By Tony Veneziano

Donny Schatz and David Gravel both added to their wins totals over the weekend. Schatz swept both races at Eldora Speedway in Ohio to bring his season tally to eight. Gravel was victorious for the second time in his career at Tri-State Speedway in Indiana and now has a pair of victories in 2018. 

This week, the series heads to Central Pennsylvania to challenge the PA Posse in a trio of races as the first East Coast swing of the season kicks into gear.

Winning early and often

With his two wins at Eldora, Donny Schatz set a new mark for the least amount of races needed to reach eight wins to start a season. The pair of shows at Eldora were race Nos. 17 and 18 on the year. Schatz’s previous best was six wins in the first 18 races of a season, which he accomplished in 2017.

At home at Haubstadt

With David Gravel’s win at Tri-State Speedway, the CJB Motorsports team has now won four of the last five World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series races at the quarter-mile in Southern Indiana. Gravel won in 2016 for the first time at the track, while Paul McMahan was victorious for CJB in 2014 and 2015 at Haubstadt.

A few inches short

Hunter Schuerenberg nearly stole the win at Tri-State Speedway on the last lap. The veteran driver got a run off turn four and came up a few inches short after drag racing David Gravel down the front straightaway to the checkered flag. For Schuerenberg, the second-place finish marked his best-career run with the Outlaws.

Oh, so close

Logan Schuchart ran second in both races at Eldora Speedway, which matched his best finish of the season. The Pennsylvania native used the low side of the half-mile both nights in an attempt to track Schatz down. Schuchart was able to get close a number of times to Schatz but was never quite able to make a pass.

An Eldora legend

Jac Haudenschild received one of the loudest ovations during driver introductions at Eldora. The Ohio native, who has numerous wins at the half-mile in his career, led the opening 11 laps on the first night of the event en route to a fourth-place finish.

Redemption in the finale

Aaron Reutzel finished third in the finale at Eldora, one night after a heartbreaker. In the opener on Friday night, the Texan had just taken the lead, getting first by Schatz and then Jac Haudenschild, when disaster struck. Reutzel got over the cushion and into the wall in turns one and two, which led to a series of flips to end his night. The current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions point leader had one of the fastest cars on both nights at Eldora.

Season-best finish

Kraig Kinser finished a season-best fourth in the finale at Eldora. The native of Bloomington, IN, lined up 15th and methodically worked his way forward. For Kinser, it was his first top-five finish of the season and his third top 10 as he closes in on the 10th position in the point standings.

Nearly a perfect night

Cole Duncan almost scored a clean sweep in the opener at Eldora. The Ohio native was fastest in time trials, won the first heat race, and won the dash to earn the pole position for the 30-lap main event. Duncan ended up fifth in the main after battling Jac Haudenschild for the lead in the early going.

A night to remember

Justin Peck had a night he will never forget at Tri-State Speedway. The young driver from Indiana was fastest in the first flight of time trials. Peck then won the first heat race to put himself in the dash, where he ran fourth. He led 20 laps in the main event before contact on a restart with Sheldon Haudenschild with 10 laps remaining caused too much damage to continue. The pair was battling for the lead.

Charging hard

Daryn Pittman picked up the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award both nights at Eldora. In the opener, the 2013 series champion came from the 26th starting spot, after having to use a Provisional, to finish ninth. In the finale, Pittman came from 24th to 10th. Also in the finale, Pittman’s teammate Brad Sweet passed a number of cars, coming from 17th to eighth, while Ian Madsen powered his way from 22nd to ninth.

Running up front

Parker Price-Miller won the dash on Saturday night at Eldora to earn the pole position for the 30-lap finale. The Indiana native led the opening four laps before the nine-time and defending series champion Schatz got by him. Price-Miller ended up finished sixth, which marked his best finish of the season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. At Tri-State Speedway, Price-Miller came from the 22nd starting spot to finish eighth, which garnered him the Hard Charger Award.

Always fast at Eldora

Gary Taylor, who runs an abbreviated schedule nowadays, picked up another top-10 finish with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. The veteran driver, who has a number of top-10 runs over the years with the series at the half-mile, crossed the line sixth in the opener.

On the podium

Kyle Larson, fresh off a top-five finish with the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night, made the trip over to Tri-State Speedway. In his first sprint car start since February, the Californian finished on the podium in third. Larson was fastest in the second flight of time trials and fastest overall of the 43 entrants. He was the only driver who turned a sub-12-second lap, stopping the clock with an 11.935-second lap.

First-time visitor

Cory Eliason made his Eldora Speedway debut on Friday night. The Californian came from the 19th starting spot to finish 11th. The finale saw the 26-year-old come up a few spots short of transferring from the B-main to the A-feature. Eliason also saw Tri-State Speedway for the first time on Sunday as he continues his first full year on the road.

A heartbreaker

Kevin Thomas Jr., who is the current USAC National Sprint Car Series point leader, made his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series start of the season at Tri-State Speedway. In fact, the race was the first winged sprint car effort for the Dooling Hayward Motorsports team. Thomas was fifth fastest in Flight A of time trials and proceeded to finish second in the first heat to earn a spot in the dash, where he also finished second. The Alabama native, who now calls Indiana home, was scored the leader on the opening lap of the main event. He was battling David Gravel for the top spot when a caution flag flew for another driver on the second circuit. Thomas came to a stop as the studs sheared off the hub, causing him to lose the right front wheel, which ended his night.

Career-best finish

Carson Short ran ninth at Tri-State Speedway, which marked the best finish of his career with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series. The Illinois native, who mainly runs a non-wing sprint car, was third fastest in the first flight of time trials. Short then finished fourth in the first heat race to earn a spot in the 40-lap main event.

Points update

Schatz extended his lead over Brad Sweet in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series standings to 104 points. Gravel jumped to third, while Jason Johnson moved into a tie for fourth with Sheldon Haudenschild. Daryn Pittman climbed to sixth, and Shane Stewart fell to seventh. Logan Schuchart is currently eighth, with Ian Madsen ninth and Cory Eliason 10th.

Up next

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series heads to Central Pennsylvania to take on the PA Posse. Up first is a stop at Lincoln Speedway on Wednesday, May 16, for the Gettysburg Clash. David Gravel won at Lincoln last year. Schatz and Pittman are past winners at the track, as are “Posse” members Danny Dietrich and Greg Hodnett. The Outlaws then head to the famed Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, May 18, and Saturday, May 19, for the Morgan Cup. Gravel won three times at the Grove last year, while Shane Stewart also had a win, as did Greg Hodnett, Brock Zearfoss, and James McFadden.