Donny Schatz Motorsports

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Seasons Past

2009

Written by Bill Klingbeil

Donny Schatz continued to make history in 2009, placing himself in an elite company in a couple of different categories. He claimed his fourth consecutive World of Outlaws title to become just the second driver ever to do that and he also won his 100th career A-Feature event to become just the fifth driver in the 30-plus year history of the series to accomplish that feat.

In his second season driving for Tony Stewart Racing, the North Dakota native won 12 times and led the series with 39 Top-Five finishes en route to claiming the title by just 19 points over Jason Meyers, making it the closest finish in World of Outlaws history.

"It's a great season when you can win a championship and be the most consistent," said Schatz. "It's rewarding. I'm glad to be a part of this. I'm a lucky guy to be part of this and I can't say thanks enough to the guys that work hard on these race cars for me and make sure they don't fall apart. They make sure I have a fast car and am competitive. I have to thank Tony Stewart for what he has done for us and keeping us on our edge."

Schatz picked up his 100th career World of Outlaws A-Feature win in his home state at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan on August 22, putting him in the record books with Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser and Doug Wolfgang as the only drivers to cross the century mark in their careers. In his career with the World of Outlaws, Schatz has won at 53 different tracks in 24 states along with one Canadian Province as well as in Australia.

"It means a lot to get it," said the North Dakota native of his 100th win. "Milestones for me though, I always get stuck on them and I am stuck on that 100th win right now. That happened back in August. When I tied Dave Blaney for 71 I got stuck on that one for a month or two. Man I am stuck on that 100th one and I don't know what to say. I want to get off it."

Schatz, who claimed the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws back in 1997, has been competing full-time with the series every season since, with the 2009 campaign marking his 13th consecutive year on the road. He has finished among the Top-10 in the championship standings in 10 of those campaigns, with the last seven spent among the Top-Five.

"It never gets any easier," he noted of the competition on the World of Outlaws trail. "The longer you are out here, the tougher it gets. Every time one of us gets ahead we get brought back 10 steps and things level out. It seems like we are five steps behind all the time. It's as competitive as it's ever been and I hope we can work hard to get to that next level, I just know how much better that can be."

Among the victories for Schatz in 2009, were his second in the $50,000 Kings Royal at the legendary Eldora Speedway which is owned by his car owner Tony Stewart. He also claimed his fourth consecutive Knoxville National title, becoming just the second driver to ever accomplish that feat. In addition, he was victorious at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida twice, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway and K-C Raceway.

"The Kings Royal, the (Knoxville) Nationals, they are all big," he said. "A race is a race. I want to win everything. It doesn't matter if it's the Kings Royal or just a normal race. The ones that pay good are the ones that mean more to the race team and me too. I'm just glad to be able to get those victories and keep adding my name to that list."

While Schatz continues to make history with the World of Outlaws, he is very appreciative of all of the folks that have helped him get to this point and is also humbled by the success. He looks to continue racing for many years to come.

"Nobody will ever do what Steve Kinser has done, but to be associated in that same club is pretty cool," Schatz stated. "It's exciting to be there and there are not many people that will ever be able to be in that situation. If I stop racing tomorrow, man I have had one hell of a long, good ride. I don't plan on stopping, but you never know what could happen. You never know when it's your last day. There are a lot of people out there that aren't as fortunate as us and get to do this. I'm just glad to be in this situation."

While Schatz receives most of the accolades for his performance on the track, he is quick to share the spotlight with his crew, led by crew chief Ricky Warner along with Shane Bowers and Eric Prutzman. Warner and Bowers have been with Schatz for all four of his titles, while Prutzman joined the team this season and was able to celebrate his first championship as a World of Outlaws crew member.

"I'm glad you can't clone people, because if you could clone those guys, I wouldn't want to race against them," said Schatz with a smile when asked about his crew. "They are awesome. Ricky (Warner) and I have been together a long time and we disagree sometimes, but that's what makes us better. You have to do that. We had a spell this year where we disagreed on what the direction we needed to go to get ahead was. That set us back a little bit, but we know what that direction is now. The most important part is that we learned it and we didn't just ignore that situation. We can fight and argue and disagree, but at the end of the day we want the same result and we both dig down to do whatever we have to do to get there. I can't say enough about those guys. It's fun to work with them and they do their best for me and I do my best for them."

With the off-season quickly going by, Schatz is busy back home in North Dakota. He will combine preparing for the 2010 season along with a number of others business obligations he has to attend to. He will also mix in some off-season racing in Australia, where he has been going every year since 2000 and has won at least one race Down Under in each of those trips.

"I have a lot of stuff line up," shared Schatz. "I have a lot of work at home and a lot of remodeling at the truck stops (that his family owns). I just have so much stuff I want to do that I'm happy to have some time to do it. We have trade shows in Orlando and Indianapolis and vacation in Australia. It's not too long to be off, but just enough."

Adding to his championship season, Schatz was recently named to the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association All-America Auto Racing Team for the fourth consecutive year in the "Short Track" category as a First Team honoree. He also is one of ten finalists for the 2009 Economaki Champion of Champions Award presented by National Speed Sport News, an award he received in 2008.

The 2010 World of Outlaws season kicks off on February 5-7 with the 39th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UHON at Volusia Speedway Park, where Schatz was victorious on opening night last season as well as in the finale of the three-day event.

By the Numbers Donny Schatz 2009:

2- Countries that Schatz won in during 2009- United States & Australia

4- Consecutive World of Outlaws titles for Schatz

5- Penske Power positions earned by Schatz this past season, which is awarded to the third-place finisher in the feature each night

7- KSE Hard Charger Awards to lead all drivers, given to the driver that passes the most cars in the feature each night; Wins on half-mile tracks to lead all drivers in 2009

8- Wins in the Crane Cams Dash to earn pole positions for Schatz in 2009

10- Tracks that Schatz won at in 2009 with the World of Outlaws

12- A-Feature wins in 2009 for the four-time champion

13- Times that Schatz was fastest in time trials to lead the series this past season

19- Points that separated him and Jason Meyers at the end of the 2009 season

39- Top-Five finishes for Schatz to lead the series

45- Starts in the Crane Cams Dash this past season for Schatz to earn Top-10 starting spots in feature events

54- Top-10 finishes for Schatz in 2009

100- Career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws for Schatz

357- Laps led this season in feature events

8908- Points earned by Schatz to win the 2009 championship 150,000 Dollars earned by Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing team for the title

322,900- Dollars earned this season by the second generation driver

2008

Written by Bill Klingbeil

When your on top of the world making a change may not sound like a reasonable choice. For Donny Schatz, the choice was made halfway through the 2007 season and that was to join forces with Tony Stewart Racing for the 2008 World of Outlaws season and beyond.

In true championship style, Donny Schatz kicked off his tenure as driver of the TSR No. 15 Armor All/Chevy J&J in winning fashion taking the opening night of the Alltel DirtCar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, and he closed the season in the same winning style taking the World Finals season finale at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway and claimed his third consecutive World of Outlaws title.

"It was a great year," said Schatz. "Championships are definitely won and lost by how long you struggle and stumble. We didn't do it very long. The last few years we have put the most wins on the board. That's probably the biggest factor in that. We won 18 races and had something like 17 seconds, so that's over 50 percent of the races that we were first or second, and that's big. It was a great year. The guys on this Armor All Chevy team surpassed themselves again and did a great job. Even when we are winning racing and feeling good, they are not satisfied with that. They keep charging and keep plugging away. It's a good feeling."

Schatz, who won his first two World of Outlaws title while driving for his family owned team, claimed the second series title for his car owner Tony Stewart, and the first for Chevrolet with the series. He also had the chance to race against his boss at Sharon Speedway in an event in June, a race that Schatz won. Including his pre-season wins in Australia, the North Dakota native wrapped up the year with 25 total wins.

"I don't know that there was really pressure there," he explained of driving for the high profile owner. "I was hired to do what I have done in the past, but these guys know that just because I came here (a championship) wasn't a guaranteed deal. They built this team from the ground up. All of my equipment is still sitting at home, it's not like we rolled everything over and had an easy transition. They did a great job and went out and got us a great sponsor in Armor All. It was an awesome. We're working to get things even better for next year. I'm glad to have a good year like we had."

Schatz began the season with 48 consecutive Top-10 finishes and wrapped the year up with a series leading 58 finishes of 10th or better in the 63 A-Feature events that were contested. He took the point lead for the first time after a win at Eldora Speedway on May 31. He would not relinquish the top spot for the rest of the season.

Schatz was victorious at 16 different tracks this season with the World of Outlaws. He won twice with the series at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, including his first win of the year with the World of Outlaws in early May. That marked his first series win driving for Tony Stewart Racing. He also was victorious at his boss's track of Eldora Speedway as well as the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. Wins also came for Schatz at: Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, Sedalia' State Fair Speedway in Missouri, Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, River Cities Speedway in his home state of North Dakota, Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin, Riverside International Speedway in Arkansas, K-C Raceway in Ohio, Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon, Clay County Fair Speedway in Iowa, Princeton Speedway in Minnesota, Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas and The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway to wrap up the season in the second annual VAULT World Finals live on SPEED.

Another highlight of the season was that he swept an event for the first time in his career, accomplishing that feat at Hollywood Hills Speedway in October, setting fast time, winning the first heat race, winning the Crane Cams Dash and leading all 30-laps of the A-Feature. He also won his third consecutive Knoxville Nationals, joining Steve Kinser as the only drivers in the history of sprint car racing's biggest race to accomplish that.

While Schatz received the accolades for all of his wins, he was always quick to credit his crew led by crew chief Ricky Warner, along with Shane Bowers and Kyle Sundby, who worked endlessly to give him a fast car each and every night, against one of the strongest fields ever assembled in the 30-year history of the World of Outlaws.

"Guys get on to some of the stuff that you are doing and that's a good thing," he said of the competition this season. "The nice thing about being where we are at is that when we do something, we understand why and how it does it each time. That's why we have put ourselves in this position. These guys do get tougher every year and things will change again next season. With the new wing rule, that will change things and we have been working on that for the last three months and we're on top of it. Hopefully that helps us out at the start of the year."

For his third consecutive World of Outlaws title, Schatz received $200,000 at the Night of Champions last month in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received the nearly 50-pound champion's trophy again this year in addition to the signature champion's ring.

"I want to thank everyone at Tony Stewart Racing for giving me this opportunity," said Schatz upon receiving the championship hardware. "You have given me a place to race for my future. Without everyone's support, there is no way that we would be here. To my crew, thank you guys for your hard work. I couldn't have done this without your dedication. Thanks to all the competitors. If we didn't have the drive that we did, we couldn't have 'The Greatest Show on Dirt' that Ted Johnson created and the great races that we have."

As has become a tradition for Schatz, he will head to Australia over the winter to do some racing against a number of fellow World of Outlaws drivers to gear up for the 2009 season. He has over 40 wins in his career Down Under, including four consecutive in the $50,000 to-win event at Parramatta City Speedway, which he has won seven times in his career.

"I'll be going, but I'll have a much less schedule that I have there in the past," shared the three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion. "I plan on going to Parramatta right after Christmas and running four or five races, then coming back home. I won't be there as much time, but we'll go there and enjoy it. I'll probably enjoy my time at home more than anything."

To view all news articles from 2008 click here.

2007

Written by Web Administrator

When the dust settled on the 2007 World of Outlaws (WoO) season, Donny Schatz was overwhelmed with what he and his ParkerStore sponsored team accomplished. The numbers were staggering considering the quality of competition the Fargo, N.D. resident faced in nearly 80 nights of racing.

To view all news articles from 2007 click here.

“When you are in racing mode, you don’t look in the rearview mirror often,” said Schatz, following the season in which he won a career-best 19 WoO features in 2007 in 75 WoO starts. “We are always focused on winning that next race...since our next Outlaws race isn’t until February, I guess we can look back at our season now.

“It was a real strong year for us. There were some changes before the season started and some that happened right in the middle of the year, but we never let anything slow us down. My guys worked unbelievably hard to give me a fast racecar every night, and I did my best to try and win everything we could.”

The bottom line is that Schatz set a high set of goals for 2007 after claiming his first WoO championship in 2006. He wanted to win the championship again. He wanted to win another Knoxville Nationals, and he wanted to finally get that Kings Royal triumph. He wanted to return to his winning ways at Williams Grove Speedway, where in 2006 he went winless for the first time in a long time. He wanted to pull into each race being the car to beat every night.

Schatz used his No. 15 ParkerStore sponsored J&J with Shaver built Chevrolet power, got out of the box in Florida just the way he had hoped. He won the opening night feature by taking the lead from Joey Saldana, and came back with two more podium finishes. Wins in Phoenix and Houston in March continued his early season assault on a second WoO championship.

By late April, he and Saldana were locked in a tight battle for series wins and the lead in the standings. The return to Knoxville, where he finally had broken through the August before to collect his first Knoxville Nationals win, was another statement night as he once again overtook Saldana to win his third in a row at the famed half-mile. Later in May, Schatz returned to Williams Grove and after a tough qualifying effort of 35th, the team showed the heart of champion by overcoming it as Donny raced to the victory. He made it two in a row at the Grove the next night, and almost made it three straight in the Keystone State the next week but came up just short in a photo finish with Danny Lasoski at Grandview Speedway.

A thrilling win during NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 festivities in Charlotte provided the team a cushion in the points standings, helping them throughout the month of June when Schatz had to settle for a number of second place finishes. That run ended in Rapid City late in June where Schatz made a last lap pass of Kerry Madsen to pick up his second straight win at Black Hills Speedway. A week later it was back to victory lane at Huset’s Speedway as the team began building momentum heading into the “Month of Money”.

“Things were going pretty well early in the year,” commented Schatz. “We were winning races and leading the points, but we knew we could get better. By the time June finished not only had things gotten stronger on the track, but we were in negotiations with Tony Stewart Racing for 2008. None of that was a distraction. In fact, I think it made us focus a little more on winning.”

The Kings Royal had always been a big hurdle for Schatz as his wins at “The Big E” were limited to only a Historical Big One triumph in 2002 and a WoO prelim win in 2003. He was seeing better results recently with a second in the 2006 Royal and another second place finish in April at the track. Schatz was not to be denied in this year’s version of the royal rumble as as took the lead from Craig Dollansky on lap six and never looked back.

The victory was a springboard for Schatz as he picked up his second straight Don Martin Memorial SilverCup crown worth $30,000 four nights later and then continued his winning streak at Williams Grove Speedway the following night. A $20,000 triumph in the Summer Nationals finale a couple of days later meant Schatz had picked up just over $100,000 in earnings in eight days.

After winning the first three legs of the “Month of Money”, Schatz was focused on making it two in row at the Knoxville Nationals. His qualifying effort gave him a chance at repeating, and he took full advantage by leading every lap of the $150,000-to-win race.

“Winning the Knoxville Nationals again was huge,” continued Schatz, who finished second in the event four times before finally winning the race in 2006. “The first time we did it, it took a little while to sink it. This year it was instant. My team worked so hard to give us a chance. I made one mistake in the race and Terry McCarl almost made me pay for it. After that, I settled down and drove the best I could.”

The Knoxville momentum followed the North Dakota native across the border to Edmonton where he won the inaugural Oil City Cup. Several top five runs followed through the Gold Rush Tour including a run from 16th to fifth in the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway.

By the time the team started heading back towards the Midwest, Joey Saldana had cut the points lead to 19, and the next week of races was where Schatz won the championship. He won at Clay County Speedway in Iowa and won the next race in Topeka, KS. He finished second at Beaver Dam and those finishes rebuilt the lead to more than 50 points. A tough night at Eldora followed where Schatz was leading the feature race when he blew a right rear tire. He rejoined the field and charged back to finish seventh.

A second place finish in Middletown, NY added to his lead just two nights before the Williams Grove National Open weekend. The team again bounced back from a tough qualifying effort during the opening night as Schatz ultimately charged from 21st to finish fourth. The finish locked him into Saturday’s program where he won everything that night: his heat, the Dash and feature (his fourth National Open and another $50,000 payday).

By winning the National Open, he became the first sprint car driver to ever win the Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, National Open, Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same season.

The National Open win was the start of a three-race winning streak that included a win at the Princeton (MN) Nationals and the Dave Helm Memorial race in Tulare (CA). Four top four finishes concluded the season for Schatz, and the team closed an amazing season with another championship.

“Things might have gotten a little close there out west, but we proved down the stretch that we were the best team,” said Schatz, who ranks sixth all-time with 70 WoO “A” feature wins. “To win all those big money races was a huge accomplishment. Anytime you can add your name next to Steve Kinser (which Schatz did by winning his fourth National Open), you know you’ve done something special. We would have liked to win the last couple of races in Charlotte, but that just gives us some motivation for next year.”

The ParkerStore sponsored driver also led the World of Outlaws in several statistical categories in 2007, including Top-10 finishes with 71, Top-Five finishes with 53, laps led with 467, money earned with $470,450, wins in the Crane Cams Dash with 12 and pole positions with 12 as well.

“I can’t thank my parents enough for the opportunity they gave me all these years,” continued Schatz. “It was a family effort in every sense and all those involved should feel really proud of not only these championships, but all the things that we were able to do over the years.”

To view all news articles from 2007 click here.

2006

Written by Bill Klingbeil

The celebration continued throughout the 2006 off-season for Donny Schatz and his ParkerStore sponsored World of Outlaws team following their first championship season. Schatz put an exclamation point on a career-best season by racing his way to victory in the final night of action at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 28, 2006.

It marked the third time in his career that he concluded a season with a victory behind the wheel of his No. 15 ParkerStore sponsored J&J with Shaver power and also ended the 2006 season the same way it started for the team...in victory lane.

“We had a phenomenal year and all of the hard work paid off,” said the Fargo, ND racer. “To be a World of Outlaws driver for 10 years is quite an accomplishment, but to be a champion is like a dream come true. We’ve spent a lot of years trying to reach this point and this year we saw a lot of things that proved we were the best team out here.”

Schatz reversed his usual slow starts by being consistent early in the season and winning races in March that helped establish the ParkerStore No. 15 J&J with Shaver power as the team to beat. With his 17 “A” feature victories, including three of the final five nights of the season, Schatz ended the season with a 364 point advantage. He led the series in many other statistical categories including: top-five finishes (42), fast-times (9), track records (2), laps led (441) and dash wins (8, tied with Craig Dollansky).

“Don has worked really hard to get where he has,” said Danny Schatz, father and car owner of the 2006 champion. “It’s great to see all of his dedication pay off. I’m sure there were some days when he wondered if he’d ever reach his goals, but Diane and I have sure enjoyed every step of the way.”

All season Schatz focused on winning more races than any other competitor. In the end, it was all those victories that sealed the deal. Even the nights he didn’t win helped his chase for the championship. He had 14 second place finishes and the impressive stat is that nine times he followed those second place finishes by winning the next race.

BIG WINS

After winning eight races in his first nine starts during his Australian tour, Schatz hoped to put up a big number of wins in 2006. Prior to the season opener in Florida, he talked about having a “Doug Wolfgang type” season.

Even though the 30 win goal wasn’t reached, he added some impressive wins to his resume. In June, he swept a pair of races at his home track, Red River Valley Speedway in Fargo. Three nights after coming up one spot short in the King’s Royal, he charged to win his first Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway picking up the $30,000 prize.

The display he put on at the 46th annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals was a master piece. Coming into sprint car racing’s biggest event, Schatz had four runner-up finishes in the previous six Nationals. He battled to a second place finish in the opening night and led all drivers in qualifying points following a thrilling charge from 1oth to second in Friday’s “A” Scramble. In Saturday’s 30-lap finale, he started from the pole and exchanged the lead early with Joey Saldana before taking command for good and driving off to score the biggest win of his career.

The wins came early and often as Schatz spread his 19 overall WoO wins throughout the season winning two in March, one in April, two in May, three in June, three in July, three in August, two in September and three in October. The longest time between wins came early in the season between winning at I-55 Raceway near St. Louis on April 1 and Grandview Speedway in Pennsylvania on May 16 (45 days/9 races).

2005

Written by Bill Klingbeil

The 2005 campaign kicked off with Donny taking the Outlaws Down Under II finale at Parrmatta City Raceway in January. The first night back on US soil provided a hint of foreshadowing into the frustrations that were ahead in 2005.

Schatz took command of the opening feature at Volusia Raceway Park seemingly on his way to his third consecutive WoO win and suddenly his ParkerStore sprinter lost power. A burnt coil wire cost them the feature that night, but the team bounced back taking wins on consecutive weekends in March at Las Vegas and Houston.

Following the wins, the team struggled with consistency throughout April and May before reshuffling the crew.

At his home track in July, it looked as though the team was back in form as he was dominant at Red River Valley leading the first 27 laps before once again a burnt coil wire cost him another hometown win. The following Friday night, Donny returned to victory lane at Route 66 Raceway and came back with a runner-up the following night at I-55.

The rest of July was a struggle before the team brought in Ricky Warner to handle the crew chief duties starting at the Knoxville Nationals. The ParkerStore team responded immediately as Donny finished second in the Nationals for the fourth time in five years.

The following week, Donny was leading the feature in Billings when another mechanical problem cost him a win. During the next two weekends, Schatz proved he was back by racing past Steve Kinser at both Elma and Calistoga to claim feature wins.

The winning ways continued as Schatz took K-C before repeating his National Open triumph. He set a track record at Dodge City and won the opener at Tulare enabling him to finish fifth in the final standings.

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