Eldora Speedway never disappoints, and that clearly holds true for virtual racing, too. While fans wait for the real dirt to fly, Big E provided a rush of adrenaline during the World of Outlaws: eDirt Racing Shootout debut Tuesday night on CBS Sports Network.
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car star Logan Schuchart brought the virtual crowd and those watching at home to their feet, trading slide jobs with Kevin Swindell for the final five laps and edging him at the finish line to win his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car iRacing Feature … using the DIRTVision studio simulator no less. But before all that excitement, 19-year-old Kaeden Cornell picked up his first World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model iRacing win in a barn burner race, kicking off the doubleheader.
The two drivers beat star-studded fields that included a host of dirt aces taking on high-profile invaders like Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Juan Pablo Montoya, William Byron, Ron Capps, Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier and Cruz Pedregon.
The start of the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car eDirt Racing Shootout Feature saw NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Briscoe pulled away from the field as drivers behind him went three and four wide, arguing over positions second through fifth.
Swindell became the benefactor of the battle, splitting the gap between Brad Sweet, Max McLaughlin and Robbie Kendall to launch his #39 Swindell Speedlab car into second. The two-time World of Outlaws iRacing Invitational winner was then on the hunt for Briscoe.
Twelve laps into the 35-lap Feature, Briscoe pounced off the wall off Turn 2 and slid down into Swindell, who was underneath him going for the lead. The two cars locked and slid sideways going into Turn 3, stacking up the field and bringing out the caution.
Swindell and Briscoe held their positions up front, but Swindell now had the lead. He, like Briscoe before him, pulled away from the field while the top-five traded positions amongst themselves every lap.
With 15 laps to go, as Briscoe, Sweet and Balog slowed each other’s momentum while battling for second, Schuchart held the throttle to the floor and fired his Drydene #1a car into the runner-up spot.
Schuchart, a two-time World of Outlaws winner in real life at Eldora, knew exactly what to do to catch Swindell.
“I just kind of used the same line that I used in real life last year at the Kings Royal,” said Schuchart, who powered from 12th to second in the 2019 Kings Royal at Eldora. “It seems to work on this thing.”
He ran the top, putting his right rear tire on the cushion, inches from the wall. That helped him run down Swindell in seconds. Once he caught him, he tried a slide job on Swindell in the first corner, but Swindell charged back by him the next turn.
A couple of cautions got in the way of their battle, but on a restart with five laps to go, the two drivers put on a Sprint Car racing clinic, virtual or not. Schuchart would launch his car ahead of Swindell one corner and Swindell would slide back by him the next. They crossed the finish line separated by thousandths of a second each lap.
With two laps to go, Swindell bounced off the cushion just enough to give Schuchart the advantage to clear him off Turn 4. However, Swindell wasn’t finished. “The Bulldog” stayed close to Schuchart and looked underneath him coming to the checkered flag.
Schuchart had the better momentum off Turn 4 and edged Swindell at the line by 0.25 seconds.
As fast as everyone’s heart was beating by watching the spectacular finish, Schuchart’s adrenaline was up just as high.
“My heart is going, I feel like I just got out of a real car,” said an out of breath Schuchart. “That was a great race with Kevin. That was really cool. We were able to race each other real clean. It was a lot of run. It’s real cool to win one of these things.”
World of Outlaws Sprint Car NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 laps) — 1. 1-Logan Schuchart [6] [$1,000]; 2. 39-Kevin Swindell [5]; 3. 170-Bill Balog [1]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 5. 7-Tyler Courtney [14]; 6. 17-Austin McCarl [11]; 7. 6-Juan Pablo Montoya [20]; 8. 5-Chase Briscoe [2]; 9. 35-Mike Mahaney [13]; 10. 1-Jacob Allen [15]; 11. 17-Max McLaughlin [7]; 12. 2-Wayne Johnson [18]; 13. 41-David Gravel [12]; 14. 5-Brent Marks [10]; 15. 25-William Byron [21]; 16. 28-Ron Capps [19]; 17. 18-Ian Madsen [16]; 18. 21-Brian Brown [9]; 19. 2-Carson Macedo [8]; 20. 55-Robbie Kendall [3]; 21. 2-Kerry Madsen [17]. Lap leaders: Chase Briscoe 1-11; Kevin Swindell 12-33; Logan Schuchart 34-35. KSE Hard Charger: Juan Pablo Montoya +13.
https://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/042920_LoganSchuchartiRacing_byJoeGrabianowski.jpg7201170loganhttps://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/logo.pnglogan2020-05-01 16:00:562020-05-01 16:00:56FIRST ‘WON’: SCHUCHART SCORES FIRST EDIRT RACING SHOOTOUT WINS IN CBS DEBUT
Story courtesy of WOO; written by Nick Graziano – February 19, 2020
Logan Schuchart had never won at Volusia Speedway Park coming into the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals. Never led a lap. Never even finished inside the top-five. That’s changed.
In the three World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season opening races at the half-mile Florida track, Schuchart amassed 50 laps led and three top-five finishes, including two podiums and a win.
“Getting a win before we leave Florida is awesome,” said Schuchart, of Hanover, PA. “I’m really excited about that.”
Schuchart is now second in the standings, two-points behind reigning champion Brad Sweet. It’s the best position he’s been in to start a season with the Texas doubleheader at Cotton Bowl Speedway on March 13 and LoneStar Speedway on March 14 the next stop on the tour.
His performance is a testament to the continued growth of his talent and Shark Racing’s capabilities since joining the World of Outlaws tour full-time in 2014.
The team’s first few years were about surviving and making it to November, Schuchart has said. In his rookie campaign he earned five top-five finishes and 15 top-10s. It wasn’t until 2016 that he earned his first career victory.
Last year, in a breakout year for the 27-year-old, Schuchart earned a career high eight wins – doubling his number of total career wins – 32 top-five finishes, 53 top-10s and led 243 laps. He also finished a career best fifth in the Series standings. And while that success has helped propel him to a strong start this year, Schuchart cites he and the team’s progressive growth began long before 2019.
“Not just 2019, but all of the years in general, the experience over the years, taking notes, getting better and just getting smarter about everything,” Schuchart said. “I just feel like the more experience we get the smarter we get about certain things.
“But this is tough. There’s a lot of great race car drivers out here. A lot of great teams. Great mechanics. They can put you in your place very quick. The World of Outlaws is in a great spot. The sport is in a great spot. But we’re trying to stay on top.”
Schuchart’s five days in Florida showed how quickly he and his Shark Racing team can learn and adapt. The two opening Sprint Week races during the DIRTcar Nationals with the All Star Circuit of Champions saw Schuchart finish 11th and 17th, respectively.
Then he nearly won the season opening race for the World of Outlaws. Schuchart led 21 laps and lost the lead to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz with three laps to go, settling for a runner-up finish. The next night he failed to qualify for the Feature and had to use a provisional to start. However, he was able to charge his way from 25th to fifth – earning the Hard Charger award for the night.
On the final night of racing in Florida, Schuchart led 29 of 30 laps, and held off attacks from Cory Eliason and Daryn Pittman to pick up his first Volusia Speedway Park win. His Shark Racing teammate Jacob Allen also got a career best finish of 12th at the speedway on the final night.
“Definitely a weight off your shoulders knowing you got one,” Schuchart said. “They’re so tough to come by. To get one off your back and being able to just go out there and race and build off of what you already have is definitely a relief.”
While Schuchart is on track for another possible career year, with more than 80 races to go this year, contending for the championship is far out of his mind.
“I just want to win races,” Schuchart said. “I don’t want to think about that at all. That comes at the end. At November I’m sure you think about that when the points are close. Whatever it is. I just want to win as many races as I can and if we’re able to do that the rest will come.”
https://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LoganSchuchart_DIRTcarNationals2020_byAndyNewsome.jpg7201170loganhttps://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/logo.pnglogan2020-02-20 15:31:422020-02-20 15:31:42MAKIN’ A SPLASH: LOGAN SCHUCHART OFF TO CAREER BEST START
BARBERVILLE, FL – February 9, 2020 – The wild hunt commenced Sunday night at the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series finale at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.
The trophies: A golden gator. And a Big Gator.
Logan Schuchart put an assault on the 27-car field, in front of a packed house, to earn his first win at Volusia Speedway Park and Brad Sweet cruised to his third podium finish in-a-row, awarding him his second Big Gator championship. Sweet won his first Big Gator in 2016.
“It was a lot of fun,” Sweet said about the event. “I thought we had a lot of different tracks all week. The NAPA car was fast on all the different conditions, but we’ll take that… 2020 is looking to be a strong year for us.”
Schuchart, who had never finished inside the top-five and never led a lap at the half-mile speedway, ended his 2020 DIRTcar Nationals with three top-five finishes in-a-row and 50 laps led. He placed second the first night. Charged from 25th to fifth the second night. And won the DIRTcar Nationals Sprint Car Week finale.
“This place is just so tough,” Schuchart said. “You know, we come here, we learn, I watch videos in the wintertime. We just try to make our cars better as a whole.
“Just kind of studying the racetrack. Notes from the past. Watching the highlight videos from the past few years and what other people’s cars look like compared to ours and maybe what we could have done better to qualify and put us in better positions… First three races were awesome. To pull away with a win really helps our confidence.”
That confidence showed before the conclusion of Sunday night’s 30-lap Feature when the Hanover, PA driver powered his way underneath Daryn Pittman on Lap 2 to take the lead. From there, he never relinquished it, leading the final 29 laps. Although, those on the hunt behind him tested his poise.
Schuchart held a commanding lead on the field but as lap traffic continuously hindered his pace, Pittman closed in. With 10 laps to go, Schuchart got caught behind a slower car coming off Turn 2, allowing Pittman to close within a car length’s distance.
However, once Schuchart found his way back into clean air, Pittman was left having to fend off Cory Eliason and Sweet.
In the closing laps of the race, Eliason found another gear. With five laps to go he charged his way around the outside of Pittman for second and set his sights on Schuchart. Three laps later, with smoke billowing out of his exhaust, Eliason powered his way around Schuchart off Turn 2.
Not willing to forgo his first DIRTcar Nationals win, Schuchart threw a hold-your-breath-slide job on Eliason through Turns 3 and 4 to reclaim the lead.
A large cloud of smoke erupted from Eliason’s motor the next lap, ending his night. The yellow flag flew with one lap to go.
On the restart, with Pittman and Sweet breathing down his neck, Schuchart darted away from the field. No one could touch the red and white Drydene car. Pittman and Sweet had to settle for second and third, respectively.
“Just pissed off at myself,” Pittman said. “I feel like if I would have stayed second… Man, like on that white flag, I couldn’t believe how far back he (Schuchart) came to me and Cory (Eliason). Honestly, I think it was anybody’s race going down the backstretch there on the white flag lap. We were kind of nose to tail. I wish I would have been in second there, I think I would have had a shot.”
Sweet started the DIRTcar Nationals being presented his 2019 World of Outlaws championship ring and ended it being presented his second Big Gator trophy. He’ll also leave Florida with the Series points lead – two points ahead of Schuchart.
The championship is far out of Schuchart’s head with more than 80 races to go this season. He said his focus is just to win as many races as he can. Nabbing his first golden gator trophy is one he can finally cross of his list.
“I really wanted one of these gators,” Schuchart said. “I’m really glad we got one.”
https://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Sprint_DCN_Feb9_LoganvPittman_byFrankSmith.jpg7201170loganhttps://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/logo.pnglogan2020-02-17 14:54:132020-02-17 14:55:36SCHUCHART GRABS GATOR, FIRST WOO WIN IN 2020
Logan Schuchart always wanted to match his grandfather Bobby Allen’s win total in a single World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season – five.
For the Pennsylvania-native that number always stopped at four. He’s had seven second-place finishes since his fourth win of the year in June. Always close. But never quite enough.
Until Friday night at Skagit Speedway. Schuchart claimed his first victory at the 3/10-mile speedway and the illustrious fifth win of the season.
“Having my grandfather by my side since the beginning, he’s the main part of why this team is where it is, and really everyone together, but he’s the boss, the man in charge,” Schuchart said. “The most Outlaw wins he had in a year was five, so that was my main goal at the beginning of the year to at least get that. It’s pretty cool to do that with him and the rest of our team.”
Schuchart and his Shark Racing team at first looked destined for another runner-up finish as the night progressed. He finished second to Kraig Kinser in his Drydene Heat race and then second to Kinser again in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
When the 30-lap Feature went green, Schuchart was ready. He stayed side by side with Kinser into the first turn. Kinser, on the bottom, edged Schuchart on the exit of turn two, but the Shark Racing driver had the better run on the outside and powered by the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 11k for the lead.
Schuchart pulled away by several car lengths, but a caution two laps into the race brought Kinser back to his tail tank. On the restart the Pennsylvanian picked up where he left off. He rocketed in front of Kinser by almost two car lengths before entering turn one and then ran away with the lead.
Kinser said he couldn’t hang with Schuchart in traffic.
Schuchart caught the back of the field by Lap six, but the slower cars didn’t hinder his performance. He maneuvered around them with ease, never losing his quick pace. However, in the closing laps, Schuchart said he felt like he fell off a little bit.
“For the first half, three-quarters of the race I could run up on any car that is in front of me and run a different line and go right by them,” Schuchart said. “There at the end I caught up to Shane (Stewart), but I wasn’t gaining anymore. It’s hard to tell how close Kraig is. You’re just running your own race at that point.”
At the end of the 28- lap run to the finish, Schuchart crossed the finish line with a 4.6 second lead over Kinser.
“I’ve wanted to win here for a couple of years now, since we’ve been coming here,” Schuchart said.
Schuchart – 298 points behind leader Donny Schatz – knows it would be hard to get in the mix with the top three in points, but has his eye on fourth-place, currently held by Daryn Pittman. He’s currently 34 points behind him.
“We’re kind of close to Daryn there in points, it would be nice to see if we could get him,” Schuchart said. “My best finish in points is sixth, last year. We’re fifth right now, I’d like to get to fourth and stay consistent. Keep learning as a program.
“We had two new guys with Ron Helmick and Ben Whitman this year and they’ve improved tremendously since they’ve started. I just want to improve the team and keep building this team from what it was five years ago and keep heading in the right direction.”
HANFORD, Calif. – In the moment, Logan Schuchart could only focus on the fact that he won a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race in California for the first time.
That moment came on March 31, 2017 after his remarkable run from the 19th-starting position to victory at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, a result no driver has come close to matching since.
The most recent winner on the World of Outlaws trail returns to Hanford almost two years to the day Friday, when he leads The Greatest Show on Dirt back to Keller Auto Speedway with the goal of parking his Drydene Performance Products/NGK Spark Plugs/Michael Palumbo-backed Shark Racing No. 1s in victory lane again.
The thrill of victory following Schuchart’s triumph on March 31, 2017 at Keller Auto Speedway.
“I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was that night,” admitted Schuchart. “I was pumped that we got our first win of the year. A Pennsylvania driver winning an Outlaw feature in California. Those things don’t happen often. Let alone the fact that we started 19th. It was a just one of those special nights. Needless to say, I can’t wait to get back there on Friday night.”
Schuchart, the grandson of sprint car hall of famer Bobby Allen, emulated the man known as Scruffy that night, patiently working the bottom groove of the three-eighths-mile dirt oval to perfection. He picked up position after position, ultimately taking the lead from Ian Madsen coming to the white flag in the 35-lap marathon. It was the 11th race of the 2017 World of Outlaws campaign and Schuchart had shown signs that he was close to picking up his third World of Outlaws victory, but after qualifying 11th and dropping from third to fifth in his heat, the outlook for winning didn’t look all that promising.
“I just watched the race again on DIRTVision yesterday,” said Schuchart, who currently sits fourth in the World of Outlaws standings following his victory at the Stockton Dirt Track on March 15. “We qualified OK, but I ended up having a bad start to the heat and found myself racing as hard as I could just to get fifth. We knew we were going to be deep in the field. It’s one of the great things about racing with the Outlaws. You just have to keep working. We went out there with a plan and I was patient enough to let my car come in and we just kept passing cars. It was a great race. Gave our team a lot of confidence. The season before we won our first race at Cedar Lake in July and then won back home at Port Royal late in the season. We knew we could win. Looking back, man that was one we’ll always remember.”
There have been 148 World of Outlaws A-Mains since Schuchart’s victory in Hanford and only once has a driver started outside the top-10 and came home victorious. Donny Schatz raced from 12th to win at Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz., early last season, the same race where Schuchart charged from 16th to third, indicating just how impressive his drive from the 19th-to-first was.
In those same 148 races, 45 have been won from the pole and in exactly half (74) the winner has started on the front row.
It was the deepest win during a World of Outlaws A-Main since Schatz raced from 21st to win the 2013 Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, but Fred Rahmer’s run from 24th to first on May 14, 2010 at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., remains the benchmark.
“I remember Fred winning that night at the Grove, it was a pretty crazy race,” said Schuchart. “The only experience I had that comes close was in 2011 at Lincoln Speedway. I was driving a 358 and we started last, 22nd I think, and passed Pat Canon on the last lap to win. All the way from the back with only one caution. That was a really big deal for us. Doing what we did a couple years ago at Hanford that was an Outlaw show. Those are extremely difficult races to win and to do it in California where not a lot guys from back home have won before. Just crazy to think about. Hopefully, we don’t have to try and come from that deep again Friday.”
Logan Schuchart races to victory at Stockton (Ca) Dirt Track, March 15, 2019. Photo courtesy of DB3 Imaging
Schuchart returns to Hanford with plenty of momentum despite dealing with several early season rainouts. The Drydene Performance Products-backed driver picked up his second California World of Outlaws triumph in Stockton by rough riding his way to victory from the pole on a treacherous surface. He became the sixth different winner in the previous six races.
Only World of Outlaws points leader Daryn Pittman, winner of the first two races at Volusia Speedway Park to start the year, has more than one victory. With the win, Schuchart is now tied with sprint car legends Keith Kauffman, Brent Kaeding and Kenny Jacobs with nine career World of Outlaws triumphs.
“It’s been a dream of mine to race with the World of Outlaws,” continued Schuchart. “My grandpa had a dream and vision for making this happen. We are in our sixth season out here with the World of Outlaws and so many people have made it possible. I can’t thank everyone enough for all the help and support. We just want to keep working hard and winning races. Stockton was cool to have an all Shark Racing front row. A couple of Drydene sponsored cars leading the field to the green flag. I’m hoping that happens quite a bit more. We are the best we’ve ever been prepared to compete with the Outlaws and now it’s up to us to keep putting up the wins. However we have to. From first. From 19th. It doesn’t matter. Every time you win an Outlaw race you know you’ve beaten the best.”
https://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/StocktonWin_JasonTucker_2019.jpg8701922loganhttps://loganschuchart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/logo.pnglogan2019-03-28 17:50:132019-03-28 17:54:45Schuchart Looking For A Repeat At Hanford
FIRST ‘WON’: SCHUCHART SCORES FIRST EDIRT RACING SHOOTOUT WINS IN CBS DEBUT
By World of Outlaws – April 29, 2020
Eldora Speedway never disappoints, and that clearly holds true for virtual racing, too. While fans wait for the real dirt to fly, Big E provided a rush of adrenaline during the World of Outlaws: eDirt Racing Shootout debut Tuesday night on CBS Sports Network.
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car star Logan Schuchart brought the virtual crowd and those watching at home to their feet, trading slide jobs with Kevin Swindell for the final five laps and edging him at the finish line to win his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car iRacing Feature … using the DIRTVision studio simulator no less. But before all that excitement, 19-year-old Kaeden Cornell picked up his first World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model iRacing win in a barn burner race, kicking off the doubleheader.
The two drivers beat star-studded fields that included a host of dirt aces taking on high-profile invaders like Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Juan Pablo Montoya, William Byron, Ron Capps, Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier and Cruz Pedregon.
The start of the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car eDirt Racing Shootout Feature saw NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Briscoe pulled away from the field as drivers behind him went three and four wide, arguing over positions second through fifth.
Swindell became the benefactor of the battle, splitting the gap between Brad Sweet, Max McLaughlin and Robbie Kendall to launch his #39 Swindell Speedlab car into second. The two-time World of Outlaws iRacing Invitational winner was then on the hunt for Briscoe.
Twelve laps into the 35-lap Feature, Briscoe pounced off the wall off Turn 2 and slid down into Swindell, who was underneath him going for the lead. The two cars locked and slid sideways going into Turn 3, stacking up the field and bringing out the caution.
Swindell and Briscoe held their positions up front, but Swindell now had the lead. He, like Briscoe before him, pulled away from the field while the top-five traded positions amongst themselves every lap.
With 15 laps to go, as Briscoe, Sweet and Balog slowed each other’s momentum while battling for second, Schuchart held the throttle to the floor and fired his Drydene #1a car into the runner-up spot.
Schuchart, a two-time World of Outlaws winner in real life at Eldora, knew exactly what to do to catch Swindell.
“I just kind of used the same line that I used in real life last year at the Kings Royal,” said Schuchart, who powered from 12th to second in the 2019 Kings Royal at Eldora. “It seems to work on this thing.”
He ran the top, putting his right rear tire on the cushion, inches from the wall. That helped him run down Swindell in seconds. Once he caught him, he tried a slide job on Swindell in the first corner, but Swindell charged back by him the next turn.
A couple of cautions got in the way of their battle, but on a restart with five laps to go, the two drivers put on a Sprint Car racing clinic, virtual or not. Schuchart would launch his car ahead of Swindell one corner and Swindell would slide back by him the next. They crossed the finish line separated by thousandths of a second each lap.
With two laps to go, Swindell bounced off the cushion just enough to give Schuchart the advantage to clear him off Turn 4. However, Swindell wasn’t finished. “The Bulldog” stayed close to Schuchart and looked underneath him coming to the checkered flag.
Schuchart had the better momentum off Turn 4 and edged Swindell at the line by 0.25 seconds.
As fast as everyone’s heart was beating by watching the spectacular finish, Schuchart’s adrenaline was up just as high.
“My heart is going, I feel like I just got out of a real car,” said an out of breath Schuchart. “That was a great race with Kevin. That was really cool. We were able to race each other real clean. It was a lot of run. It’s real cool to win one of these things.”
World of Outlaws Sprint Car NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 laps) — 1. 1-Logan Schuchart [6] [$1,000]; 2. 39-Kevin Swindell [5]; 3. 170-Bill Balog [1]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 5. 7-Tyler Courtney [14]; 6. 17-Austin McCarl [11]; 7. 6-Juan Pablo Montoya [20]; 8. 5-Chase Briscoe [2]; 9. 35-Mike Mahaney [13]; 10. 1-Jacob Allen [15]; 11. 17-Max McLaughlin [7]; 12. 2-Wayne Johnson [18]; 13. 41-David Gravel [12]; 14. 5-Brent Marks [10]; 15. 25-William Byron [21]; 16. 28-Ron Capps [19]; 17. 18-Ian Madsen [16]; 18. 21-Brian Brown [9]; 19. 2-Carson Macedo [8]; 20. 55-Robbie Kendall [3]; 21. 2-Kerry Madsen [17]. Lap leaders: Chase Briscoe 1-11; Kevin Swindell 12-33; Logan Schuchart 34-35. KSE Hard Charger: Juan Pablo Montoya +13.
MAKIN’ A SPLASH: LOGAN SCHUCHART OFF TO CAREER BEST START
Story courtesy of WOO; written by Nick Graziano – February 19, 2020
Logan Schuchart had never won at Volusia Speedway Park coming into the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals. Never led a lap. Never even finished inside the top-five. That’s changed.
In the three World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season opening races at the half-mile Florida track, Schuchart amassed 50 laps led and three top-five finishes, including two podiums and a win.
“Getting a win before we leave Florida is awesome,” said Schuchart, of Hanover, PA. “I’m really excited about that.”
Schuchart is now second in the standings, two-points behind reigning champion Brad Sweet. It’s the best position he’s been in to start a season with the Texas doubleheader at Cotton Bowl Speedway on March 13 and LoneStar Speedway on March 14 the next stop on the tour.
His performance is a testament to the continued growth of his talent and Shark Racing’s capabilities since joining the World of Outlaws tour full-time in 2014.
The team’s first few years were about surviving and making it to November, Schuchart has said. In his rookie campaign he earned five top-five finishes and 15 top-10s. It wasn’t until 2016 that he earned his first career victory.
Last year, in a breakout year for the 27-year-old, Schuchart earned a career high eight wins – doubling his number of total career wins – 32 top-five finishes, 53 top-10s and led 243 laps. He also finished a career best fifth in the Series standings. And while that success has helped propel him to a strong start this year, Schuchart cites he and the team’s progressive growth began long before 2019.
“Not just 2019, but all of the years in general, the experience over the years, taking notes, getting better and just getting smarter about everything,” Schuchart said. “I just feel like the more experience we get the smarter we get about certain things.
“But this is tough. There’s a lot of great race car drivers out here. A lot of great teams. Great mechanics. They can put you in your place very quick. The World of Outlaws is in a great spot. The sport is in a great spot. But we’re trying to stay on top.”
Schuchart’s five days in Florida showed how quickly he and his Shark Racing team can learn and adapt. The two opening Sprint Week races during the DIRTcar Nationals with the All Star Circuit of Champions saw Schuchart finish 11th and 17th, respectively.
Then he nearly won the season opening race for the World of Outlaws. Schuchart led 21 laps and lost the lead to 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz with three laps to go, settling for a runner-up finish. The next night he failed to qualify for the Feature and had to use a provisional to start. However, he was able to charge his way from 25th to fifth – earning the Hard Charger award for the night.
On the final night of racing in Florida, Schuchart led 29 of 30 laps, and held off attacks from Cory Eliason and Daryn Pittman to pick up his first Volusia Speedway Park win. His Shark Racing teammate Jacob Allen also got a career best finish of 12th at the speedway on the final night.
“Definitely a weight off your shoulders knowing you got one,” Schuchart said. “They’re so tough to come by. To get one off your back and being able to just go out there and race and build off of what you already have is definitely a relief.”
While Schuchart is on track for another possible career year, with more than 80 races to go this year, contending for the championship is far out of his mind.
“I just want to win races,” Schuchart said. “I don’t want to think about that at all. That comes at the end. At November I’m sure you think about that when the points are close. Whatever it is. I just want to win as many races as I can and if we’re able to do that the rest will come.”
SCHUCHART GRABS GATOR, FIRST WOO WIN IN 2020
BARBERVILLE, FL – February 9, 2020 – The wild hunt commenced Sunday night at the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series finale at the DIRTcar Nationals presented by Bozard Ford.
The trophies: A golden gator. And a Big Gator.
Logan Schuchart put an assault on the 27-car field, in front of a packed house, to earn his first win at Volusia Speedway Park and Brad Sweet cruised to his third podium finish in-a-row, awarding him his second Big Gator championship. Sweet won his first Big Gator in 2016.
“It was a lot of fun,” Sweet said about the event. “I thought we had a lot of different tracks all week. The NAPA car was fast on all the different conditions, but we’ll take that… 2020 is looking to be a strong year for us.”
Schuchart, who had never finished inside the top-five and never led a lap at the half-mile speedway, ended his 2020 DIRTcar Nationals with three top-five finishes in-a-row and 50 laps led. He placed second the first night. Charged from 25th to fifth the second night. And won the DIRTcar Nationals Sprint Car Week finale.
“This place is just so tough,” Schuchart said. “You know, we come here, we learn, I watch videos in the wintertime. We just try to make our cars better as a whole.
“Just kind of studying the racetrack. Notes from the past. Watching the highlight videos from the past few years and what other people’s cars look like compared to ours and maybe what we could have done better to qualify and put us in better positions… First three races were awesome. To pull away with a win really helps our confidence.”
That confidence showed before the conclusion of Sunday night’s 30-lap Feature when the Hanover, PA driver powered his way underneath Daryn Pittman on Lap 2 to take the lead. From there, he never relinquished it, leading the final 29 laps. Although, those on the hunt behind him tested his poise.
Schuchart held a commanding lead on the field but as lap traffic continuously hindered his pace, Pittman closed in. With 10 laps to go, Schuchart got caught behind a slower car coming off Turn 2, allowing Pittman to close within a car length’s distance.
However, once Schuchart found his way back into clean air, Pittman was left having to fend off Cory Eliason and Sweet.
In the closing laps of the race, Eliason found another gear. With five laps to go he charged his way around the outside of Pittman for second and set his sights on Schuchart. Three laps later, with smoke billowing out of his exhaust, Eliason powered his way around Schuchart off Turn 2.
Not willing to forgo his first DIRTcar Nationals win, Schuchart threw a hold-your-breath-slide job on Eliason through Turns 3 and 4 to reclaim the lead.
A large cloud of smoke erupted from Eliason’s motor the next lap, ending his night. The yellow flag flew with one lap to go.
On the restart, with Pittman and Sweet breathing down his neck, Schuchart darted away from the field. No one could touch the red and white Drydene car. Pittman and Sweet had to settle for second and third, respectively.
“Just pissed off at myself,” Pittman said. “I feel like if I would have stayed second… Man, like on that white flag, I couldn’t believe how far back he (Schuchart) came to me and Cory (Eliason). Honestly, I think it was anybody’s race going down the backstretch there on the white flag lap. We were kind of nose to tail. I wish I would have been in second there, I think I would have had a shot.”
Sweet started the DIRTcar Nationals being presented his 2019 World of Outlaws championship ring and ended it being presented his second Big Gator trophy. He’ll also leave Florida with the Series points lead – two points ahead of Schuchart.
The championship is far out of Schuchart’s head with more than 80 races to go this season. He said his focus is just to win as many races as he can. Nabbing his first golden gator trophy is one he can finally cross of his list.
“I really wanted one of these gators,” Schuchart said. “I’m really glad we got one.”
Story courtesy of WorldofOutlaws.com
HIGH-FIVE: Schuchart Earns Fifth WoO Triumph of 2019 at Skagit
Logan Schuchart always wanted to match his grandfather Bobby Allen’s win total in a single World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season – five.
For the Pennsylvania-native that number always stopped at four. He’s had seven second-place finishes since his fourth win of the year in June. Always close. But never quite enough.
Until Friday night at Skagit Speedway. Schuchart claimed his first victory at the 3/10-mile speedway and the illustrious fifth win of the season.
“Having my grandfather by my side since the beginning, he’s the main part of why this team is where it is, and really everyone together, but he’s the boss, the man in charge,” Schuchart said. “The most Outlaw wins he had in a year was five, so that was my main goal at the beginning of the year to at least get that. It’s pretty cool to do that with him and the rest of our team.”
Schuchart and his Shark Racing team at first looked destined for another runner-up finish as the night progressed. He finished second to Kraig Kinser in his Drydene Heat race and then second to Kinser again in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
When the 30-lap Feature went green, Schuchart was ready. He stayed side by side with Kinser into the first turn. Kinser, on the bottom, edged Schuchart on the exit of turn two, but the Shark Racing driver had the better run on the outside and powered by the Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 11k for the lead.
Schuchart pulled away by several car lengths, but a caution two laps into the race brought Kinser back to his tail tank. On the restart the Pennsylvanian picked up where he left off. He rocketed in front of Kinser by almost two car lengths before entering turn one and then ran away with the lead.
Kinser said he couldn’t hang with Schuchart in traffic.
Schuchart caught the back of the field by Lap six, but the slower cars didn’t hinder his performance. He maneuvered around them with ease, never losing his quick pace. However, in the closing laps, Schuchart said he felt like he fell off a little bit.
“For the first half, three-quarters of the race I could run up on any car that is in front of me and run a different line and go right by them,” Schuchart said. “There at the end I caught up to Shane (Stewart), but I wasn’t gaining anymore. It’s hard to tell how close Kraig is. You’re just running your own race at that point.”
At the end of the 28- lap run to the finish, Schuchart crossed the finish line with a 4.6 second lead over Kinser.
“I’ve wanted to win here for a couple of years now, since we’ve been coming here,” Schuchart said.
Schuchart – 298 points behind leader Donny Schatz – knows it would be hard to get in the mix with the top three in points, but has his eye on fourth-place, currently held by Daryn Pittman. He’s currently 34 points behind him.
“We’re kind of close to Daryn there in points, it would be nice to see if we could get him,” Schuchart said. “My best finish in points is sixth, last year. We’re fifth right now, I’d like to get to fourth and stay consistent. Keep learning as a program.
“We had two new guys with Ron Helmick and Ben Whitman this year and they’ve improved tremendously since they’ve started. I just want to improve the team and keep building this team from what it was five years ago and keep heading in the right direction.”
Tying records with Bobby Allen is a good start.
Schuchart Looking For A Repeat At Hanford
HANFORD, Calif. – In the moment, Logan Schuchart could only focus on the fact that he won a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race in California for the first time.
That moment came on March 31, 2017 after his remarkable run from the 19th-starting position to victory at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, a result no driver has come close to matching since.
The most recent winner on the World of Outlaws trail returns to Hanford almost two years to the day Friday, when he leads The Greatest Show on Dirt back to Keller Auto Speedway with the goal of parking his Drydene Performance Products/NGK Spark Plugs/Michael Palumbo-backed Shark Racing No. 1s in victory lane again.
The thrill of victory following Schuchart’s triumph on March 31, 2017 at Keller Auto Speedway.
“I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was that night,” admitted Schuchart. “I was pumped that we got our first win of the year. A Pennsylvania driver winning an Outlaw feature in California. Those things don’t happen often. Let alone the fact that we started 19th. It was a just one of those special nights. Needless to say, I can’t wait to get back there on Friday night.”
Schuchart, the grandson of sprint car hall of famer Bobby Allen, emulated the man known as Scruffy that night, patiently working the bottom groove of the three-eighths-mile dirt oval to perfection. He picked up position after position, ultimately taking the lead from Ian Madsen coming to the white flag in the 35-lap marathon. It was the 11th race of the 2017 World of Outlaws campaign and Schuchart had shown signs that he was close to picking up his third World of Outlaws victory, but after qualifying 11th and dropping from third to fifth in his heat, the outlook for winning didn’t look all that promising.
“I just watched the race again on DIRTVision yesterday,” said Schuchart, who currently sits fourth in the World of Outlaws standings following his victory at the Stockton Dirt Track on March 15. “We qualified OK, but I ended up having a bad start to the heat and found myself racing as hard as I could just to get fifth. We knew we were going to be deep in the field. It’s one of the great things about racing with the Outlaws. You just have to keep working. We went out there with a plan and I was patient enough to let my car come in and we just kept passing cars. It was a great race. Gave our team a lot of confidence. The season before we won our first race at Cedar Lake in July and then won back home at Port Royal late in the season. We knew we could win. Looking back, man that was one we’ll always remember.”
There have been 148 World of Outlaws A-Mains since Schuchart’s victory in Hanford and only once has a driver started outside the top-10 and came home victorious. Donny Schatz raced from 12th to win at Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz., early last season, the same race where Schuchart charged from 16th to third, indicating just how impressive his drive from the 19th-to-first was.
In those same 148 races, 45 have been won from the pole and in exactly half (74) the winner has started on the front row.
It was the deepest win during a World of Outlaws A-Main since Schatz raced from 21st to win the 2013 Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, but Fred Rahmer’s run from 24th to first on May 14, 2010 at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., remains the benchmark.
“I remember Fred winning that night at the Grove, it was a pretty crazy race,” said Schuchart. “The only experience I had that comes close was in 2011 at Lincoln Speedway. I was driving a 358 and we started last, 22nd I think, and passed Pat Canon on the last lap to win. All the way from the back with only one caution. That was a really big deal for us. Doing what we did a couple years ago at Hanford that was an Outlaw show. Those are extremely difficult races to win and to do it in California where not a lot guys from back home have won before. Just crazy to think about. Hopefully, we don’t have to try and come from that deep again Friday.”
Logan Schuchart races to victory at Stockton (Ca) Dirt Track, March 15, 2019. Photo courtesy of DB3 Imaging
Schuchart returns to Hanford with plenty of momentum despite dealing with several early season rainouts. The Drydene Performance Products-backed driver picked up his second California World of Outlaws triumph in Stockton by rough riding his way to victory from the pole on a treacherous surface. He became the sixth different winner in the previous six races.
Only World of Outlaws points leader Daryn Pittman, winner of the first two races at Volusia Speedway Park to start the year, has more than one victory. With the win, Schuchart is now tied with sprint car legends Keith Kauffman, Brent Kaeding and Kenny Jacobs with nine career World of Outlaws triumphs.
“It’s been a dream of mine to race with the World of Outlaws,” continued Schuchart. “My grandpa had a dream and vision for making this happen. We are in our sixth season out here with the World of Outlaws and so many people have made it possible. I can’t thank everyone enough for all the help and support. We just want to keep working hard and winning races. Stockton was cool to have an all Shark Racing front row. A couple of Drydene sponsored cars leading the field to the green flag. I’m hoping that happens quite a bit more. We are the best we’ve ever been prepared to compete with the Outlaws and now it’s up to us to keep putting up the wins. However we have to. From first. From 19th. It doesn’t matter. Every time you win an Outlaw race you know you’ve beaten the best.”