A PAIR OF SECOND’S AT BIG HIGHLIGHT WEEKEND
The momentum train continued last weekend for Logan Schuchart and the Shark Racing team with a pair of second-place finishes at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio highlighting the weekend.
Schuchart, driver of the Shark Racing Priority Aviation/Ausherman Properties/Mike Palumbo No. 1s, and the Bobby Allen led team have found their groove and entered last weekend’s #LetsRaceTwo World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Sprint Car Series doubleheader with five consecutive top-five finishes. Schuchart was looking to score his first triumph of 2018 and repeat his May 2017 victory at Eldora.
Schuchart and his crew chief Joe Mooney headed into the first of four 2018 trips to the famous high-banked half-mile dirt oval with a plan and they were fast from the start. The Hanover, PA native was third fastest in the field of 37 cars during qualifying and had a tremendous battle with Jac Haudenschild for the top spot in the third heat. A runner-up finish put him in the Sears Craftsman Dash and he drew the seventh starting position. He would finish eighth in the six-lap dash and start the 30-lap A-Feature outside of row four. In the main event, Schuchart battled just inside the top-10 early on before making his charge forward. He raced his way into the top-five on lap 14 and two laps later was chasing leaders Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet. He took second from Sweet on lap 22 and spent the final eight laps trying to track down Schatz. He came 1.041 seconds short of his second career win at Eldora and earned his second runner-up finish of 2018.
With a notebook full of options for the second night at Eldora, Schuchart came out strong making an impressive lap in qualifying going out late and still turning the fifth-fastest lap. He raced past heat one pole sitter David Gravel and drove away to advance to his second fourth consecutive Sears Craftsman Dash before again drawing a last row starting position. He was clearly on a mission in the six-lap race charging from eighth to third in five laps and nearly took second from Parker Price-Miller on the final lap. In the feature, he held the fourth position for the first three laps before passing Aaron Reitzel coming out of turn two on lap four. Next was Price-Miller on lap seven and then it was again onto chasing Schatz down. He pulled almost even a couple of times, but his best chance came late in the race when the leader was mired in lapped traffic. Schuchart pulled even again coming out of turn four and looked to have a chance at the lead, but a caution flag nullified the opportunity. Following the yellow, it was a five-lap race to the finish and Schatz had an open track. Schuchart made five really good laps, but finished 1.536 seconds out of first.
Sunday night at Tri-State Speedway may have been a 17th-place finish that snapped seven consecutive top-10 runs, but it was a finish that didn’t slow down their momentum. Schuchart did a great job making his way into the A-Feature after starting eighth in his heat and bettered his career best finish at the track by five positions.
He continues to hold down the eighth position in the standings through 19 races and will be looking for his first win of the season this week on home soil as the Outlaws return to Central Pennsylvania. Schuchart, a former 358 Lincoln Speedway track champion, will open with the Gettyburg Clash presented by Drydene Performance Products Wednesday near his hometown of Hanover before the Friday and Saturday doubleheader at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Season stats:
WoO Races: 19 Podium Finishes: 4 Top-Fives: 5 Top-10s: 10
Fast-time Awards: 2
KSE Hard Charger Awards: 3
Points/Position: 2314/8th
Up Next:
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 • Lincoln Speedway, New Oxford, PA
Schuchart has plenty of laps at the Fabulous Lincoln Speedway earning his first Lincoln win back in 2010 in the 358 division. Later that season, he won the 358 track championship and was named most improved driver. He won a pair of 358 features in 2011 at Lincoln and then in 2013, he won in April and October. He has entered seven WoO races at Lincoln and after not qualifying for the first four A-Features, he has made the last three. His best finish came in 2016 when he finished fifth.
Friday-Saturday, May 18-19, 2018 • Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
Schuchart has entered 32 WoO races at Williams Grove dating back to his debut in the 2011 Williams Grove National Open, when started on the front row with reigning WoO champion Jason Meyers. His first WoO top-10 came during the 2013 Summer Nationals and his podium came in the 2015 National Open. He raced to a fifth-place finish last May in the Morgan Cup finale before charing from 20th to fourth in the National Open.
