Vintage

THE CHAMP STARTS WITH A WIN

BARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 6) - Donny Schatz was stuck on 100 for too long. In the 2010 World of Outlaws season opener Saturday night, the four-time and defending WoO champion kicked off the 2010 season just as he did in 2007 and 2009, with a win.  Schatz wheeled the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/STP ParkerStore J&J to his 101st career WoO win by leading 20 of the 30-lap main event.

“That’s the way to start, that’s awesome,” said Schatz. “Everyone has their cars stuck so hard that it puts it more on the drivers and that’s what I like to see. I’m glad to get the win. Normally I don’t run well on the top when its fast, but I could go all over. The guys (crew chief Ricky Warner, crewman Shane Bowers and Steve Swenson) have been working pretty hard and we have been playing since we got to Ocala. We learned a lot of things and I think we have five or six nights ahead of everyone, hopefully.”

Schatz began the night by qualifying third in the field of 37 cars and he showed in the Dash event that he was going to be a player in the feature. The Fargo, N.D. native raced from sixth to third. In the feature event, Schatz quickly jumped into a battle for the lead and led lap one. He raced with Tim Shaffer for the first 10 laps before seizing control. During the second half of the race, Schatz withstood all challengers to bring home his fourth career WoO main event triumph and ninth overall at the half-mile oval.

On Sunday, he'll try to be "Super" again during another complete WoO show.

SCHATZ COMES HOME THIRD IN ALL-STAR OPENER AT VOLUSIA

BARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 3) - Donny Schatz kicked off the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., with a podium finish on Wednesday night. Schatz wheeled Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/STP/Parkerstore J&J  around the lightning fast half-mile dirt oval and ultimately finished third in the 30-lap contest.

"I did everything I could to get by some guys, but we were all just too fast," admitted Schatz, following the event. "My guys gave me a really good car, but you saw the only real passes of the night came on the start and then when the leaders got in traffic. We were probably just a little bit better than the guy who finished second, but that's how it goes."

Outlaw Champions Set To Begin Title Chase at Volusia Speedway Park

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 2, 2010) –With the state of Florida being the focal point of the sporting world over the next two weeks, it seems only appropriate that the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series begins its 32^nd season in the Sunshine State with possibly the most competitive collection of teams in short-track racing. Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) headlines that race lineup with arguably the best driver duo the sport has ever seen.

Sprint car racing icon Steve Kinser and four-time defending WoO champion Donny Schatz will carry the TSR colors at dirt tracks across the U.S. in 2010. Kinser and Schatz have combined to win the last eight Outlaw titles and are the only two drivers in series history to win at least four titles. Each begins his quest to add another championship this weekend during the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio at Volusia Speedway Park (VSP) in Barberville, Fla. The three nights of racing at VSP kick off a schedule that includes nearly 80 nights of action.

SCHATZ NINTH IN ALL-STAR OPENER

OCALA, FL (Jan. 29) - Donny Schatz kicked off the 2010 season in Florida with a ninth place finish in the All-Star Circuit of Champions event at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway.  Schatz battle through a 25-lap feature with a nose wing on the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore J&J.

"We were hoping to learn some things here tonight, and I guess you could say we did," admitted Schatz. "The track was pretty tough to pass on, so I figured after the first deal that I'd just stay out and see what I could do. It wasn't what we wanted, but we'll try to get better next week at Volusia."

Schatz got out of the gate quickly by turning the second quickest lap in the field of 30 cars. The second heat proved to be a tough one to crack as Schatz twice worked his way into the top-five, but each time he had problems in turned four and ultimately finished seventh.

He led the B-Main from start to finish and pushed off for the feature event looking to start 11th. The inside starting position proved to be the wrong place as fifth starting Greg Hodnett spun heading into turn one and collected several competitors. The bottle-up of cars left Schatz with no where to go and he made contact, ultimately knocking the nose wing off his machine.  From there the race was only halted twice and Schatz did his best to hold his spot inside the top-10.

Schatz and his Armor All crew (Rick Warner, Shane Bowers and Steve Swenson) will return to the track on Wednesday night at Volusia Speedway Park, for the first of five consecutive nights of racing.