Haudenschild and SJM open 2018 Outlaw Season with two wins in four starts 

LAS VEGAS, NV – February 28, 2017 – Sheldon Haudenschild and his new Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall racing are firing on all cylinders in 2018. Haudenschild assumed the lead after early leader Brian Brown slowed with a flat tire 10 laps in and held off veterans Donny Schatz and Tim Shaffer on numerous restarts to score the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victory on Night 1 of the FVP Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 10th-starting Donny Schatz and 12th-starting Brad Sweet completed the podium.

FVP sponsored driver Brian Brown was vying for a perfect night after setting fast time in Flight B of Qualifying, dominating his Heat and winning the Craftsman Club Dash. Brown led the first 10 laps of the Feature before succumbing to a flat tire in turn four, bringing out the first of many cautions in the 30-lap Feature.

Haudenschild, who had closed in on Brown significantly before his tire blew, assumed the lead with Shaffer to his inside. The next four laps saw three cautions for three different drivers. By the halfway point, Haudenschild separated himself from Shaffer and 16th-starting David Gravel and worked his way into third. A lap later, Donny Schatz blasted underneath Gravel and Shaffer to secure second.

Willie Croft slowed to a stop bringing out the caution with Schatz to the inside of Haudenschild. Brent Marks spun on the ensuing restart, setting up a single-file restart. The next start Logan Schuchart hit the infield tire in turn four and Cory Eliason did the same thing on attempt number three of Lap 21. Schuchart and Eliason, who were both competing for a top-five finish, did not return.

Ian Madsen slowed with seven to go forcing an Open Red and giving Schatz one more chance to steal the win away from Sheldon. It was not meant to be as Haudenschild powered away on the restart and went on to win by 1.417 seconds.

When asked about the multitude of restarts, Haudenschild said, “It was difficult. On one hand, you are happy because you get a couple of laps with a free track, but it gets hard to jump in front of guys like Shaffer and Schatz on consecutive restarts.”

“To get a win here, where I don’t have a lot of laps is awesome,” the Wooster, OH native added. After capturing the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award last season without winning a Feature, Haudenschild has now won two of the four World of Outlaws races completed to open 2018.

Schatz, who edged in front of Haudenschild on one of the Lap 20 restarts only to have it negated by another caution, said, “That’s the way racing is,” before adding, “It was a handful out there, but the guys gave me a great car and we will settle for second tonight.”

Sweet, who quietly worked his way forward late in the race, was happy with third, “It was a marathon,” the Grass Valley, CA native said with a grin. “I got up there early and made a few mistakes. Luckily, we had a good enough car to get back up there. We’ll be back tomorrow and hopefully put on a better show.”

Shaffer and Gravel held on to complete the top five with Jason Johnson, 21st-starting Kerry Madsen, Daryn Pittman, Brent Marks and Jason Meyers completing the top ten. Despite bringing out the caution with 10 laps remaining, Brent Marks still earned KSE Hard Charger honors coming back to finish ninth.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returns to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Thursday evening for the conclusion of the FVP Outlaw Showdown. As always, you can catch all the action live on DIRTVision.com.