NEW EGYPT, N.J., May 21 — Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart turned an 18th-place starting position into an eighth-place finish Tuesday night at New Egypt Speedway in World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series action to earn the KSE Hard-Charger Award for the most positions advanced by any driver in the 24-car field.
It was the second such award for the Hanover, Pa.-based team so far this year, as his teammate, Jacob Allen, earned the same distinction last month at a race in Pevely, Mo. Allen started 23rd and finished 18th in Tuesday night’s 30-lap feature, which was called the NAPA Outlaws Classic.
Schuchart was able to use restarts to his advantage Tuesday night. He got a good start initially, advancing from 19th to 14th by the end of lap two. He moved up another position following a restart with three laps down after Dave Blaney spun in Turn 4 to bring out the first caution flag. He got one more spot on lap five to move into 12th place.
Schuchart was still in 12th place on lap 12 when the action stopped abruptly after Steve Kinser crashed hard into the outside retaining wall in Turn 3. Luckily the King of the Outlaws wasn’t hurt.
Schuchart remained in 12th place on lap 13 but on the next lap he was able to pass four cars driven by Ryan Smith, Cody Darrah, Sammy Swindell and Brent Marks to move into eighth place. He remained in that position until the end, finishing 0.563 of a second behind the seventh-place driver, Danny Dietrich, and 0.588 of a second ahead of the ninth-place driver, Smith.
Schuchart’s fastest lap of the race occurred at the midway point, as he was timed in 16.298 seconds on lap 15. Allen’s best lap was lap 10 at 16.649 seconds.
Defending WoO champion Daryn Pittman won Tuesday night’s feature over David Gravel, Kerry Madsen, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz.
“We made some changes to the car and tightened it up; they were just little things, but it made it faster,” Schuchart said after the feature Tuesday night. “It’s definitely a different track, but it’s racy. I finished second to Pittman here in 2012.”
Earlier in the evening Schuchart only got one lap in time trials due to a malfunction of his car’s scoring transponder, but he posted the 18th-fastest time out of 27 drivers when he took 14.330 seconds to circle the 0.438-mile oval. Allen’s qualifying time was a 14.800.
Both of the Shark Racing drivers were in the third heat. Schuchart started sixth, passed Kraig Kinser on the first lap and finished fifth to qualify for the feature.
Allen started ninth and last and finished eighth. That put Allen in the 10-lap Last-Chance Showdown, where he started ninth and last again. He was seventh by the end of lap one in that race and fifth by lap two. He stayed in fifth place until the checkered to qualify for the feature, crossing the finish line 0.449 of a second after Davey Sammons did and 1.192 seconds before Tyler Ross did.
Both Shark Racing drivers are contenders for the series’ Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award presented by ButlerBuilt. Schuchart is 12th and Allen is 14th in the overall point standings.
The team is sponsored by Your Auto Source NAPA Autocare Center, Pell’s Tire Service, Marty Thompson, Don Ott Racing Engines, Rich Fogle Custom Pole Buildings, Newman’s Towing & Recovery, CnB Mushroom Farms, Brenneman Painting, Speedway 94, Dirt: The Game, Silpada Jewelry, Lebo Skin Care, DMI, Penske Shocks, ButlerBuilt Seats, Tony Stewart Racing, SR Lubricant Solutions and Mycroleum.
The team now travels to Concord, N.C. for a race at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night. An event at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind., on Monday night rounds out the series’ holiday weekend schedule.
The team, Schuchart and Allen have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, and Schuchart has a Web site at Shark1s.com.
Free audio coverage of all WoO races is available on Dirtvision.com, as well as pay-per-view coverage of selected events. The series’ Web site is at woosprint.com.
