Donny Schatz Earns Podium Finish At Ransomville; Rallies For Top-Ten At Weedsport
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Although stuck behind the eight ball during the second half of his two-race weekend in the Empire State, nine-time and defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, persevered and rallied in a big way, eventually ending the weekend with a pair of two-ten finishes, one of which the result of a hard charge from the inside of row eight.
Schatz’s New York results increased his top-ten count to 41 in 43 World of Outlaws starts, 34 of them earned within the top-five. In addition, the Fargo, North Dakota native used his weekend results to maintain the current World of Outlaws championship point lead, now ahead of Brad Sweet by 202 markers.
Donny Schatz kicked-off his two-day sweep through New York with a stop at Ransomville Speedway on Friday night, July 27. Although missing the top spot on the podium, the driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/No. 15 sprint car finished third at the final checkers after starting from the pole position, earning his point position by way of dash victory, just after finishing second during his respective heat race.
After an off-day on Saturday, July 28, Donny Schatz returned to World of Outlaws competition on Sunday evening, July 29, at the state-of-the-art Weedsport Speedway. Issues during qualifying forced the TSR entry to start shotgun during heat race action. Although transferring, Schatz was forced to start 15th on the main event grid, eventually mounting a charge to sixth. The feature rally earned Schatz the KSE Hard Charger Award for advancing the most feature positions.
“Sometimes things don’t go our way, but you can never count this team out,” Donny Schatz explained. “Having the ability to rebound like this is important, especially in terms of winning championships. Hopefully we can put all of the mistakes and mishaps behind us and head back west with a clear mind and complete focus.”
Donny Schatz will continue his 2018 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series campaign with a pair of Ironman 55 starts at the Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., on Friday and Saturday, August 3 & 4. Each night will feature a complete program headlined with a 55-lap feature awarding $20,000 to the winner. Schatz finished second during the Night Before the Ironman in 2017.
