Meanwhile, Sheldon Haudenschild was on the charge from his ninth-place starting position, and on lap 20 dove under Schatz for third.
In the infield, an excited Richard Marshall — co-owner of the Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing No. 17 driven by Haudenschild — lost his orientation in the excitement of watching his driver power past Schatz into third and fell from the top of the team‘s trailer, resulting in three broken vertebrae.
A lap-26 caution turned into an open red, which was extended while the ambulance crossed the track to transport Marshall from the infield care center to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Marshall did not require surgery and has since been released from the hospital.
Sweet made the most of the restart, sweeping past Schuchart on the high-side cushion to take the lead exiting turn two as Schatz moved back into third and Brent Marks took fourth. Marks had started the feature in 16th and after moving past Schatz into third slid Schuchart for second with three to go before Schuchart turned under him and retook the position.
Sweet was alone out front as the two battled for the runner-up spot. Schuchart finally secured second, with Marks in third, before Sweet passed under the checkers. Sheldon Haudenschild claimed fourth, with David Gravel taking fifth after starting 11th.
Gravel climbed from his car at the scales and ran onto Eldora‘s infield stage, jumping in the air and pumping his fists before announcer Blake Anderson caught up with the Big Cat in time for him to yell “Holy sh*t!” into the microphone, bringing a cheer from the massive crowd.
Hall of Famer and longtime Steve Kinser crew chief Scott Gerkin served as the ceremonial sovereign, placing the crown atop Sweet‘s head.
Runner-up Schuchart had only one regret following the race, and that involved the restart when Sweet passed him for the lead.
“One thing I feel like I could have done is maybe take a little bit faster start there at the end,” said Schuchart. “I think I went a little too slow and it made me stumble a little bit to where Brad got the jump before we got to the flagstand.
“I wish I would have set a little bit faster pace.”
Overall, Brent Marks was happy with his performance that resulted in a third-place finish.
“I wanted to get to second there and see if I had something for Brad, even though he was really good, but me and Logan just went at it too much there and I just wasn‘t able to get him,” said Marks.
“When you have a race that pays $175,000 to win and basically $20,000 for second it‘s kind of all-or-nothing coming in here,” an elated Sweet added following the win. “I‘m a fan of that. You know, it‘s nerve-wracking, it gets the fans‘ attention, it‘s what we need in this sport is stuff like that. It‘s intense all night long.
“I felt like I was gonna puke all day, and under the red. Just, basically, if you don‘t win the race it‘s just a missed opportunity and you only get so many of these opportunities, so I‘m just so happy and want to cherish the moment.”
None of the top three finishers stated that they had made any major changes to their cars under the open red. However, Sweet did share that his crew made quite a few changes to the car following their disappointing finish the night before.
“I think our team right now is the best at adapting and figuring out where we do make a mistake and being spot on the next time we go on the track,” Sweet noted.