WAVERLY, Ohio — For more than four decades, the Haudenschild name has been gracing victory lane all throughout the great state of Ohio.
The only difference between now and 1980 is that the next generation is the one doing the winning now.
The passing of the torch from father-to-son continued on Saturday night as Sheldon Haudenschild earned his third World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win in his home state. The Wooster, Ohio,fan favorite is following in the footsteps of his legendary dad, Jac, who scored 11 of his 72 career wins within state lines.
It was only fitting that Jac himself was in-person to witness his boy deliver a big-time performance at Atomic Speedway.
The win upped Sheldon and Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing to four victories in 2022, tied with Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing for the most on tour through 22 of 77 races.
His 26th career World of Outlaws win was a good one, too, as Haudenschild was forced to fend off the Shark Racing duo of Jacob Allen and Logan Schuchart.
Haudenschild led 27 of 30 laps in the Series’ long-awaited return after a 13-year absence from the track. Allen, who continues to piece together a spectacular season, led laps 18-20 and hounded Haudenschild throughout the closing stages in front of a packed crowd.
“That was such a blast,” Haudenschild said. “I love the Shark boys, and man they were on it tonight. I knew the 1a and 1s would be there with a track like this and sure enough they gave me everything. Getting back home to Ohio is so much fun. The track crew did an amazing job. I know it wasn’t ideal to start the night, but they brought it back to life and gave us a great place to race.
“I can’t thank my guys enough for how hard they’re working. [Kyle] Ripper, Stephen [Hamm-Reilly] and Jakob [Weaver] are the reason this boat turns around and goes so fast.”
Earning his first dash win of the year, Haudenschild earned the right to start pole alongside Cole Duncan. The Atomic ace to his outside was chasing his first-career win with the series, but the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 won the race into turn one.
Things got intense at the halfway mark when traffic became a factor and allowed the Shark duo of Allen and Schuchart to tighten things up. Allen used a brief lapse to lead three circuits before more traffic allowed Haudenschild to get right back by him.
Haudenschild survived all challenges to win by .430-seconds.
“I knew I had to limit my mistakes in traffic and I still made a couple. but I was able to get my momentum back when Jacob got me,” Haudenschild added. “The lappers were tough to negotiate tonight. I really needed to stay up on the banking to keep my speed rolling. You can be up one night and down the next against these guys, so we’ll enjoy this one and hopefully build on it next week.”
Finishing second with a last-lap, last-corner pass on his uncle was Schuchart.
“It’s always really fun when you can race so clean, but so hard with guys like that,” Schuchart said. “I’ve never been to Atomic before tonight, but this place was really cool, raced great, and we got to see a packed crowd. Ohio fans never disappoint. We put this new Triple-X together before Bristol and we’ve been up front almost every single night. That goes to show how hard my guys Ron [Helmick], Todd [Berkheimer], my grandfather [Bobby Allen], and Bill [Klingbeil] are working.”
Allen finished third.
“That was a blast,” Allen said. “You have Haud’s son and Bobby Allen’s son. He’s up top, I’m on the bottom. Both of our dads are down here on the frontstretch, that is pretty awesome. I want to win and I had a good shot, but putting on races like that is just so much fun. If I can’t win I’m glad to share the podium with an awesome group like this.”
Championship leader Brad Sweet extended his advantage with a fourth-place result in the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49. Duncan finished fifth.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$10,000]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4][$6,000]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [5][$3,500]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [6][$2,800]; 5. 22-Cole Duncan [2][$2,500]; 6. 101-Cale Thomas [9][$2,300]; 7. 2-David Gravel [10][$2,200]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [14][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12][$2,050]; 10. 9-Kasey Kahne [8][$2,000]; 11. 5T-Travis Philo [19][$1,600]; 12. 41-Carson Macedo [15][$1,400]; 13. 83-James McFadden [21][$1,200]; 14. 49X-Ian Madsen [7][$1,100]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [11][$1,050]; 16. 7S-Robbie Price [17][$1,000]; 17. 11-Buddy Kofoid [13][$1,000]; 18. 5-Spencer Bayston [3][$1,000]; 19. 97-Greg Wilson [22][$1,000]; 20. 8D-Josh Davis [20][$1,000]; 21. O8-Brandon Conkel [24][$1,000]; 22. 20G-Noah Gass [23][$1,000]; 23. A79-Brandon Wimmer [18][$1,000]; 24. 4-Danny Smith [16][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Sheldon Haudenschild 1-17, 21-30; Jacob Allen 18-20. KSE Hard Charger Award: 5T-Travis Philo[+8]