SCHATZ SAILS FROM THE BACK AT HAGERSTOWN
Donny Schatz charged through the field at Hagerstown (WRT Speedwerx – Walls)
HAGERSTOWN, MD (May 20, 2012) – Four-time World of Outlaws (WoO) champion Donny Schatz closed the six-race eastern tour with a tenth-place finish on Sunday night at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. The result concluded races in central Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland and proved once again the TSR team will continue to fight for everything they can get.
Saying things didn’t go smoothly would be an understatement, but Schatz still finds himself right in the thick of the 2012 WoO championship battle. Following Sunday’s race, the Fargo, N.D., racer remained in third and only 32 points out of the top spot heading into this Friday’s event in Charlotte.
Sunday’s return to Hagerstown was the Outlaws first stop at the half-mile dirt oval since 2005. Schatz was the 27th car to hit the track in qualifying, and he turned the 29th-best lap. That put him in the first heat, where he started the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J eighth. He climbed to sixth, but couldn’t crack the top-five and gain a spot in the 25-lap A-Feature. In the 12-lap B-Main, he started ninth and had climbed to seventh when he was collected in a restart accident. The team was forced to use their second provisional starting spot.
Schatz was on a mission racing from 26th in the main. He grabbed spots each lap and worked his way all the way up to 10th and earned his 16th top-10 of 2012. His TSR teammate, Steve Kinser, who also used a provisional, raced to 11th and took over the top spot in the standings. Schatz trails Kinser by 32 points and Sammy Swindell by 14.
The schedule resumes Friday with the Circle K Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The race will air live on SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. (ET).