|
RUN THROUGH MIDWEST NOT QUITE AS PRODUCTIVE AS HOPED
New Richmond, Wis. (July 11) - The past few weeks have seen consistency
from Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing team, but not the results
the four-time and reigning World of Outlaws champion was hoping for.
Schatz continued the 2010 campaign this past weekend with three events
staring Thursday at LaSalle Speedway and concluding Sunday at Cedar
Lake Speedway in Wisconsin.
Water was the key during these past three races. Not the kind you have
while standing in victory lane after a hard fought race, but instead
the kind that makes a racetrack ultimately too fast for good Sprint car
racing. Speed is certainly the name of the game in racing, but when too
much water is involved racing becomes more of the luck of the draw
rather than the skill of the driver in the car and guys that work on
them.
Thursday night, the WoO concluded the four-race Showdown for the Bud Crown Series at LaSalle. After a lengthy delay to start the program, because the amount of water that was put on the track, Schatz turned the fifth-fastest lap around the quarter-mile dirt oval behind the wheel of the TSR No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore/J&J in qualifications.
Schatz took advantage of jumped start by polesitter Daryn Pittman in the second heat and raced away from the field to pick up the victory. He started fifth in the dash and wasn't able to move forward, in fact, he ended up eighth in the six-lap race. He started the 35-lap A-Feature eighth and raced in a cluster of cars inside the top-10 during the first half of the race. It proved to be the right place as three competitors in front of him were involved in a lap 13 accident in turn three. After the red, Schatz began to mount one of his patented charges using the bottom groove to advance positions. He was working his way towards the leaders, but lost his momentum while trying to avoid contact in turn four with 8 laps remaining. Ultimately, he finished fourth in a race that included only one change for the lead.
Just before Saturday’s program was set to begin at Beaver Dam, a rain shower provided additional moisture to the 1/3-mile track in central Wisconsin. Track officials worked feverishly and, after a four-hour delay, action began. Schatz again was strong in qualifying as he turned the third-fastest lap in the field of 32 cars. It turned out to be one spot away from being perfect with the lightning-fast track surface. Second would have guaranteed the Fargo driver a spot in the dash and when only one driver is able to pass his way into the top two spots during the four heat races, it gets a bit frustrating. Schatz finished fourth in the third heat, and in the 40-lap A-Feature, patience was the key as the track was still extremely fast. Schatz battled to stay in the top-10 during the early portions of the race and was able to avoid another crash involving members of the top-10 later in the race and came home sixth.
The final stop of the weekend was to Cedar Lake Speedway. An old familiar place where Schatz had won the previous two WoO stops. It was a long night for all of the crews after Saturday’s program concluded at 1:15 a.m. Another late-afternoon rain shower pushed back the program and made for lightning-fast track conditions once again. Schatz qualified sixth, one spot away from being in the right position for the conditions, which on this night would have been seventh through 12th. Schatz finished third in the third heat race, after twice pulling even with second place running Joey Saldana. His third place finish put him in the A-Feature, but he would start from 12th. It was an uneventful 30 laps for Schatz, who was credited with an 11th-place finish.
With the weekend of action in the rearview mirror, the focus now turns toward Ohio and kicking off the Month of Money. Hopefully, Mother Nature finds another state to have fun with this week, as Schatz would like to see some dry climate for the three-race slate that begins Wednesday night with the 22nd annual Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio. The action continues on Friday night at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, with the Knight Before the Kings Royal program, paying $10,000-to-win, and Saturday’s 27th annual Kings Royal at Eldora that offers $50,000 to the winner. Schatz is the defending Kings Royal champion and a two-time event winner. A good weekend in Ohio would be a great start to what Schatz and his Armor All team hope is the best time of the season.
|
