7/6/2019
Sprint Source
NERVES OF STEEL: SHELDON HAUDENSCHILD HOLDS OFF DONNY SCHATZ TO WIN AT CEDAR LAKE SPEEDWAY
Haudenschild wins the rain delayed FVP Platinum Battery Showdown
Nerves set in for Sheldon Haudenschild in the closing laps of the early Saturday evening World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series FVP Platinum Battery Showdown at Cedar Lake Speedway.
While leading with less than 10 laps to go, he brushed the wall off turn four while trying to pass a lap car on one lap and jumped the cushion in turn one, upsetting his car, in another. With 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz lurking behind him – hungry to return to Victory Lane – Haudenschild knew errors were not an option.
“I made a couple of sloppy laps there honestly,” Haudenschild said. “I was a little nervous. That’s usually when Donny capitalizes. I wasn’t very happy with myself making a few of those mistakes.”
Schatz closed, but after the couple errors, Haudenschild in his NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was flawless. Powering around the high side of the speedway, the Wooster, Ohio-native cruised to his first win of the season – 6th career win – and first win since August.
It wasn’t an easy drive though. Before having to hold off Schatz, he had to work his way from eighth-place past drivers like Brad Sweet, Shane Stewart, David Gravel and Schatz for the lead.
Rain was also a hinderance. Seven laps of the 35-lap Feature were completed Friday night before rain fell, postponing the race until Saturday evening – leaving 28 laps to go. Before the rain fell, Gravel had taken the lead and Haudenschild had moved his way to seventh.
“Starting seventh (when the race restarted) I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” Haudenschild said. “I had Brad, Donny, Gravel and the five-car up there. It definitely wasn’t easy pickings to get up there. Luckily, I made a couple of passes on the bottom in (turns) one and two while it was still good, and I think I moved up at the right time.
“We’ve had a little bit of a down period. So, to get a win for them (Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team), and myself is huge.”
When the Feature went back green early Saturday evening, Schatz launched by Gravel for the lead and never looked back. Pulling away from the field he looked poised to claim his fourth win of the season. However, a fast Haudenschild charged his way through the field and eventually worked his way around Schatz on the high side to steal the top spot and lead the final 19 laps.
While Schatz had to settle for second, he made a big gain in the points with Sweet breaking a part during the race and finishing 23rd.
“Wins is what keeps you a job and keep these teams going, keeps them motivated,” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D.-native. “So, we wanted to win. Sheldon did a better job. When he got up on the top there in three and four, he’s good at that stuff.”
Rounding out the podium was Kerry Madsen, who used a few late race slide jobs to secure the position.
“Just didn’t get my rhythm until halfway,” Madsen said. “The car came alive and started attacking.”
With the new track conditions Saturday evening, versus Friday night, drivers were unsure what they would be faced with, but Haudenschild stayed confident throughout the delay. He knew he had a good car Friday night and knew he could keep his strong run going into Saturday.
With the sun’s evening rays bathing him, his NOS Energy Drink can newly awarded glimmering gold trophy in Victory Lane at Cedar Lake Speedway, Haudenschild’s nerves were gone, replaced by relief and joy.
UP NEXT:
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will complete the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown tonight at Cedar Lake Speedway.
As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on DIRTVision.com.
For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
Article Credit: Nick Graziano