JACKSON, Minn. — Racing doesn’t get much better than Saturday night at Jackson Motorplex.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series made the most of their single stop at the Minnesota track for the Fendt Showdown.
The green flag ignited 30 laps of thrilling action around the four-tenths-mile. Logan Schuchart led as the race began with Donny Schatz stalking him. Eventually, Schuchart put some distance between himself and the 10-time series champion while battles broke out everywhere behind them.
Sheldon Haudenschild surged by Schatz into the second spot on Lap 16 and wasted no time sliding by Schuchart for the lead two circuits later. That looked like it might be the winning move as Haudenschild motored away, but traffic set the stage for a thrilling conclusion.
The Jaws music was cued as Schuchart began to reel Haudenschild back in with less than 10 laps remaining and brought Donny Schatz and Carson Macedo with him.
You could throw a blanket over the top four as the laps clicked away. Schuchart ripped by Haudenschild as they crossed the line with three to go. That proved to be the winning pass as he held off the potent trio behind him to take the Shark Racing No. 1s to victory lane.
“I knew somebody was probably coming, and I saw a car out of the corner of my eye on the bottom in (Turns) 1 and 2,” Schuchart said of when Haudenschild passed him. “And I knew it was a lead lap car that got by me at that point. But once Sheldon was in that seat, it’s tough. Sometimes it’s better to be chasing. I felt like I could get the wing back a little bit and make something happen, just kind of gas her up and play cat and mouse. At that point, we were the cat. We just got better there at the end.”
Schuchart’s score gave him three wins this season with The Greatest Show on Dirt and 47 for his career. Five of those have come at Jackson Motorplex, equaling with Eldora Speedway for the winningest track on the Hanover, Pa., native’s résumé.
The Shark crew continued their hot summer with their 13th top five in the last 17 races including a pair of victories in the last four.
Sheldon Haudenschild’s bid for back-to-back checkered flags fell a spot short in the KCP Racing/NOS Energy Drink No. 18. The Wooster, Ohio, native has reeled off three consecutive podiums and tallied 21 this season.
Carson Macedo muscled by Donny Schatz late to put the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 in third, giving them podium results both nights of the Minnesota weekend.
Donny Schatz and Emerson Axsom completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 2. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz[4]; 5. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]; 6. 83-Michael Kofoid[18]; 7. 2-David Gravel[7]; 8. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 9. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[13]; 10. 17-Spencer Bayston[19]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog[9]; 12. 2C-Cole Macedo[15]; 13. 16C-Skylar Gee[6]; 14. 7S-Chris Windom[17]; 15. 24T-Christopher Thram[8]; 16. 31-Koby Werkmeister[10]; 17. 51-Steven Snyder Jr[12]; 18. 3-Kelby Watt[16]; 19. 45X-Ashton Torgerson[20]; 20. 4-Cameron Martin[22]; 21. 23W-Scott Winters[24]; 22. 17D-Ryan Bickett[23]; 23. (DNF) 80P-Jacob Peterson[21]; 24. (DNF) 13-Mark Dobmeier[14]
