SHARK RACING LOOKS TO CONTINUE MOMENTUM IN NODAK

GRAND FORKS, North Dakota – When the checkered flag fell in last Saturday’s Jackson Nationals finale, there was a palpable air of confidence amongst Bobby Allen’s Shark Racing team members. No, Logan Schuchart nor Jacob Allen came out victorious in the $40,000 main event, but both drivers and the crew members that make up the team had a lot to be proud of following a very productive week on the rugged World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Series tour.

 

They have carried that positive vibe with them this week to Grand Forks, North Dakota as they prepare for the 1st Leg of the Gerdau Recycling Northern Tour with stops first at the always exciting River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks Friday and Nodak Speedway in Minot Sunday.

 

Schuchart raced the Drydene Performance Products/Priority Aviation/Mike Palumbo Shark Racing No. 1s to a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s 40-lap finale, his second top-five in this year’s events that pay more than $20,000-to-win. Earlier this year he finished fourth in the Texas Outlaw Nationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. He was in position to make a run to the front in the Jackson Nationals finale because of his charge in Saturday afternoon’s A-main from 12th to fourth. He narrowly missed a position in Saturday night’s Sears Craftsman Dash when Tim Kaeding edged him in the opening heat. In his charge forward in the A-Feature, he was steadily moving forward until the rubber came in just past halfway. He pulled close to fourth-place running David Gravel several times, but ultimately had to stay in line.

 

Saturday’s performance came on the heels of a pair of finishes outside the top-10. Tuesday night, Schuchart and Allen were part of a tremendous three-car battle for victory during the Outlaws debut at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in east central Illinois. Schuchart qualified third, won his heat and finished third in the Dash. In the 40-lap A-Main, he followed leader Sheldon Haudenschild and Allen for most of the race before making a late pass of his teammate to take second. With three laps remaining, he made a bid for the lead in turns three and four on the rubber-down surface. By the time he reached turn two his right rear was going flat. A frustrating end to a solid night for the fifth-year Outlaw driver from Hanover, Pennsylvania. In Friday’s Jackson Nationals opener, he started 15th and finished 18th.

 

“We had a crazy week, but one that ended up on a really good note,” said Schuchart, who currently ranks eighth in the WoO standings. “To battle for a win and then come up with a DNF at the end of the night was frustrating, but I have to give it to this Shark Racing team for continuing to work hard. We were all excited with the news we got Thursday that Drydene Performance Products will be partnering with us for the rest of the year. So excited to represent their brand and work closely with Dave Klinger, Al Johnson and their great sales staff. Things didn’t go well the first night of the Jackson Nationals Friday, but Joe, Benny, Tyler, my pappy and Jacob worked hard, and we have a really good race car right now. I’m really excited to get back on the track this weekend. River Cities is one of my favorite tracks. We’ve run well there in the past, but just haven’t been able to be there at the end. That’s what we are aiming for Friday. And then going to Minot, that’s another place where we’ve had a couple good runs just need to be consistent all night to have a chance.”

 

Returning to Grand Forks is something Schuhcart looks forward to twice a season. From his first laps around the high-banked, quarter-mile oval during his rookie year in 2014, he’s been hooked.   He’s made eight trips to the track and after not qualifying for the main the first night, he’s had some flashes of success with his best result coming in June 2016. That night he sixth, finished second to his teammate in the second heat and won the dash to start on the pole. He led the first 20 laps of the A-Feature and ultimately finished third.

 

“I love River Cities,” said Schuchart, who currently ranks eighth in the standings. “It’s so much fun to race there. We’ve been fast throughout the night, but just not at the end of 40. That’s our goal tonight. The fans up there are so passionate about their racing. We’ve been ready to get back up here since last year. And coming off a good weekend in Jackson, everyone on his team is chomping at the bit to get back on the track.”

 

Schuchart will conclude the weekend in the Roughrider state with his fifth trip to the 3/8-mile, dirt track in Minot. His best result came in August 2016 when he qualified fourth, won the second heat and finished third in the dash. He was in contention throughout the race and finished fourth.

 

Season stats:

WoO Races: 27 Podium Finishes: 5  Top-Fives: 8   Top-10s: 14  

Fast-time Awards: 4 

KSE Hard Charger Awards: 3

Points/Position: 3464/8th

DRYDENE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS EXPANDS ITS SPONSORSHIP OF LOGAN SCHUCHART AND SHARK RACING

JONESTOWN, PA (June 6, 2018) – Drydene Performance Products, a well-respected automotive, commercial, heavy duty and industrial lubricant brand, announced today it is increasing its partnership with World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Sprint Car Series standout Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing.

After an initial sponsorship run over five recent races, the Drydene partnership with Schuchart and Shark Racing is expanding to include the remaining World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series races through the end of the season. The Shark Racing No. 1s will carry the Drydene Lubricants brand mark in prominent positions on both sideboards of the top wing and the full center section of the top wing.

“These are exciting times for all of us at Drydene Performance Products and partnering with a rising star like Logan Schuchart and his legendary grandfather Bobby Allen adds to it,” said Dave Klinger, President of Drydene Performance Products. “A passion for racing and hard work is something Drydene values, and there is no better example of hard work than Logan and the Shark Racing team. In addition, Sprint car racing is an excellent platform for Drydene and works seamlessly with our recent motorsports initiatives including a primary sponsorship with Will Rogers and Kenny Schrader in the ARCA Series.”

Coming off of their recent announcement of three additional races with Will Rodgers and Ken Schrader Racing in the ARCA series, Drydene’s increased commitment to Schuchart and Shark Racing was a natural progression for the brand.

“I’m excited to continue this partnership with Drydene for the rest of the season,” said Schuchart. “Drydene is an unbelievable brand with a strong heritage, and the company has always followed a customer-first philosophy while providing great service for 125 years. We are looking forward to carrying Drydene with us as we continue to chase success with the World of Outlaws.”

“I’m blown away to say the least, but so happy about this relationship,” Allen said. “I came up to Drydene’s primary market many, many years ago because Sprint car racing in Central Pennsylvania was known as the best place in the world to race. It was certainly true and led to a really successful career for me driving. Now I’m living out a dream of racing with my grandson (Logan) and my son (Jacob Allen) all the across the country. We’ve come a long way and now being able to represent Drydene while racing is beyond words to me. I can’t stop smiling. We’re going to take them for one heckuva ride.”

Drydene Performance Products, originally started in Baltimore, Maryland, is now headquartered in Jonestown, Pennsylvania. Drydene has been a commercial and automotive product staple in the mid-Atlantic region dating back to the 19th century. The brand’s product lineup includes engine, transmission and hydraulic oils, as well as greases, gear lubricants and DEF, along with other Functional Fluids.

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ABOUT LOGAN SCHUCHART

Logan Schuchart, pronounced (SHOE – HART), is in his fifth season of competition with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Sprint Car Series driving for Shark Racing. He competed in go-karts and won a number of track championships before moving to 358 Sprint cars in 2009. He won track and series championships in 358s before moving to the 410 division late in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, he collected wins with the All-Star Circuit of Champions and at legendary Central Pennsylvania tracks like Williams Grove, Lincoln and Port Royal. In 2014, he began his career with the World of Outlaws and two years later scored his first career triumph in July 2016. He has six career wins with the Outlaws and also scored two wins in Australia this past winter. More details are available at: www.loganschuchart.com and social media platforms, facebook, www.Facebook.com/LoganSchuchart1s, on twitter @LSchuchart1s, and instagram @loganschuchart.

ABOUT SHARK RACING

Shark Racing is a dream realized of National Sprint Car Hall of Fame member Bobby Allen. The former world champion go-kart racer grew up in Miami, Florida and migrated to Central Pennsylvania in 1967 to race Sprint cars. After concluding his career as driver, which included hundreds of victories most notably the 1990 Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, “Scruffy” began mentoring his grandson, Logan Schuchart, and son, Jacob Allen, from go-karts into 358 Winged Sprint cars and ultimately into the 410 Winged Sprint car class. In 2014 he took both drivers out on the road to compete with the World of Outlaws. The team is in the midst of their fifth season of competition with the Outlaws and have scored six wins to date. Shark Racing is based out of Hanover, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit https://shark1s.com/.

ABOUT DRYDENE LUBRICANTS

Since 1893, Drydene Lubricants have been made in America and made to last… paving the way into two centuries on our highways, in our fields and on the production line. In the dawn of American industry, Drydene was there as we built our first roads, laid the blocks for our first factories, spanned rivers with new bridges and rail. And we’re still right here today doing what we do best; helping America get the job done. Drydene products are built with ALL Technology™, Advanced Lubricity Life chemistry, to meet and exceed today’s modern automotive, heavy duty and industrial needs.

Drydene offers a complete line of automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants:

  • Engine oils
  • Diesel Exhaust Fluid
  • Transmission fluids
  • Grease
  • Hydraulic & Gear Oils

For more information, visit www.drydenelubricants.com or follow us on Facebook: TeamDrydene, Twitter: @TeamDrydene and Instagram: teamdrydene.

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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.

Texas-Sized Weekend

Schuchart Posts Three Top-10s, including season-best 2nd at Devils Bowl

MESQUITE, Texas – The start of the 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series campaign hasn’t quite provided the results Logan Schuchart and his Shark Racing team were aiming for, but their best three-race run of the season last weekend in Texas has them feeling positive about the month of May and beyond.

“We had a really good weekend here in Texas,“ Schuchart said. “I have to thank everyone behind this team. Nobody gives up. I feel like we have a really good racecar right now. Friday night was fun racing upfront with Jason (Johnson) and Daryn (Pittman). We kept dialing it in Saturday and I wish we would have started a little bit closer to the front, because we were coming there at the end. It’s consistency that makes the difference out here. We’re all working really hard to get there. Me, Joe (Mooney), my grandpa (Bobby Allen), Jacob (Allen) and Tyler (Garber) are working really well together. As good as my car felt Saturday night at Devils Bowl, I wish we were racing tonight. It’s going to be hard to wait until Friday, but we’re excited about our direction right now.”

The driver of the Shark Racing No. 1s Priority Aviation/Ausherman Properties/Michael Palumbo XXX finished 10th Thursday night at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas. The race was originally scheduled for February, but was postponed to last Wednesday. Late afternoon rain forced Outlaw officials to push the program to Thursday. He started 13th and advanced to 10th in the 30-lap A-Feature and earned his third KSE Hard Charger Award of the season. 

Following the race, the Hanover, Pennsylvania native ventured to historic Devils Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas for the two-night Texas Outlaw Nationals. Things got off to a good start with Schuchart qualifying sixth Friday night and earning a front row starting spot of heat three. After winning the heat, he transferred to the Craftsman Club Dash and finished second and would share the front row for the 25-lap A-Feature with Daryn Pittman. Pittman took the lead at the start while Schuchart battled Jason Johnson for the second position. Johnson was able to get the spot early, but Schuchart used a mid-race restart to his advantage and regained second. He closed on Pittman late, but wasn’t able to make a move for the lead before the finish and came home second.

Following his best result of the season, Schuchart returned for the $20,000-to-win Texas Outlaw Nationals finale Saturday. He qualified 12th and finished fourth in heat three to transfer into the 30-lap A-Feature. He was on the move in the main event climbing from his sixth row starting spot into the top-10 quickly. He continued his run to the front throughout the main event taking fourth from Johnson during the late stages and was rapidly closing on third-place Shane Stewart before running out of time. He was credited with a fourth-place finish to cap the best weekend of the season so far.

Season stats:
WoO Races: 14  Podium Finishes: 2  Top-Fives: 3   Top-10s: 6   
Fast-time Awards: 2 
KSE Hard Charger Awards: 3
Points/Position: 1754/8th

Up Next:

Friday, May 4, 2018 • Lake Ozark Speedway, Eldon, MO
The Outlaws have not competed at the track since 2007 before Schuchart ever wheeled a Sprint car. He will be making his debut at the 1/3-mile dirt oval in central Missouri.

Salina Highbanks
Saturday, May 5, 2018 • Salina (Okla.) Highbanks
Schuchart has made an appearance at the Salina Highbanks in each of his first four full seasons on the Outlaw tour. He finished 22nd during his rookie season before racing from 18th to ninth to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award in the spring of 2015. In October 2016, he started sixth and was moving forward before losing an engine and finishing 22nd. Last fall, he was the fourth fastest qualifier and finished seventh in the A-Feature.

TRAVELING MAN: Schuchart Charges On

CALIFORNIA, Missouri (April 12, 2018) – After spending the better part of three weeks without logging a lot of miles, Logan Schuchart spent the last five days charging on behind the wheel.

It started with his thrilling run from 16th to third in Saturday night’s World of Outlaws (WoO) Craftsman Sprint Car Series 30-lap A-Feature at Arizona Speedway on the outskirts of Phoenix. The 25-year-old Shark Racing driver’s talents were on full display in front of capacity crowd as he wheeled the No. 1s Priority Aviation/Ausherman Properties XXX machine to his first podium finish of the 2018 WoO campaign.

“I’m really proud of the way things ended up in Arizona,” said Schuchart. “It’s the result of having a hard working crew. Joe (Mooney) just kept trying things and the car just kept getting better. We rolled around pretty good in qualifying, but we were just on top of the track and spinning and couldn’t carry any speed. The heat race we were better, but just didn’t have enough laps to get farther than sixth. I actually wasn’t sure how the feature was going to go for a while. I was back in like 17th trying to get by Greg Wilson, who was on the bottom, and Brent Marks, who was on the top. I think that restart on lap 17 was the key. I was able to hit the bottom and just started going forward from there. Getting the KSE Hard Charger was nice and finishing on the podium was a good ending, but we want to be winning races. You have to start closer to the front when you are racing with these guys if you want to win. Like I said last week, you have to put a complete night together. That’s our goal for this weekend.”

His charge forward Saturday night was just beginning of his time in the drivers seat. He spent the next two and half days making the 1,390-mile trek from Phoenix, Arizona to California, Missouri. Once they arrived at the Clyde Knipp Racing shop late Tuesday afternoon, Schuchart and his National Sprint Car Hall of Fame grandfather, Bobby Allen, stretched their legs for a few minutes and jumped back in Logan’s motorhome and made the four-hour trip north to the Sprint Car Capital of the World, Knoxville, Iowa, for Wednesday’s Bryan Clauson Tower Ribbon Cutting event at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

“It’s really remarkable what they accomplished in only 10 months,” said Schuchart. “To be there and see the building and more importantly all the people that made it possible like Richard (Marshall) and Jennifer (Marshall), and Bob Baker with the Hall of Fame. It was awesome. Pretty moving to hear everyone talk about Bryan today. Especially Tim Clauson. Huge inspiration. I’m really lucky to be surrounded by people with this kind of passion for our sport. It was really a memorable experience.”

Schuchart and his “Pappy” traveled back to Missouri late Wednesday night and spent today preparing for a weekend doubleheader Friday and Saturday as the Outlaws make their 2018 Midwest debut Friday night at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway and Saturday evening at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana.

Schuchart has made two previous appearances at Jacksonville, one of the smallest dirt ovals on the schedule. Not quite as small as say, Hunterstown Speedway where he cut his teeth racing go-karts and made some early laps in a Sprint car, but it’s close.

“I like Jacksonville,” admitted Schuchart, who finished 13th in 2014 and ninth in 2016 at the quarter-mile, high-banked dirt oval. “It’s a little bullring and that’s kind of a lot of what we are going to see in the next few weeks. I’m not quite sure why we went backwards in the feature two years ago (he started sixth). I remember feeling good in qualifying and seemed like we were pretty good all night. (He was the fastest qualifier and finished second in the opening heat).  We gave ourselves a chance that night. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put a complete night together Friday and be a position to stay up there.”

Following Friday’s stop in west central Illinois, it’s back down the highway towards southwest Indiana for Saturday’s annual visit at Tri-State. Schuchart has been consistent in each of his four treks to the high-banked, dirt oval. He’s finished 22nd in all four starts. Something he’d like to improve on Saturday night.

“We have been consistent for sure (laughs), consistently bad,” continued Schuchart. “It hasn’t been one of my better tracks out here on the road, but we’re looking forward to changing that this year. We have changed things around on the car every time we have been there and still haven’t quite figured it out, but we aren’t giving up on it. We’re going to continue to working on it and keep fighting for it. Hopefully, we’re going to also be able to change the stats for the better this year.”

The learning curve has been steep at Tri-State during his first four years with the Outlaws and he’s hoping maybe even some of his international experience in Australia at Archerfield Speedway in Brisbane last December may help change his fortune Saturday.

“I think Haubstadt and Archerfield are similar in size and shape,” said Schuchart. “Haubstadt has a little more banking, but we are hoping we learned some things over there this year. Seeing how the fast guys make their cars go around Haubstadt. The big thing there is being able to get the cars to squat back and pick the front ends up and drive down the straightaway real hard, which is something we haven’t been able to do there in the past. Instead, we just feel like we’re riding around there. Hopefully we have that figured out and we’re able to get some traction and pull some wheelies. If we can do that, moving forward may be in the cards for us.”

Season Stats

After winning twice at Archerfield, Schuchart embarked on his fifth season with the Outlaws in February. He opened the campaign by setting fast time at Volusia. It was the first of two fast time awards he has scored this season.

WoO RACES: 9  Top-Fives: 1  Top-10s: 1  Quicktime: 2  Points/Position: 1104/9th