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Eldora Speedway 5-12-18
#LetsRaceTwo USAC Sprints & World of Outlaws
Results & Story Courtesy of Eldora Speedway
SCHATZ
SWEEPS OUTLAWS AT ELDORA; WINDOM ROMPS USAC
SPRINTS STORY (COURTESY USAC PR) If
Saturday night’s #LetsRaceTwo at Eldora Speedway
was any indication of how this May will play out for the Canton, Ill.
native, this month will truly be one to remember. Windom
took the lead from Kevin Thomas, Jr. on the fourth lap of the 30-lap
feature at the western Ohio half-mile dirt oval and went on to hammer home
USAC victory number one for 2018 and his first Sprint Car win at the track
since 2013. Rain
was on the forecast and urgency was at the forefront as the show was
pushed along to defeat Mother Nature. Yet it was Thomas who
initially looked like the one to take the bull by the horns at the start,
splitting between Chase Stockon and Windom just
past the flag stand, then sliding up in front of pole sitter Joe Stornetta to grab the lead by turn
one. Windom
immediately charged forth and tried to redeem a two-for-one discount
coupon, sliding by Stornetta and Thomas in quick
succession entering turn three to briefly snare the top spot before Thomas
ducked back underneath to regain control exiting the fourth
turn. The
first big incident of the night occurred in turn two on the third lap when
11th-running
Justin Grant and another car made contact, sending the Ione, Calif. native
on a wild ride that he would walk away from
unscathed. On
the ensuing restart, more trouble ensued when third-running Stornetta climbed the outside wall between turns three
and four and cartwheeled several times before coming to rest near the
bottom of turn four. The series Rookie making just his second
start at Eldora escaped injury. On
the restart, Windom got up on the wheel once again and went on the attack,
running down Thomas with a successful turn one slider. Thomas
fought back on both ends of the racetrack with a two-pack of sliders, to
no avail. “I
don’t know if there was urgency, but clean air here, even in a non-wing
car, is crucial,” Windom pointed out. “With the dust, and
watching guys mess up on the cushion, it’s just a lot easier being in the
lead. I knew that the slider line (Thomas) was running would
work on restarts, but I thought if I could get up and start getting my
momentum going up top, it’d be better, and it was. When I saw
the opportunity, I just took it. I wanted to get out to the
lead and get away from everybody as quick as
possible. Obviously, it helps with the great racecar (crew
chief) Derek Claxton gave me.” Though
it appeared Windom and the Baldwin Brothers Racing team had the “it”
factor going on from the get-go, it wasn’t initially clear to Windom how
well his car was going to react as the race wore on at a feisty joint like
“The Big E.” “The
first couple of laps, I didn’t know how great my car was with the way we
were sliding ourselves,” Windom admitted. “Once we started
rolling the top, I knew the car was really good. As long as I didn’t mess up on my end, it was going to
be tough for anyone to get to us. This place is just so
mentally and physically demanding. Running the cushion like
that is tough to do for 30 laps.” By
halfway, Windom’s lead was a full-straightaway – a country mile, if you
will – as a pack that included Stockon, Tyler
Courtney, Robert Ballou and Friday night winner Brady Bacon sorted out the
runner-up spot lap-after-lap with Courtney finally able to emerge with the
second position on the 19th lap. But,
by then, Windom’s lead was a nearly insurmountable 4.843
seconds. It was a lead so large that Windom was unaware of how
large it actually was. “I
didn’t know I had that big of a lead,” Windom exclaimed. “I
knew we were pretty good, but when you start getting into lapped traffic,
every little lapped car can slow you down just enough. It’s
such a momentum racetrack for a guy to catch you. You have to be slow and methodical through lapped traffic,
but you can’t let up too much. I tried to pick them off as
quickly as I could and tried to get some guys between me and
second.” By
race’s end, Windom had lapped up to eighth place. Courtney was
able to make up some ground as Windom got hung up while threading the
needle through traffic. But the hang-up was a brief one and not
nearly enough to stall Windom as he finished hammering the proverbial
nail, winning by a margin of 2.3 seconds over Courtney, Stockon, Bacon and Ballou. “We’ve
had a lot of good runs. I think we’ve had four or five podium finishes so
far. But you get sick of those after a while and you just want to win a
race. It’s awesome to start it here!” =================================== WORLD
OF OUTLAWS STORY (COURTESY WoO
PR) Schatz
won the Sears Craftsman Dash and shared the front row with Parker
Price-Miller. It was PPM getting the jump on the start as the Indiana
native set the pace for the first four laps on the cushion before Schatz
took command of the field on the fifth circuit on the
bottom. Schuchart
just barely edged Price-Miller to the line on Lap 7, which was significant
because the caution flew for Sheldon Haudenschild, lining Schuchart to the outside of Schatz. Haudenschild, who entered the evening third in the
World of Outlaws Point Standings, was unable to return to
action. The
restart saw Schatz and Schuchart put a
straightaway back to the rest of the field, as the duo, who finished first
and second a night ago, were once again the class of the field. Schuchart was able to keep his Shark Racing No.1S
glued to the bottom of the Eldora Speedway racing surface and close in on
Schatz. But,
catching Donny Schatz and passing Donny Schatz are two entirely different
things. Every time it appeared Schuchart may
have a run to get underneath Schatz, the Fargo, ND native would go to the
bottom, forcing Schuchart to the top. Schuchart’s No.1S was not as strong on the cushion,
allowing Schatz to maintain the lead each time. With
consecutive Green Flag action, lapped traffic played a factor. Schatz
reminded everyone why he is the nine-time and defending Series Champion
with his prowess through a maze of lapped cars. Schuchart, an Outlaw winner at Eldora last year,
stayed right with Schatz every step and just as he was about to pull even
with the Champion, the caution flew for an ailing Spencer Bayston with five laps
remaining. With
five or fewer laps remaining in the Feature, the start was single-file.
Schuchart and third-place running Aaron Reutzel both stayed with Schatz on the restart, but
Donny was too strong and went on to take the checkered flag 1.536 seconds
ahead of Schuchart. “We
love lapped traffic. That’s where races are won and lost,” Schatz said in
Victory Lane when prompted about the close-quartered racing action. “My
guys are incredible. We keep working, keep digging and keep finding ways
to be up here at the end of the night,” Schatz added before expressing his
thanks to the fans for coming out and thanking the track and officials for
running an accelerated program to beat Mother
Nature. When
asked about the close racing with Schuchart,
Schatz referenced an old tale from his father, “If you are worried about
what is behind you, you are going to have a hell of a time handling what’s
in front of you. I’ve always raced like that and tonight was no
different.” Schuchart
was pleased with his second consecutive runner-up finish. “It was a lot of
fun racing up there. I know my heart was pumping, it was hard to stay
calm,” the upbeat Hanover, PA native said. “What a great weekend for us.
Two podiums and if you are going to finish second to someone, that’s a
hell of a team to finish behind. They are incredible, but we are going to
try and keep working hard to beat them,” Schuchart added. Reutzel’s
2018 speed continued as he followed up last night’s disappointment of
wrecking while leading with a podium finish. “I probably should have been
a little more aggressive on the top, but we definitely wanted to finish
after last night,” the Texan and current All-Star point leader
said. Kraig
Kinser had an impressive 15th to fourth run for his best finish of the
season with Tim Shaffer completing the top five. Early race leader Parker
Price-Miller settled for sixth with Kerry Madsen, 17th-starting Brad
Sweet, 22nd-starting Ian Madsen and 24th-starting Daryn Pittman completing the top ten. Pittman claimed
KSE Hard Charger honors for the second consecutive
night.
Rossburg, Ohio………For Chris Windom, this is supposed to
be his big May. The reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car
champ has a jampacked schedule of short track races across the Midwest to
compete in and is on the verge of his first start at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
ROSSBURG,
OH – May 12, 2018 – The man is on a roll. Donny Schatz completed the
weekend sweep of the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series portion
of Let’s Race Two at Eldora Speedway holding off Logan Schuchart for the second consecutive night. It was
Schatz’ eighth win of the 2018 season and fourth in his last five starts
as he continues to extend his lead atop the Series Point Standings in
search of his 10th Outlaw Championship.
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