HUSTLIN’ HAUD: Sheldon Haudenschild Bests Axsom for $25,000 Huset’s Hustle Victory
Haudenschild gets first win since early June and his eighth of 2024 at Huset’s
BRANDON, SD (August 30, 2024) – Sheldon Haudenschild was ready to win for so many reasons entering Friday night.
Firstly, he’s been wanting to get a victory for his longtime friend and World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car official Eloy Gutierrez, who passed away last week. Both nights in North Dakota led to podiums for Haudenschild, heightening the hunger to win even more.
He’d also been enduring a winless drought. After an incredible start to 2024 with seven victories in the first 27 races, the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing crew hadn’t been to Victory Lane in 21 straight events. Five times over that stretch he’d come home second.
No more motivation was necessary, and Haudenschild got the job done at Huset’s Speedway.
With $25,000 on the line at the Huset’s Hustle presented by Folkens Brothers Trucking, Haudenschild gave the fans a show. The NOS Energy Drink gasser outdueled Emerson Axsom in a back-and-forth battle. Haudenschild pulled ahead and held off a late charge from Michael “Buddy” Kofoid for his first win since Ogilvie in early June.
“This is big. I said we needed a win here,” Haudenschild said. “(Kyle) Ripper is focused right now, and he’s got it going on. He’s giving us fast race cars, and we’re qualifying well. If we can keep starting up front, I think we can keep clicking off wins all season. Hats off to Luke (Vaughn), Steve (Kinzer Dussel), and Ripper.
“We wanted to win in Jackson for Eloy. Good to get a win for Eloy and all of these Outlaw officials and everybody on the road that loved Eloy. This is what he lived for.”
Haudenschild’s eighth win of 2024 moves him within one of the most he’s collected in one season with The Greatest Show on Dirt. The 42nd of his career equals him with Andy Hillenburg and fellow full-timer Logan Schuchart for 18th on the all-time win list. His third Huset’s victory makes it the fifth track where he’s topped at least a trio of races.
Axsom and Haudenschild brought the field to green after drawing the front row in the Toyota Racing Redraw. Axsom used a strong launch off the bottom to grab the top spot and lead the first lap.
Haudenschild had no plans of letting him escape as he stalked the Klaasmeyer/Petry Motorsports No. 27. The gap between the two never grew north of one second as Haudenschild kept Axsom firmly within his sights. Axsom worked the bottom around the 1/3 mile while Haudenschild searched for speed on the top.
Traffic allowed Haudenschild to close in and peek under Axsom at one point, but the Franklin, IN native closed the door on the Buckeye as the lively crowd cheered on the intensifying action.
The battle really got going on Lap 23 when Haudenschild built a run off Turn 2 and ducked to Axsom’s inside heading into the next set of corners. Haudenschild cleared him with a slider and led the lap, but Axsom fought back. As Haudenschild got slightly slowed on the cushion in Turns 1 and 2 Axsom rolled the bottom to perfection to slip back ahead. Haudenschild fired a slider back at him in Turn 3 but couldn’t quite clear it. Fast forward a lap, and Haudenschild fired it off under Axsom, but a yellow flag halted the action.
Axsom opted for the bottom groove on the restart, and that decision helped lift Haudenschild to the front. While Axsom rolled the low line, Haudenschild ripped the cushion and nosed ahead down the back straightaway. Axsom didn’t have positioning to move back in front, so Haudenschild secured the spot and quickly pulled away.
As the laps faded, Buddy Kofoid surged into contention as he drove around Axsom to take the second spot. Up ahead Haudenschild worked through traffic which allowed the Roth Motorsports No. 83 to cut into his lead. But ultimately Kofoid ran out of laps as Haudenschild secured a trip to Huset’s Victory Lane and $25,000.
“I feel like we got him (Axsom) in traffic and was probably a little nice, and he got back by us there,” Haudenschild said. “I didn’t really know what to expect on that restart. He was starting really slow and really soon. I just kind of figured I’d try to get down and follow him in there. I’m really surprised he didn’t rip the top and was just able to get around him.”
Kofoid brought the Roth No. 83 home second, marking his sixth podium in 11 Sprint Car races at Huset’s for the Penngrove, CA native. It marked a strong start on his path to redemption after his devastation last June at Huset’s when troubles ended a potential six-figure payday for him.
“I got to third and then got back in line on the top,” Kofoid said. “I was able to chase people down in dirty air. I feel like every time we come here, we’re just exceptional and really good. We race good, and I feel like this thing doesn’t know what dirty air is at Huset’s. I feel like if you can play that into your favor, you’re going to be pretty good. I was able to run Sheldon down. I just feel like I kind of ran out of time.”
Completing the top three was early leader Emerson Axsom.
“I think our speed was there, but I feel like on the restart I kind of like didn’t get in hard enough to kind of load the right rear and kind of like slid across the bottom,” Axsom explained. “That allowed Sheldon to just drive around us. I hate it for my guys to be in position and kind of give one away there. Obviously, these guys are really good, and it’s hard to out Haud Haud.”
Garet Williamson and Ryan Timms completed the top five.
A 20th to 10th drive in the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 earned David Gravel the KSE Racing Hard Charger.
Sheldon Haudenschild earned his seventh Simpson Quick Time of 2024 and the 36th of his career in Sea Foam Qualifying.
NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Logan Schuchart, Emerson Axsom, and Garet Williamson. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Kaleb Johnson.
Mark Dobmeier won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.
The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Logan Schuchart.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars begin the BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards with a $15,000-to-win prelim on Saturday, Aug. 31, setting the stage for Sunday’s $100,000-to-win finale. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.
FEATURE RESULTS:
NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[9]; 3. 27-Emerson Axsom[1]; 4. 23-Garet Williamson[3]; 5. 5-Ryan Timms[4]; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[13]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[14]; 8. 10-Scott Bogucki[6]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog[18]; 10. 2-David Gravel[20]; 11. 13-Mark Dobmeier[21]; 12. 7S-Landon Crawley[11]; 13. 3J-Dusty Zomer[5]; 14. 8-Jacob Hughes[12]; 15. 88-Austin McCarl[15]; 16. 2KS-Hunter Schuerenberg[23]; 17. 24T-Christopher Thram[16]; 18. 64-Andy Pake[17]; 19. 70-Kraig Kinser[24]; 20. 22K-Kaleb Johnson[7]; 21. 55-Kerry Madsen[10]; 22. 1S-Logan Schuchart[8]; 23. 83S-Sam Henderson[22]; 24. 27X-Carson McCarl[19]