ALGER, Wash. — Since winning an impressive eight times through the first 32 races, Sheldon Haudenschild was dealt a 21-race winless streak from late June into early September.
On Friday night, Haudenschild and the lightning-fast Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing No. 17 sprint car returned to victory lane with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Rolling from the pole after winning the dash, Haudenschild fell to second off the initial start of the 30-lapper as James McFadden busted out of the gates strong. It seemed as if the cards were in the favor of J-Mac, who last won 70 races ago on the 2021 Friday portion of the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals.
However, heartbreak soon struck and brought nothing but agony to the Roth Motorsports No. 83 team. The Australian, who commanded the opening 16 laps, slowed to a stop as a mechanical issue derailed his pursuit of that elusive first World of Outlaws win of the season.
McFadden’s loss was Haudenschild’s gain as the 29-year-old restarted with the race lead, and never relinquished it. He drove off to a .799-second victory to claim his second win at Skagit and the 31st of his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
“I was having a bit of deja vu thinking about those races last year here against James in the No. 9,” Haudenschild said. “I saw that big puff of smoke come out and you could smell him rolling around, so I knew something was up. It just feels great to be back on top. It feels like haven’t won a race in such a long time. We made some great times from yesterday, and hopefully, we can find a little more to be better for tomorrow’s big one.”
Chasing his good friend to the finish line in Friday’s Feature was Jacob Allen, who earned a career-best second-place effort at Skagit Speedway.
“I really thought we had a legitimate shot to win rolling through lap traffic,” Allen noted. “We just couldn’t get back to the field after James fell out, but I thought my car was really great. It’s always good to be on the podium with the World of Outlaws.”
Using a late surge to steal the third spot, Carson Macedo earned his Series-best 21st podium of the season in the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh No. 41.
“It’s never easy with the Outlaws, especially when I force myself to go back and forth like that,” Macedo mentioned. “Logan [Schuchart] kind of showed me the bottom and once I found that, I could definitely make up some ground. We’ve got some work to do before the big one tomorrow night.”
One of the biggest stories of the night was Joel Myers Jr., who finished fourth in his second-ever attempt with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. The No. 46jr pilot joins Corey Day and Ryan Timms as the third 16-year-old gasser to record 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 finish at Skagit Speedway.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps) – 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 Schuchart [8][$2,150]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [10][$2,100]; 8. 55-Trey Starks [12][$1,950]; 9. 2-David Gravel [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].