Schuchart Charges from Deep for First Victory of 2017
Schatz comes from 21st to third for eighth top-five finish of the year
HANFORD, CA – April 1, 2017 -Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart started the 35-lap Kings Outlaw Showdown from the 19th position at Keller Auto Speedway – the KSE Hard Charger award winner picked his way to the front of the 26-car field. Late in the race, Schuchart found the bottom groove of the 3/8th-mile oval to work his way past eventual runner-up, Ian Madsen on the final lap to score his first victory of the 2017 season.
After starting the season having overcome adversity when the teams tow-vehicle broke down on the way to the opening World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series event, the team relied on support from the racing industry to assist with getting them to each Outlaw event.
“This adds onto the excitement and the accomplishments. It doesn’t matter if you start from the pole or wherever, if you can win an Outlaws race, these things are really tough [to win] no matter where you go. I’m just happy for my team to be able to get a win and it just makes it that much more exciting to start from 19th. We just really need to thank [Ryan] Smith family for letting us use their toter-home to come all the way [to California] and everyone that donated to the GoFundMe, you never want to be in that position but we were in a tough spot and we wouldn’t be out here if it wasn’t for those people.”
Ian Madsen and James McFadden, made up an all-Australian front-row for the start of the Kings Outlaw Showdown at Keller Auto Speedway. It was Madsen who would show the way for a total of 31 of the 35 laps in the Feature.
The event was slowed several times, including on lap four when Brad Sweet, who came into the night second in points, brushed the outside Turn 4 wall. Sweet was forced to retire from the event early resulting in a 26th-place finish.
Making his presences known, the Hanover, PA-native Schuchart had worked his way up to the fourth running position by lap 14.
It was on lap 20 when the local hero, Cory Eliason from nearby Fresno, CA made a bid to steal the show by charging from the 16th-starting position to wrangle the lead away from Madsen. As the large crowd at the Keller Auto Speedway erupted in excitement, Eliason lost the handling on his No. 00 machine and spun on the backstretch; forfeiting the lead just as quickly as he got it.
With Madsen back in control of the lead once again, he fended off a new challenger in David Gravel. In total, Madsen had five different drivers start to his right on the double-file restarts. Schuchart snuck by Gravel on the restart and immediately went to work on Madsen.
“It was a pretty strong run for the KPC team,” said Ian Madsen driver of the No. 18. “Kind of got nervous [with all those restarts] didn’t really know what to do, with someone different coming up each time. We’ll go onto Perris and see if we can win.”
The driver of the No. 1s of Schuchart started to search around for some moisture; he eventually found it on the bottom groove.
“I was able to find a little moister off [turn] four and it helped me, at least for me to get up to [Madsen] so I could make a move in [turns] three and four,” added Schuchart.
The Series points leader, Donny Schatz who had to use the Last Chance Showdown to transfer into the Feature event put on a show to grab a third-place finish. This marks Schatz’s eighth top-five of the season.
This victory marks Schuchart’s third career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series win.
The Series travels south to Perris Auto Speedway for the SoCal Showdown on Saturday Night to wrap up the Spring portion of the California swing.
Keller Auto Speedway Notebook
HANFORD, CA – March 31, 2017 – Logan Schuchart who started 19th in the 26th-car field, makes a last-lap pass on Ian Madsen to pick up his first World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory of the year.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 6 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18 ); David Gravel – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29); Jason Johnson – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17); Brad Sweet – 1 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25), Logan Schuchart – 1 (Keller Auto Speedway).
Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [19][$10,000]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2][$5,500]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [21][$3,200]; 4. 5-David Gravel [9][$2,800]; 5. 51-James McFadden [1][$2,500]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [23][$2,300]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [25][$1,400]; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [12][$2,100]; 9. 83-Kyle Hirst [11][$2,050]; 10. 2-Shane Stewart [5][$2,000]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [26][$700]; 12. 19-Brent Marks [15][$1,200]; 13. 41-Jason Johnson [3][$1,100]; 14. 21X-Carson Macedo [14][$1,050]; 15. 4-Paul McMahan [10][$1,000]; 16. OO-Cory Eliason [16][$900]; 17. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [8][$800]; 18. 17-Joey Saldana [4][$800]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [20][$800]; 20. 9-Daryn Pittman [24][$800]; 21. 21-Brian Brown [18][$800]; 22. 3C-DJ Netto [22][$800]; 23. 83JR-Tim Kaeding [13][$800]; 24. O-Bud Kaeding [17][$800]; 25. 24-Rico Abreu [6][$800]; 26. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$800]. Lap Leaders: Ian Madsen 1-18, 21-33; Cory Eliason 19-20; Logan Schuchart 34-35; KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+18]
Qualifying – 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.999; 2. 2-Shane Stewart, 13.026; 3. 17-Joey Saldana, 13.053; 4. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.093; 5. 2X-Parker Price-Miller, 13.157; 6. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.187; 7. 83-Kyle Hirst, 13.23; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.245; 9. 5-David Gravel, 13.251; 10. 4-Paul McMahan, 13.258; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.273; 12. 51-James McFadden, 13.279; 13. 83JR-Tim Kaeding, 13.324; 14. 21-Brian Brown, 13.335; 15. 3C-DJ Netto, 13.364; 16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.368; 17. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.369; 18. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.371; 19. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.405; 20. 98-Sean Watts, 13.41; 21. O-Bud Kaeding, 13.416; 22. 21X-Carson Macedo, 13.474; 23. 26-Tayler Malsam, 13.48; 24. OO-Cory Eliason, 13.488; 25. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.532; 26. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.58; 27. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.635; 28. 73-Brady Bacon, 13.68; 29. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.702; 30. 9Z-Jared Goerges, 13.998; 31. 19-Brent Marks, 14.034; 32. 13-Clyde Knipp, 14.51; 33. 90-Randy Waitman, NT
Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer to Feature- 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 3. 5-David Gravel [3]; 4. 83JR-Tim Kaeding [4]; 5. O-Bud Kaeding [6]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [7]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 9. 90-Randy Waitman [9]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer to Feature- 1. 2-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson [2]; 3. 4-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 21X-Carson Macedo [6]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 8. 9Z-Jared Goerges [8]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer to Feature- 1. 17-Joey Saldana [1]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 3. 83-Kyle Hirst [2]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 7. 26-Tayler Malsam [6]; 8. 3C-DJ Netto [4]
Heat #4 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer to Feature- 1. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 2. 51-James McFadden [3]; 3. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 4. OO-Cory Eliason [6]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 6. 73-Brady Bacon [7]; 7. 98-Sean Watts [5]; 8. 13-Clyde Knipp [8]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 51-James McFadden [1]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson [3]; 4. 17-Joey Saldana [6]; 5. 2-Shane Stewart [7]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu [5]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [8]; 8. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [4]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer to Feature – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2][-]; 2. 3C-DJ Netto [1][-]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [3][-]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [6][-]; 5. 73-Brady Bacon [9][$300]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7][$250]; 7. 98-Sean Watts [4][$225]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8][$200]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$200]; 10. 26-Tayler Malsam [5][$200]; 11. 13-Clyde Knipp [12][$200]; 12. 9Z-Jared Goerges [11][$200]; 13. 90-Randy Waitman [13][$200]
Unofficial World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
| Pos. | Car | Driver | Total | Diff | Wins | Top 5’s | Top 10’s |
| 1 | 15 | Donny Schatz | 1574 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | David Gravel | 1496 | -78 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | 49 | Brad Sweet | 1482 | -92 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Daryn Pittman | 1430 | -144 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Shane Stewart | 1428 | -146 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | 18 | Ian Madsen | 1428 | -146 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | 41 | Jason Johnson | 1416 | -158 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | 93 | Sheldon Haudenschild | 1382 | -192 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | 1S | Logan Schuchart | 1372 | -202 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | 17 | Joey Saldana | 1328 | -246 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | 19 | Brent Marks | 1328 | -246 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 4 | Paul McMahan | 1318 | -256 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | 11k | Kraig Kinser | 1294 | -280 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | 24R | Rico Abreu | 1266 | -308 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 15 | W20 | Greg Wilson | 1260 | -314 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | 7S | Jason Sides | 1250 | -324 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | 21 | Brian Brown | 1224 | -350 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 18 | 1A | Jacob Allen | 1052 | -522 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 2X | Parker Price-Miller | 1050 | -524 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 13 | Clyde Knipp | 1046 | -528 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Craftsman (Official Tool), Arctic Cat (Official Side-by-Side Recreational Vehicle), Extended Stay America (Official Hotel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, and TNT Rescue.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, N.C., is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.
Sources: Colby Gorniewicz/World of Outlaws PR
http://www.woosprint.com/news/race-reports/458-2017-race-reports/4323-schuchart-charges-from-deep-at-keller-for-first-victory-of-2017