Vintage

SCHATZ CHARGERS TO FIFTH IN OUTLAWS ELDORA GO

ROSSBURG, OHIO - Championship teams find ways to bounce back after adverisity. That's just what Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Armor All/STP/ParkerStore backed team did on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway in the finale of the Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear World of Outlaws event. Schatz and his team followed up Friday night's unfortunate blown tire, by returning to the top five.

After cutting a left rear tire down with only a handful of laps remaining while running a solid second in Friday night's A-Feature, neither the rubber or rain were reason to celebrate. Schatz was fast out of the box on Saturday timing in fifth fastest in the field of 32 cars. He raced to a heat one victory and made a late charge in the 30-lap main event to finish fifth.

The four-time and defending WoO champion now trails his teammate, Steve Kinser, who took over the points lead on Saturday night, by 87 markers heading into this weeks action. The Outlaws kick-off their first run in Pennsylvania with a pair of races at historic Williams Grove Speedway on Thursday and Friday night before concluding the action at Virginia Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

BLOWN TIRE ENDS SHOT A VICTORY IN ELDORA OPENER

ROSSBURG, OHIO (May 7) - The World of Outlaws spent most of evening on Friday trying to outrace Mother Nature. Rain was all around Eldora Speedway in western Ohio and for most of the night it looked like both Donny Schatz and the traveling Sprint car stars would get a complete night of racing in.

The unfortunate ending was two fold as it started spitting rain when the scheduled 30-lap feature pushed off and with 25 laps in the books, Schatz lost a left rear tire on the Tony Stewart Racing No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore backed J&J. It was night where it appeared as though things were turning around for the four-time and reigning WoO champion.

He dominated the first heat and dash race, led the first seven laps of the feature and was running a solid second for most of the race. But, it wasn't meant to be on this night. Coming out of turn four on lap 25, the tire exploded, a yellow flag slowed the action and then heavy rain put a halt on the program. Even though Schatz did not stop, it was ruled he caused the caution and thus, scored the last car on the lead lap (18th).

The Armor All crew will return to Eldora on Saturday night and build on what began as a promising evening.
 

WoO Champions Look To Maintain Success at Eldora Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS (May 4, 2010) – One night does not a season make. However, it can be argued that success or failure at one venue on the schedule can play a pivotal role in determining a champion. Most professional teams spend the regular season trying to secure a home-field, home-court or home-ice advantage for its championship push in the playoffs. This isn’t an option in the world of motorsports, as the schedule dictates where each competition is held and, in most cases, doesn’t offer an advantage to individual drivers.

The World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series challenges its competitors with a season that is spread over nine months and includes more than 70 nights of competition at 30 different facilities. With a schedule like that, it’s hard to put too much emphasis on a single track, and history shows that winning races is typically the most important factor. Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz know a lot about winning WoO races at a variety of tracks, and the tandem has combined to win the last nine WoO crowns.

SCHATZ NINTH AT JACKSON

JACKSON, MN (May 1) - Donny Schatz was hoping a return to Jackson (Minn.) Speedway and turning the calendar to May would result in another World of Outlaws victory. Unfortunately, Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing team had an uphill climb most of the night.

"We just got started a little slow tonight," said Schatz. "When you miss the heat inversion by one, it makes things tougher. Honestly though, even if we would have stayed in the top 12, I'm not sure we could have held onto a top-two finish in the heat race. We worked at it and got things going a little better as the night went on. In the feature, the track was so fast that passing was pretty difficult. My hats off to my teammate (Steve Kinser) and his guys for getting the win tonight."

The evening began with Schatz circling the half-mile dirt oval in 15.885 seconds. He was in 12th until the second to last car went out and bumped him to 13th.  He started third in the first heat race, but finished fifth. In the 25 lap feature, the track was still producing lightning fast lap times.  Joey Saldana led early and Steve Kinser led late while Schatz steered clear of the accidents and came home ninth.

Schatz will return to action in the TSR No. 15 Armor All/STP ParkerStore J&J next weekend at Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway for the WoO's Outlaw Thunder presented by Goodyear event on Friday and Saturday night.