World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Trey Starks (DB3 Photo)

KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 7, 2019 – Dozens of people surrounded him. Four women dawning silver crowns and white sashes stood directly behind him like statues. To his right, the 2019 360 Knoxville Nationals winner James McFadden. To his left, the 2017 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Sheldon Haudenschild.

With the microphone up to his mouth Trey Starks admitted with a chuckle, “I don’t even know what’s going on right now.”

The Puyallup, Wash.-native had won his first race at the iconic Knoxville Raceway. Not just any race at the Iowa raceway, either. The Wednesday night event was the opening Qualifying race for the 59th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores.

“I absolutely cannot believe it,” Starks said.

The victory was not only a celebration, but a relief. He and his team have been dealing with bad luck the past couple of weeks, he said. Recently, he failed to transfer to the Feature for Sunday’s Capitani Classic at the raceway, ran out of fuel before the end of Monday’s race at Southern Iowa Speedway and then blew the motor in his 360 Sprint Car on Tuesday at the same track.

Wednesday night was a different story.

He started the night qualifying 15th, which put him in the sixth starting position in the Heat race. He raced his way to fourth-place, grabbing the final transfer spot into the Feature – placing him fourth for the starting line-up.

When the green flag was presented in the Feature, polesitter Mark Dobmeier pulled away with the lead and extended it through turns one and two riding the low line. Behind him, hugging the cushion, Starks powered around the outside of Haudenschild and McFadden to go from fourth to second in the first corner.

Starks and Dobmeier then traded lines. Dobmeier began running high and Starks down low – a line he said he never runs at Knoxville. However, he was making it work. The black and yellow Buffalo Wild Wings No. 13 was growing bigger in his visor every lap.

Nine laps in to the 25-lap Feature Starks dove underneath Dobmeier into turn three and slid up in front of him by the exit of turn four. The lead was then officially his on Lap 10.

“I knew Mark was going to like the top,” Starks said. “I myself like the top. I hardly ever go to the bottom here. Frankly, I’m awful at it. I did OK tonight I guess.”

Starks built a gap between he and Dobmeier, each lap, continuing to run the bottom. And while he pulled away, Dobmeier was had pressure from McFadden for second.

McFadden had a run brewing to drive to the inside of Dobmeier exiting turn four with 13 laps to go, but a caution came out for Scotty Thiel, who spun in turn three.

A few laps after the restart, Dobmeier found himself back on Starks’ bumper. Finding more grip on the high side, Dobemeier went side-by-side with Starks down the front stretch with 10 laps to go.

However, Starks still found enough grip on the bottom to hold off Dobmeier’s attack. He changed his line in turns three and four, sliding up to the high side in front of Dobmeier, killing his run, and driving away.

Four laps later McFadden was able to build up a run again to challenge Dobmeier for second and this time complete the pass. The Australian was then on the hunt for Starks.

While Starks kept his E-Z-GO No. 44 up top, McFadden was slowly gaining on him by placing his Wicked Energy Gum No. 9 on the bottom of the track. However, he hit the inside berm with his left front wheel a couple of times, upsetting the car and hindering his charge for the win.

“We were there if Trey made a mistake, but he didn’t,” McFadden said. “I feel like if the race was longer we would have had a little bit more of a shot. But could’ve would’ve should’ve.”

McFadden ran out of time and had to settle for second. Haudenschild, after having to make a couple of big saves with his car during the race, snuck by Dobmeier in the closing laps to round out the podium. Starks went mistake free and saw the checkered flag for the first time at Knoxville Raceway

“We were solid in Qualifying, put ourselves in a decent spot,” Starks said. “We picked up the positions that we needed to in the Heat and I think we made the right adjustments and I made a couple of key decisions in the Feature that put us here where we are. It’s not miraculous what happened, it’s just not necessarily expected. We were just hoping for a solid night and build some good points.”

He did that, too.

His performance in qualifying, the Heat race and Feature earned him enough points – 463 – to be ranked fifth out of the 53 cars entered in Wednesday’s race.

Fifty-two more cars will compete Thursday night to also collect points. The top 16 in points, combined from the two nights, will lock themselves into the Knoxville Nationals Feature on Saturday. Aaron Reutzel is the current points leader – 487 points – with a second-place qualifying effort, runner-up finish in his Heat race and fifth-place finish in the Feature.

While points were important to Starks, his emotions were too focused on getting his first Knoxville win.

“I just cannot believe it,” an elated Starks said in Victory Lane. “I cannot believe it. We needed this one and tonight was the right time to do it.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Thursday, Aug. 8, will return to Knoxville Raceway for the second Knoxville Nationals Qualifying race. If you can’t be there, make sure to catch all of the action LIVE on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 8/7/19 - Knoxville Raceway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. Trey Starks (4); 2. James McFadden (2); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (3); 4. Mark Dobmeier (1); 5. Aaron Reutzel (8); 6. Brent Marks (6); 7. Tanner Thorson (10); 8. Jac Haudenschild (12); 9. Paul McMahan (7); 10. Tim Kaeding (21); 11. Donny Schatz (24); 12. Gio Scelzi (22); 13. Tasker Phillips (14); 14. Wayne Johnson (13); 15. Austin McCarl (16); 16. Ian Madsen (23); 17. Carson McCarl (15); 18. Spencer Bayston (17); 19. Skylar Gee (20); 20. Justin Peck (9); 21. Jamie Ball (11); 22. Paige Polyak (5); 23. Jeff Swindell (19); 24. Scotty Thiel (18)

Qualifying: 1. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (7), 15.165; 2. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (22), 15.331; 3. 7S, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (15), 15.418; 4. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (2), 15.476; 5. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (17), 15.48; 6. 13X, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (18), 15.515; 7. 83J, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (11), 15.523; 8. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (49), 15.548; 9. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (27), 15.548; 10. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (40), 15.567; 11. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (14), 15.611; 12. 7X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (5), 15.626; 13. 11, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (33), 15.638; 14. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (1), 15.674; 15. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (26), 15.714; 16. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (46), 15.76; 17. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (37), 15.765; 18. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (21), 15.78; 19. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (32), 15.794; 20. 1, Travis Rilat, Heath, TX (47), 15.8; 21. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (6), 15.807; 22. 9, James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Au (44), 15.838; 23. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (8), 15.865; 24. 70X, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (10), 15.871; 25. 88, Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (38), 15.88; 26. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (4), 15.91; 27. 39, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (24), 15.925; 28. 11C, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (41), 15.945; 29. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (3), 15.948; 30. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (23), 15.967; 31. 1X, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (12), 15.971; 32. 3H, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (19), 16.017; 33. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (43), 16.025; 34. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (35), 16.025; 35. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (20), 16.026; 36. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (50), 16.027; 37. 5H, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (52), 16.028; 38. 64, Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (25), 16.034; 39. 7SW, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (45), 16.061; 40. 99X, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (28), 16.068; 41. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (48), 16.071; 42. 51, Freddie Rahmer, Salfordville, PA (51), 16.122; 43. 19T, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (42), 16.184; 44. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (13), 16.203; 45. 74, Brodie Tulloch, Upper Caboolture, QL (9), 16.21; 46. 73AF, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (31), 16.223; 47. J4, John Garvin, Sarver, PA (16), 16.228; 48. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (39), 16.268; 49. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (29), 16.324; 50. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (34), 16.334; 51. 2MM, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (36), 16.34; 52. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (30), 16.695; 53. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (53), No Time

Drydene Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. Jamie Ball (3); 2. Austin McCarl (1); 3. Brent Marks (6); 4. Paul McMahan (7); 5. Kerry Madsen (5); 6. Ian Madsen (8); 7. Chase Johnson (4); 8. Chase Wanner (9); 9. Don Droud Jr. (2); 10. Joey Moughan (10)

Drydene Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild (2); 2. Aaron Reutzel (8); 3. James McFadden (4); 4. Spencer Bayston (1); 5. Logan Schuchart (5); 6. Sammy Swindell (3); 7. Justin Henderson (6); 8. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 9. Freddie Rahmer (9); 10. John Garvin (10)

Drydene Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. Wayne Johnson (2); 2. Scotty Thiel (1); 3. Mark Dobmeier (4); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (5); 5. Tim Kaeding (8); 6. Gio Scelzi (7); 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (9); 8. Roger Crockett (3); 9. Davey Heskin (10); 10. Hunter Schuerenberg (6)

Drydene Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. Tasker Phillips (2); 2. Jeff Swindell (1); 3. Justin Peck (4); 4. Paige Polyak (6); 5. Dominic Scelzi (5); 6. Danny Dietrich (8); 7. Kyle Larson (7); 8. Ryan Roberts (3); 9. Joe Simbro (10); 10. Rusty Hickman (9)

Drydene Heat 5 (10 Laps): 1. Tanner Thorson (4); 2. Carson McCarl (2); 3. Skylar Gee (1); 4. Trey Starks (6); 5. Brady Bacon (8); 6. Donny Schatz (7); 7. Travis Rilat (5); 8. AJ Moeller (3); 9. Jake Bubak (10); 10. Brodie Tulloch (9)

C-Main (10 Laps): 1. Freddie Rahmer (3); 2. Jake Bubak (10); 3. Rusty Hickman (4); 4. Matt Moro (11); 5. Brodie Tulloch (5); 6. Joe Simbro (9); 7. John Garvin (7); 8. Glen Saville (13); 9. Joey Moughan (6); 10. Zach Hampton (12); 11. Hunter Schuerenberg (1); 12. Don Droud Jr. (2); 13. Davey Heskin (8);

Heat Non-qualifiers, 0 Laps, No Time: 1. Matt Moro (1); 2. Zach Hampton (2); 3. Glen Saville (3)

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps): 1. Tim Kaeding (2); 2. Gio Scelzi (6); 3. Ian Madsen (1); 4. Donny Schatz (8); 5. Danny Dietrich (3); 6. Kyle Larson (7); 7. Kerry Madsen (10); 8. Brady Bacon (4); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 10. Dominic Scelzi (12); 11. Justin Henderson (9); 12. Logan Schuchart (11); 13. Sammy Swindell (15); 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (20); 15. Chase Johnson (14); 16. AJ Moeller (18); 17. Rusty Hickman (23); 18. Jake Bubak (22); 19. Ryan Roberts (17); 20. Travis Rilat (13); 21. Chase Wanner (19); 22. Freddie Rahmer (21); 23. Matt Moro (24); 24. Roger Crockett (16)

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Sheldon Haudenschild (DB3 Photo)

PEVELY, MO – Aug. 3, 2019 – Ironman; a title earned, not given.

Earned with the display of great strength. Earned with the display of great endurance. And earned with the display of great will power.

Sheldon Haudenschild displayed all three traits during Saturday's World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Ironman 55 event at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.

On the 70-degree night with 90% humidity, Haudenschild led 45 of the 55 laps in the caution free Feature, sprinted to the finish with an unprecedented 10.3 second lead over runner-up Donny Schatz and lapped up to fifth-place – including Series points leader and Friday night’s winner at the raceway Brad Sweet.

“That right there was just a great car, me feeling comfortable and having a lot of fun,” Haudenschild said.

The fun started for the Wooster, Ohio-native and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team Friday night with a runner-up finish to Sweet in the Night Before the Ironman 35-lap event. Haudenschild then backed up his performance with a second-place finish in his Drydene Heat race, coming to the finish side-by-side with Daryn Pittman. He then charged from fifth to the win in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash – a victory he initially didn’t want.

“I wanted to win the Heat race to get a better draw,” Haudenschild said. “Once I didn’t win the Heat my mindset kind of changed starting in the back of that Dash. I really didn’t want to win the Dash. I was thinking a third-place start would be good to see what they (the leaders) were doing.

“But after the track prep, I think winning the Dash was a good move.”

The entire 1/3-mile track was worked on before the 55-lap Feature, creating a new tacky racing surface.

When the 55-lap Feature went green, Schatz rocketed around the outside of Haudenschild on the exit of the first corner to take the lead. Tim Shaffer did the same the next corner, moving Haudenschild to third.

Five laps into the race – which saw lap times in the low 11 second bracket for the majority of it – Schatz caught lap traffic. At the same time, Haudenschild found his rhythm and charged his way back by Shaffer for second.

Then, in the time it takes to snap your fingers, the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was on Schatz’s bumper. No matter where Haudenschild placed his car on the track he found grip. The 10-time Series champion was prey with no protection.

On Lap 10, Schatz covered the high side into turn one, while Haudenschild launched his car to the middle lane. Haudenschild’s tires held the better relationship with the clay surface and powered him by the Toco Warranty No. 15 car.

“I was really worried once [Shaffer] and Donny got by me,” Haudenschild said. “I didn’t quite know what to do. Once we got into traffic, I had the mindset I was going to get around them and run consistent laps.”

From there, Haudenschild showed his strength. Showed his endurance. And showed his will power. He was the man without fear. His charge through lapped cars looked more like a game than a challenge. Whether it was a slide job to drive by several cars at a time or going three-wide between two lapped cars, Haudenschild didn’t hesitate to make the move.

Once he lapped his way to the top-10, Sweet gave him his biggest challenge of the night. The two dueled for laps, with Sweet aggressively charging his way back by Haudenschild several times to remain on the lead lap. However, no one could match the No. 17 car.

Haudenschild eventually slid his way by Sweet with 17 laps to go and continued his hunt through the field. Schatz and Pittman’s battle for second-place was quickly going from being a battle behind Haudenschild, to one in front of him.

The two series champions dueled for the position throughout the race, but Schatz prevailed with Pittman never finding a strong enough run to get by the reigning champion. However, with Haudenschild out of sight, they thought they were potentially battling for the win.

“I thought I actually won; I couldn’t see him,” Schatz said. "I thought maybe he had run out of fuel or pulled off or something. I can’t believe it went green to checkered.”

He added all he could do was commend Haudenschild on his performance and applaud him.

“That was a whoopin’ right there,” said Schatz, who is now two points behind Sweet in the Series point standings.

Pittman also stated he thought he was battling Schatz for the win at the end. He was happy with the result, though, after a few weeks of undesired finishes.

Nothing surprised Haudenschild. The heat didn’t get to him. The long duration of the race didn’t get to him, and he knew he had a good car underneath him.

“Really, it wasn’t that physical at all,” Haudenschild said. “Keeping your mind right, making smart moves. I looked up at the board on Lap 51 and I probably shouldn’t have, ‘cause I think I did make one mistake after that. When the board is right in front of your face it’s hard not to. Especially in this long of a race. I was trying to play it cool and wanted to get it over with. Fifty-five laps is a long race.”

At the end of those 55 laps, though, celebration. After climbing to the top wing of his Sprint Car, spewing NOS Energy Drink all around Victory Lane, Haudenschild was greeted with congratulatory remarks and a hug from his hero – his dad.

“It was pretty awesome,” Jac Haudenschild said about his son’s win. “He lapped me a couple of times, so I know he must have been going pretty good.”

Haudenschild’s victory earned him a $20,000 payday and his second win of the season – seventh career World of Outlaws win overall. After some struggles in the first half of the season – missing five Features – he and his team have been building momentum in the summer months.

“It’s huge,” Haudenschild said about the win. “Just to get it for our guys. Build a little bit of confidence. Put another win on the calendar and just keep working on it. I feel like we still have work to do on different kinds of tracks. Definitely this track is kind of my style.

“It’s been a little bit of a struggle the beginning of the year. We’re not quite where we want to be win wise, but we’re working at it and I feel like we’re doing it at the right time.”

He’s leaving Missouri not only with the confidence of another win, but the prestige of a new title.

He earned it by showing his strength. Earned it by showing his endurance. And earned it by proving his will power.

Sheldon Haudenschild is the new Ironman.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series from Wednesday, Aug. 7, to Saturday, Aug. 10 will be at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa for the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. Get tickets and more information.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Knoxville Nationals action on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 8/3/19 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 – Ironman 55

NOS Energy Drink Feature (55 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$20,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$6,000]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [5][$3,750]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [3][$3,250]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4][$2,750]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6][$2,500]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [7][$2,400]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [17][$2,300]; 9. 41-David Gravel [10][$2,200]; 10. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg [8][$2,100]; 11. 19-Brent Marks [14][$1,700]; 12. 2M-Kerry Madsen [16][$1,400]; 13. 1S-Logan Schuchart [11][$1,300]; 14. 2-Carson Macedo [13][$1,200]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$1,100]; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][$1,000]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen [15][$1,000]; 18. 91-Cale Thomas [18][$1,000]; 19. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [21][$1,000]; 20. 51B-Joe B.Miller [24][$1,000]; 21. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [19][$1,000]; 22. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [22][$1,000]; 23. 3-Jac Haudenschild [12][$1,000]; 24. 71M-Paul May [23][$1,000];
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-10, Sheldon Haudenschild 11-55;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 49-Brad Sweet[+9]

Qualifying – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 10.761; 2. 18-Ian Madsen, 10.784; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman, 10.786; 4. 41-David Gravel, 10.798; 5. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.798; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.804; 7. 5-Shane Stewart, 10.822; 8. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg, 10.879; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.909; 10. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.921; 11. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.939; 12. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 10.968; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.987; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 10.989; 15. 91-Cale Thomas, 10.997; 16. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.009; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.079; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.133; 19. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.149; 20. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 11.318; 21. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 11.35; 22. 71M-Paul May, 11.357; 23. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 11.422; 24. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman, 11.473; 25. 51B-Joe B.Miller, 11.483; 26. 8S-Steve Short, 11.66; 27. 56-Jeff Asher, 12.173

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 2. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 4. 41-David Gravel [2]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [7]; 8. 51B-Joe B.Miller [9]; 9. 71M-Paul May [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg [3]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 7. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [8]; 8. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [7]; 9. 8S-Steve Short [9]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 6. 91-Cale Thomas [5]; 7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [7]; 8. 56-Jeff Asher [9]; 9. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 3. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [2][]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [1][]; 3. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [3][]; 4. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [5][]; 5. 71M-Paul May [4][]; 6. 51B-Joe B.Miller [7][]; 7. 56-Jeff Asher [9][$300]; 8. 8S-Steve Short [8][$250]; 9. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman [6][$225]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

NEW FIRST: Brad Sweet earns first Federated Auto Parts Raceway win
Sweet holds off Sheldon Haudenschild and Donny Schatz for 12th win of the season

PEVELY, MO – Aug. 2, 2019 – Brad Sweet’s 2019 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series "dream season" has so far seen the Grass Valley, Calif.-native lead laps, take home big paychecks and now earn a first win.

Leading all 35 laps of the Night Before the Ironman Feature at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 Friday night, Sweet rolled into Victory Lane at the Pevely, Mo. track for the first time in his career – his 12th win of the season.

“Pevely is a really awesome race track,” Sweet said. “I remember the first time I came here I was just in awe of the place. I’ve led a lot of laps here. I either stuff it in the fence or we got beat at the end. It’s nice to get the first one out of the way.”

While he led every lap en route to the victory, the Kasey Kahne Racing driver was not handed the victory with ease.

Missouri-native Hunter Schuerenburg started on the pole for the Feature, after winning his Drydene Heat race and the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and rocketed to the lead on the initial start. However, he hit the launch button too early. That forced the race to be restarted with Donny Schatz moved up to the front row and Schuerenburg moved behind him in the second row.

The front row was now Schatz and Sweet – the top two in the point standings. The two have been almost inseparable on the race track, having to race each other for position every week.

Schatz darted to the lead on the restart. Going into turn one, he chose low, while Sweet chose high. The Toco Warranty No. 15 car slid up the track exiting turn two, allowing the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 of Sweet to charge off the high side and bolt underneath Schatz down the backstretch.

Sweet then launched his car into turn three, sliding past Schatz and up in front of him exiting turn four. Like Sweet's corner before, Schatz had the momentum on the high side and snuck underneath Sweet for a drag race down the front straightaway. The lap went to Sweet, but only by inches.

The 10-time Series champion went side-by-side with Sweet into turn one and, again, was beat by the speed Sweet could maintain running the high line. Sweet’s lead went from inches to feet to yards over the reigning champion. Schuerenburg also pulled a slide job on Schatz to take second the next lap.

Five laps into the race, the first caution came out for Joe B. Miller coming to a stop on the track. On the restart, Schuerenburg went for the lead, attempting to pull off a slide job on Sweet into the first corner. However, his dive bomb was still not enough to clear Sweet before the No. 49 charged off the turn with a head of stream around the high side.

Before being able to get into a rhythm, the caution came out again. This time for Cale Thomas landing on his side in turn four.

When the green flag flew again, Sweet wasted no time stretching his lead over Schuerenburg. Schatz found his way around the No. 11 for second-place the next lap, too.

The top three remained in their running order for the remainder of the first half of the race. Behind them, though, Logan Schuchart and Sheldon Haudenschild were making their trek to the front. By the halfway point, Schuchart found his was to fourth – from fifth – and Haudenschild fifth – from eighth.

After a caution at the halfway point, both Schuchart and Haudenschild made their way by Schuerenburg to move up a position. Haudenschild didn’t just use his run to put Schuerenburg, behind him, though. He threw a daring slider at Schuchart into turn one and made it work. With 16 laps to go, he found himself in third and closing on second-place Schatz.

With 12 laps to go, Haudenschild threw a slide job at Schatz in turns three and four, and again made it work. Schatz couldn’t make the top work as well as Sweet and Haudenschild to challenge for the position back.

“Trying to hit a little one-inch spot with your right rear… is tough to do,” Schatz said. “Obviously, Brad and Sheldon are good at that kind of stuff. Me, I try to stay in a little bit more control.”

With Schatz behind him, the Wooster, Ohio-native was now in second-place and eager to hunt down his second win of the season.

Lap traffic plagued Sweet’s quest for victory. The slower cars forced him to move around and break out of his rhythm to find his way around them. That allowed Haudenschild to slowly work his way toward Sweet.

Haudenschild had Sweet in sight with five laps to. But Sweet was strong every time he ran the high side, able to carry enough momentum around the track to leave a few cars lengths distance between he and the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 car.

With three laps to go Haudenschild was building a run to catch Sweet. However, before he could fully execute on it, the caution came out for Carson Macedo flipping in turn two.

On the final restart, Sweet chose the middle of the track in the first corner, trying to block a big run by Haudenschild. It worked. The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall driver looked underneath Sweet, but couldn’t put anything together to challenge him in the remaining laps.

“I thought with the restart we would have a little bit better of a shot,” Haudenschild said. “I knew I was running out of laps there. I didn’t really care either way with the caution or not. Brad was a little bit better than us. I feel like I got by Donny at the right time to make some ground up on Brad, but just finished second.”

Sweet sped off to his first Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 win and 46th career win overall.

“The restarts were making me the most nervous,” Sweet said. “Didn’t know if I should be choosing the bottom or the top, you’re just real vulnerable into (turn) one there. Kind of found that line where I was driving across into one and felt a little better about the restarts. I could get to the cushion off (turn) two and as long as I could get a good run, I felt like I was pretty good on top of turns three and four.”

His win also helped his extend his points lead on Schatz – who finished third – after losing points to the Fargo, N.D. driver last weekend.

The focus for all of the drivers is now on Saturday night’s 55-lap $20,000-to-win Ironman event at the 1/3-mile track. A win at the Ironman 55 would be another ideal addition to Sweet’s dream year. Even with a dominating performance Friday night, he knows there could be room for improvement.

“We’ll go back and watch the video and make sure I was going everything right and hopefully come back and get us an Ironman tomorrow,” Sweet said.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Saturday, Aug. 3, will return to Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the Ironman 55. Get tickets and more information.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 8/2/2019 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$8,000]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [8][$4,000]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$2,500]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][$2,200]; 5. 41-David Gravel [6][$2,100]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [13][$2,000]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4][$1,800]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [15][$1,600]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [14][$1,500]; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen [17][$1,300]; 11. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg [1][$1,200]; 12. 18-Ian Madsen [10][$1,100]; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman [9][$1,000]; 14. 5-Shane Stewart [19][$700]; 15. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$600]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee [18][$600]; 17. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [23][$600]; 18. 2-Carson Macedo [7][$600]; 19. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [21][$600]; 20. 49X-Tim Shaffer [11][$600]; 21. 3-Jac Haudenschild [16][$600]; 22. 91-Cale Thomas [12][$600]; 23. 51B-Joe B.Miller [24][$600]; 24. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [22][$600];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 24-Rico Abreu[+7]

Qualifying – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.115; 2. 41-David Gravel, 10.212; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.235; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.279; 5. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg, 10.292; 6. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.311; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 10.318; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.333; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman, 10.35; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.376; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.377; 12. 91-Cale Thomas, 10.394; 13. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 10.395; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 10.435; 15. 99-Skylar Gee, 10.451; 16. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.462; 17. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.47; 18. 19-Brent Marks, 10.47; 19. 5-Shane Stewart, 10.471; 20. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 10.523; 21. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 10.528; 22. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 10.551; 23. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 10.705; 24. 51B-Joe B.Miller, 10.736; 25. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman, 10.909; 26. 8S-Steve Short, 11.033

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 6. 3-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 7. 5-Shane Stewart [7]; 8. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman [9]; 9. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 8. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [8]; 9. 8S-Steve Short [9]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 91-Cale Thomas [4]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 7. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [7]; 8. 51B-Joe B.Miller [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 11-Hunter Schuerenburg [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 6. 41-David Gravel [5]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [2][-]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [1][-]; 3. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [3][-]; 4. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [4][-]; 5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [5][-]; 6. 51B-Joe B.Miller [6][-]; 7. 8S-Steve Short [8][$300]; 8. 14T-Jimmy Bridgeman [7][$250]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner David Gravel (DB3 Photo)

SARVER, PA – July 23, 2019 – The No. 41 Jason Johnson Racing Sprint Car roared around Lernerville Speedway with the ferocity of a starved stomach. It was a manifestation of the driver’s mentality.

David Gravel was hungry for a big win. After three podiums in-a-row at Eldora Speedway, leading up to the Kings Royal, he had to settle for a fifth-place finish at the prestigious event. His appetite was not appeased.

On Tuesday night at the $25,000-to-win Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, the Watertown, Conn.-native was not going to let his hunger go untamed again. He led 26 laps of the 40-lap Feature, lapped up to 13th and crossed the finish line four seconds ahead of second-place to claim his third win at Lernerville Speedway and fifth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory of the year.

“Our team deserves a win after a week like last week (at Eldora),” Gravel said. “To make it a $25,000 win is good. You want to win Jackson (Nationals). You want to win the Kings Royal. But this will do for now.”

He secured the win by finding grip where few others could.

“I didn’t have to rely on the top,” Gravel said. “I think 90 percent of the guys relied on the top in the Heat race, relied on the top in the Dash and there in the beginning of the [Feature]. I didn’t have to. I think it (the top) was just going to get thinner and thinner as it went on. I just never relied on it all night. We just kept working below it.”

He nearly won his Drydene Heat by running the middle and bottom of the track, while leader Donny Schatz relied on the top. Gravel then went on to finish fourth in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash, continuing to test the lower groove of the track.

He was picky with the set up, he said. The Jason Johnson Racing team worked on it all night to get the car right for the Feature.

When the 40-lap event went green, second-place James McFadden, in the Wicked Energy Gum No. 9 car, blasted by polesitter Shane Stewart for the lead and clung to the high side of the track. Running the middle lane behind him, Gravel went from fourth-place to second in the first corner.

Neither could build run as the caution came out on the first lap for a car stopped in turn two.

When the race went back green, Gravel dove under McFadden in turn one, but didn’t have a strong enough run off the corner that could compete with the momentum McFadden carried around the high side of the track.

McFadden began to pull away running the top, while Gravel worked the middle of the track. Five laps later, another caution.

On the restart, Gravel attempted another dive bomb underneath McFadden into turn one. This time, he was ahead of the Australian exiting turn two, but McFadden, again, had the faster run off the corner and sprinted back to the lead.

Behind them, Kyle Larson lurked. He had already made his way from sixth to third. The NASCAR-star, and Series team owner, poked his nose under Gravel into turn one, but Gravel got to the throttle quicker and launched off the corner.

While McFadden mostly stuck to the high line, Gravel found his rhythm through the middle lane. With 25 laps to go, Gravel placed his Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 41 in McFadden’s peripheral view through turns three and four. McFadden had the stronger run off the corner and ducked to the bottom of the track in turn one. Gravel switched his line to the high side and drove around McFadden for the lead off turn two.

“I think he never ran the line I did,” Gravel said. “He ran high and he kind of ran lower. Sometimes it’s better to run second. Kind of had a line figured out that I ran all night long. We got the car better to run it."

Four laps later, Larson made his way by McFadden for second and began his quest for back-to-back Silver Cup victories. Halfway through the race he began to close the gap on Gravel. And lap traffic was in sight.

However, the slower traffic seemed to only make Gravel faster. With 11 laps to go he began to extend the distance between he and Larson. With three laps to go, he had a 4.6 second advantage over the No. 57 car and had lapped 13th-place Ian Madsen.

“I thought I had a shot the first time we got to little bit heavy traffic, but once we got to the heavier stuff he did a really good job getting through it,” Larson said. “I didn’t really feel like I got hung up, he just got through it really fast. I just needed a little bit more to be able to move around and run the lines he was running.”

The last five laps were tricky, though. Gravel said the track got slick and he “was just holding on” at the end. Larson closed the gap to about four seconds at the end, but Gravel held on to claim his second Silver Cup win and 44th career victory.

“It’s awesome to win another one of these,” Gravel said.

With two wins in the last seven races and a string of 13 top-five finishes in the last 14 races, Gravel has slowly been working his way into the battle for the points lead with current leader Brad Sweet, and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz. With Sweet finishing fourth and Schatz finishing fifth at Lernerville, Gravel is now 112 points behind Sweet, and 90 points behind Schatz. He’s gained 48 points on Sweet in the last 11 races.

However, points aren’t the main focus at the moment. He wants to win. With $28,000 on the line this weekend during the doubleheader at Williams Grove Speedway and the $150,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals coming up, there are still several big races to crave during the “months of money.”

“There’s more money on the line the rest of the year, so hopefully we can keep this rolling and win some more big races,” Gravel said.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, will be at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. for the Champion Racing Oil Summer Nationals. Get tickets and more information.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 7/23/19 – Lernerville Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [4][$25,000]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [6][$7,000]; 3. 9-James McFadden [2][$5,000]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$4,000]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$3,000]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3][$2,900]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,800]; 8. 5-Shane Stewart [1][$2,700]; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman [11][$2,600]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [21][$2,500]; 11. 1-Logan Wagner [9][$2,400]; 12. 18-Ian Madsen [13][$2,300]; 13. 2-Carson Macedo [10][$2,200]; 14. 19-Brent Marks [8][$2,100]; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$2,000]; 16. 4N-Dale Blaney [17][$1,500]; 17. 7K-Dan Shetler [16][$1,300]; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich [15][$1,200]; 19. 2AJ-A.J. Flick [14][$1,200]; 20. 3C-Cale Conley [23][$1,200]; 21. K4-Chad Kemenah [24][$1,200]; 22. 42-Sye Lynch [22][$1,200]; 23. 7S-Jason Sides [19][$1,200]; 24. 13-Brandon Matus [20][$1,200]; 25. 11-Carl Bowser [25];
Lap Leaders: James McFadden 1-14, David Gravel 15-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+11]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.838; 2. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.844; 3. 9-James McFadden, 13.99; 4. 19-Brent Marks, 14.166; 5. 4N-Dale Blaney, 14.236; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich, 14.239; 7. 1-Logan Wagner, 14.25; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman, 14.301; 9. 18-Ian Madsen, 14.498; 10. 42-Sye Lynch, 14.536; 11. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 14.615; 12. 7S-Jason Sides, 15.061; 13. 11-Carl Bowser, 15.074; 14. C1-Clay Riney, 15.124; 15. J4-John Garvin, 15.425; 16. O8-Dan Kuriger, 15.514; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.515; 18. 250-Jared McFarland, 15.541; 19. 14-Jeremy Hill, 15.767; 20. 76-Davey Jones, 16.388; 21. 4K-Bill Kiley, 16.459

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.939; 2. 41-David Gravel, 13.994; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 14.014; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.395; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.447; 6. 3C-Cale Conley, 14.499; 7. 2-Carson Macedo, 14.689; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.827; 9. 2AJ-A.J. Flick, 14.912; 10. 40-George Hobaugh, 15.073; 11. K4-Chad Kemenah, 15.13; 12. 13-Brandon Matus, 15.19; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.24; 14. 7K-Dan Shetler, 15.266; 15. 53-Jesse Attard, 15.609; 16. 33-Brent Matus, 15.88; 17. 91-Tony Fiore, 15.891; 18. 55-Dallas Schott, 16.284; 19. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer, 16.351; 20. 55K-Gary Kriess, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 1-Logan Wagner [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 5. 4N-Dale Blaney [3]; 6. 11-Carl Bowser [7]; 7. 22-Brandon Spithaler [6]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [9]; 9. J4-John Garvin [8]; 10. 14-Jeremy Hill [10]; 11. 4K-Bill Kiley [11]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [2]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 42-Sye Lynch [5]; 7. C1-Clay Riney [7]; 8. O8-Dan Kuriger [8]; 9. 250-Jared McFarland [9]; 10. 76-Davey Jones [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 2AJ-A.J. Flick [5]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 7. K4-Chad Kemenah [6]; 8. 53-Jesse Attard [8]; 9. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer [10]; 10. 91-Tony Fiore [9]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 7K-Dan Shetler [7]; 5. 13-Brandon Matus [6]; 6. 3C-Cale Conley [3]; 7. 40-George Hobaugh [5]; 8. 33-Brent Matus [8]; 9. 55-Dallas Schott [9]; 10. 55K-Gary Kriess [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 4. 41-David Gravel [6]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 6. 57-Kyle Larson [7]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [5]

C-Main (10 Laps) – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][]; 2. 91-Tony Fiore [2][]; 3. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer [6][$150]; 4. 55-Dallas Schott [4][$150]; 5. 14-Jeremy Hill [5][$150]; 6. 250-Jared McFarland [3][$125]; 7. 4K-Bill Kiley [9][$125]; 8. 76-Davey Jones [7][$125]; 9. 55K-Gary Kriess [8][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][]; 2. 42-Sye Lynch [1][]; 3. 3C-Cale Conley [4][]; 4. K4-Chad Kemenah [8][]; 5. 40-George Hobaugh [6][$500]; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler [3][$400]; 7. C1-Clay Riney [7][$350]; 8. J4-John Garvin [9][$300]; 9. O8-Dan Kuriger [11][$300]; 10. 11-Carl Bowser [5][$275]; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen [13][$250]; 12. 53-Jesse Attard [10][$200]; 13. 91-Tony Fiore [14][$200]; 14. 33-Brent Matus [12][$200]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Brad Sweet (DB3 Photo)

ROSSBURG, OH – July 20, 2019 – Flaming towers burst into the air around the prestigious wooden throne. It was a signal. A celebration. The throne had a new king.

King Brad Sweet.

“Holy shit! Yeah!” Sweet yelled with the last few pockets of air in his lungs.

The Grass Valley, Calif.-native won his second Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway Saturday night. And this time it paid an unprecedented $175,000 to win.

“A hundred and seventy-five mother grand!” Sweet bellowed out once he regained his breath.

Since the inception of the prestigious event in 1984, it has always paid $50,000 – which was still one of the largest paying purses for Sprint Car racing in the country last year. But for the 36th year of the race, track owner Tony Stewart raised it to be the largest.

“Sprint car racers make money based off how they finish,” Sweet said. “When you have a race that pays $175,000 to win and basically $20,000 for second, it’s kind of all or nothing coming in here. I’m a fan of it. It’s nerve-racking. It gets the fans’ attention. It’s what we need in this sport.

“It’s intense all night long. All day. Under the red. Basically, if you don’t win the race it’s a missed opportunity. You only get so many of these opportunities. So, I’m just happy and want to cherish the moment.”

Claiming his second Kings Royal victory – 11th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory of the year and 45th Series win over all – required Sweet to battle all night long. Battle the competition and battle through the Kings Royal’s 2019 format.

He started the long night qualifying 18th, which placed him in the fourth starting position for his Drydene Heat race. With a daring slide job on the first lap to go from fourth to the lead, Sweet cruised to the Heat win.

With his Heat race being the first one of the night, under the event’s format, he was placed sixth in the line up for the 40-lap Feature.

On the pole was three-time Kings Royal winner Sammy Swindell, in his son Kevin Swindell’s No. 39 car. To his outside was 10-time Series champion and five-time Kings Royal winner Donny Schatz – who had also won two of the last three races at Eldora during the week; Sweet won the other race.

Once the final sparks of fireworks fell into the dark of the night and the field of 24-cars filed back in line two-by-two, the anxiety and anticipation of the night was about to fade away with the drop of the green flag.

Leading the charge off turn four, Swindell charged to the high side on the start, while Schatz dove underneath him. Swindell had the better run on the top, though, and powered to the lead off turn two.

Behind them, Sweet split Cory Eliason and Aaron Reutzel, charging between them down the front stretch and launched to fourth-place in the first corner.

Swindell maintained his lead over Schatz for the next three laps, before the first caution of the night flew for Tom Harris coming to a stop on the track. When the race went back green Sweet threw another massive slide job into turn one, going from fourth to the lead. However, another caution came out before the lap was complete – placing cars back in their starting order before the restart.

The field lined up single file and Swindell pulled away from Schatz on the start, putting about a three-car length distance between them.

While Swindell led, Schuchart was forging a strong run. By Lap eight, the Drydene No. 1s car had already made its way from 12th to fourth and then bolted by Sweet for third. Two laps later he torpedoed his car into turn three, diving past Schatz and Swindell by the exit of turn four.

After not transferring into the Kings Royal last year, Schuchart was now leading and running away with the event this year.

Sweet fought his way past Schatz for second-place by Lap 15, but couldn’t match Schuchart’s pace. By Lap 25, Schuchart had a 2.5 second lead over Sweet and was poised to increase it riding the cushion around the track.

However, with the flash of yellow lights around the speedway, “The Big Cat” Sweet was brought to the bumper of the Shark Racing car.

Due to the long nature of the race, an open red was called, giving crews the chance to add fuel to their car, insuring it could make it to the end of the 40-lap race around the half-mile track.

On the restart, with 15 laps to go, Sweet continued to make a case for claiming the title of “restart king.” He throttled passed the outside of Schuchart before the flag stand and latched on to the cushion for momentum to pull away.

“Honestly, to be dead honest, I didn’t want to see the red,” Sweet said. “I felt like I just found the top in (turns) three and four and Logan hadn’t known about it. I think I found some speed there I was going to be able to make some moves with. We didn’t touch the race car, we put five gallons of fuel in it. I told my guys I was just going to put it to the fence and go for it.”

Schuchart said restarts had been an issue for him all week long. His car struggled to take off from the start.

“That’s part of the game,” Schuchart said. “We didn’t get the job done in that part of the race.”

Sweet used the high line during Wednesday’s Jokers Wild event to out duel Schatz for the win and it was working for him again Saturday night. Schuchart couldn’t build enough of a run again to make a charge at the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car.

With about eight laps to go, a new winged-warrior joined the battle. From his 16th starting position, Brent Marks drove by Schatz for third-place like he founded 10 extra horsepower on the track. Schuchart was next. With three laps to go, the two Pennsylvania-natives waged war for second-place. Marks pulled a slide job on Schuchart in turn one and had the position exiting turn two, but Schuchart had the better run down the backstretch and reclaimed second. Marks wouldn’t let Schuchart out of his sight, staying within striking distance lap after lap. However, the laps ran out.

Sweet left the Pennsylvanians to battle for second, while he charged to the Kings Royal victory and the big $175,000 check.

“You have to pinch me. It feels surreal,” Sweet said.

Schuchart crossed the line second with Marks two-tenths of a second behind him in third.

“Hell, we started twelfth and led the Kings Royal, that’s something to be proud about,” Schuchart said. “To be leading this race with all of the people in this pit supporting me, it’s a great feeling. I didn’t make the show last year. We went from not making the show to out here in the top-five every single night.”

While Marks ran out of time to try and make a run at Sweet, he left with confidence in his strong run and the hard charger award.

“This car was badass tonight,” Marks said. “That was a fun race. The track was perfect tonight. You could get up against that wall and just hold the throttle down and carry the momentum. I was trying like hell to get to second.”

When Sweet won the first big paying race of the year, the $41,000-to-win Jackson Nationals, he was jubilant. After winning the $175,000 at Eldora Speedway, jubilant would only be strong enough to describe his smile. After climbing out of his car, Sweet leaped about a foot in the air onto the Victory Lane stage with his arm held high. He couldn't inhale air fast enough to continue his joyous yelling spree.

With the cloak on his back and the crown placed on his head, he was king. The wooden throne was his – for a few minutes. The $175,000 check, though, is going home with him.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Tuesday, July 23, will be at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. for the $25,000-to-win Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. Get tickets and more information.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on DIRTVision.com.

Race Results: 7/20/19 – Kings Royal – Eldora Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [6][$175,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$20,000]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [16][$15,000]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$12,500]; 5. 41-David Gravel [11][$10,000]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$7,500]; 7. 39-Sammy Swindell [1][$6,500]; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild [10][$6,000]; 9. 49X-Tim Shaffer [8][$5,500]; 10. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3][$5,000]; 11. 12N-Joey Saldana [18][$4,750]; 12. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [15][$4,500]; 13. 18-Ian Madsen [21][$4,000]; 14. 5-Shane Stewart [24][$3,750]; 15. 11-Dale Blaney [14][$3,500]; 16. 24-Rico Abreu [17][$3,450]; 17. 26-Cory Eliason [5][$3,400]; 18. 91-Cale Thomas [7][$3,350]; 19. 83-Daryn Pittman [13][$3,300]; 20. 70-Brock Zearfoss [23][$3,250]; 21. 92-Sye Lynch [19][$3,200]; 22. 70X-Justin Peck [22][$3,150]; 23. 84-Tom Harris [20][$3,100]; 24. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4][$3,000];
Lap Leaders: Sammy Swindell 1-10, Logan Schuchart 11-25, Brad Sweet 26-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+13]

Qualifying – 1. 92-Sye Lynch, 13.019; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.127; 3. 84-Tom Harris, 13.148; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.159; 5. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.16; 6. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.191; 7. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.215; 8. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.217; 9. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.225; 10. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.226; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.228; 12. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 13.239; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.244; 14. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 13.27; 15. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.273; 16. 19-Brent Marks, 13.284; 17. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.302; 18. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.302; 19. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.305; 20. 12N-Joey Saldana, 13.309; 21. 70X-Justin Peck, 13.321; 22. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.327; 23. 21-Brian Brown, 13.334; 24. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.349; 25. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.36; 26. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.367; 27. 11-Dale Blaney, 13.371; 28. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.38; 29. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.383; 30. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.399; 31. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.404; 32. 39-Sammy Swindell, 13.42; 33. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.435; 34. 9-James McFadden, 13.441; 35. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 13.457; 36. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.463; 37. 7-Jason Sides, 13.474; 38. K4-Chad Kemenah, 13.475; 39. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.495; 40. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.5; 41. 41-David Gravel, 13.502; 42. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.512; 43. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 13.513; 44. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.537; 45. 23-Hunter Schuerenburg, 13.551; 46. 71M-Paul May, 13.588; 47. 85-Dustin Daggett, 13.595; 48. 17XL-Caleb Helms, 13.604; 49. 4-Cap Henry, 13.635; 50. 18J-R.J. Jacobs, 13.64; 51. 71-Ayrton Olsen, 13.658; 52. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 13.673; 53. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.708; 54. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 13.721; 55. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.737; 56. 28-Brian Paulus, 13.743; 57. 64-Scotty Thiel, 13.752; 58. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.814; 59. 33W-Michael Walter, 13.847; 60. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 14.059; 61. 25R-Mitchell Harble, 14.228; 62. 10P-Jim Perricone, 14.962

Drydene Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 2. 91-Cale Thomas [1]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [6]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 6. 17XL-Caleb Helms [8]; 7. 7S-Tim Kaeding [5]; 8. 98H-Dave Blaney [7]; 9. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [10]; 10. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [9]

Drydene Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [2]; 4. 70X-Justin Peck [3]; 5. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [5]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 7. 23-Hunter Schuerenburg [8]; 8. 64-Scotty Thiel [10]; 9. 71-Ayrton Olsen [9]

Drydene Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 3. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [5]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 7-Jason Sides [7]; 6. 4-Cap Henry [9]; 7. 1ST-Gary Taylor [8]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 9. 2L-Landon Lalonde [10]; 10. 25R-Mitchell Harble [11]

Drydene Heat #4 (10 Laps) – 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild [2]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 5. 9-James McFadden [1]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [10]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 8. 71M-Paul May [8]; 9. 5T-Travis Philo [7]; 10. 49D-Shawn Dancer [9]

Drydene Heat #5 (10 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 2. 41-David Gravel [7]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 4. 19P-Paige Polyak [2]; 5. A79-Brandon Wimmer [1]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 8. 85-Dustin Daggett [8]

Drydene Heat #6 (10 Laps) – 1. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 3. 12N-Joey Saldana [3]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs [2]; 6. 22-Cole Duncan [5]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [8]; 8. K4-Chad Kemenah [7]; 9. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [9]; 10. 28-Brian Paulus [10]; 11. 10P-Jim Perricone [11]

C-Main (12 Laps) – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding [1][-]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [4][-]; 3. 3C-Cale Conley [6][-]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [9][-]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][-]; 6. 23-Hunter Schuerenburg [2][-]; 7. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [13][$500]; 8. 25R-Mitchell Harble [19][$450]; 9. 71-Ayrton Olsen [14][$400]; 10. 49D-Shawn Dancer [20][$375]; 11. 85-Dustin Daggett [11][$350]; 12. 10P-Jim Perricone [22][$350]; 13. 1ST-Gary Taylor [3][$350]; 14. 71M-Paul May [10][$350]; 15. 2L-Landon Lalonde [15][$350]; 16. 98H-Dave Blaney [7][$350]; 17. K4-Chad Kemenah [12][$350]; 18. 64-Scotty Thiel [8][$350]; 19. 5T-Travis Philo [16][$350]; 20. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [17][$350]; 21. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [18][$350]; 22. 28-Brian Paulus [21][$350]; 23. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [23][$350]; 24. 33W-Michael Walter [24][$350]

Last Chance Showdown (15 Laps) – 1. 18-Ian Madsen [4][-]; 2. 70X-Justin Peck [2][-]; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss [6][-]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [3][-]; 5. 9-James McFadden [10][$2,000]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][$1,750]; 7. 17XL-Caleb Helms [13][$1,500]; 8. 2-Carson Macedo [22][$1,250]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [7][$1,000]; 10. 7S-Tim Kaeding [19][$750]; 11. 4-Cap Henry [15][$650]; 12. W20-Greg Wilson [20][$600]; 13. 19P-Paige Polyak [5][$600]; 14. 21-Brian Brown [17][$600]; 15. A79-Brandon Wimmer [11][$600]; 16. 3C-Cale Conley [21][$600]; 17. 7-Jason Sides [9][$600]; 18. 17B-Bill Balog [14][$600]; 19. 23-Hunter Schuerenburg [24][$600]; 20. 22-Cole Duncan [18][$600]; 21. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [8][$600]; 22. 81-Lee Jacobs [12][$600]; 23. 99-Skylar Gee [16][$600]; 24. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23][$600]