At A Glance: Brad Sweet Builds Consistency through 2015 Seasons First Third
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series takes on the Dirt Track at Charlotte and Lawrenceburg Speedway
CONCORD, N.C. – May 21, 2015 – Brad Sweet, the reigning Kevin Grobecht Rookie of the Year recipient, entered 2015 with a new crew chief and a goal to build consistency and success.
With 27 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series races in the books, Sweet sits third in the points and has two wins on the year – one at Volusia Speedway Park during DIRTcar Nationals and another at Calistoga Speedway. By any measure, the year has so far been successful for the second year team – especially when considering at this point last year, they sat sixth in the championship standings.
Sweet though continues to look ahead and focus on improving as the months wear on.
“I feel like we’re doing a little bit better but we’re not where we want to be, obviously,” Sweet said. “Everybody is chasing the 15 at this point and I think for us, we’d just like to get a little bit more consistent for that second or third spot in points. Some of these tracks were a lot worse for us last year and we’ve done a little better this year. We’re steadily getting better.”
When you look at the competition, Sweet said, there are very few series competitors who are maintaining the right balance every night. Donny Schatz, with 10 wins so far this year and a perch atop the standings, is obviously one of those drivers he said, and Shane Stewart has been right behind.
For Sweet, the new year meant gelling with new crew chief Mike Carber and new crew members Austin Wenrich and Rob Beattie. The process has been an easy one, Sweet said.
“We have a good little team,” Sweet said of his No. 49 crew. “We’re tight with the 9 team – KKR, as a whole group, we’re pretty close. We all rely on each other and work together. They’re an upbeat group of guys which is good. You need that out here to get through the bad nights. They help me and I help them. We’re just trying really hard and we’re just trying to get better.”
As he looks to build on the season’s success one of the biggest challenges facing his Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb team is successfully getting through the grueling summer months.
“That’s the time that’s going to make or break you,” Sweet said. “That’s where the money is made, that’s where all the points are made. We will just keep working hard. We’re a young team – we’ve shown a lot of promise. We’d like to win some more races of course and see what we can do.”