Nov
05

Gravel Thrills Sellout World Finals Crowd with Last Lap Pass of Schatz

By

World of Outlaws


Contact: Anthony Corini
World of Outlaws PR
408-825-3360 | acorini@dirtcar.com

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

Gravel Thrills Sellout World Finals Crowd with Last Lap Pass of Schatz

Schatz wins the war; Crowned 9-time Series Champion

Charlotte, NC - November 4, 2017 - David Gravel couldn't clear Donny Schatz with seven to go, but would not be denied, scoring the victory in a thriller with a last-lap pass of Schatz. It was Gravel and CJB Motorsports 18th World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series win of the season, doubling their total from last season. Schatz and Brian Brown completed the podium on the final night of the Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ryan Smith led the opening lap of the 30-lap Feature, before Brian Brown took control on lap two with a slide job. Brad Sweet brought out the first of a handful of cautions on lap two, as he faced backwards in turn two.

Schatz worked by Smith for second on the ensuing restart before another caution on lap four halted competition. Schatz was strong on the restart once again, this time sliding Brown for the top spot to lead lap five.

Lap five saw a scary incident in turn two with Jason Johnson, Shane Stewart, Greg Hodnett, Sheldon and Jac Haudenschild creating a pileup and bringing out an #OpenRed with 25 to go. All drivers were okay.

On the restart, Brown kept pace with Schatz as the duo reached traffic before the final caution of the event flew; this time for Kraig Kinser with 14 laps to go. Gravel pounced on the restart, with a big slider on Brown to claim second as he begun to chase down Schatz with 10 laps remaining.

With seven to go, Gravel and Schatz exchanged sliders with the latter maintaining the advantage at the line. With five to go, Gravel pounded the cushion to try and get one more shot at the Series Champion. He got his shot and he took advantage of it. The Watertown, Connecticut driver brought the sold-out Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals crowd to their feet with a thrilling last-lap pass to score the victory.

"That was a blast. I hope this crowd enjoyed it," an elated Gravel said in Victory Lane. "Barry Jackson, Derek and Zach give me an awesome car every night. It's been a badass year," Gravel, who will return to CJB Motorsports in 2018, added.

While Gravel may have won the battle, Schatz won the war - again. "It's been a great year. This race team is phenomenal. We are top three seemingly every night and the car does not drop out of races," Schatz said after the race. After being awarded the Championship hardware for the ninth time in his career and asked about how long he can enjoy this title he said, "You enjoy it. But as long as you're an active race car driver, you continue to put it in the back of your mind."

Brian Brown completed the podium and put it simply, "We got beat by two of the best drivers in the world."

Kerry Madsen, a five-time World of Outlaws winner this season, finished fourth with 2017 IRA Champion, Bill Balog completing the top five.

Logan Schuchart started 22nd and made it to sixth to earn KSE Hard Charger honors. Daryn Pittman, Cole Duncan, Brent Marks and Smith completed the top ten.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Banquet is Sunday, November 5 and puts the bowtie on the end of what was a fantastic 2017 season. The offseason is much needed but soon enough, it will be time to go racing once again in Florida. Stay tuned to all World of Outlaws social media channels for breaking news on 2018 drivers, the schedule and much more.

Results from The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway - November 4, 2017

Feature (30 Laps) 1. 5-David Gravel [5][$12,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$5,500]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [1][$3,200]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7][$2,800]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [6][$2,500]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [22][$2,300]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman [4][$2,200]; 8. 12N-Cole Duncan [9][$2,100]; 9. 19-Brent Marks [14][$2,050]; 10. 59-Ryan Smith [2][$2,000]; 11. 49-Brad Sweet [17][$1,500]; 12. 44-Trey Starks [12][$1,200]; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [21][$1,100]; 14. 2-Shane Stewart [19][$1,050]; 15. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [23][$1,000]; 16. W20-Greg Wilson [28][$]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [26][$]; 18. 19P-Paige Polyak [15][$1,000]; 19. 13M-Paul McMahan [8][$1,000]; 20. 18-Ian Madsen [11][$1,000]; 21. 4-Parker Price-Miller [27][$]; 22. 11K-Kraig Kinser [25][$]; 23. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [16][$1,000]; 24. 71-Joey Saldana [10][$1,000]; 25. 41-Jason Johnson [18][$1,000]; 26. 27-Greg Hodnett [13][$1,000]; 27. 71M-Dave Blaney [24][$1,000]; 28. 17-Jac Haudenschild [20][$1,000]; Lap Leaders: Ryan Smith 1, Brian Brown 2-4, Donny Schatz 5-29, David Gravel 30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 1S-Logan Schuchart[+16]

Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.647; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.687; 3. 5-David Gravel, 12.695; 4. 12N-Cole Duncan, 12.703; 5. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.742; 6. 21-Brian Brown, 12.744; 7. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.746; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 12.759; 9. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.762; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.768; 11. 19P-Paige Polyak, 12.772; 12. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.782; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.793; 14. 7K-Cale Conley, 12.808; 15. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 12.812; 16. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 12.814; 17. 27-Greg Hodnett, 12.826; 18. 17X-Josh Baughman, 12.872; 19. 13D-Danny Dietrich, 12.875; 20. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.919; 21. 39-Spencer Bayston, 12.94; 22. 3G-Carson Macedo, 12.968; 23. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 13.054; 24. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 13.101; 25. 5B-Justin Barger, 13.445; 26. 12W-Troy Fraker, 14.063

Qualifying Flight-B: 1. 44-Trey Starks, 12.606; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.649; 3. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.687; 4. 13M-Paul McMahan, 12.694; 5. 71-Joey Saldana, 12.729; 6. 59-Ryan Smith, 12.774; 7. 17-Jac Haudenschild, 12.79; 8. 3-Sammy Swindell, 12.823; 9. 41-Jason Johnson, 12.828; 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 12.846; 11. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.861; 12. 71M-Dave Blaney, 12.871; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.909; 14. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.912; 15. 7J-Chad Kemenah, 12.918; 16. 19-Brent Marks, 12.926; 17. 24-Terry McCarl, 13.016; 18. 13-Clyde Knipp, 13.024; 19. OO-Dane Lorenc, 13.028; 20. 49K-Scott Kreutter, 13.045; 21. 17C-Caleb Helms, 13.066; 22. 7KX-Dan Shetler, 13.326; 23. 27G-Jay Galloway, 13.418; 24. 91-Sadie Siegel, 14.165; 25. 47-Eric Riggins, 15.482; 26. 14X-Coleman Gulick, 13.279; 27. 822-John Price, NT

Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 12N-Cole Duncan [2]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 3. 27-Greg Hodnett [6]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 7. 49D-Shawn Dancer [8]; 8. 14-Tony Stewart [7]

Heat #2 - Flight (A) - (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 3. 19P-Paige Polyak [4]; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 5. 4-Parker Price-Miller [5]; 6. 17X-Josh Baughman [6]; 7. 39-Spencer Bayston [7]; 8. 5B-Justin Barger [8]

Heat #3 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 5-David Gravel [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 4. 13D-Danny Dietrich [6]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 6. 3G-Carson Macedo [7]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 8. 12W-Troy Fraker [8]

Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 44-Trey Starks [1]; 2. 13M-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [4]; 5. 17-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 7. 7KX-Dan Shetler [8]; 8. 14X-Coleman Gulick [9]; 9. OO-Dane Lorenc [7]

Heat #5 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 71-Joey Saldana [2]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [1]; 3. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 5. 24-Terry McCarl [6]; 6. 49K-Scott Kreutter [7]; 7. 822-John Price [9]; 8. 27G-Jay Galloway [8]; 9. 3-Sammy Swindell [3]

Heat #6 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 17B-Bill Balog [1]; 2. 59-Ryan Smith [2]; 3. 41-Jason Johnson [3]; 4. 7J-Chad Kemenah [5]; 5. 71M-Dave Blaney [4]; 6. 13-Clyde Knipp [6]; 7. 17C-Caleb Helms [7]; 8. 47-Eric Riggins [8]

Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 5-David Gravel [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 5. 12N-Cole Duncan [6]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [5]

Craftsman Club Dash #2 (6 Laps): 1. 59-Ryan Smith [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 4. 13M-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 71-Joey Saldana [5]; 6. 44-Trey Starks [6]

C-Main (10 Laps) - Top 2 Transfer: 1. 14-Tony Stewart [3][-]; 2. 3G-Carson Macedo [7][-]; 3. 39-Spencer Bayston [5][$150]; 4. OO-Dane Lorenc [4][$150]; 5. 14X-Coleman Gulick [15][$150]; 6. 49D-Shawn Dancer [9][$125]; 7. 17C-Caleb Helms [8][$125]; 8. 49K-Scott Kreutter [6][$125]; 9. 47-Eric Riggins [14][$125]; 10. 5B-Justin Barger [11][$125]; 11. 7KX-Dan Shetler [10][$125]; 12. 27G-Jay Galloway [12][$125]; 13. 822-John Price [16][$125]; 14. 12W-Troy Fraker [13][$125]; 15. 13-Clyde Knipp [2][$125]; 16. 13D-Danny Dietrich [1][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 2-Shane Stewart [1][-]; 2. 17-Jac Haudenschild [2][-]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3][-]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7][-]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [6][-]; 6. 71M-Dave Blaney [8][-]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [5][$300]; 8. 4-Parker Price-Miller [11][$250]; 9. 49X-Tim Shaffer [13][$225]; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$200]; 11. 7J-Chad Kemenah [14][$200]; 12. 3G-Carson Macedo [18][$200]; 13. 14-Tony Stewart [17][$200]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [12][$200]; 15. 17X-Josh Baughman [15][$200]; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen [9][$200]; 17. 24-Terry McCarl [16][$200]; 18. 3-Sammy Swindell [4][$200]

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignition ($25 cash): Jason Johnson; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): David Gravel; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Brent Marks; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Brent Marks; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Ryan Smith; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Super Flow ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Craftsman Club ($100 cash): David Gravel, Daryn Pittman; Sears ($100): Brian Brown; KSE Hard Charger: Logan Schuchart; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate: David Gravel; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Greg Wilson and Parker Price-Miller

Season Winners:

Donny Schatz - 20 (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, Dirt Oval at Route 66 on June 27, Dakota State Fair Speedway on July 1, Eldora Speedway on July 15, Lernerville Speedway on July 18, Knoxville Raceway on August 12 (NP), River Cities Speedway on August 18, Calistoga Speedway on September 16, Port Royal Speedway on October 14, The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on November 3)
David Gravel - 18 (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, Attica Raceway Park on July 11, Hartford Speedway on July 28, Wilmot Raceway on July 29, August 20 at Nodak Speedway, Lernerville Speedway on September 23, Williams Grove Speedway on September 28, Williams Grove Speedway on September 30, Fulton Speedway on October 8, The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on November 4)
Shane Stewart - 8 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29, West Liberty Raceway on June 23, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 24, Black Hills Speedway on August 25, Skagit Speedway on September 1, Grays Harbor on September 4, Silver Dollar Speedway on September 9)
Brad Sweet - 5 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25, Devil's Bowl on April 15, Jackson Motorplex on June 3, Knoxville Raceway on June 9, Calistoga Speedway on September 15)
Kerry Madsen - 5 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 7, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8, Eldora Speedway on July 13, Salina Highbanks on October 21)
Logan Schuchart - 4 (Keller Auto Speedway on March 31, Eldora Speedway on May 12, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, Ohsweken Speedway on July 25)
Jason Johnson - 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17, Devil's Bowl on April 14, Red River Valley Speedway on August 19, Willamette Speedway on September 6)
Daryn Pittman – 3 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on August 4, Billings Motorsports Park on August 26, Skagit Speedway on September 2nd)
Tim Shaffer – 2 (Eldora Speedway on September 22, Ransomville Speedway on October 16)
Brian Brown - 2 (Cocopah Speedway on April 7, Lakeside Speedway on October 20)
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)
Kyle Larson - 1 (Eagle Raceway on June 13)
Kraig Kinser - 1 (Deer Creek Speedway on July 6)
Christopher Bell - 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 14)
Brock Zearfoss - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 21)
Kyle Hirst - 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway on September 8)
Greg Hodnett – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on September 28 – makeup from 7/22)
James McFadden – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on September 29, 2017)

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