup Championship too.
- Carson Macedo – Lemoore, CA. – Age 25. Macedo won the Williams Grove National Open on his way to earning his sixth All-HammerDown! Team selection. He was runner-up in Racer’s Racing Series points. Macedo won the June stop at Knoxville with the World of Outlaws, as well as the $21,000 to-win Tarlton Classic at Hanford, CA. He finished third in WoO points with eleven wins and a strong 65 top-ten finishes.
- Anthony Macri – Dillsburg, PA. – Age 22. Macri made the All-HammerDown! Team for the second consecutive year. He won the Jim Nace Memorial to highlight his season. Macri won eleven features in 2021 and he was on the podium at multiple BIG races at Port Royal. He made his first run in California, finishing seventh in the final Trophy Cup points.
- Ian Madsen – Saint Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia. – Age 37. Ian made the All-HammerDown! Team for the seventh time in his career. He won the opening night of Ohio Sprint Speedweek at Attica to highlight his season. Ian had three, top-five finishes with the World of Outlaws, and ten, top-five runs with the All-Stars.
- Kerry Madsen – Saint Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia. – Age 50. Madsen is the all-time international leader in making the All-HammerDown! Team. 2021 marks Kerry’s 15th selection. Kerry won seven A-mains in 62 races. He won three times with the World of Outlaws and twice with the All-Stars this season. He was runner-up in the first of the two World Finals features.
- Brent Marks – Meyerstown, PA. - Age 31. Marks had a fantastic season, winning the Summer Nationals (Williams Grove), The Greg Hodnett Classic (Port Royal), and a World Finals A-Main. He finished sixth in the Knoxville Nationals. Marks won 14 feature events, and raced into the top-five 32 times in 84 starts. This is Marks’ seventh career All-HammerDown! honor.
- James McFadden - Ormeau, Queensland, Australia. - Age 32. McFadden finished seventh in World of Outlaws points, winning two A-Mains with the series. He scored 20 top-five WoO finishes. McFadden won the Outlaws’ race at Kokomo as well as the preliminary night of the Skagit Nationals (Skagit Speedway, Alger. WA.). J-Mac was runner-up in the Iron Man 55, and the Gold Cup.
- Paul McMahan – Nashville, TN. – Age 51. McMahan won the Dean Knittel Memorial (Portsmouth Raceway Park, Portsmouth, OH.), scoring a lucrative $17,554 win. He finished fifth with the World of Outlaws in their return to Bristol, TN. He scored enough Racer’s Racing Series points to secure his 17th All-HammerDown! honor despite missing the last three months of the season with a concussion suffered at the Knoxville Nationals.
- Justin Peck – Monrovia, IN. – Age 23. Peck earned his first All-HammerDown! selection. He won the Dirt Classic at Lincoln Speedway (Abbottstown, PA.) that paid $20,000 to-win. He was on the podium at the Mitch Smith Memorial, the Ford Classic (Fremont, OH.), and with the World of Outlaws at Kokomo, Peck finished seventh in All-Star Circuit of Champions points winning four features on the season.
- Daryn Pittman – Owasso, OK. – Age 43. Pittman ran an extremely limited schedule in 2021 but still scored well enough at BIG events to make his 19th All-HammerDown! Team. He won the opening night of the Tuscarora 50 (Port Royal). Pittman was runner-up in the 360 Nationals, and on the podium at the King’s Royal. Pittman finished fifth to open the season at the Chili Bowl. Pittman is one of two drivers to make every All-HammerDown! Team (The other is Donny Schatz).
- Parker Price-Miller – Kokomo, IN. – Age 23. “PPM” made the All-HammerDown! Team for the third time in his career. He won three, winged Sprint Car feature events in 2021 including the Atomic Blast (Chillicothe, OH.). Among his best BIG race finishes, Price-Miller was eighth with the Outlaws at Kokomo, and eighth in the Jackson Nationals (Jackson Motorplex, Jackson, MN.).
- Aaron Reutzel – Clute, TX. – Age 31. Reutzel won six features on the season including the Morgan Cup ($15,000 at Williams Grove) and the Huset’s 50 ($30,000) that highlighted his 2021. He captured events in Florida, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. This is Reutzel’s sixth All-HammerDown! selection.
- Gio Scelzi – Fresno, CA. – Age 20. Scelzi won the 360 Nationals at Knoxville in a five-win 2021 season. Scelzi finished fourth in the Knoxville Nationals. He was runner-up in the Morgan Cup at Williams Grove in May. Despite running a partial schedule, Scelzi posted eleven top-five finishes in WoO competition. This is Gio’s fourth consecutive All-HammerDown! selection.
- Donny Schatz – Fargo, ND. - Age 44. Schatz finished fourth in World of Outlaws points, posting a remarkable 47 top-five finishes with the Greatest Show on Dirt. He won five features in five different states in 2021 (two with the All-Stars, three with WoO). Schatz was runner-up in the Knoxville Nationals. Schatz is one of only two drivers (Daryn Pittman is the other) to make every All-HammerDown! Team since it was conceived in 2003.
- Logan Schuchart – Hanover, PA. – Age 29. Schuchart finished fifth in World of Outlaws points, winning seven feature events. Among his finest moments with the Outlaws were wins in the DIRTCar Nationals (Volusia, FL.), the Jackson Nationals, The Gold Cup, and at Devils Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX.). The Jackson Nationals win paid $50,000. Schuchart was runner-up in the 2021 Williams Grove National Open.
- Hunter Schuerenberg – Sikeston, MO. – Age 32. Schuerenberg made the All-HammerDown! Team for the first time in his career. He won his first career All-Star Circuit of Champions feature (Stateline, NY.) in July. He finished third in All-Star points. He was runner-up at both the KC Classic and the Dean Knittel Memorial.
- Logan Seavey – Sutter, CA. – Age 24. Seavey earned his third All-HammerDown! selection. Seavey’s season was highlighted by a win in the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix. He finished second in Indiana Midget Week points, third at the Hangtown 100, and he was tenth at the Chili Bowl. Seavey added Silver Crown driving to his agenda in 2021, winning Rookie of the Year in the series with a stout, runner-up points result.
- Brad Sweet – Grass Valley, CA. – Age 35. Sweet won the Racer’s Racing Series points and the World of Outlaws championship in 2021. He was triumphant in 17 total feature events on the season, including the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup (Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA.). He finished third in the Knoxville Nationals. Sweet is one of only eight drivers who have made the All-HammerDown! Team at least 15 times.
- Kevin Thomas Jr. – Cullman, AL. – Age 30. Thomas earned his sixth All-HammerDown! honor. He won two of the biggest non-wing Sprint Car races of the year; the Haubstadt Hustler (Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, IN.) and the Perris Oval Nationals (Perris Auto Speedway, Perris, CA.). “KTJ” finished as runner-up in USAC National Sprint Car points. He was eighth in USAC National Midget points.
- Tanner Thorson – Minden, NV. – Age 25. Thorson made the All-HammerDown! Team for the third time in his career. He finished fourth in USAC National Sprint Car points in his first full season with the series. He was fifth in USAC National Midget points. Highlights of his season included a third-place finish at the Chili Bowl, and a runner-up result in the Sprint Car at the Smackdown.
- Logan Wagner – Harrisonville, PA. - Age 31. Wagner earned his third consecutive All-HammerDown! Team acknowledgement. He won the Tuscarora 50, and the Keith Kauffman Classic at Port Royal. The Tuscarora 50 win was worth $54,000! Wagner entered 32 races on the season and he was in the top-ten in 75% of those events, with 17 top-five finishes.
- Chris Windom – Canton, IL. – Age 30. Windom earned his eleventh career All-HammerDown! selection. He started the season with a sixth-place finish in the Chili Bowl, and highlighted his season with a win in the midget portion of the USAC Nationals at Huset’s. Windom was also on the podium in the Sprint Car USAC Nationals. He was runner-up in USAC National Midget points.
- Zeb Wise – Angola, IN. - Age 19. Wise made his first All-HammerDown! Team. He won the Rayce Rudeen Foundation event at Kokomo, good for $26,000! Wise captured three A-Main victories, two of which were All-Star sanctioned. He finished fourth in All-Star points, and he was on the podium at the Dirt Classic at Lincoln.
- Brock Zearfoss – Jonestown, PA. – Age 31. The “Jonestown Jet” made the All-HammerDown! Team for the third year in-a-row. He finished ninth in World of Outlaws points, posting 23 top-ten finishes with the series. He closed the season with a runner-up result at the World Finals. Zearfoss won the winged 360 Copper Classic (Arizona Speedway, Queen Creek, AZ.) to highlight his 2021 campaign. He finished seventh in the Outlaws’ Bristol, TN. stop.
Sources: AllStarSprint.com, Tyler Altmeyer, Facebook, KnoxvilleRaceway.com, Richie Murray, Sprint Car Ratings (Bill Vaneslow), TJSlideways.com, USACRacing.com, Brian Walker, WorldofOutlaws.com.
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