Vintage

SECOND PLACE FINISH HIGHLIGHTS WOO OHIO ACTION FOR SCHATZ

ROSSBURG, OH - Donny Schatz headed to Ohio looking to pick up his second straight Kings Royal crown and also his first Brad Doty Classic win. After the dust settled, he wasn't able to get either, but he did score a second place finish on Friday night at Eldora Speedway and a fourth place finish in Saturday night's 27th annual Kings Royal.

Qualifying at the Brad Doty Classic wasn't the best way for the week to start for Schatz, driver of the TSR No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore/J&J. With a rapidly deteriorating track surface, it was a disadvantage to be one of the later cars to hit the quarter-mile dirt oval. Schatz went out late and ended up 36th on the grid.  He raced his way into the main event, but bad luck would follow him throughout the A-Feature. He started 23rd and twice worked his way into the top-15 only to be collected in a pair of crashes in front of him. Ultimately, he finished 19th.

The 27th annual Kings Royal Weekend at Eldora Speedway kicked off with a complete WoO program on Friday night. Schatz quickly erased the results from Wednesday night by turning the fifth-fastest lap during qualifying. The night continued to get better as he raced his way into the dash by finishing second in the opening heat. He started the 30-lap A-Feature in third and was battling inside the top-five throughout the race. A terrific restart late in the race allowed the four-time and reigning WoO champion to finish second.

Schatz entered the event as the defending Kings Royal champion and looked to repeat his 2009 performance. He qualified third and started the 40-lap race from the ninth position. His Armor All machine was a rocket early and he charged into third by lap 11. He chased Kinser and Madsen during the middle stages of the race but faded to fourth at the finish.

“We aren’t happy with fourth, but we’re happy with the progress we made here this weekend,” admitted Schatz. “I was so good early and really felt like we were going to be fighting it out with Steve for the win. There were a few crashes and we probably could have made some adjustments that would have helped me later in the race. These guys on this Armor All team worked hard all weekend and, hopefully, we’ll be able to continue getting better. There are a lot of big races coming up.”

Schatz maintained his fourth-place position in the 2010 WoO championship standings and is currently 191 markers out of first.

Action for Tony Stewart Racing continues on Tuesday night with the 43rd annual Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. Kinser and Schatz will race on Friday and Saturday night at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., before closing the week on Sunday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y.

-www.TonyStewartRacing.com-