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

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]

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)

Brad Sweet takes advantage of Logan Schuchart’s mistake to get eighth win of the season at Brown County Speedway

Brad Sweet admitted running second isn’t always a bad thing.

That’s because he used it to his advantage to win six of the last eight races – including Wednesday night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature at Brown County Speedway, in Aberdeen, S.D.

However, with a fifth-place starting position and several cautions, it took Sweet about half the race to make his way to second and catch leader Logan Schuchart.

His trek to the front took patience. And a few key adjustments by his Kasey Kahne Racing crew before the 35-lap Feature.

“We were awful in the Dash and the NAPA Auto Parts guys made a great adjustment for the [Feature] and we had a really good car,” Sweet said.

Sweet started the night as the quickest car in Hot Laps and won his Drydene Heat race. The Dash was a drastic change of pace for the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49 team, though. Sweet finished fifth out of six cars – falling from a third-place starting position.

Then the adjustments, and patience.

Schuchart jumped to the lead at the start of the Feature, but had pressure from Kraig Kinser for the position. Their runs were cut short with a caution on the first lap for Paige Polyak spinning in turn one. Before they could battle for the lead again, there was another. This time for Jac Haudenschild going off track – an issue several drivers had throughout the night.

When the race went green, Kinser fell victim to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz and Sweet, who passed Kinser for second and third, respectively. The trio of Schuchart, Schatz and Sweet remained in that running order until Lap 15.

With 20 laps to go, Sweet dove to the bottom of turn three, while Schatz ran high – the line just about every car was on – and slid up in front of the Fargo, N.D.-native to take second-place. He was now in a position to learn. To stalk. To hunt.

Lap traffic was a benefit to Sweet in previous races, helping him catch the leader. However, with multiple cautions for cars either spinning or going off track, Schuchart had little traffic to deal for the majority of the Feature. He never fumbled on the restarts, either. The rear tires of the Drydene No. 1s held on to clay surface with the grip of a shark biting into its prey, launching Schuchart to a multi-car length lead every time.

On the final restart with 19 laps to go, the race went green flag to checkered flag. Schuchart again launched to the lead and cruised around the high side of the track, while Sweet and Schatz followed in his footsteps.

With about 10 laps to go, Schuchart found himself having to navigate through heavy lap traffic. That brought Sweet and Schatz back into the battle for the lead. Sweet’s patient was paying off.

Four laps later, Schuchart slid off the bottom of the track while trying to pass a slower car. His loss of momentum allowed Sweet to dart to the inside of the Shark Racing car. The duo drag raced down the front stretch of the quarter-mile track, neither willing to succumb to the other.

On their charge into turn one, Sweet used the middle lane to his advantage, powering by Schuchart for the lead and running away with it for the remaining five laps.

“I think he (Schuchart) thought he could get that lap car and it just allowed me to get the run,” Sweet said.

Sweet went on to see the duel checkered flags waving over his car for the eighth time his year – and the 42nd time in his World of Outlaws career.

“I was just trying to be patient there,” Sweet said. “Sometimes it’s good to be second again. Logan wasn’t sure what to do with the lap car. I knew there was no way to pass him. The rubber was starting to move down the race track and it was tricky to hit.”

Schuchart, who led 30 laps, puts the blame on himself for letting the win slip away.

“I just got a little over anxious,” Schuchart said. “It was a bad deal on my part. I thought I had to pass a lap car and I didn’t. But I’m happy to be up here running second.”

While Schuchart was still satisfied with his podium finish, Schatz, who ended up third – his second podium finish in-a-row – was left still looking for more.

“We’re close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and we’re not doing either of those, so we’ll keep digging and trying to get the wins,” Schatz said.

At this point last year, Schatz had double digit wins and the points lead. Currently, the Fargo, N.D.-native has three wins and sits second in points – now 78 points behind the KKR No. 49 car. Sweet is on an impressive run of 13 top-five finishes in-a-row and is already nearing his 2018 win total of nine victories.

“I’ve had years when we only win five races in a whole season,” Sweet said. “I know how special it is when you get on a roll like this… This is what we’re meant to be doing out here. It’s fun to win these races. I’m not going to take it for granted and we’re going to keep working hard.”

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws on Friday, July 5, and Saturday, July 6, will be a Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown.

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: 7/3/19 – Brown County Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$3,200]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [9][$2,800]; 5. 41-David Gravel [8][$2,500]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [13][$2,300]; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3][$2,200]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [11][$2,100]; 9. 2-Carson Macedo [17][$2,050]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [7][$2,000]; 11. 5-Shane Stewart [14][$1,500]; 12. 2M-Kerry Madsen [18][$1,200]; 13. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6][$1,100]; 14. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$1,050]; 15. 13-Mark Dobmeier [16][$1,000]; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [15][$900]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$800]; 18. 17B-Ryan Bickett [22][$800]; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle [21][$800]; 20. 19P-Paige Polyak [19][$800]; 21. 3-Jac Haudenschild [10][$800]; 22. 11M-Brendan Mullen [20][$800];
Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-30, Brad Sweet 31-35 ;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+8]

Qualifying – 1. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.961; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.049; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.063; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 11.092; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.12; 6. 19-Brent Marks, 11.143; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.152; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.154; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.168; 10. 19P-Paige Polyak, 11.168; 11. 41-David Gravel, 11.173; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 11.19; 13. 18-Ian Madsen, 11.19; 14. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.212; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.223; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.236; 17. 5-Shane Stewart, 11.258; 18. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.295; 19. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 11.474; 20. 11M-Brendan Mullen, 11.482; 21. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 11.734; 22. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 11.894

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 6. 13-Mark Dobmeier [7]; 7. 19P-Paige Polyak [4]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett [8]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 3. 41-David Gravel [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [6]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 7. 11M-Brendan Mullen [7]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [2]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 7. 2K-Kevin Ingle [7]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Lap) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]