(Photo by Larry Miller)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 5, 2015) – Shark Racing ended 2014 with a long road trip across the country to compete in sunny Arizona for five races in nine days to open the new year.
Pennsylvania natives Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen each debuted at Cocopah Speedway last Friday for the opening night of the inaugural Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown.
“It’s a really cool event,” Allen said. “Having five races at one place makes it nice because you start getting more experience and you get the hang of it a lot better.”
The team’s best result came on Friday when Schuchart earned the Hard Charger Award by rallying from 24th to 12th in the $12,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start main event.
After finishing ninth in his heat race and sixth in the qualifier, Schuchart picked up a trio of positions in the B Main to garner the final transfer into the main event. He continued to improve throughout the 30-lap feature as he gained a dozen positions.
“We were pretty bad at first,” he said. “It seemed like every time we went out I felt a little more comfortable with the car and I seemed to get a little better.”
Schuchart also made the main event on Saturday following a third-place finish in a heat race, fifth place in a qualifier and fourth in the B Main. However, his 18th-place result in the main event left him scratching his head.
“It was a different race track and we were trying different stuff,” he said. “We still haven’t found what we’re looking for and weren’t very fast. Part of it right now we think is tires so we’re going to clean up the tires. It’s a sandy type of race track so I feel like running used tires hurts, but that’s how we race so we’re going to try to make it work and see what we can do with it.”
Allen’s best night from last weekend was Saturday. After missing a transfer position in the B Main the previous night, Allen ended sixth in both his heat race and a qualifier before placing seventh in the consolation race. However, he elected to pull into the pits several laps into the race to save equipment after going a lap down.
“I learned a lot every time I go out there,” he said. “I just need to be more diverse on which lane I pick. Grooves come in at different times all night. It changes all night long.”
Shark Racing returns to Cocopah Speedway on Tuesday night before the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown wraps up next Friday and Saturday.
“It’s definitely a cool track,” Schuchart said. “It got racy both nights. Both put on good shows. It’s definitely a great event to be able to come race in January. For those of us who don’t get to go to Australia you can still get some racing in the winter to help you not be so rusty when the regular season comes up.”
Fans can watch Shark Racing this week by ordering live Pay-Per-view of the event by visiting http://www.SPEEDSPORT.tv/live.
QUICK RESULTS –
JACOB ALLEN: Jan. 2 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 7 (7); Qualifier: 6 (7); B Main: 13 (9).
LOGAN SCHUCHART: Jan. 2 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 9 (7); Qualifier: 6 (8); B Main: 8 (11); Feature: 12 (24).
JACOB ALLEN: Jan. 3 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 6 (5); Qualifier: 6 (1); B Main: 7 (7); Feature: 22 (23).
LOGAN SCHUCHART: Jan. 3 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 3 (4); Qualifier: 5 (3); B Main: 4 (4); Feature: 18 (20).
SEASON STATS –
JACOB ALLEN: 2 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 0 top 20s
LOGAN SCHUCHART: 2 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 1 top 15, 2 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., for the inaugural Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.Shark1s.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharkRacing1s
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shark-Racing/561570593854948
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Triple X Race Co.
Based in Burlington, Wash., Triple X Race Co. offers top-of-the-line sprint car, midget and micro sprint parts and chassis. For more information, visit http://www.xxxraceco.com.
“Triple X Race Co. has stepped up to help our team and we’re excited to run a Triple X chassis in 2015,” Schuchart said. “Thanks to everyone associated with Triple X and we can’t wait to achieve success together.”
Shark Racing would also like to thank Don Ott Racing Engines, Pell’s Tire Service, Marty Thompson Investments, Rich Fogle and Son, Newman’s Towing & Recovery, AO Designs, CnB Chubby, Bobby Allen’s Speedway 94, Restas.com, DMI Rear Ends, YourAutoSourceInc.com, Moose Blocks, Bell Helmets, Wilwood Brakes, Silpada Sterling Silver Jewelry, Wings Unlimited, Joe Bear Joan and Michael Palumbo for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.