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| Chad Trout picked up his 1st career 410 Sprint win at Lincoln Speedway (Rick Rarer photo) |
Races 9, 10 and 11 on the North American 410 sprint car circuit were completed this past week as Central PA got their season kicked off in the cold, and the World of Outlaws visited Las Vegas to kick start their annual early-year western swing.
Saturday marked a historic day for Dover, PA native Chad Trout and the Randy and Stephanie Oberlander owned team. Trout, known for years as a stalwart in the in the super sportsman and 358 Sprint divisions in Central PA, earned his 1st career 410 Sprint Car win at the Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown.
The win was an emotional one, to say the least. Former team owner Jim Walker passed away last season; the current owners of Randy and Stephanie Oberlander stepped up to the plate and vowed to keep the team running. In victory lane, Trout dedicated the win to the recently deceased Walker and the whole team he has that continues to believe in him.
The win came through a rash of misfortune for other drivers. Lucas Wolfe assumed command of the field at the start of the race from his pole starting spot. Just one lap later, mechanical failures took their toll as he slowed in turn two. Race favorites Brian Montieth and Danny Dietrich were unable to avoid the slowing Wolfe, and all three were relegated to the pits for the day.
Trout, the eventual winner, inherited the lead and again benefited from another driver's misfortune on Lap 5 when second place running Cole Duncan got collected in the mess of two spinning lapped cars. From thereon, Trout went largely unchallenged en route to claiming his first career 410 Sprint win worth $4,000.
Three days prior, the World of Outlaws got back into action for a pair of shows at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas - this was the first time they competed since they wrapped up their portion of the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 11th.
On Wednesday, Night #1, a field of 44 WoO sprints signed in for the night as the headliner of a three division show. In the feature, Sheldon Haudenschild assumed command of the field following a yellow for race-leader Brian Brown who slowed with a flat right rear. Haudenschild blasted the cushion for the remaining 20 laps and held off multiple attempts from Donny Schatz and Tim Shaffer to pick up the $10,000 victory.
The win for Sheldon Haudenschild and his Stenhouse Jr./Marshall racing team was their third overall on the season, and second on the World of Outlaws circuit.
On Thursday, Night #2, the feature seemed destined to mirror the night prior as Haudenschild had his #17 machine up front from the get-go. And again, it was Donny Schatz in tow as he searched for a way to get by Haudenschild. Sheldon was able to maintain the lead for the first 25 laps of the race, but Schatz pulled the trigger with five laps to go and assumed the point position where he would stay until the checkers flew.
The World of Outlaws were also scheduled to run in southern California on Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, but the plug was pulled on Friday afternoon in anticipation of wet weather and unusually cold temperatures. The race will not be rescheduled.
Through five World of Outlaws events in 2018, only two drivers have reached victory lane (Schatz 3, Haudenschild 2). Don't expect that to be the case for long. Brad Sweet and David Gravel have each claimed a trio of "Top 5" finishes. There's no doubt that they will both be smiling with the winner's check in victory lane soon.
Weekend Winners:
Feb. 28th - Sheldon Haudenschild [WoO] - The Dirt Track at Las Vegas ($10,000)
Mar. 1st - Donny Schatz [WoO] - The Dirt Track at Las Vegas ($10,000)
Mar. 1st - Chad Trout - Lincoln Speedway ($4,000)
2018 Wins List (410's):
5 - Donny Schatz
3 - Sheldon Haudenschild
1 - Chad Kemenah
1 - Chad Trout
1 - Tim Shaffer
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