Jacob Allen looked through his rock screen at the tail end of a blue and silver No. 21 car.
He was approaching Brady Bacon, trying to find a way to make a race-winning pass on a racing line that had moved exclusively to the bottom lane. He had six laps to do it.
“That was tough to get passed,” Allen said. “I didn’t feel good about getting passed, with how few laps were left. I just think that (my) instincts took over.”
Allen gave chase and Allen found a way.
As tires began to wear down, the second-generation driver saw an opening coming out of turn 2. He made contact with Bacon and completed the pass on the non-wing veteran.
“(Bacon’s) tire was going down,” Allen said. “It was starting to become a little bit of a handful, it looked like, for him to hit (turns) 1 and 2 properly. I just felt like I did what I had to do.”
The win gives Allen his second World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of his career, coming in his 445th start.
It came with a sweep of the evening, as Allen earned quick time honors, a heat race win, and a victory in the dash that sets the lineup for the top four rows of the A-Main.
“I just did not want to lose that race,” he said in a post-race interview with Always Race Day.
After earning his first career victory in the fall of the 2020 season, the expectations grew for both Allen and his Shark Racing teammate Logan Schuchart.
All signs were pointing the team in the right direction, but Allen never found victory lane in 2021.
Saturday, however, he earned the team its first win of the season, and his teammate was inches away from the podium.
Shark Racing looks to be primed in the way it was after the Hanover, Pennsylvania native’s first victory.
“Man, you really can’t take away from the first one,” Allen said. “This one felt really good. I felt like I earned it, not that I didn’t think I earned the first one – this one felt like real racing to me. I’m just really happy. I don’t think any World of Outlaws race won’t be special. They’re hard races to win. I’m just thankful to be able to compete and win at this level.”
Allen will take in a World of Outlaws win for a second time over the coming days, but the team will start preparing for its next race as soon as it can.
The series gets right back at it, staying in Missouri for a weekend doubleheader at I-55 Raceway in Pevely: the first spot where Allen will chase victory No. 3.
“I just enjoy the feeling that you have with winning,” Allen said. “Being with my family and with my team – it’s so rewarding. I have worked really hard to win another Outlaws race. I just want to enjoy it with people that got me there.”
World of Outlaws Results
Jason Johnson Classic
Lake Ozark Speedway
April 9, 2022
1. Jacob Allen
2. Spencer Bayston
3. David Gravel
4. Logan Schuchart
5. Brad Sweet
6. Brock Zearfoss
7. Rico Abreu
8. Brent Marks
9. Gio Scelzi
10. Sheldon Haudenschild
11. Hunter Schuerenberg
12. Donny Schatz
13. James McFadden
14. Aaron Reutzel
15. Brian Brown
16. Carson Macedo
17. Brady Bacon
18. Tyler Courtney
19. Kraig Kinser
20. Scotty Thiel
21. Zach Hampton
22. JJ Hickle
23. Bill Balog
24. Sam Hafertepe Jr.
