Sheldon Haudenschild (photo by Trent Gower)
ALGER, Wash. — Having won an impressive eight times in the first 32 races, Sheldon Haudenschild enjoyed a 21-race win streak from late June through early September.
On Friday night, Haudenschild and the lightning-fast No. 17 Stenhouse Jr./Marshall Racing sprint car returned to winning ways with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Haudenschild rolled off pole after winning the Dash and fell back to second place on the first start of the 30 laps as James McFadden charged heavily out of the gates. It seemed the cards were going in J-Mac’s favor, who last won the Friday portion of the 2021 Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals 70 races ago.
However, heartbreak soon struck, bringing nothing but agony to the No. 83 Roth Motorsports team. The Australian, who dominated the opening 16 laps, slowed when a mechanical issue derailed his quest for that elusive first World of Outlaws win of the season.
McFadden’s loss was Haudenschild’s gain as the 29-year-old restarted in the race lead and never relinquished it. He rode away to a 0.799 second win to claim his second win at Skagit and 31st of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
“I had a little déjà vu thinking about those races here last year against James in the No 9,” said Haudenschild. “I saw this big puff of smoke coming out and you could smell him rolling around, so I knew something was wrong. It just feels great to be back on top. It feels like you haven’t won a race in so long. We did some great times yesterday and hopefully we can find a little bit more to be better for tomorrow’s big guy.”
Jacob Allen, who earned a career-best second place finish at Skagit Speedway, chased his good friend across the finish line in Friday’s Feature.
“I really thought we had a legitimate shot at rolling through lap traffic,” Allen remarked. “We just couldn’t get back on the field after James retired, but I really thought my car was great. It’s always good to be on the podium with World of Outlaws.”
Carson Macedo used a late climb to steal third place and claimed his series-best 21st podium of the season in the No. 41 Albaugh Jason Johnson Racing.
“It’s never easy with the Outlaws, especially when I force myself to go back and forth like that,” Macedo said. “Logan [Schuchart] kinda grounded me and once I found that I was definitely able to gain some ground. We still have a lot to do before the big one starts tomorrow night.”
One of the biggest stories of the night was Joel Myers Jr. who finished fourth in his second attempt at the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Pilot #46jr is the third 16-year-old Gasser, alongside Corey Day and Ryan Timms, to have a top five finish with the series this season.
Rounding out the top five was championship leader Brad Sweet with his 10th consecutive top five at Skagit Speedway.
The end:
Feature (30 turns) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$10,000]; 2. 1A Jacob Allen [3][$5,500]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$3,200]; 4. 46JR-Joel Myers [4][$2,600]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [5][$2,350]; 6. 1S-Logan shoe style [8][$2,150]; 7. 15-Donny darling [10][$2,100]; 8. 55-Trey Starks [12][$1,950]; 9. 2-David Kies [16][$1,900]; 10. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [13][$1,850]; 11. 21-Mitchell Faccinto [17][$1,400]; 12. 7S-Robbie Price [19][$1,200]; 13. 83JR-Kerry Madsen [11][$1,000]; 14. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [21][$1,000]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [15][$1,000]; 16. 7-Tyler Thompson [24][$1,000]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [22][$1,000]; 18. 20G-Noah Gass [23][$1,000]; 19. 5-Spencer Bayston [20][$1,000]; 20. 14 Corey Day [7][$1,000]; 21. 19- Colby Thornhill [9][$1,000]; 22. 83-James McFadden [2][$1,000]; 23. 17S-JJ Hickle [14][$1,000]; 24. 18-Jason Solwold [18][$1,000].
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