Date: Thursday, April 26th
Event: Outlaws at Cotton Bowl Speedway
Series: World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
Track: Cotton Bowl Speedway (Paige, Texas)
Donny Schatz A-Main Finish (Start): 9th (4th)
Dates: Friday and Saturday, April 27th-28th
Event: Texas Outlaw Nationals
Series: World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
Track: Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, Texas)
Donny Schatz A-Main Finish (Start):
Friday: 4th (3rd)
Saturday: 1st (5th)
World of Outlaws Championship Standings (as of 4/30): 1st – 1996 points (72-point margin over second place, Brad Sweet)
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (April 30, 2018) – Turning into three starts in three days during his visit to the Lone Star State, Fargo, North, Dakota’s Donny Schatz scored three consecutive top-ten finishes during his recent stretch of World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series competition, ending the weekend with a $20,000 payday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. For Schatz, the Texas Outlaw Nationals finale victory increased his World of Outlaws win total to five on the season, seven victories overall in 2018, still maintaining the top spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
“We were faced with a little bit of everything this weekend. To close-out Saturday with a win at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, where it all started for the World of Outlaws, is really special,” Donny Schatz, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/No. 15 sprint car, explained. “It feels good to have this level of consistency, but it feels better to win races. We’ll work as hard as we can to keep this No. 15 up front.”
A start that was pushed back one day due to Mother Nature, Schatz kicked-off his Texas visit with a ninth place finish at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige on Thursday, April 26. Starting fourth on the feature grid, the nine-time and defending World of Outlaws champion suffered from mechanical woes early in the form of a broken suspension component. Although forced to manhandle an ill-handling car, Schatz fought hard to finish ninth, automatically qualifying for the evening’s dash and main event by finishing second during his respective heat race.
Following his visit to Paige, Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing visited Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the two-day Texas Outlaw Nationals on Friday and Saturday, April 27-28. Two starts resulted in two top-five finishes for Schatz, kicking-off the weekend with a fourth place finish on Friday after starting third. Schatz qualified for the Texas Outlaw Nationals preliminary by finishing second during his respective heat race, eventually finishing third during the evening’s Craftsman Club Dash.
In dramatic fashion, Schatz ended his Texas Outlaw Nationals campaign by capturing the weekend’s finale worth $20,000, also solidifying ownership of the Ted Johnson Memorial Trophy. A result that started on the inside of row three, Schatz stole the show on lap 26, working around race leader, Brad Sweet, for the biggest payday of the season thus far. Schatz qualified for the Texas Outlaw Nationals finale by finishing second during his respective heat race.
“Ted [Johnson] looked after his people and he had great relationships with his guys. He had a serious passion, not only for his guys, but for putting on a great race. I remember watching him bounce up and down because Steve [Kinser] and Sammy [Swindell] were putting on a show,” Schatz reminisced about the late, great Ted Johnson. “He was a race fan.”
Donny Schatz will continue his 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series campaign with a pair of starts in Missouri and Oklahoma, first visiting Lake Ozark Speedway in Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., on Friday, May 4. The Greatest Show On Dirt will invade the Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., for the Twister Showdown on Saturday, May 5.
Although making a visit to Salina Highbanks Speedway in 2017 where Schatz finished second to the “Madman” Kerry Madsen, it has been 11 years since the World of Outlaws visited Lake Ozark Speedway.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fans are encouraged to follow the progress of Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing and the No. 15 Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/J&J Auto Racing motorsports team on the Web and on social media. More information can be found at www.tonystewartracing.com, as well as at www.donnyschatzmotorsports.com.
Tony Stewart Racing: Facebook at www.facebook.com/TonyStewartRacing or on Twitter and Instagram @TonyStewart_Rcg.
Donny Schatz: Facebook at www.facebook.com/DonnySchatz or on Twitter and Instagram @DonnySchatz.
Watch Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing live on www.dirtvision.com during each and every World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event of 2018.
2018 Donny Schatz / Tony Stewart Racing Statistics: (thru April 30, 2018)
Total Races: 16
Total Wins: 7
Total Top-5s: 12
Total Top-10s: 15
World of Outlaws Races: 14
World of Outlaws Wins: 5
World of Outlaws Top-5s: 10
World of Outlaws Top-10s: 13
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CONTACT:
Tyler Altmeyer
Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
