Jun
11

Schatz Fires Off His Big Guns at Knoxville

By

World of Outlaws


Contact: Cristina Cordova
World of Outlaws PR
(704) 707-0236 | ccordova@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Schatz Fires Off His Big Guns at Knoxville Raceway to Join the Ranks of the Winningest Drivers

KNOXVILLE, IA - June 10, 2017 - Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver and eight-time World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Champion Donny Schatz officially joined the ranks of the top-10 winningest drivers at Knoxville Raceway, leading all 25 laps of the Brownells Big Guns Bash night two Feature. The win marks his 25th career win at the 1/2-mile oval, tying him with two-time Track Champion Skip Jackson. It also marks the 10th win of the season for the No. 15 Arctic Cat car.

Much like the previous night, in which Brad Sweet led flag-to-flag, an exciting battle took place behind the leader, resulting in the same three Outlaws to the podium, only slightly rearranged this time with Schatz on top. And he was unusually happy about it.

"We haven't been on pace the last couple months," said Schatz. "You keep looking for little things that aren't right. One thing here. But we found three things. And so, that's why I'm smiling. I'm a happy guy. I got my feel back. I can feel all four corners again, and that's important. These guys have put up with me through some not so good moods the last few months, but it feels good to be back in Victory Lane, especially here at Knoxville, and get that win."

Behind Schatz, David Gravel, Brad Sweet and Ian Madsen fought a tough battled for second and third. A caution on Dakota Hendrickson four laps in gave Madsen the chance he needed to jump past Logan Schuchart, then Daryn Pittman. A second caution - from Jason Sides spinning into the wall in turn one - allowed Gravel to slide inside Sweet, leaving Sweet momentarily at Madsen's mercy as the two exchanged positions a couple of times almost halfway through the Feature. But Sweet prevailed, and with only eight laps to go pressed on Gravel for second as he got caught in lap traffic.

"It hurt me there," said Gravel. "I tried to go under Sides, and he slipped off and kind of caught me up a little bit. I thought that was my only chance to even get close to Donny, but I lost ten car lengths in that corner and never really had a shot at him. We're really happy with how the car is. The track was super super fast tonight. That was a hell of a workout for 25 laps."

Despite the heat and strong winds, the track was in great condition on night two and did not rubber up at all like the previous night.

"Last night the race track was a little bit different," said Schatz. "It got abrasive. It was really slick early. It was hard to get a hold of, so yeah, you try things. You don't get too far away from baseline, but these guys did an incredible job with the race track today. It's miserable and hard to do this in the heat and the wind, and they did an incredible job, got us two grooves, so hats off to the Duncans for that and just a great night."

Unfortunately, Sweet was unable to comment after his win, as the heat and the tough workout left him dehydrated and worn out enough to warrant medical attention.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returns to action on Tuesday for the Eagle Nationals in Eagle, NE. Tickets are available online. The Series will then continue to Schatz's home state of North Dakota on Friday and Saturday.

Race Results:

Feature (25 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$10,000]; 2. 5-David Gravel [4][$5,000]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [1][$3,000]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [5][$2,700]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [10][$2,500]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [16][$2,200]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6][$2,000]; 8. 9-Daryn Pittman [3][$1,800]; 9. 1M-Danny Lasoski [13][$1,600]; 10. 41-Jason Johnson [11][$1,450]; 11. 17-Joey Saldana [9][$1,300]; 12. 55-Brooke Tatnell [21][$1,200]; 13. 56N-David Heskin [19][$1,100]; 14. 4-Paul McMahan [12][$1,000]; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$950]; 16. 19-Brent Marks [24][$900]; 17. 2KS-Austin McCarl [15][$850]; 18. 22-Rager Phillips [17][$750]; 19. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [8][$725]; 20. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [22][$700]; 21. 7S-Jason Sides [7][$700]; 22. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [25][$]; 23. O9-Matt Juhl [23][$700]; 24. 4X-Dakota Hendrickson [14][$700]; 25. 24-Terry McCarl [20][$700]; Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-25; KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Shane Stewart[+10]

Qualifying Flight-A - 1. 5-David Gravel, 15.281; 2. 12-Lynton Jeffrey, 15.359; 3. 18-Ian Madsen, 15.363; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman, 15.365; 5. 17-Joey Saldana, 15.558; 6. 56N-David Heskin, 15.573; 7. 22-Rager Phillips, 15.586; 8. 41-Jason Johnson, 15.615; 9. 1M-Danny Lasoski, 15.681; 10. 20-A.J. Moeller, 15.695; 11. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.723; 12. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 15.77; 13. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 15.78; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 15.841; 15. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 15.928; 16. 7W-Tasker Phillips, 15.953; 17. 71A-R.J. Johnson, 15.997; 18. 9Z-Jared Goerges, 16.292; 19. 13-Clyde Knipp, 16.683; 20. 19W-Bobby Weuve, 16.702

Qualifying Flight-B - 1. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.379; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.491; 3. 4X-Dakota Hendrickson, 15.575; 4. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.577; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.584; 6. 4-Paul McMahan, 15.66; 7. 7S-Jason Sides, 15.678; 8. 24-Terry McCarl, 15.684; 9. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 15.687; 10. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 15.694; 11. 21-Brian Brown, 15.742; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.789; 13. 1B-Dustin Selvage, 15.813; 14. 2-Shane Stewart, 15.817; 15. 82-Cap Henry, 15.943; 16. W20-Greg Wilson, 15.962; 17. 19P-Paige Polyak, 16.03; 18. 3-Tim Kaeding, 16.099; 19. 15X-Bobby Mincer, 16.392; 20. 2M-Kerry Madsen, NT

Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer - 1. 5-David Gravel [1]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 3. 17-Joey Saldana [3]; 4. 1M-Danny Lasoski [5]; 5. 22-Rager Phillips [4]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [8]; 7. O9-Matt Juhl [6]; 8. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [7]; 9. 71A-R.J. Johnson [9]; 10. 13-Clyde Knipp [10]

Heat #2 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer - 1. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 4. 2KS-Austin McCarl [6]; 5. 56N-David Heskin [3]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 7. 9Z-Jared Goerges [9]; 8. 20-A.J. Moeller [5]; 9. 7W-Tasker Phillips [8]; 10. 19W-Bobby Weuve [10]

Heat #3 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 4. 4X-Dakota Hendrickson [2]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 6. 82-Cap Henry [8]; 7. 1B-Dustin Selvage [7]; 8. 15X-Bobby Mincer [10]; 9. 55-Brooke Tatnell [5]; 10. 19P-Paige Polyak [9]

Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 4-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [7]; 5. 24-Terry McCarl [4]; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 7. 3-Tim Kaeding [9]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [10]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [8]

Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 4. 5-David Gravel [8]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [4]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 8. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [6]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer - 1. 55-Brooke Tatnell [2][-]; 2. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [5][-]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [3][-]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [7][-]; 5. 1B-Dustin Selvage [8][$300]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$250]; 7. 3-Tim Kaeding [16][$225]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [12][$200]; 9. 82-Cap Henry [10][$200]; 10. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$200]; 11. 19P-Paige Polyak [14][$200]; 12. 9Z-Jared Goerges [15][$200]; 13. 15X-Bobby Mincer [18][$200]; 14. 19W-Bobby Weuve [19][$200]; 15. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [9][$200]; 16. 13-Clyde Knipp [17][$200]; 17. 71A-R.J. Johnson [13][$200]; 18. 7W-Tasker Phillips [11][$200]; 19. 20-A.J. Moeller [1][$200]; 20. 2M-Kerry Madsen [20][$200]

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Terry McCarl; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Daryn Pitman; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Super Flow ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Craftsman Club Fast Five ($100 cash): Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman, David Gravel, Logan Schuchart, Jason Sides; Craftsman/Sears: Ian Madsen; KSE Hard Charger: Shane Stewart; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Brent Marks; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Sides.

SEASON WINNERS

Donny Schatz - 10 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18, Missouri State Fair Speedway on May 5, 81 Speedway on May 6, Eldora Speedway May 13, Knoxville Raceway on June 10)
David Gravel - 8 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29, Perris Auto Speedway on April 1, Gator Motorplex on April 13, Plymouth Speedway on April 28, Lincoln Speedway on May 17, Williams Grove on May 19, New Egypt Speedway on May 24)
Brad Sweet - 4 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25, Devil’s Bowl on April 15, Jackson Motorplex on June 3, Knoxville Raceway on June 9)
Logan Schuchart - 3 (Keller Auto Speedway on March 31, Eldora Speedway on May 12, Charlotte on May 26)
Jason Johnson - 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17, Devil’s Bowl on April 14)
Brian Brown – 1 (Cocopah Speedway on April 7)
Rico Abreu – 1 (Arizona Speedway on April 8)
Shane Stewart – 2 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29)
Parker Price-Miller – 1 (Tri-State Speedway on May 14)
Ian Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 1)
Kerry Madsen – 2 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2)

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