HURON — The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series is returning to Dakota State Fair Speedway.
An unforeseen opening in the 2017 season schedule is allowing the nation’s top sprint car racing series to make its second stop at the Huron oval on July 1. It will be the only appearance for the World of Outlaws in South Dakota this season.
“We wanted to do this show last year; we’ve been trying to get back to Huron on a Saturday, which is Orville’s (Chenoweth) normal night, and it just hasn’t worked with our schedule. “With this change in our scheduled it worked out that we could come, so we’re glad to be back there on a Saturday night,” said Larry Hillerud of SLS Promotions, LLC. “It’s always great to work with him, he’s been at it along time. It’s always fun to come up there and work with a guy that has been around that long and knows what he is doing. We’re looking forward to it.”
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series made its first appearance at DSFS in 2015. Chenoweth, who has been the promoter at the Huron track for 20-plus years, is looking forward to its return.
“The fans really enjoyed them last time in 2015, so to be able to bring the series back right before the Fourth of July will be a great lead-in to the holiday,” he said.
Eight-time and defending World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D., earned the win during the 2015 event at DSFS.
Schatz is the current points leader for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and is one of 16 full-time drivers currently following the series. Out of those 16 drivers, 11 raced at the Huron oval during the 2015 event.
Nine drivers have visited Victory Lane this season in the series, with Schatz amassing nine wins thus far. David Gravel, who is second in the standings, has eight wins, while Brad Sweet and Jason Johnson each have a pair of wins and are third and fourth, respectively, in the standings. Daryn Pittman, who led the first nine laps of the 30-lap feature race at DSFS in 2015, rounds out the top five in the current standings.

Advanced tickets for the July 1 event are not yet available but will be shortly, according to Hillerud.
“Tickets will be available in about week. We will notify all the people that bought tickets before. Anyone wanting tickets will be able to go to SLSpromotions.com or call 815-344-2023 during normal business hours,” he said. “Everything should be up and running before the end of next week. It’s a little bit of a short notice, but it is better than nothing.”
Currently, the World of Outlaws Craftman Sprint Car Series is scheduled to race at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on June 29 before heading to Huron for the July 1 show.
“If at all possible, we’ll try to get somebody here with a car for fans to check out a little bit earlier,” Chenoweth said.
For more on Dakota State Fair Speedway, visit www.dakotapromotions.com.