ROSSBURG, Ohio — Logan Schuchart earned the biggest single-day payday in sprint car racing history early on Friday morning at Eldora Speedway.
Schuchart drove his familiar Shark Racing No. 1a owned by his Hall of Fame grandfather Bobby Allen to a dominant victory in the Eldora Million and banked a record $1,002,023 for leading all 50 laps of the half-mile dirt track.
“Whew, a million dollars,” Schuchart screamed after exiting his car following his fifth career victory at Eldora and his second of the season.
Schuchart started on the pole and took the lead at the start and was never headed despite three red flags, including the mandatory break after 20 laps.
Schuchart led at the break and powered away from the field and left Carson Macedo and Brad Sweet, who took turns chasing Schuchart throughout the event, to battle for second place.
Schuchart’s victory was the culmination of a career that at sometimes appeared it would never happen. The Shark Racing team was underfunded through the early years of his career, but over recent years he’s racked up 35 World of Outlaws victories.
Still, the big-race victory escaped him until the Eldora Million came around.
“This team has come such a long way,” said an emotional Schuchart. “To win a race like this is just unbelievable.
“I’d finished second in every major sprint car race and I sat there many nights and wondered, ‘What if I never win one of these big races.’”
Macedo earned $100,000 for bringing his Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 home in second position.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Macedo said. “The 1s (Schuchart) did a good job. His pace was really hard. We were running really hard laps every lap. They did an incredible job. My team did an excellent job. I’m thankful to run second. It is a big race and to run second is nothing to hang our heads about.”
Sweet finished third in the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49.
“I thought he was the best car all weekend and he was hard to keep up with,” Sweet said. “I would position my car to make a run at Logan on the restarts, and he’d just pull away. We have nothing to hang our heads about. We gave it all we got, and sometimes that’s all you can do.”
Huge Crowd
A crowd estimated at more than 30,000 was on hand to see Schuchart make history.
“We have the best fans in the world,” Schuchart said. “If you are a fan of sprint car racing, this wouldn’t have happened without you. You are the best fans in the world and this is the best race track in the world.”
David Gravel finished fourth, while Rico Abreu romped from ninth to finish fifth.
Buddy Kofoid started 20th and finished seventh.
On the restart after the lap-20 break, Aaron Reutzel spun in front of Kyle Larson, sending Larson upside down and the two collected Gio Scelzi, Spencer Bayston and Lachlan McHugh in a wild turn-one crash. All drivers were finished for the night.
The finish:
Feature (50 laps): 1. Logan Schuchart, $1,002,023; 2. 2. Carson Macedo $100,000; 3. Brad Sweet, $50,000; 4. David Gravel, $25,000; 5. Rico Abreu, $15,000; 6. Brian Brown, $12,500; 7. Michael Kofoid, $10,000; 8. Donny Schatz, $9,000; 9. Justin Peck, $8,500; 10. James McFadden, $8,000; 11. Brent Marks, $7,500; 12. C.J. Leary, $7,000; 13. Cory Eliason, $6,900; 14. Tyler Courtney, $6,800; 15. Jacob Allen, $6,700; 16. Justin Whittall, $6,600; 17. Kyle Reinhardt, $6,500; 18. Daryn Pittman, $6,400; 19. Aaron Reutzel, $6,300; 20 Kyle Larson, $6,200; 21. Spencer Bayston, $6,150; 22. Gio Scelzi, $6,100; 23. Lachlan McHugh, $6,050; 24. Cole Duncan, $6,000.