Logan Schuchart won his first career race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH, where grandfather Bobby Allen won the inaugural Outlaws event, and that has him thinking of how he can keep following those footsteps.
 
Schuchart swapped the lead with Shane Stewart in the middle stage of the #LetsRaceTwo night one before leading the final 18 laps en route to victory on Friday.

"As a little kid I dreamt about being a World of Outlaws driver," Schuchart said from Victory Lane. "Eldora, with all the history behind it, it's really cool. My grandfather won the first Outlaw race here in '78, so being able to win this race with him by my side is really cool."

Allen, a National Sprint Car Hall of Famer, is both Schuchart's grandfather and car owner.

"I hope it means something for July. My grandfather won the Knoxville Nationals," Schuchart said. "He won the Williams Grove National Open. But nobody won the Kings Royal, so that's a race I really want to run well in, and this is where you get your notes and stuff. To win tonight, hopefully that means something for the next couple races in the next couple months."

Schuchart's first win this season did not set the tone for the events that followed. After winning a 35-lapper at Kings Auto Speedway in Hanford, CA, he struggled through the rest of the Western Swing and failed to record another top 10.

Schuchart paced only two laps in his Hanford victory; however, and Friday night's triumph gave him quite a bit more experience managing the lead. 


Stewart jumped into second on the opening lap and immediately started challenging pole sitter Jason Johnson. Five laps of side-by-side racing between Stewart and Johnson allowed Schuchart to catch the duo. 

Instantly under attack, Stewart's lead was short-lived as Schuchart took advantage of a bobble by the No. 2 on the cushion and rocketed past on the front stretch. 

A caution for Trevor Philo and Jac Haudenschild bunched the field back up and gave Stewart the lead for another pair of laps when he launched better on the restart. 

Once Schuchart regained the lead on lap 12, he yarded the field and had a more than four-second lead at the checkers.

Stewart settled for second.

Brad Sweet had to climb his way to third from a ninth-place starting position. That was his sixth consecutive top seven finish, and if he is able to run equally well in night two of Eldora, he is going to advance at least a position in the FloRacing Sprint Car Power Rankings. 

Donny Schatz also had to make up positions in the race. He started seventh but climbed to fourth at the checkers.

Johnson faded to fifth.

The night took an ugly turn on lap nine. Philo, an Ohio native, bounced off the wall into the path of Haudenschild. They made hard contact and both were transported to a local hospital for observation. 

A defiant Haudenschild vowed to return. 

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After further consideration, Jac decided to take the night off and will not be part of Saturday's lineup. He will watch as his son, Sheldon, tries to improve on Friday night's 18th-place finish.

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Top 10 Finishers

1. Logan Schuchart
2. Shane Stewart
3. Brad Sweet
4. Donny Schatz
5. Jason Johnson
6. David Gravel
7. Jason Sides
8. Jacob Allen
9. Daryn Pittman
10. Kraig Kinser
Complete Results