LAKE ODESSA, Mich., June 1 — Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart posted another top-10 finish in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series when he finished tenth in the 35-lap NAPA Rumble at I-96 Speedway Saturday night before a large crowd.
Schuchart, of Hanover, Pa., started tenth in the 23-car field but dropped to 15th at the start and had to work his way back up through the field on the recently reconfigured three-eighths-mile oval.
“At the beginning the track was so dusty that I had trouble seeing, and I backed off so I wouldn’t crash,” he said later. “About five or 10 laps in it cleared up and got a lot better, and I had a good race car,” he added. “It felt really good.”
He passed Kraig Kinser working lap 12 to move into 14th place, and he set his fastest lap of the race on lap 15 with a 17.253.
He moved up one more spot with 17 laps down after Sammy Swindell’s car had a flat right-rear tire while Swindell was in tenth place, which brought out the first of two caution flags.
Schuchart was ready for the restart with his #1S, which is sponsored in part by Your Auto Source NAPA Autocare Center, Pell’s Tire Service and Marty Thompson. He passed both Steve Kinser and Brady Bacon when the green waved again to move into 11th place.
He was only 0.358 of a second behind the driver who was tenth, Shane Stewart, when the yellow waved again with 20 laps down after Cody Darrah and Paul McMahan got together while racing for fifth place. McMahan never stopped so he was able to take that position for the restart but Darrah had to go to the work area, so that put Schuchart into tenth.
Steve Kinser passed Schuchart on that restart to push the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender back to 11th place again, but Schuchart repassed the 20-time WoO champion with 10 laps to go to nail down tenth. Schuchart was only 0.276 of a second behind the ninth-place driver, James McFadden, at the checkered, and he was 1.711 seconds ahead of Kinser.
The other Shark Racing driver in the field, Jacob Allen, started 23rd in the feature but only did two laps.
Donny Schatz won the feature over Brad Sweet, new track record holder David Gravel, Daryn Pittman and McMahan.
Earlier in the evening both Schuchart and Allen were in the second heat. Schuchart started second and finished sixth, while Allen was seventh at the start and at the finish.
Schuchart was eighth in time trials with a 14.570 and Allen was 20th with a 15.445.
It was the first appearance ever at I-96 for either Schuchart or Allen.
The team’s sponsors include: Your Auto Source NAPA Autocare Center, Pell’s Tire Service, Marty Thompson, Don Ott Racing Engines, Rich Fogle Custom Pole Buildings, Newman’s Towing & Recovery, CnB Mushroom Farms, Brenneman Painting, Speedway 94, Dirt: The Game, Silpada Jewelry, Lebo Skin Care, DMI, Penske Shocks, ButlerBuilt Seats, Tony Stewart Racing, SR Lubricant Solutions and Mycroleum.
The pair’s next race is this coming Wednesday, June 4, at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Ind. The WoO circuit then travels to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. on Friday, June 6 and Lakeside Speedway in Lakeside, Kan., on Saturday, June 7.
Several WoO races held earlier this year will be broadcast on Wednesdays in June on the CBS Sports Network at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Races from Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Texas will start the coverage this Wednesday night, June 4.
Free, live audio coverage of all WoO races is available on Dirtvision.com, as well as pay-per-view coverage of selected events. The series’ Web site is at woosprint.com.
The team, Schuchart and Allen have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, and Schuchart has a Web site at Shark1s.com. Team apparel can be ordered through that Web site.
