Logan Schuchart overcame a poor starting position and early-season hardship to score his first win of 2017 in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Friday night at the Kings Outlaw Showdown in Hanford, California.

Schuchart finished fifth in his heat race at Keller Auto Speedway. That lined him in 19th place on the starting grid for the A-Main and put him in heavy traffic.  

It took a community effort to even get him to the track. On his way to the first race of season, Schuchart's tow vehicle broke down. As is often the case in grassroots racing, his competitors and fans rallied around him to help the No. 1S team make it to the following races. 

"We just really need to thank [the Ryan] Smith family for letting us use their toter-home to come all the way [to California] and everyone that donated to the GoFundMe," Schuchart said after the race. "You never want to be in that position but we were in a tough spot and we wouldn't be out here if it wasn't for those people."

Several strong come-from-behind runs, including the one by Schuchart, kept the fans engaged throughout the 35-lap affair. 

"This adds onto the excitement and the accomplishments," Schuchart said. "It doesn't matter if you start from the pole or wherever if you can win an Outlaws race. These things are really tough no matter where you go. I'm just happy for my team to be able to get a win, and it just makes it that much more exciting to start from 19th."

While Schuchart stalked the field, outside pole sitter Ian Madsen was busy fending off threats at the front. During the A-main, five drivers started to his outside, including local favorite Cory Eliason.

Eliason wrestled the lead from Madsen but was never credited with leading a lap. The Fresno, CA, native used his familiarity with Kings to carve his way through traffic. He passed 15 cars and had his sight set on one more by lap 20. The crowd leapt to its feet as Eliason passed Madsen in turns one and two, only to quickly sit back down when he spun on the backstretch. 

Schuchart was able to make his pass stick. He went around Madsen for the lead with two laps remaining to win his third career World of Outlaws Sprint Car race. 

Frequent restarts not only contributed to Schuchart's win but also Madsen's demise. 

"It was a pretty strong run for the KPC team," Madsen said. "Kind of got nervous [with all those restarts] didn't really know what to do, with someone different coming up each time. We'll go onto Perris and see if we can win."

Point leader Donny Schatz also had to come from deep in the pack. After finishing sixth in his heat, he was forced to run the Last Chance Showdown in order to advance to the main. That lined him up near the back of the field. Schatz started 21st in the 26-car field and finished third.

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