ROSSBURG, OHIO— Logan Schuchart went wire-to-wire to win the Eldora Million on Thursday night.
After scoring the World of Outlaws victory here in the spring, Schuchart offered a glimpse of what the No. 1S sprint car was capable of achieving after winning the second heat.
But during the course of the 50-lap feature, the 30-year-old Hanover, Pennsylvanian checked out to a 2.706-second lead for $1,002,023—the largest payout for any dirt race in 2023.
“Honestly, man, this team has come such a long way,” said Schuchart following his fourth-career win on the half-mile clay oval. “I know I said time and time again but I know if any kid—or person in general—can know what I’m feeling right now to win a race like this.
“If anybody ever tells you you can’t do anything, I know you hear that a lot, but there’s lots of nights where I’m laying there thinking, ‘Should I go do something else? I don’t know if I’m good enough for this….what if I never win one of these big races?’
“And I ask God every night before I start this race, watch over myself our competitors keep everybody safe. This helped me drive to the best of my ability and the man upstairs sure did that tonight.”
Carson Macedo finished second followed by Brad Sweet, David Gravel and Rico Abreu.
Schuchart led the first 20 laps with Macedo battling Sweet for second before the break. The No. 41 driver finally passed the World of Outlaws champ on Lap 14. Aaron Reutzel, Kyle Larson, Gravel, Brian Brown, Spencer Bayston, Abreu and Justin Peck completed the top 10 after 20 laps.
Given the speed Schuchart exhibited early on, Macedo knew he had to be on his toes when the race returned to green.
“Every restart is important,” Macedo said at the break. “But with 30 to go in the Eldora Million, we’re really going to be hanging it out.”
Larson, who was fifth at the break, didn’t feel he had the speed while the track had so much grip.
“Once it slicks off some speed, I think we’ll be more competitive,” Larson said. “If we get another long green flag run here.”
But before completing the first lap after the restart, fourth-place Aaron Reutzel turn sideways in Turn 2 and collected Larson, then Bayston who was running eighth. Gio Scelzi added himself to the pileup from 16th followed by 23rd-place Lachlan McHugh.
The five-car accident shuffled the top 10 and enabled Gravel, Brown and Abreu to move up to fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. At the second attempt to restart the race, Sweet regained second place—but not for long. Macedo cleared to claim second with 26 laps remaining.
As Schuchart checked out with a two-second lead, a battle ensued between Abreu and Brownie for fifth with the No. 24 gaining the position with 12 to go. Abreu set his sights on Gravel for fourth, but to no avail.
With Schuchart covering the field, the best Macedo or Sweet could hope for was second. Macedo held his position and picked up $100,000 for his effort.
“We would battle for a while, then Logan would get away,” Macedo said. “To run second, I’m not going to hang my head. I think the whole 41 team did an awesome job.”
Sweet wasn’t disappointed with the result knowing the strength of Schuchart’s ride.
“I think Logan had the best car,” Sweet said. “I think he had the best car all week. I knew if he got out front he would be hard to pass.
“We gave it all we got. Sometimes that’s all you can do.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
