World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

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

Winner Donny Schatz (DB3 Photo)

A NEW RIFF: Schatz wins first night of Music City Outlaw Nationals

Schatz makes late race pass on Bill Balog to be first World of Outlaws winner in Nashville

NASHVILLE, TN – Ballads of broken hearts and dirt roads are ingrained in Nashville’s history. On Friday night, a new hit was written during the inaugural World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Music City Outlaw Nationals at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

It’s intro, an impassioned announcer filling ear drums with a four-wide call. It’s verse, thunderous 900-hp Sprint Cars shaking a packed grandstand for 30 laps. And its coda, a jubilant Donny Schatz exhaling a single “Woo!” from the top wing of his car with the checkered flag in hand and glimmering confetti floating around him.

“Anytime you go anywhere new it’s always good to get a win,” said 10-time Series champion Schatz, after claiming his 286th career win. “We’re in an awesome market that we’ve never been to before. It’s great to win the inaugural race here.”

Schatz became the first World of Outlaws driver to win on the quarter-mile Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway track, which is an asphalt track that was covered with about seven million pounds of dirt to accommodate the Series.

The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver didn’t just conclude the ballad of the historic race, he was the bridge – the turning point of the night that made fans’ eye lids widen and heart rate increase.

He built to that point of the night by first winning his Drydene Heat race and drawing the third starting position for Feature.

From there he had to find his way around polesitter Bill Balog and outside polesitter Brad Sweet – who sits runner-up in points to Schatz – in order to claim the first night of the Music City Outlaw Nationals doubleheader.

On the first lap, Schatz worked his way under Sweet by hugging the bottom of turns one and two, clearing the Kasey Kahne Racing car before the next turn. The battle was then between the northerners – Fargo, N.D.-native Schatz and Wisconsin resident Balog.

Schatz rode the low line throughout the night, keeping a light right foot on the throttle around the tight slick track. Balog stayed a lane above the bottom, finding enough grip to stay ahead of the reigning Series champion, but not enough to increase the distance between them.

The duo reached a hoard of lap traffic by Lap nine – a scenario typically tightening the battle for the lead. However, Balog was able to use the traffic to his advantage. At times Schatz would close the gap, but with each lap car Balog passed he put a car length between he and Schatz.

Then on Lap 14, caution. Schatz was brought back to being inches away from the yellow No. 17B’s bumper.

When the race resumed, Balog didn’t give into the pressure. He maintained his lead and put about a two-car length distance between he and Schatz.

The race was building to be the song of Balog’s second career Series win. Then the bridge.

With nine laps to go, Balog lost traction off turn four, exiting the corner sideways. By the time he straightened out the car, Schatz was there. His winning performance was over.

Schatz slid past Balog for the lead in turn one. Balog attempted to sneak underneath Schatz exiting turn two, but Schatz shut the door, briefly touching his left rear tire with Balog’s right front.

“We probably tightened it up too much,” said Balog, who ended up third. “But… leading some laps with the World of Outlaws is pretty awesome. It was disappointing, I made a couple of little mistakes and you can’t do it with them guys. They’re going to get you.”

His mistake allowed Schatz to click off laps in the lead until reaching the checkered flag – picking up his third win of the season.

“My guys, it’s incredible what they do,” Schatz said. “They’ve been on their game. They’ve been making the race car better and better and better. And it’s fun to drive.”

Sweet followed Schatz passed Balog to finish second, but with the No. 15 car finishing one spot ahead of him, Sweet remains second in points, now with a 52-point deficit.

Behind the podium, Brent Marks earned his first top-five of the season, finishing fourth, and Sheldon Haudenschild found his way back into the top-five, finishing fifth, after a tough month of May that saw him miss four Features in a row.

“It’s definitely good. Good for our team,” Haudenschild said. “I think anytime you get in the top-five is definitely a little bit of a confidence builder and something to build off.”

Schatz is also looking to build off his Nashville win to turn his team’s consistent run of top-five finishes into consistent wins.

“You’ve got to crawl before you can walk, and you’ve got to walk before you can run and I feel like we’re walking pretty solid, so now it’s time to get running,” Schatz said.

With the air strumming of his newly earned metal guitar trophy in Victory Lane and $15,000 prize winnings, Schatz wrote a new ballad into Nashville’s history books. A ballad of heart break. A ballad of dirt roads. And a ballad of outlaws. The World of Outlaws in Nashville.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws will return to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Saturday, June 1, for the final night of the Music City Outlaw Nationals with $25,000-to-win on the line.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 5/31/19 - Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$15,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$6,000]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [1][$3,200]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [5][$2,800]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$2,500]; 6. 21-Carson Short [7][$2,300]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$2,200]; 8. 64-Scotty Thiel [8][$2,100]; 9. 18-Ian Madsen [9][$2,050]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart [13][$2,000]; 11. 9JR-Derek Hagar [12][$1,500]; 12. 41-David Gravel [11][$1,200]; 13. 14-Tony Stewart [16][$1,100]; 14. 83-Daryn Pittman [15][$1,050]; 15. 19X-Kevin Thomas [14][$1,000]; 16. 91-Cale Thomas [10][$1,000]; 17. 99-Brady Bacon [17][$1,000]; 18. 2-Carson Macedo [23][$1,000]; 19. 5-Shane Stewart [19][$1,000]; 20. 9-James McFadden [21][$1,000]; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser [20][$1,000]; 22. 51B-Joe B.Miller [18][$1,000]; 23. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [22][$1,000]; 24. 98-Chad Boespflug [24][$1,000];
Lap Leaders: Bill Balog 1-22, Donny Schatz 23-30;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+5]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 15.32; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.324; 3. 19-Brent Marks, 15.328; 4. 41-David Gravel, 15.542; 5. 9-James McFadden, 15.818; 6. 21-Carson Short, 15.839; 7. 18-Ian Madsen, 15.876; 8. 5-Shane Stewart, 15.905; 9. 99-Brady Bacon, 15.909; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman, 16.025; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.053; 12. K4-Chad Kemenah, 16.08; 13. 71M-Paul May, 16.142; 14. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.144; 15. 7-Jason Sides, 16.16; 16. 4-Danny Smith, 16.265; 17. 7S-Tim Kaeding, 16.327; 18. 4X-Jim Stinson, 16.383; 19. 28-Brian Paulus, 16.528; 20. 4K-Kody Kinser, NT

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.857; 2. 64-Scotty Thiel, 15.972; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.256; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 16.269; 5. 91-Cale Thomas, 16.293; 6. 14-Tony Stewart, 16.516; 7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 16.593; 8. J4-John Garvin, 16.651; 9. 19X-Kevin Thomas, 16.795; 10. 90-Jordan Givler, 16.859; 11. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.347; 12. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 16.87; 13. 51B-Joe B.Miller, 16.882; 14. 10P-Jim Perricone, 16.887; 15. 98-Chad Boespflug, 16.972; 16. 14X-Jeff Swindell, 16.972; 17. 17X-Josh Baughman, 17.209; 18. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 17.253; 19. 23-Russel Borland, 17.418; 20. 6-Bill Rose, 17.525

DRYDENE Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [2]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [4]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 5. 99-Brady Bacon [5]; 6. 7-Jason Sides [8]; 7. 7S-Tim Kaeding [9]; 8. 9-James McFadden [3]; 9. 71M-Paul May [7]; 10. 28-Brian Paulus [10]

DRYDENE Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 21-Carson Short [3]; 3. 41-David Gravel [2]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [5]; 5. 5-Shane Stewart [4]; 6. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [7]; 7. 4-Danny Smith [8]; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser [10]; 9. 4X-Jim Stinson [9]; 10. K4-Chad Kemenah [6]

DRYDENE Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 91-Cale Thomas [3]; 4. 19X-Kevin Thomas [5]; 5. 51B-Joe B.Miller [7]; 6. 98-Chad Boespflug [8]; 7. 17X-Josh Baughman [9]; 8. 23-Russel Borland [10]; 9. 2-Carson Macedo [6]; 10. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [4]

DRYDENE Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 64-Scotty Thiel [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 3. 9JR-Derek Hagar [6]; 4. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 6. 6-Bill Rose [10]; 7. 14X-Jeff Swindell [8]; 8. 10P-Jim Perricone [7]; 9. J4-John Garvin [4]; 10. 90-Jordan Givler [5]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (0 Laps) – 1. 17B-Bill Balog [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 7. 21-Carson Short [7]; 8. 64-Scotty Thiel [8]

C-Main (8 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer – 1. 4X-Jim Stinson [1][]; 2. 28-Brian Paulus [3][]; 3. 23-Russel Borland [4][$150]; 4. 4K-Kody Kinser [5][$150]; 5. 14X-Jeff Swindell [2][$150]; 6. 17X-Josh Baughman [8][$125]; 7. 71M-Paul May [7][$125]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [6][$125]

Last Chance Showdown (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 9-James McFadden [1][]; 2. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [2][]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [8][]; 4. 98-Chad Boespflug [12][]; 5. J4-John Garvin [4][$500]; 6. 7-Jason Sides [7][$400]; 7. 28-Brian Paulus [14][$350]; 8. 83R-Lynton Jeffrey [5][$300]; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone [10][$300]; 10. 7S-Tim Kaeding [11][$300]; 11. 90-Jordan Givler [6][$300]; 12. 4-Danny Smith [9][$300]; 13. 4X-Jim Stinson [13][$300]; 14. K4-Chad Kemenah [3][$300]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

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

Winner Kyle Larson (Tim Aylwin Photo)

MEMORIAL DAY SPECTACLE

NASCAR’s Kyle Larson claims World of Outlaws win at Lawrenceburg Speedway after intense battle with Christopher Bell

Kyle Larson versus Christopher Bell. It’s a tale that’s been told many times, in many ways.

But Larson’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory Monday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway may be the most enticing tale of them, yet. And controversial.

Or as Larson put it, “It was a heck of a race.”

The stage was set at the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash draw. Larson drew the second-place starting spot. Bell drew the pole. Behind them, an abundance of fast World of Outlaws stars, such as two-time winner at the speedway, Shane Stewart, and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz.

Bell dominated them all in the Dash. He was three-tenths of a second quicker than Larson and ended the eight-lap race more than two seconds in front of him. Larson’s runner-up finish placed the two NASCAR stars back on the front row for the 35-lap Feature.

Larson versus Bell. Again.

This chapter of the tale usually ends in Bell’s favor, though. During the Turkey Night Classic midget race last year, Bell beat Larson for the second consecutive year. And earlier this year, Bell denied Larson his first Chili Bowl Nationals win by passing him late in the race to claim his third Chili Bowl win in-a-row.

Larson also had to cope with defeat during the first night of the World of Outlaws Patriot Nationals race at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday. After dominating the majority of the Feature, a late race mistake allowed Giovanni Scelzi to slip by the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series $1 million All-Star winner and roll into Victory Lane.

Bell and Larson were hungry for another win.

However, Stewart looked to spoil the NASCAR party in the early stage of the race by charging to second on the first lap and keeping pace with Bell – making it an Oklahoma-native shootout at the front.

No one could touch Bell, though. Once the No. 39 Swindell SpeedLab car clicked off laps on the high side of the 12-degree banked track, he out paced Stewart every lap. Larson was mired in third-place watching another potential victory drive away.

However, cautions came to Larson’s rescue. With 19 laps to go, Sheldon Haudenschild spun directly in front of Bell, bringing out the second caution of the night – the first being early in the race for Spencer Bayston breaking a rear end.

On the restart, Larson rode the cushion through turns one and two and carried enough momentum to throw a slide job underneath Stewart the next corner. Coming off turn four, the two made contact. Both kept control of their car, but it was to the benefit of Larson. He secured second-place, while Stewart eventually faded to fourth-place after an intense battle with Schatz for third.

From there, Larson seemed destined for another runner-up finish. There was no catching Bell.

Then came Lap 27. Bell slid up into the cushion in turn two, throwing his 27 laps of domination out the window. In the second it took Bell to correct his car, the white No. 57 was there. Larson torpedoed his car underneath Bell in turn three and cleared him through the center of the turn.

Bell charged back, getting a run to the outside of Larson down the front stretch. This was it. This was the battle fans waited at the edge of their seat for.

Side by side going into turn one, both were committed to their line. Bell pressed to the cushion. Larson a lane below. The two were close enough to grab each other’s steering wheel. Then, those fans at the edge of their seat left them.

The hard racing between Larson and Bell resulted in the black No. 39 jumping the cushion and spinning through the air before tumbling to the center of the turn. Bell’s night was over.

“I’m not sure what happened into (turn) one there,” Larson said after the race. “He probably didn’t know exactly where I was going. He thought I might slide myself or what, and I think I just entered in a spot that put him in a bad spot and he probably got tight on the cushion.”

From Bell’s point of view, “I didn’t run him over, but I didn’t have an option.”

“My car was really fast,” a dejected Bell said. “The thing was the best I’ve ever been here, for sure. Thank you to Kevin and Jordan (Swindell) for allowing me to drive their car. So, bummer we didn’t win.”

Larson said he didn’t feel any contact between the two of them.

“It was unfortunate on his part to wreck,” Larson said. “It would have been a good battle for the fans, but at the same time it’s always nice when you don’t have to battle Chris for a win because he’s so good.”

There were still seven laps to go, and Larson now had Schatz and Scelzi lurking behind him. But once the race went back green, Larson put a period on the night charging to his seventh career Series win at the Memorial Day Spectacular presented by KOI Auto Parts.

“These Outlaw wins are so hard to win,” Larson said, while holding a new burgundy and gold trophy to add to his collection. “I mean, you’ve got Bell, leading, he’s one of, if not the best drivers in the country or in the world right now, in open wheel cars. And Donny Schatz (the Series' points leader by 48 points), who’s arguably the best in winged sprint cars. So, to beat those two feels really cool.”

Larson versus Bell. It’s a tale that’s been told many times and will continue to be told for years to come.

This time, though, Larson won.

UP NEXT:

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will next make history by making its first trip to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for the inaugural Music City Outlaw Nationals on Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1.

As always, you can catch all World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action on www.DIRTVision.com.

For tickets and more information, go to www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

Race Results: 5/27/19 – Lawrenceburg Speedway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$5,500]; 3. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [5][$3,200]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [4][$2,800]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,500]; 6. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [7][$2,300]; 7. 19-Brent Marks [14][$2,200]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [9][$2,100]; 9. 24-Rico Abreu [19][$2,050]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [10][$2,000]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23][$1,500]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [21][$1,200]; 13. 41-David Gravel [13][$1,100]; 14. 91-Cale Thomas [12][$1,050]; 15. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [16][$1,000]; 16. 2M-Kerry Madsen [18][$900]; 17. 2-Carson Macedo [22][$800]; 18. 26-Cory Eliason [15][$800]; 19. 1S-Logan Schuchart [17][$800]; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen [24][$800]; 21. A79-Brandon Wimmer [20][$800]; 22. 39-Christopher Bell [1][$800]; 23. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3][$800]; 24. 70X-Spencer Bayston [11][$800];
Lap Leaders: Christopher Bell 1-27, Kyle Larson 28-35;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+12]

Qualifying – 1. 5-Shane Stewart, 12.166; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.208; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 12.226; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.233; 5. 39-Christopher Bell, 12.321; 6. 71-Giovanni Scelzi, 12.35; 7. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 12.36; 8. 70X-Spencer Bayston, 12.361; 9. 83-Daryn Pittman, 12.383; 10. 41-David Gravel, 12.387; 11. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.406; 12. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.411; 13. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.423; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 12.425; 15. 91-Cale Thomas, 12.431; 16. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.434; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.45; 18. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.456; 19. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.48; 20. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.489; 21. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 12.497; 22. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 12.534; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.542; 24. 6-Bill Rose, 12.557; 25. 2-Carson Macedo, 12.566; 26. 85-Mike Terry, 12.573; 27. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.624; 28. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.637; 29. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.678; 30. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.701; 31. 4X-Bradley Ashford, 13.187

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 5-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [3]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 5. 41-David Gravel [4]; 6. G1-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [9]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen [10]; 10. 49D-Shawn Dancer [8]; 11. 4X-Bradley Ashford [11]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 39-Christopher Bell [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 4. 70X-Spencer Bayston [3]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8]; 9. 85-Mike Terry [9]; 10. 21-Brinton Marvel [10]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [2]; 3. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 91-Cale Thomas [5]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [9]; 8. A79-Brandon Wimmer [7]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [8]; 10. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 39-Christopher Bell [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 4. 5-Shane Stewart [5]; 5. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [6]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [4]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer – 1. 24-Rico Abreu [1][-]; 2. A79-Brandon Wimmer [3][-]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][-]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [7][-]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][-]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][-]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [9][$300]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [6][$250]; 9. 85-Mike Terry [8][$225]; 10. 21-Brinton Marvel [11][$200]; 11. 49D-Shawn Dancer [4][$200]; 12. 4X-Bradley Ashford [13][$200]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [12][$200]