Schatz Scores Win 12 on Series Return to The Dirt Oval
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 Scores Win 12 on Return to The Dirt Oval, Where He Won 12 Years Ago
JOLIET, IL — June 27, 2017 — Eight-time champion and current points leader Donny Schatz took the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 15 Arctic Cat machine through the checkers to win the FVP Outlaw Clay Classic at The Dirt Oval at Route 66 Raceway, stealing the lead from Kraig Kinser with only five laps to go. Although Kinser saw his best race of the season to date, Schatz rode him hard, and he ultimately landed in eighth with Kasey Kahne Racing teammates Brad Sweet and Daryn Pittman following Schatz through the checkers.
"Kraig [Kinser] was really good at the start," said Schatz from Victory Lane. "He took off there on the bottom. I didn't quite know if the bottom or the top, the middle, what was going to happen. I just had to give a little time for the race car to come in and the tires to get warm. You kind of had to be all over really. It was a guessing game there for a while, and then we had to restart. Being on the outside I kind of felt like I was hung out to dry a little bit, and Brad [Sweet] got by. Obviously they were really good. I think he started a ways back."
Sweet, who walked away with the KSE Hard Charger Award, started in 13 and worked his way into second. A restart with 13 laps to go saw a three-wide battle for the lead between Kinser, Schatz and Sweet, in which Kinser prevailed, holding the lead for eight more laps, while Sweet and Schatz continued the battle for second with exchanges.
Throughout the race, another tough battle was playing out behind the leaders between Pittman and David Gravel, ending in Pittman's favor after several exchanges.
Pittman, who set Quick Time at 13.637 second, was the only one in Victory Lane who even ran the Craftsman Club Dash, which was led by Jason Sides and Paul McMahan.
Starting on the pole after winning the Dash, Sides led the first four laps of the Feature as Kinser charged up from midfield in position 11 in some of his finest racing this season.
By Lap 5, Kinser was leading, with Sides and Brian Brown behind him as Schatz and Sweet followed suit, diligently taking on car after car, working their way up, and McMahan was losing ground.
Overall, it an exciting return to the half-mile oval, which last saw true oval-track racing twelve years ago. And while the racing was certainly better this time around, one thing remained the same: the champion. Schatz won at the track on July 8, 2005 during the Series' last visit. Twelve years later, he scored win number 12 of the season.
The FVP Outlaw Clay Classic continues tomorrow with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series, while the Sprint Car Series heads for Spring Valley, MN for the Clash at the Creek at Deer Creek Speedway.
THE DIRT OVAL AT ROUTE 66 RACEWAY RESULTS:
Feature (30 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [8][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [13][$5,500]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4][$3,200]; 4. 5-David Gravel [6][$2,800]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [1][$2,500]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [9][$2,300]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [17][$2,200]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [11][$2,100]; 9. 41-Jason Johnson [10][$2,050]; 10. 99-Brady Bacon [5][$2,000]; 11. 19-Brent Marks [18][$1,500]; 12. 18-Ian Madsen [15][$1,200]; 13. 3-Tim Kaeding [20][$1,100]; 14. 17B-Bill Balog [7][$1,050]; 15. 24-Terry McCarl [16][$1,000]; 16. 59H-Justin Henderson [12][$900]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen [21][$800]; 18. 27Z-Sean Zemunik [23][$800]; 19. 10V-Matt Vandervere [22][$800]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart [19][$800]; 21. 21-Brian Brown [3][$800]; 22. 4-Paul McMahan [2][$800]; 23. 17A-Austin McCarl [24][$800]; 24. 1M-Danny Lasoski [14][$800]; Lap Leaders: Jason Sides 1-4, Kraig Kinser 5-25, Donny Schatz 26-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 49-Brad Sweet[+11]
Qualifying - 1. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.637; 2. 5-David Gravel, 13.722; 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 13.726; 4. 4-Paul McMahan, 13.782; 5. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.782; 6. 59H-Justin Henderson, 13.819; 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.875; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.887; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.93; 10. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.958; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.007; 12. 21-Brian Brown, 14.012; 13. 24-Terry McCarl, 14.076; 14. 1M-Danny Lasoski, 14.113; 15. 2-Shane Stewart, 14.122; 16. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.141; 17. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.166; 18. 18-Ian Madsen, 14.225; 19. 49-Brad Sweet, 14.278; 20. 10V-Matt Vandervere, 14.441; 21. 71-Max McGhee, 14.448; 22. 64-Scott Thiel, 14.466; 23. 17A-Austin McCarl, 14.467; 24. 19-Brent Marks, 14.524; 25. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.544; 26. 3-Tim Kaeding, 14.588; 27. 27Z-Sean Zemunik, 14.65; 28. 51B-Joe B, 14.713; 29. 13-Clyde Knipp, 14.747; 30. 23-Russel Borland, 14.758; 31. 7J-Joe Swanson, NT
Heat #1 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer - 1. 4-Paul McMahan [2]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [1]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [3]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 6. 24-Terry McCarl [5]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart [9]; 8. 64-Scott Thiel [8]; 9. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [6]; 10. 51B-Joe B [10]; 11. 7J-Joe Swanson [11]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer - 1. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 5-David Gravel [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 1M-Danny Lasoski [5]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 7. 17A-Austin McCarl [8]; 8. 13-Clyde Knipp [10]; 9. 10V-Matt Vandervere [7]; 10. 3-Tim Kaeding [9]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer -1. 99-Brady Bacon [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 3. 2-Shane Stewart [5]; 4. 59H-Justin Henderson [2]; 5. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 8. 23-Russel Borland [10]; 9. 27Z-Sean Zemunik [9]; 10. 71-Max McGhee [7]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps) - 1. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 2. 4-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 99-Brady Bacon [3]; 6. 5-David Gravel [5]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][-]; 2. 3-Tim Kaeding [8][-]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [1][-]; 4. 10V-Matt Vandervere [3][-]; 5. 27Z-Sean Zemunik [9][-]; 6. 17A-Austin McCarl [6][-]; 7. 13-Clyde Knipp [11][$300]; 8. 64-Scott Thiel [5][$250]; 9. 51B-Joe B [10][$225]; 10. 23-Russel Borland [12][$200]; 11. 71-Max McGhee [4][$200]; 12. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][$200]; 13. 7J-Joe Swanson [13][$200]
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Austin McCarl; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Jason Sides; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Brady Bacon; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Brent Marks; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; Super Flow ($50 cash): Terry McCarl; Craftsman Club Fast Five ($100 cash): Jason Sides, Paul McMahan, Daryn Pittman, David Gravel; Craftsman/Sears: Brian Brown; KSE Hard Charger: Brad Sweet; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Justin Henderson; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Paul McMahan.
SEASON WINNERS
Donny Schatz - 12 (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, Granite City on June 20, The Dirt Oval at Route 66 Raceway on June 27)
David Gravel - 9 (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, River Cities Speedway on June 16)
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)
Shane Stewart – 4 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29, West Liberty Raceway on June 23, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 24)
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)
Parker Price-Miller – 1 (Tri-State Speedway on May 14)
Ian Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 1)
Kerry Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2)
Kyle Larson – 1 (Eagle Raceway on June 13)
