David Gravel. Rico Abreu. Ryan Timms. And, if NASCAR commitments didn’t interfere, Kyle Larson. Those are likely the first names that come to mind when identifying favorites for the 65th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s.
But what about Sheldon Haudenschild?
The 32-year-old from Wooster, Ohio, renowned for his cushion-blasting bravado, has never truly been considered among the upper echelon of contenders at The Granddaddy of Them All. This year, however, as a more well-rounded racer, it’d be foolish to leave him out of the conversation.
Haudenschild enters with the longest active top-10 streak at the Nationals — six in a row dating to 2019 — and is coming off his best starting spot yet, fifth last year before fading to 10th. Amid a seven-win season that has him third in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series standings, he’s never been more confident in his first season with KCP Racing.
If there’s ever been a year Haudenschild belongs closest to the likes of Gravel, Abreu, Timms and whoever else is deemed a driver to beat, it’s this one. While Haudenschild doesn’t get too wrapped up in who belongs in which tier entering Nationals week, he believes he’s plenty capable of getting the job done Saturday.
“I don’t know if I really look at it like that. Saturday is still gonna be kill or be killed. These guys are good: (Aaron) Reutzel, Rico, David, Buddy, Carson (Macedo) — all these guys,” Haudenschild said. “I just think it’s exciting for us drivers and fans. I don’t think anybody knows who it’s gonna be on Saturday. It’s open for sure. I’m confident as ever. I think we can beat these guys any night of the week.”
Those flashes of brilliance have never been the question with Haudenschild. Doing it consistently has been.
When he’s on his game, there’s no denying what’s possible. In 2019, he clobbered the Iron-Man 55 field to win by more than 10 seconds. Last fall, he put on a masterclass to win the National Open at tricky Williams Grove Speedway.
Now those flashes are becoming far more frequent. This past Saturday’s 19th-place finish at I-55 Speedway was only his second finish outside the top 10 — and second DNF — over the last 31 races. Over that span, he’s collected six victories and 14 podium finishes, including four WoO victories in a seven-race stretch in July.
Where Haudenschild has gotten himself in trouble over the years, however, is overstepping the race car — perhaps trying to extract more than what’s there. This year, he’s largely eliminated that tendency, pairing his trademark speed with a patience he's fostered.
"I think I've been more patient, honestly. But there's a lot that leads up to that," Haudenschild said. "I think qualifying better this year gets you started at the front of the heat races, then you're starting top eight for sure. It's easier to be more patient like that. These last three years, I haven't qualified well. I'm on the second row of those heats, and then you're outside the top eight.
"It kind of forces you to not have that paitence to try and win these races. We've still won races, but it's not as easy now, just positioning yourself every single night to start up front. I think it's way easier for me to be patient and letting these races come to me. Honestly, I think (crew chief Kyle) Ripper has had my car better and it makes my life easier.
"That's frustrating about nights like Pevely. I was cruising around there for 25-30 laps. And I don't finish that race. I felt like I never really got going. This year, I haven't wanted those DNFs. You never want them. I just feel like I've had a couple this year that shouldn't have been."
He's even earned praise from veterans Donny Schatz, an 11-time Nationals winner, and Danny Dietrich.
“Sheldon, I feel like, is coming into his own here, figuring things out,” Schatz said recently on the Pit Bull podcast. “He's always been a little known for being super aggressive and probably taking his chances. But if you look at what he's done ... he hasn't done it beating the wall down. He's been doing it by keeping his car underneath him, keeping his tire underneath him and making smart decisions.”
Dietrich went a step further with his assessment.
“I actually think Sheldon is better than David (Gravel),” Dietrich said on the Pit Bull podcast two weeks ago. “I think what it is, it's good motors and his program. He's not having — I think in the past, he hasn't had the cars and the motors he'd needed. You try to go out and do too much and end up in the fence.
“I think that's what Sheldon has forced himself to do the last few years, in my opinion. Now he has s--- that operates way better, and he's not having to do the dumb s--- he's done before — force a lane that isn't there.”
Haudenschild believes he has a race car capable of qualifying atop the speed charts while also carving through traffic around the aero-dependent Knoxville half-mile — especially important for drivers who can get bogged down easily by the heat-race invert, a midpack starting spot and testy traffic.
“One-hundred percent. This year, I think I'm more confident in my team and my race car than I've ever been. ... We just have to get ourselves positioned on Saturday and kind of go from there,” Haudenschild said. “Fifty laps, it's a pretty wide-open game. Just getting it in the show, you have a shot at winning this race nowadays if your car is good.”
Haudenschild describes his first year at KCP as a "very easy transition," particularly alongside Ripper, his longtime crew chief that came over with him from Stenhouse-Marshall Racing, and crewmen Adam Clark and Dauson Heitritter. The stability they provide Haudenschild behind the wheel is evident.
"Ripper has to do less work with a more mature crew. In return, it makes my life easier because it's easier for me and Ripper to communicate," Haudenschild said. "The easier you make it for these crews, I think it shows on the racetrack because it's not easy to replicate."
Knoxville, of course, is a different beast. Either your car is capable around the sweeping half-mile — or it simply isn't. Haudenschild has every reason to believe his will be as good as any this week. He never felt better, he said, than during his last trip, a fifth-to-second outing June 12 on the WoO tour.
He also has finishes of seventh and third, significant turnarounds from his first Knoxville WoO weekend with KCP, when he finished 18th and 19th in April.
“The last trip here, I was able to rip the cushion better than ever here,” Haudenschild said. “I think the bottom (depends) on track conditions. They've added a little more water on the bottom. It's been honestly a little greasy down there, not getting ran in. The last trip here, we had the middle rolling pretty good. Honestly, this place is keeping on the track as a driver.”
Pair that newfound comfort around Knoxville with perhaps the best qualifying efforts of Haudenschild’s career, and there’s reason to believe he could be in the thick of the fight when Saturday’s $200,000-to-win finale rolls around.
“I'm more excited this year than ever because I feel like I've upped my qualifying game a little bit,” Haudenschild said. “Hopefully this week we can back that up and keep rolling.”