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

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

KNIGHT OF 'THE BIG E’: Donny Schatz wins at Eldora Speedway for third time this year

Schatz holds off charge by David Gravel to win The Knight Before the Kings Royal

The duty of a knight is to protect their king and his castle.

At the Tony Stewart owned Eldora Speedway Friday night, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver Donny Schatz claimed his third World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory at the Ohio track this year. It was also the 300th Series career win for Tony Stewart as a car owner.

“Eldora has always been really good to me,” said Schatz, who’s now won at the speedway 18 times and has an average finish of 1.25.

He led every lap of The Knight Before the Kings Royal 30-lap Feature, but his reign of the night wasn’t an easy task.

Hunting the 10-time Series champion all night was a fierce David Gravel. Coming off two podium finishes in-a-row at Eldora, the Jason Johnson Racing driver was eager to claim his third victory at the speedway – his last coming in 2016.

Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., started on the pole for the Feature – a virtue of winning the first DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash; Daryn Pittman, of Owasso, Okla., won the second Dash and lined up on the outside pole. When the race went green, Schatz jumped to the lead and immediately began to put distance between he and Pittman.

The reigning champion had a horse capable of charging to the victory. However, 10 laps into the run, Pittman and third-place Gravel began reeling in Schatz.

While Schatz rode the bottom lane, Pittman powered along the cushion – the same line Brad Sweet used to win at Eldora the night before. The Roth Motorsports No. 83 had a run brewing to challenge for the lead. But while he tried to focus on catching Schatz, Gravel continued to poke his nose under Pittman lap by lap, looking to find enough grip on the bottom to make the pass for second.

With 19 laps to go Pittman came within feet of Schatz’s bumper going into turn one, but unlike the lap before Schatz chose the high line. That decision gave Schatz a strong enough run off turn two to put about a six-car length distance between he and Pittman. Then Gravel dove underneath Pittman the next corner and took the position on the exit.

However, Pittman charged back, driving underneath the Watertown, Conn.-native down the front stretch and back by him into turn two. The next time into turn three Gravel mimicked his previous lap, again, diving underneath Pittman. This time it worked, though. He cleared him off the corner and maintained the position into turn one with 14 laps to go.

The hunt for Schatz was on. Lap after lap, running the bottom in turns one and two and the high side in turns three and four, the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 41 crept closer and closer to the Toco Warranty No. 15 car.

Schatz said he and his team tried something new with the set up and while it worked in the Dash, he was just hanging on to his car throughout the Feature. He wouldn’t have been surprised if someone drove by him.

With 11 laps to go, Schatz went from a dot in Gravel’s line of sight to a boulder. But despite Gravel’s charge, Schatz’s proficiency with running the bottom of the speedway threw a shield in Gravel’s run. A few car lengths distance was as close as Gravel could bring his car to Schatz.

To beat Schatz, he was going to need help. With six laps to go, he got it in the form of lap traffic.

Twenty-third-place Parker Price-Miller gave the leader his biggest challenge of the night. Schatz attempted to pass the slower No. 71p car on the bottom through turns one and two – where he struggled to find grip all night – but Price-Miller charged back in front of him down the backstretch. Into turns three and four Schatz, again, tried to pass Price-Miller on the bottom and, again, failed.

“I could make good laps in (turns) three and four and hold my own, but in turns one and two, I was just… I got to lap traffic and watched the 71 car drive by me,” Schatz said. “I had to change everything I did. I was stomping and stabbing and slinging, doing everything I could. I just couldn’t make it do what I wanted it to do.”

Schatz’s battle with Price-Miller put Gravel a car length behind him.

With five laps to, Schatz launched underneath Price-Miller into turn one, finally able to make the pass. However, he lost traction off turn two, allowing Price-Miller to charge underneath the No. 15 car with Gravel following his trail.

Choosing the middle lane of the track in turn three, Schatz cleared Price-Miller and pulled away from him and Gravel, who had to make a split-second evasive maneuver around the slower Price-Miller into turn three.

Behind them, Pittman and Logan Schuchart traded slide jobs lap after lap for third-place.

While they battled for third, Schatz had pulled back to a comfortable half a straightaway lead over Gravel. He looked to be en route for another Eldora Speedway victory, but with three laps to go the caution came out for Cory Eliason, who spun on the backstretch.

Gravel was now close enough to reach out and touch Schatz’s bumper. When the race restart, Schatz chose the high line and Gravel launched his car to the bottom of the track in turn one, coming side-by-side with Schatz in the middle of the corner.

Schatz had the advantage, though, being able to carry the momentum of riding the high side down the backstretch, leaving Gravel to catch up.

The duo remained a few car lengths distance from one another the remaining two laps.

When the white flag was shown, Gravel made one last attempt at out dueling Schatz for the win by, again, diving underneath him in turn one. Like before, it wasn’t enough. Schatz had the run on the high side and carried it the remainder of the circuit to his sixth win of the season – 289th career World of Outlaws win overall.

“My dad always taught me to worry about what’s in front of me, not what’s behind me,” Schatz said. “It’s paid off this long in my career.”

Gravel picked up his sixth podium finish in-a-row, but he was left still hungry for more.

“I think we were good enough to win tonight,” Gravel said. “I wish the yellow didn’t come out. I liked the lap traffic. I had the shot to pass him (Schatz) that one time. I’m happy where we’re at, though. Just a touch off.”

Schuchart was able to make the pass on Pittman for third – collecting his third top-five in three races at Eldora Speedway.

“I just feel like we started too far back,” said Hanover, Pa.-native Schuchart, who started ninth. “I feel like we might have had one of the fastest cars. On the last restart a bolt came out of the wing there and let it go the whole way back, so I got real tight. Before that, I feel like I was running right with those guys.”

With Schatz’s win and Series points leader Sweet finishing seventh, the gap between them has shrunk to 20 points.

But right now, Schatz isn’t worried about points. He’s not even engrossed in his second win in two races at the speedway. He’s focused on Saturday’s $175,000-to-win Kings Royal.

“Everything is about tomorrow night,” said five-time Kings Royal winner Schatz. “The night is over. We’ll forget about it. It’s all about the Kings Royal now.”

There’s no points on the line. Just an unprecedented winning purse and the opportunity to go from a knight to a king.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Saturday, July 20, will return to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio for the prestigious Kings Royal event. Get tickets and more information.

Learn more about the Kings Royal format.

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

Race Results: 7/19/19 – Eldora Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$12,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [3][$5,700]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$3,500]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [8][$3,000]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [2][$2,600]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [6][$2,400]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,300]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [18][$2,200]; 9. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [13][$2,150]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [15][$2,100]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [12][$1,600]; 12. 70-Brock Zearfoss [9][$1,350]; 13. 21-Brian Brown [11][$1,300]; 14. 2M-Kerry Madsen [19][$1,200]; 15. 19-Brent Marks [25][$1,100]; 16. 5-Shane Stewart [16][$1,000]; 17. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [14][$900]; 18. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [17][$850]; 19. 18-Ian Madsen [21][$800]; 20. 7S-Tim Kaeding [24][$800]; 21. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [20][$800]; 22. 26-Cory Eliason [4][$800]; 23. 11-Dale Blaney [5][$800]; 24. 98H-Dave Blaney [23][$800]; 25. 92-Sye Lynch [22][$800];
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 1A-Jacob Allen[+10]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 41-David Gravel, 13.005; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.111; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 13.182; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 13.187; 5. 21-Brian Brown, 13.191; 6. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.204; 7. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.225; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.276; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.306; 10. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.31; 11. 84-Tom Harris, 13.321; 12. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.414; 13. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 13.418; 14. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.419; 15. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.42; 16. 19-Brent Marks, 13.42; 17. 9-James McFadden, 13.422; 18. 7-Jason Sides, 13.435; 19. 39-Sammy Swindell, 13.439; 20. 64-Scotty Thiel, 13.486; 21. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.5; 22. K4-Chad Kemenah, 13.507; 23. 33W-Michael Walter, 13.563; 24. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.589; 25. 71M-Paul May, 13.707; 26. 18J-R.J. Jacobs, 13.774; 27. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 13.779; 28. 28-Brian Paulus, 13.833; 29. 10P-Jim Perricone, 14.237; 30. 3C-Cale Conley, NT

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.167; 2. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.295; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.315; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.317; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.343; 6. 92-Sye Lynch, 13.353; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.361; 8. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.388; 9. 70X-Justin Peck, 13.405; 10. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.438; 11. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.446; 12. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.453; 13. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.453; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.461; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.528; 16. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.567; 17. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 13.594; 18. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.639; 19. 71-Ayrton Olsen, 13.683; 20. 85-Dustin Daggett, 13.726; 21. 17XL-Caleb Helms, 13.747; 22. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.752; 23. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.759; 24. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.792; 25. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 13.835; 26. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.982; 27. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 14.128; 28. J4-John Garvin, 14.194; 29. 4X-Bradley Ashford, 14.434; 30. 83C-Adam Cruea, 14.454

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [2]; 3. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [4]; 4. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 39-Sammy Swindell [7]; 6. 7S-Tim Kaeding [5]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 8. 28-Brian Paulus [10]; 9. 71M-Paul May [9]; 10. K4-Chad Kemenah [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 5. 84-Tom Harris [4]; 6. 9-James McFadden [6]; 7. 64-Scotty Thiel [7]; 8. 33W-Michael Walter [8]; 9. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [9]; 10. 10P-Jim Perricone [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 98H-Dave Blaney [4]; 5. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [8]; 6. 7-Jason Sides [6]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 8. 3C-Cale Conley [10]; 9. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [9]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [5]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [5]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 6. 91-Cale Thomas [6]; 7. 2L-Landon Lalonde [8]; 8. 71-Ayrton Olsen [7]; 9. 49D-Shawn Dancer [9]; 10. J4-John Garvin [10]

DRYDENE Heat #5 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 3. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [2]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 6. A79-Brandon Wimmer [6]; 7. 85-Dustin Daggett [7]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [8]; 9. 19P-Paige Polyak [9]; 10. 4X-Bradley Ashford [10]

DRYDENE Heat #6 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 4. 70X-Justin Peck [3]; 5. 92-Sye Lynch [2]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs [6]; 7. 17XL-Caleb Helms [7]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo [8]; 9. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [9]; 10. 83C-Adam Cruea [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 5. 70-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [6]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash #2 (6 Laps) – 1. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [6]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [4]

D-main (8 Laps) – 1. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [1][-]; 2. 5T-Travis Philo [2][-]; 3. 49D-Shawn Dancer [4][$125]; 4. 71M-Paul May [3][$125]; 5. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [8][$125]; 6. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [5][$125]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [6][$125]; 8. 28-Brian Paulus [9][$125]; 9. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [7][$125]; 10. 10P-Jim Perricone [11][$125]; 11. 83C-Adam Cruea [14][$125]; 12. 4X-Bradley Ashford [12][$125]; 13. J4-John Garvin [10][$125]; 14. 3C-Cale Conley [13][$125]

C-Main (10 Laps) – 1. 9-James McFadden [1][-]; 2. A79-Brandon Wimmer [2][-]; 3. 39-Sammy Swindell [5][$150]; 4. 7-Jason Sides [3][$150]; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs [4][$150]; 6. 17XL-Caleb Helms [10][$125]; 7. 64-Scotty Thiel [7][$125]; 8. 71-Ayrton Olsen [6][$125]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [9][$125]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [14][$125]; 11. 85-Dustin Daggett [8][$125]; 12. 2L-Landon Lalonde [12][$125]; 13. 33W-Michael Walter [13][$125]; 14. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [15][$125]; 15. 5T-Travis Philo [16][$125]; 16. K4-Chad Kemenah [11][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [2][-]; 2. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [1][-]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [6][-]; 4. 92-Sye Lynch [4][-]; 5. 98H-Dave Blaney [5][-]; 6. 7S-Tim Kaeding [7][-]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [13][$300]; 8. 70X-Justin Peck [8][$250]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [10][$225]; 10. 9-James McFadden [15][$200]; 11. 91-Cale Thomas [14][$200]; 12. 84-Tom Harris [3][$200]; 13. 3-Jac Haudenschild [9][$200]; 14. A79-Brandon Wimmer [16][$200]; 15. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12][$200]; 16. 87-Aaron Reutzel [11][$200]

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

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

NO JOKE: Brad Sweet out duels Donny Schatz for Jokers Wild win
After swapping the lead early in the race, Sweet holds off Schatz to win at Eldora Speedway

ROSSBURG, OH – July 18, 2019 – The flagman held the checkered flag tight, anxiously waiting to thrust it in the air and wave it over Eldora Speedway when the leader exited turn four.

The question of who that victor would be left the crowd of thousands in a knot throughout the 30-lap $10,000-to-win Jokers Wild Feature Thursday night.

Brad Sweet lead, but Donny Schatz – fresh off a win at Eldora from the night before – hung on to the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car’s bumper throughout the race. The two swapped positions lap after lap in the early circuits.

However, Sweet found the 16-time Eldora Speedway winner’s kryptonite – the high line up against the wall. If the walls of the half-mile track had eyes, Sweet made sure they were closed all race, leaving inches between the concrete barrier and his right rear tire most of the night.

Schatz wasn't able to run the top groove like Sweet, having to move off it and stick to the bottom. That allowed Sweet to use the momentum of the high side to fend of challenges by the 10-time Series champion and claim his 10th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season – 44th Series win overall.

“We held off Donny,” Sweet said, after winning for the second time at the Ohio track. “That’s what it takes to win at Eldora. He threw everything he had at me. I saw him multiple times. I just wasn’t sure where to be on the race track there at the end. I felt pretty good on the top, but it’s such a fine line.”

The win was a rebound for Sweet and his Kasey Kahne Racing team after a fourth-place finish at the speedway Wednesday night – which to Sweet and his crew was a disappointing run.

Withholding the fine details, Sweet said, they tried something different with the set up for Thursday night's race, and it worked.

He was second fastest in the first flight of Qualifying. Then went on to win his Drydene Heat race and the first of two DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash races. But every step Sweet made, Schatz was there following in his footsteps. The reigning champion went second fastest in the second flight of Qualifying. He, too, won his Drydene Heat race and claimed the win in the second Dash of the night.

That placed the two championship contenders on the front row together. The title match at Eldora Speedway was set.

When the flagman thrusted the green flag in the air, Sweet passed the flag stand first, but Schatz launched underneath the Grass Valley, Calif.-native looking to take the lead on the first lap in turn one. Sweet had the momentum on the high side, though. He charged around the Toco Warranty No. 15 down the backstretch and moved to the bottom of the track in turns three and four.

Schatz did the opposite. He ran the high line through turns three and four, giving him a strong enough run down the front stretch to again dive underneath Sweet in turn one. This time, Schatz had the lead.

Sweet wasn’t about to let Schatz cruise to another Eldora win over him, though. He charged back around Schatz the next lap and began to put distance between the two.

“He makes it awful tough when he sets his pace and runs his lines," Sweet said. "It makes it real hard to pass. I wanted to get ahead and set a pace.”

Ten laps into the Feature Logan Schuchart also made his way around Schatz by riding the high line. However, he got held up by a lap car going into turn three and Schatz took the opportunity to pounce. The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver made a massive drive to the bottom of the track through turns three and four, blowing by Schuchart and gaining about four car lengths on Sweet off the corner.

He carried the momentum through the next corner, getting underneath Sweet and edging him by a nose off turn two with 19 laps to go. Sweet, again, used the high side to propel his car back in front of Schatz down the backstretch, though.

Into turn three the duo both slid their cars sideways to the bottom of the track, almost making contact at the apex. With Sweet blocking Schatz’s lane, he charged off the corner to a comfortable lead and added to it from there.

Schatz then had to compete with Schuchart for second, eventually losing the position to the Drydene No. 1s car right before a caution with 11 laps to.

When the race resumed, Schuchart had a terrible restart, falling from second to fifth and stacking up the top line behind him. His mistake allowed Schatz an easy pass for second and another shot at Sweet.

While Sweet stayed high, Schatz was determined to make the low line work. He put together enough of a charge to get side-by-side with Sweet in turn one the next lap, but the run was still no match for Sweet’s mastery of the high line.

“We stayed with him there, he was ripping the top, I had to get off it,” Schatz said about the final restart. “We thought we were going to be a shot at him there, but for some reason when I got to traffic, I couldn’t maneuver well or just kept making mistakes. You’ll have that. If you’re going to do it, I’d rather do it tonight than two nights from now.”

Able to stay in clean air and see where lap cars were going to go, Sweet rode the cushion until the final corner when he moved down a lane to see how his car would do. He was satisfied as he drove by the waving checkered flag for the 10th time this year – the most wins he’s collected in a season, so far.

While it’s an accomplishment he’s proud of, Sweet said there’s still work to do. Still tweaks needed to make the car better. And still many big races on the line – including Saturday’s $175,000-to-win Kings Royal.

“I’m not going to sit and dwell on it too much, because we’re trying to just stay in the moment and keep winning,” Sweet said. “I don’t want to just settle in and say, ‘That’s great, I just won my 10th race.’ Obviously, so far, it’s a dream season, but all of the big races are coming up. I think we just try to keep our heads down and at the end of the season when it’s time to look back at the stats we hope we’ll have 10 more wins, or more, and a championship.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will return to Eldora Speedway Friday, July 19, for the Knight Before the Kings Royal. 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: 7/18/19 – Eldora Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$5,500]; 3. 41-David Gravel [10][$3,200]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4][$2,800]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$2,500]; 6. 3-Jac Haudenschild [6][$2,300]; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman [13][$2,200]; 8. 5-Shane Stewart [9][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [25][$2,050]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [15][$2,000]; 11. 11-Dale Blaney [8][$1,500]; 12. 70-Brock Zearfoss [7][$1,200]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [18][$1,100]; 14. 87-Aaron Reutzel [24][$1,050]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu [20][$1,000]; 16. 26-Cory Eliason [17][$900]; 17. 9-James McFadden [21][$800]; 18. 39-Sammy Swindell [11][$800]; 19. 92-Sye Lynch [12][$800]; 20. 7S-Tim Kaeding [19][$800]; 21. 12N-Joey Saldana [3][$800]; 22. 21-Brian Brown [14][$800]; 23. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [23][$800]; 24. 13-Paul McMahan [22][$800]; 25. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [16][$800];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet1, 3-30; Donny Schatz 2;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+16]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.02; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.077; 3. 12N-Joey Saldana, 13.099; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.108; 5. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 13.14; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 13.17; 7. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.222; 8. 39-Sammy Swindell, 13.245; 9. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.28; 10. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.286; 11. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.292; 12. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 13.413; 13. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.462; 14. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.476; 15. 18J-R.J. Jacobs, 13.516; 16. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.552; 17. K4-Chad Kemenah, 13.56; 18. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 13.591; 19. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.654; 20. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.695; 21. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 13.727; 22. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.73; 23. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.787; 24. 71M-Paul May, 13.89; 25. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.91; 26. 33W-Michael Walter, 14.097; 27. 64-Scotty Thiel, 17.155

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 41-David Gravel, 13.215; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.241; 3. 92-Sye Lynch, 13.279; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.31; 5. 11-Dale Blaney, 13.336; 6. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.349; 7. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.374; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.39; 9. 9-James McFadden, 13.438; 10. 21-Brian Brown, 13.459; 11. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.459; 12. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.461; 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.462; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.463; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.473; 16. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.481; 17. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.49; 18. 19-Brent Marks, 13.512; 19. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.585; 20. 7-Jason Sides, 13.629; 21. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.643; 22. 70X-Justin Peck, 13.69; 23. 84-Tom Harris, 13.784; 24. 71-Ayrton Olsen, 13.844; 25. 85-Dustin Daggett, 13.968; 26. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 14.027; 27. 4X-Bradley Ashford, 14.37

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 4. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [4]; 5. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 7. 81-Lee Jacobs [6]; 8. 3C-Cale Conley [8]; 9. 2L-Landon Lalonde [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 39-Sammy Swindell [3]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 5. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [7]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [8]; 7. K4-Chad Kemenah [6]; 8. 7S-Tim Kaeding [2]; 9. 33W-Michael Walter [9]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 12N-Joey Saldana [1]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 4. 1ST-Gary Taylor [4]; 5. 49D-Shawn Dancer [6]; 6. 71M-Paul May [8]; 7. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [7]; 8. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [5]; 9. 64-Scotty Thiel [9]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [5]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]; 7. 70X-Justin Peck [8]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]; 9. 85-Dustin Daggett [9]

DRYDENE Heat #5 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 6. 91-Cale Thomas [6]; 7. 7-Jason Sides [7]; 8. 84-Tom Harris [8]; 9. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [9]

DRYDENE Heat #6 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 3-Jac Haudenschild [2]; 2. 92-Sye Lynch [1]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 4. 9-James McFadden [3]; 5. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 6. 98H-Dave Blaney [7]; 7. 71-Ayrton Olsen [8]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 9. 4X-Bradley Ashford [9]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana [3]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [6]; 6. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [6]; 5. 41-David Gravel [5]; 6. 92-Sye Lynch [3]

D-main (8 Laps) – 1. 70X-Justin Peck [2][-]; 2. 3C-Cale Conley [1][-]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [3][$125]; 4. 85-Dustin Daggett [8][$125]; 5. 71M-Paul May [5][$125]; 6. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [10][$125]; 7. 71-Ayrton Olsen [6][$125]; 8. 2L-Landon Lalonde [7][$125]; 9. 4X-Bradley Ashford [12][$125]; 10. 84-Tom Harris [4][$125]; 11. 64-Scotty Thiel [11][$125]; 12. 33W-Michael Walter [9][$125]

C-Main (10 Laps) – 1. K4-Chad Kemenah [3][-]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8][-]; 3. 70X-Justin Peck [13][$150]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4][$150]; 5. 91-Cale Thomas [6][$150]; 6. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [9][$125]; 7. 49D-Shawn Dancer [5][$125]; 8. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [11][$125]; 9. 3C-Cale Conley [14][$125]; 10. 81-Lee Jacobs [1][$125]; 11. 98H-Dave Blaney [12][$125]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [2][$125]; 13. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [7][$125]; 14. 7-Jason Sides [10][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding [1][-]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2][-]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4][-]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [6][-]; 5. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [3][-]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [10][-]; 7. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [8][$300]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog [5][$250]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [9][$225]; 10. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12][$200]; 11. 2M-Kerry Madsen [14][$200]; 12. K4-Chad Kemenah [13][$200]; 13. 1ST-Gary Taylor [7][$200]; 14. 18J-R.J. Jacobs [11][$200]

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

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

LET’S MAKE IT TWO: Schatz goes two-for-two at Eldora
Donny Schatz sweeps the #LetsRaceTwo events at Eldora Speedway for second straight year

ROSSBURG, OH – July 17, 2019 – There’s magic to Donny Schatz’s dominate performances at Eldora Speedway.

He used that “magic” to cruise to his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Eldora Speedway win of the year Wednesday night, during the make-up #LetsRaceTwo event – sweeping the #LetRaceTwo races for the second year in-a-row.

To Schatz, though, there is no “magic.” It’s a matter of knowing what to do, he said, and having the experience to do it.

“The misconception in this sport is there’s always something magic, there’s one thing you can do to make yourself better,” said Schatz, 10-time Series champion from Fargo, N.D. “It’s not. It’s ten thousand little things and this team has learned that over the years.

“It’s the same today. Probably even more so today. A quarter turn here or there makes a big difference.”

That’s what it took for Schatz to charge from fourth to win in the 30-lap Feature. He started the night winning his Drydene Heat race, and then went on to finish fourth in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash – almost four seconds behind leader Carson Macedo.

Then “a quarter turn here and there” before the Feature. When field erupted into a thunderous echo across the half-mile speedway and charged to the green flag, it was already clear the adjustments worked.

When the field exited turn four at the start, the race took on a different appearance. Brad Sweet had darted by polesitter Carson Macedo for the lead and Schatz stole third from David Gravel. The reigning champion then tried to steal second away from Macedo in turn one, but the rookie had the stronger run off turn two. His Chevrolet Accessories No. 2 launched underneath Schatz’s Toco Warranty No. 15 down the backstretch, and he cleared him into turn three.

The veteran and the rookie battled side-by-side for the next four laps with experience winning the fight. While Macedo played his luck, running as close as he could to the outside wall, Schatz cruised around the bottom line of the track – the same line he used to win at Eldora in May.

A lap after passing Macedo, Schatz, again, used the low line to his advantage, sneaking underneath leader Sweet in turn one and throttling past him off turn two.

From there, Schatz made being fast around Eldora look easy. Lap after lap, he added another car length distance between he and second-place. Even when the field was brought back together for a caution on Lap 15 – due to Kerry Madsen coming to a stop on the track – Schatz pulled away on the restart and left the field to fight for second.

Behind him, though, the hard charger of the year was coming. Logan Schuchart – who has earned the most Hard Charger awards this year, so far, with five – was making another impressive run to the front.

Schuchart started the race seventh and found himself in sixth when the caution for Madsen came out. On the restart, though, he wasn’t going to let the leaders run away. With the throttle down, the Drydene No. 1s darted to fourth by the time the field reached turn one and carried that momentum off turn two to claim third from Gravel.

From there the hunt was one. With a head of steam, while rim riding around the track, Schuchart charged his way past Sweet for second with 12 laps to go. Next on his list, Schatz. Schuchart had finished second to Schatz for the last three #LetsRaceTwo events. It was time for a change.

However, even with finding speed along the high side of the track, it still wasn’t enough to outpace Schatz.

“I was a little loose, and I think that’s why I was good on the restarts,” Schuchart said. “I’d be good for about three or four laps and then I’d start slowing down again, especially when I got the tires hot.”

With eight laps to go, a new contender emerged. Gravel found traction and got in a rhythm, passing Sweet for third. Five laps later, he found himself in second after dueling with Schuchart for a couple of laps. He, too, marked Schatz next on his list, but, again, the reigning champion was still too strong. Even with trying different lines around lap cars.

“I closed a little, but lap cars slowed him down a little bit and he started moving around,” Gravel said. “I have a good feeling we’re really close, just going to keep tuning on this thing and hoping we can beat the 15 car.”

Schatz held almost a straightaway lead over Gravel when he saw the checkered flags for the fifth time this year – becoming the second most winning driver, so far, behind nine-time winner Brad Sweet – and for his 288th career World of Outlaws win. It was also his second win in-a-row after winning the last Series race at Wilmot Raceway.

His win took a small bite out of Sweet’s points lead, again, too. Schatz is now 30-points behind the Kasey Kahne Racing driver.

Even though he claimed his last two wins in dominating fashion, Schatz admitted a wrong “quarter turn here or there” can be the difference between winning and struggling.

With three more races at Eldora Speedway to go – leading up to the $175,000-to-win Kings Royal on Saturday – Schatz isn’t looking to magic to keep his winning streak going. It’s the determination of his team to never give up and never settle. Even after a win.

“Even though we won a race tonight, they’re (the race team) going to go to bed tonight thinking about things to be better,” Schatz said. “That’s what it takes.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will return to Eldora Speedway Thursday, July 18, for the Jokers Wild. Get tickets and information.

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

Race Results: 7/17/19 – Eldora Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$10,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [3][$5,000]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][$3,000]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$2,700]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [9][$2,500]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [14][$2,200]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$2,000]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [11][$1,800]; 9. 21-Brian Brown [6][$1,600]; 10. 2-Carson Macedo [1][$1,450]; 11. 70-Brock Zearfoss [19][$1,300]; 12. 83-Daryn Pittman [18][$1,200]; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$1,100]; 14. 12N-Joey Saldana [20][$1,000]; 15. 5-Shane Stewart [5][$950]; 16. 91-Cale Thomas [24][$900]; 17. 13-Paul McMahan [17][$850]; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen [16][$750]; 19. 57-Kyle Larson [12][$725]; 20. 7S-Tim Kaeding [8][$700]; 21. 18-Ian Madsen [22][$700]; 22. 26-Cory Eliason [21][$700]; 23. 2M-Kerry Madsen [15][$700]; 24. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [23][$700];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-7, Donny Schatz 8-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 24-Rico Abreu[+8]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 21-Brian Brown, 13.253; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.282; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.287; 4. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.388; 5. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.407; 6. 19-Brent Marks, 13.426; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.445; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.445; 9. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi, 13.446; 10. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 13.45; 11. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.462; 12. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.501; 13. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.533; 14. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.537; 15. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.554; 16. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.643; 17. K4-Chad Kemenah, 13.712; 18. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 13.94; 19. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 14.077; 20. 4X-Bradley Ashford, 14.117; 21. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14.371

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.194; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.325; 3. 41-David Gravel, 13.401; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.429; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.474; 6. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 13.479; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.48; 8. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.516; 9. 92-Sye Lynch, 13.566; 10. 12N-Joey Saldana, 13.577; 11. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.613; 12. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.65; 13. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.651; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.657; 15. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.662; 16. 9-James McFadden, 13.694; 17. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.792; 18. 7-Jason Sides, 13.843; 19. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.968; 20. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 14.056; 21. 84-Tom Harris, 14.177

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 6. 3-Jac Haudenschild [7]; 7. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [5]; 8. K4-Chad Kemenah [9]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [8]; 10. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [10]; 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel [11]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [3]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 5. 70-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 7. 91-Cale Thomas [7]; 8. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [8]; 9. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [9]; 10. 4X-Bradley Ashford [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 6. 98H-Dave Blaney [8]; 7. 92-Sye Lynch [5]; 8. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [7]; 9. 3C-Cale Conley [10]; 10. 84-Tom Harris [11]; 11. 81-Lee Jacobs [9]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 7S-Tim Kaeding [3]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [6]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 5. 12N-Joey Saldana [5]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [7]; 7. 9-James McFadden [8]; 8. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 9. 49D-Shawn Dancer [10]; 10. 7-Jason Sides [9]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 41-David Gravel [3]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 8. 7S-Tim Kaeding [8]

C-Main (10 Laps) – 1. 81-Lee Jacobs [2][-]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [9][-]; 3. 14M-Marcus Dumesny [3][$150]; 4. 3C-Cale Conley [6][$150]; 5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [5][$150]; 6. 49D-Shawn Dancer [8][$125]; 7. 84-Tom Harris [10][$125]; 8. 4X-Bradley Ashford [7][$125]; 9. K4-Chad Kemenah [1][$125]; 10. 7-Jason Sides [4][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – 1. 26-Cory Eliason [2][-]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [3][-]; 3. 41S-Giovanni Scelzi [1][-]; 4. 91-Cale Thomas [7][-]; 5. 3-Jac Haudenschild [5][$300]; 6. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [6][$250]; 7. 9-James McFadden [12][$225]; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel [14][$200]; 9. 98H-Dave Blaney [10][$200]; 10. 92-Sye Lynch [4][$200]; 11. 99-Skylar Gee [9][$200]; 12. 81-Lee Jacobs [13][$200]; 13. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [11][$200]; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer [8][$200]

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

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

RETURN TO FORM: Donny Schatz dominates at Wilmot Raceway
The 10-time Series champion claimed his first World of Outlaws Wilmot Raceway win

WILMOT, WI – July 13, 2019 – Donny Schatz couldn’t hold back the emotion any longer.

With his arms raised and cheeks pushed up by a grin, Schatz yelled with a childlike giggle “Hell yeah, I won at Wilmot! That’s off the books.”

The 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion and now 287-time Series winner claimed his first victory at Wilmot Raceway Saturday night – and fourth win of the season.

“The older you get, you probably put more of a fine-tooth comb on places you haven’t won at and this was one of them,” Schatz said.

Schatz and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team unloaded Saturday evening with the finest comb they could build. He set the pace in Hot Laps and then Qualified second behind Series points leader Brad Sweet.

In his Drydene Heat race, Schatz won by 1.4 sec. He backed that performance up by winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash with a 2.7 sec. lead at the finish.

Dominating the night was not enough to convince Schatz he would excel in the Feature, though. He admitted he didn’t know what to expect from the 1/3-mile track, anticipating lap times to drop during the Feature.

On the initial start, outside polesitter Daryn Pittman made a charge at Schatz for the lead. He kept pace with the reigning champion down the back stretch and dove underneath him in turn three. The two entered turn four side-by-side – the closest anyone came all night to passing Schatz. But the Fargo, N.D.-native had the better run off the corner and cleared Pittman down the front stretch.

For the remaining 39 laps, the only time drivers got close enough to see the bumper of Schatz's Toco Warranty No. 15 car was during a caution on Lap 13 for a car going off track in turn two. After that, Schatz spent his night methodically navigating lap traffic.

However, Friday night’s Feature winner at Hartford Speedway, David Gravel, was not going to let Schatz cruised to the victory. Gravel, Sweet and Pittman traded positions in the top-four all night. After battling side-by-side for several laps, having to be gentle on the throttle through the tight slick corners, Sweet eventually passed Pittman for second on Lap 16. Gravel did the same a lap later, moving past the Roth Motorsports No. 83 car for third.

With 10 laps to go, Gravel finally put together a strong enough lap to work his way by Sweet and try to track down Schatz.

At that point there was about a two second gap between Schatz and second-place. Gravel slowly closed it lap by lap. Every lap car that halted Schatz’s momentum was a few more tenths of a second gained by Gravel.

By the time the white flag came out, Gravel had made up close to a second on Schatz. It wasn’t enough, though. He ran out of time.

“I couldn't get by Daryn very quick and then couldn't get by Brad,” Gravel said. “Then it was just a little too late to make a charge a Donny."

He and his Jason Johnson Racing team were happy with the run, though, leaving the weekend with a win and runner-up finish.

By taking the win Schatz finally broke his winless streak he’s had since the end of May when he won at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

“I’m sure somebody was coming there at the end,” Schatz said. “I was kind of hanging. We could get through a few lap cars, but then when I had to move around in (turns) one and two I wasn’t as good. But glad to get a win. It’s been a while. Always feels good to get the win, especially here in Wisconsin.”

Schatz's win put a small dent in Sweet’s point lead over him – he's now 38 points behind the Kasey Kahne Racing driver.

Sweet still leads the Series as the winningest driver with nine wins, so far. Schatz’s fourth victory of the year ties him with Gravel as the third winningest driver, behind Logan Schuchart, who has five wins.

For the past four years, Schatz has had double digit wins at this point in the season. He’s also amassed 20 or more wins in a year since 2013. After winning at Wilmot, he acknowledged the level of competition in the World of Outlaws right now makes those statistics hard to live up to.

“I don’t know how many guys there are capable of winning 20 races in a year,” Schatz said. “There’s some. But it’s hard to live up to them standards and there’s a lot of fast race cars out here right now. The parity in this sport is pretty crazy and to keep up with it is even more so.”

That hasn’t stopped he and his team from striving to do so, though. They continue to make changes and try new things with the car, he said.

At the moment, they’ve found a feel Schatz likes. He’s now eager to carry his winning momentum into the upcoming weeks of prestigious and big paying races. And with another grin and a chuckle, Schatz said he’s even looking forward to going to Tri-State Speedway in October – another track he hasn’t one at.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Tuesday, July 16 will venture to Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio for the Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic. To purchase tickets and get more information go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

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

Race Results: 7/13/19 – Wilmot Raceway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$10,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [4][$5,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$3,200]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [2][$2,800]; 5. 7S-Tim Kaeding [5][$2,500]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [9][$2,300]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$2,200]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [14][$2,100]; 9. 18-Ian Madsen [6][$2,050]; 10. 19-Brent Marks [13][$2,000]; 11. 9-James McFadden [8][$1,500]; 12. 5-Shane Stewart [11][$1,200]; 13. 17B-Bill Balog [12][$1,100]; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$1,050]; 15. 7-Jason Sides [10][$1,000]; 16. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [16][$900]; 17. 68-Dave Uttech [18][$800]; 18. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [19][$800]; 19. 19T-Todd Daun [21][$800]; 20. 43-Jereme Schroeder [20][$800]; 21. 23-Russel Borland [15][$800]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen [22][$800]; 23. 17BX-Jordan Paulsen [23][$800];
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+6]

Qualifying – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.563; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.587; 3. 41-David Gravel, 12.595; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.602; 5. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 12.604; 6. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.637; 7. 7-Jason Sides, 12.671; 8. 9-James McFadden, 12.746; 9. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.75; 10. 19-Brent Marks, 12.791; 11. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.817; 12. 23-Russel Borland, 12.824; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.827; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.827; 15. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.844; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.861; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.982; 18. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.982; 19. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer, 13.131; 20. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 13.49; 21. 19T-Todd Daun, 13.491; 22. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 14.626; 23. 17BX-Jordan Paulsen, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 4. 7-Jason Sides [3]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [4]; 6. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [7]; 7. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [8]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 7S-Tim Kaeding [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder [7]; 8. 17BX-Jordan Paulsen [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog [3]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [4]; 6. 68-Dave Uttech [6]; 7. 19T-Todd Daun [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 4. 41-David Gravel [3]; 5. 7S-Tim Kaeding [5]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6]

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

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

EYE ON THE PRIZE: David Gravel makes late race pass to win at Hartford Speedway
Gravel sneaks under Logan Schuchart on a late race restart to take the lead and win his fourth race of the season

HARTFORD, MI – July 12, 2019 – Repeated speeches about strong podium runs and satisfying runner-up finishes became commonplace for David Gravel the past two months. A fourth win of the year was in his grasp on several occasions but lost in the closing stage of the race.

The same story was playing out again in the final three laps of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature at Hartford Speedway Friday night. But behind the façade of being content with another podium was the raging fire to win again.

“You never want to finish second. You want to win these races,” Gravel said.

On the final restart of the race, with three laps to go, Gravel let the fire loose. He had worked too hard to put himself in a winning position and lose it again.

Gravel won his Drydene Heat race and finished second in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash – putting him on the front row for the 30-lap Feature. He had an advantage over the entire field, too – he’s the only driver to have won on the track’s 3/8-mile configuration.

On the initial start Gravel lost second-place to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who snuck under the Watertown, Conn.-native in turn one and cleared him down the back stretch. However, the red flag came out before a lap was completed.

Several cars were involved in an accident on the back stretch, including Series points leader Brad Sweet. The lengthy red flag period – to tow three cars off the track – allowed Sweet’s Kasey Kahne Racing team, along with team members from several other teams, to get the NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car fixed and back on track before the race went green again.

Since a lap was not complete, drivers lined back up in their initial starting order, putting Gravel back in second-place. This time, his lesson was learned. When the green flag flew again Gravel dove to the bottom of turn one, blocking any attempt by Schatz for another pass. It also allowed him to get a run underneath leader Carson Macedo down the back stretch and into turn three.

Gravel had his nose in front of Macedo exiting turn four, but Macedo had the better run off the corner and charged back to the lead down the front stretch.

From there, Macedo held command of the lead for the next seven laps before the caution flew again for a slowed Bill Balog. When the race restarted, Gravel, again, put pressure on Macedo. Inches were left between their bumper for the next two laps. Gravel dived underneath the rookie in turn three but like before Macedo prevailed.

They stayed first and second, respectively, to the halfway point of the Feature. In that time, Logan Schuchart quietly worked his way from ninth to third with the top two in sight.

With 14 laps to go, Gravel, not willing to settle for second, capitalized on a strong run. While Macedo searched for traction on the high side, Gravel had already found it on the bottom. He powered by Macedo and officially took the lead with 13 laps to go.

“Carson had a good pace. I think he just got free halfway through,” Gravel said. “I just kept working him, working him, trying to keep the pressure up, hoping he would spin his tires and kind of wear his stuff out. Luckily we were able to get by him.”

Gravel’s fortunes looked to have finally turned in his favor. Instead of losing the race in the second half of the event, he was on track to win it. However, with nine laps to go, the “dun dun” of an imaginary bass played in your head. The Shark Racing No. 1s of Logan Schuchart was closing. Fast.

Cruising around the high side of the track, Schuchart caught Gravel with four laps to go and sped around him with ease through turns one and two. Before Schuchart could run away with his fifth win of the season, the caution came out again for Tim Kaeding coming to a stop in turn four.

With three laps to go and Schuchart now backed up to Gravel, the Jason Johnson Racing driver had one last chance to harness his fire to win.

Gravel timed the restart just right, sneaking a nose underneath Schuchart as they raced down the front stretch. On their charge into turn one, Gravel dove to the bottom leaving no time for Schuchart to attempt a block. They exited turn two side-by-side and remained that way down the backstretch.

When they made it to turn three Gravel, again, launched his car into the corner, pulling ahead of Schuchart, and maintained the run off turn four to clear Schuchart for the lead.

He could throw away the runner-up speech. The win at Hartford Speedway was his.

“We’ve been wanting to win so bad,” Gravel said. “Finally getting the win, we’ve been so close. As a driver I’ve let a couple of wins get away. Just happy I can get another win. You never know when your next one is going to be.”

While Gravel celebrated a special victory – which he got to do with Jason Johnson’s son, Jaxx, for the first time this year in Victory Lane – Schuchart had to settle for another runner-up finish.

“That stings a little bit," Schuchart said. "We had one like that last week, we lost the race at the end and did it again tonight. Last week I feel like I blame that on myself. Tonight, the guys did a fantastic job... We qualified bad, didn’t give up and raced hard all night.”

He didn’t leave Michigan without some kind of win, though. His charge from ninth to second earned him the KSE Hard Charger award.

Sweet also had an impressive charge after getting involved in the wreck – which required his front axle to be replaced and his top wing to be replaced – at the start of the race. He restarted at the back of the field and methodically made his way to sixth-place by the end of the race.

“Had a pretty nasty vibration. I think we bent a rear axle,” Sweet said. “Honestly, a good salvage for us. Hung in there and tried not to shake my teeth out… Luckily, we were able to over come it. I think that’s a good sign for us to overcome that adversity tonight.”

He maintains his points lead over Schatz – who finished third – now 44 points over the reigning champion. Gravel still sits third in points – 130 points behind Sweet.

Gravel's win at Hartford was his second at track – the first driver to win more than one race at the speedway – his fourth win of the season and 43rd career World of Outlaws win – placing him 16th on the all-time wins list, passing Andy Hillenburg.

“Hopefully we’ll get some more (wins) and get this thing rolling for the month of money,” Gravel said.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Saturday, July 13, will venture to Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis. for the Badger 40. For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

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

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [2][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [9][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$3,200]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [1][$2,800]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,300]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [6][$2,200]; 8. 9-James McFadden [13][$2,100]; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [15][$2,050]; 10. 5-Shane Stewart [8][$2,000]; 11. 19-Brent Marks [14][$1,500]; 12. 7S-Tim Kaeding [4][$1,200]; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman [17][$1,100]; 14. 7-Jason Sides [5][$1,050]; 15. 81-Lee Jacobs [16][$1,000]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen [22][$900]; 17. 17B-Bill Balog [12][$800]; 18. 23-Russel Borland [19][$800]; 19. 97-Max Stambaugh [11][$800]; 20. 2L-Landon Lalonde [18][$800]; 21. 28-Brian Paulus [21][$800]; 22. 39-Tyler Rankin [20][$800]; 23. 71H-Ryan Ruhl [23][$800]; Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo 1-16; David Gravel 17-26, 28-30; Logan Schuchart 27;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+7]

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 14.014; 2. 2-Carson Macedo, 14.53; 3. 7-Jason Sides, 14.664; 4. 9-James McFadden, 14.702; 5. 71H-Ryan Ruhl, 14.714; 6. 5-Shane Stewart, 14.787; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 14.823; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 14.824; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.859; 10. 17B-Bill Balog, 14.882; 11. 41-David Gravel, 14.915; 12. 19-Brent Marks, 14.948; 13. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 15.122; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.202; 15. 97-Max Stambaugh, 15.206; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.363; 17. 81-Lee Jacobs, 15.492; 18. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.578; 19. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 15.653; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.702; 21. 39-Tyler Rankin, 15.893; 22. 28-Brian Paulus, 16.232; 23. 23-Russel Borland, 16.326

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

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

ROUND TWO REDEMPTION: Brad Sweet takes back-up car to Victory Lane at Cedar Lake Speedway

Sweet rebounds from early night woes to win the second round of the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown

The right rear tire of Brad Sweet’s NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car sagged lower to the ground with every inch the car rolled into the infield.

Fortunate for Sweet, his infield trip was to Cedar Lake Speedway’s Victory Lane Saturday night. It was his ninth win of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season – tying his win total last year and his record for most wins in a season – and his 43rd career Series win overall.

The image of Sweet waving the checkered flag atop his car with a flat tire was symbolistic of his path to victory.

Rain forced the remaining 28 laps of Friday night’s FVP Platinum Battery Showdown Feature to be run Saturday evening – making Saturday a doubleheader event. Sweet restarted the race in fourth and kept pace with the leaders, eyeing his third win in-a-row and 14th top-five in a row.

But four laps into the race, Sweet slowed to a stop. A U-joint broke in the car, damaging it beyond a quick repair. Sweet was forced to take his first DNF of the season. His Kasey Kahne Racing team had to pull out the back-up car for the second Feature of the night.

“I was disappointed, but we win as a team, we lose as a team,” Sweet said. “Every now and then you have a mechanical failure. We’ll go back and look at it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

After about an hour turnaround to get the back-up car ready, he Qualified eighth and then finished second in his Dryden Heat race behind Sheldon Haudenschild – who won the first Feature of the night. If there were still any concerns about how the back-up car would run, they were extinguished in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

Sweet ran second to Dominic Scelzi for the first half of the Dash, but found grip riding the bottom of the track and reeled Scelzi in lap by lap. On the final lap, the two California-natives charged down the front stretch side-by-side with Sweet edging out Scelzi for the win.

Now with the pole position for the Feature, Sweet was in prime position to rebound from his 23rd-place finish earlier in the night.

He launched to the lead on the initial start. Scelzi didn’t let Sweet get far, though. Five laps into the race, Scelzi snuck underneath Sweet in turns one and two. It wasn’t enough. Sweet charged off the top side of the track and maintained the lead. Scelzi wasn’t ready to give up. He charged back underneath Sweet, but, again, Sweet had the advantage on the high side. He shot to the lead and pulled away from Scelzi.

For the remaining 30 laps, Sweet held command of the race. Scelzi was left to fight for second-place, which he eventually lost to David Gravel. Carson Macedo wasn’t far behind, stealing third from Scelzi, as well.

Lap traffic became an obstacle at times for Sweet, but had little effect on slowing him down. He was denied a chance at a win earlier in the night. That was not going to happen again. He crossed the finish line with about a straightaway lead, ending the long day with a win.

“It was pretty cool that a car that just sits in our trailer we can bring out first night out and get it going that good,” Sweet said. “It’s been a long day, but it’s nice to celebrate another win. I want to keep it rolling. I have a great race car.”

In the first Feature of the night, 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz finished second – cutting Sweet’s points lead in half. However with Schatz finishing seventh in the second Feature of the night, Sweet was able to maintain a 50-point lead over the Fargo, N.D.-native.

Gravel has moved into third – 142 points behind Sweet.

“We’re happy with a second,” said Gravel, who went Quick Time for both Features at Cedar Lake Speedway. “We didn’t have a shot to win there. But happy with second. I think that was the best-case scenario for us. Brad got by a couple of lap cars and just wasn’t able to get back by the cars he did and kind of got stuck there.”

While Sweet dominated the race, leading all 35 laps, he said there is still room for improvement as his car lost grip throughout the run.

“If we keep fine tuning this thing, I think we can win a lot of races this year,” Sweet said.

With nine wins halfway through the season – seven of them in the last 10 races – Sweet is already on track to a career best year.

“We’ve got a good thing going and all we want to do is keep the throttle down,” Sweet said. “We just want to win as many of these races as we can. You don’t get these opportunities like we have very often.”

Sweet made the most of his latest opportunity with minutes to spare before his right rear tire gave out for the night in Victory Lane.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Friday, July 12, will be at Hartford Speedway in Hartford, Mich. for the Battle of Michigan.

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

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 7/6/19 - Cedar Lake Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$10,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [3][$5,000]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [5][$3,000]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2][$2,700]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [7][$2,500]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$2,200]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [11][$2,000]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [9][$1,800]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog [6][$1,600]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$1,450]; 11. 5-Shane Stewart [15][$1,300]; 12. 83-Daryn Pittman [8][$1,200]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [19][$1,100]; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart [14][$1,000]; 15. 21-Brian Brown [17][$950]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$900]; 17. 13-Mark Dobmeier [18][$850]; 18. 3-Jac Haudenschild [22][$750]; 19. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [24][$725]; 20. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12][$700]; 21. 9N-Wade Nygaard [16][$700]; 22. 19P-Paige Polyak [20][$700]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$700]; 24. 23-Russel Borland [23][$700];
Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+6]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 13.015; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.032; 3. 2-Carson Macedo, 13.295; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.32; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman, 13.48; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.501; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.551; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.553; 9. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.562; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.619; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.657; 12. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 13.66; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 13.779; 14. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.943; 15. 5-Shane Stewart, 13.958; 16. 19P-Paige Polyak, 13.985; 17. 21-Brian Brown, 14.003; 18. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 14.005; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.382; 20. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.394; 21. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 14.398; 22. 19-Brent Marks, 14.511; 23. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, 15.319; 24. 29-Hunter Custer, 15.385; 25. 23-Russel Borland, 15.589

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 6. 9N-Wade Nygaard [5]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [6]; 8. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 9. 23-Russel Borland [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [7]; 8. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [8]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild [6]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [5]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 3. 41-David Gravel [3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 5. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 19-Brent Marks [4][-]; 2. 19P-Paige Polyak [1][-]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [3][-]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [2][-]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [7][-]; 6. 1AJ-Trevor Mell [5][-]; 7. 29-Hunter Custer [6][$300]

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

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

NERVES OF STEEL: Haudenschild holds off Donny Schatz to win at Cedar Lake Speedway
Haudenschild wins the rain delayed FVP Platinum Battery Showdown

Nerves set in for Sheldon Haudenschild in the closing laps of the early Saturday evening World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series FVP Platinum Battery Showdown at Cedar Lake Speedway.

While leading with less than 10 laps to go, he brushed the wall off turn four while trying to pass a lap car on one lap and jumped the cushion in turn one, upsetting his car, in another. With 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz lurking behind him – hungry to return to Victory Lane – Haudenschild knew errors were not an option.

“I made a couple of sloppy laps there honestly,” Haudenschild said. “I was a little nervous. That’s usually when Donny capitalizes. I wasn’t very happy with myself making a few of those mistakes.”

Schatz closed, but after the couple errors, Haudenschild in his NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was flawless. Powering around the high side of the speedway, the Wooster, Ohio-native cruised to his first win of the season – 6th career win – and first win since August.

It wasn’t an easy drive though. Before having to hold off Schatz, he had to work his way from eighth-place past drivers like Brad Sweet, Shane Stewart, David Gravel and Schatz for the lead.

Rain was also a hinderance. Seven laps of the 35-lap Feature were completed Friday night before rain fell, postponing the race until Saturday evening – leaving 28 laps to go. Before the rain fell, Gravel had taken the lead and Haudenschild had moved his way to seventh.

“Starting seventh (when the race restarted) I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Haudenschild said. “I had Brad, Donny, Gravel and the five-car up there. It definitely wasn’t easy pickings to get up there. Luckily, I made a couple of passes on the bottom in (turns) one and two while it was still good, and I think I moved up at the right time.

“We’ve had a little bit of a down period. So, to get a win for them (Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team), and myself is huge.”

When the Feature went back green early Saturday evening, Schatz launched by Gravel for the lead and never looked back. Pulling away from the field he looked poised to claim his fourth win of the season. However, a fast Haudenschild charged his way through the field and eventually worked his way around Schatz on the high side to steal the top spot and lead the final 19 laps.

While Schatz had to settle for second, he made a big gain in the points with Sweet breaking a part during the race and finishing 23rd.

“Wins is what keeps you a job and keep these teams going, keeps them motivated,” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D.-native. “So, we wanted to win. Sheldon did a better job. When he got up on the top there in three and four, he’s good at that stuff.”

Rounding out the podium was Kerry Madsen, who used a few late race slide jobs to secure the position.

“Just didn’t get my rhythm until halfway,” Madsen said. “The car came alive and started attacking.”

With the new track conditions Saturday evening, versus Friday night, drivers were unsure what they would be faced with, but Haudenschild stayed confident throughout the delay. He knew he had a good car Friday night and knew he could keep his strong run going into Saturday.

With the sun’s evening rays bathing him, his NOS Energy Drink can newly awarded glimmering gold trophy in Victory Lane at Cedar Lake Speedway, Haudenschild’s nerves were gone, replaced by relief and joy.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will complete the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown tonight at Cedar Lake Speedway.

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

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 7/6/19 - Cedar Lake Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps)– 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [8][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$5,000]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5][$3,000]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [16][$2,700]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [11][$2,500]; 6. 5-Shane Stewart [4][$2,200]; 7. 41-David Gravel [2][$2,000]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [15][$1,800]; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman [14][$1,600]; 10. 7S-Jason Sides [6][$1,450]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [20][$1,300]; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$1,200]; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$1,100]; 14. 3-Jac Haudenschild [19][$1,000]; 15. 9N-Wade Nygaard [23][$950]; 16. 2-Carson Macedo [10][$900]; 17. 23-Russel Borland [21][$850]; 18. 13-Mark Dobmeier [22][$750]; 19. 29-Hunter Custer [24][$725]; 20. 18-Ian Madsen [13][$700]; 21. 21-Brian Brown [17][$700]; 22. O5-Colin Smith [18][$700]; 23. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$700]; 24. 55-Brooke Tatnell [9][$700]; 25. 14K-Tori Knutson [25][$700];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-7, Donny Schatz 1-16, Sheldon Haudenschild 17-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 19-Brent Marks[+12]

Qualifying – 1. 41-David Gravel, 11.072; 2. 5-Shane Stewart, 11.079; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.127; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.129; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.136; 6. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.145; 7. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.169; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 11.183; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.21; 10. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.219; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.231; 12. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.239; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.258; 14. 21-Brian Brown, 11.275; 15. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 11.298; 16. 18-Ian Madsen, 11.304; 17. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.309; 18. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.332; 19. 19-Brent Marks, 11.367; 20. 23-Russel Borland, 11.412; 21. O5-Colin Smith, 11.429; 22. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 11.57; 23. 9N-Wade Nygaard, 11.658; 24. 29-Hunter Custer, 11.975; 25. 14K-Tori Knutson, 12.718; 26. 17B-Bill Balog, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 8. 13-Mark Dobmeier [8]; 9. 14K-Tori Knutson [9]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [6]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 7. 23-Russel Borland [7]; 8. 9N-Wade Nygaard [8]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog [9]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 3. 55-Brooke Tatnell [5]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. O5-Colin Smith [7]; 7. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 7 Transfer – 1. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1][-]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2][-]; 3. 23-Russel Borland [3][-]; 4. 13-Mark Dobmeier [4][-]; 5. 9N-Wade Nygaard [5][-]; 6. 29-Hunter Custer [6][-]; 7. 14K-Tori Knutson [7][-]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog [8][$250]