Logan Schuchart had a wide smile on his face following the conclusion of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season.
It was nearing 10 p.m. on Saturday night at the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte and Schuchart was processing the conclusion of his 10th year on tour as he stood in the Shark Racing hauler, still sporting his Drydene-sponsored firesuit.
Just moments ago, the No. 1s sprint car driver had muscled his way to a third-place finish during the 25-lap, $25,000-to-win finale — his first podium in seven races.
“Everybody’s smiling,” Schuchart noted, nodding at his crew. “Knowing we had something for the leaders and to end the season on the podium — I’m happy for my guys, I’m happy they can end on a high note.”
There were plenty of silver linings for the 30-year-old to dwell on from the rest of the year — including his $1 million triumph at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in July and the six victories he collected during the 72-race Outlaw season.
“Winning that one made our year,” Schuchart said in regard to the Eldora Million. “We knew as soon as that night was over that, no matter what, the season was a success.”
But considering the caliber of his competition, realistically, there isn’t a single win from the year that the Pennsylvania native felt he took for granted. They might not have been “Million tough,” but each victory was undoubtedly hard-fought.
Be that as it may, there was a slight nagging feeling that bit at the No. 1s sprint car driver as he considered his fifth-place position in the standings and 8.83 average race finish.
“Over the offseason, we’re going to work on that consistency a little bit and see where we went wrong at certain race tracks and find what we can do better,” Schuchart said. “I don’t feel like we’re slower than the cars that are in front of us, or faster, they’re just more consistent.”
While the hot-blooded racer wasn’t exactly ready for the season to end — instead, he’d “race every day if I could” — Schuchart admitted he’s looking forward to the opportunity to re-build the Shark Racing program over the winter months.
“We’re in bad shape right now as far as cars and parts and engines,” Schuchart explained. “We’ve gotten in a few crashes, which is part of that inconsistency this year.”
But the 40-time WoO race winner doesn’t mind the long shop hours that are bound to come over the next two months, as he sets his sights on improving his record on the race track next year.
Though pleased with his progression this year, Schuchart would like to be back in 2020-form — which was his career-best season, with seven wins and a runner-up finish in the standings.
“We have a lot of great partners with Drydene, DuraMax, C&D Rigging and Federated Auto Parts that allow us to do what we do and build this program up to be at the competitive level that it is,” Schuchart said. “So we’ll continue to work on that and try to come out in 2024 swinging.”