Donny Schatz Ends California WoO Swing With Runner-Up At Calistoga; Smoke Charges At Outlaw With All Stars
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – A weekend that improved day by day for the nine-time and defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion, Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz capped off his second West Coast Swing of the 2018 season in impressive fashion by finishing inside the top-ten during all three events of his three-race/four-day schedule, two of which inside the top-five, and nearly scored his 20th victory of the season.
The consistent weekend allowed Schatz to maintain the World of Outlaws championship point lead, now with a 224-point advantage as the Series turns back toward the East Coast.
“My team does an excellent job of providing me with race cars that are more than capable of winning and being competitive,” Donny Schatz said, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/No. 15 sprint car. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite where I needed to be this weekend. We were close on Saturday and I thought we were going to get that one, but sometimes things don’t work out to how you want them to. We’ll head back east and keep working for ways to win.”
A three-race schedule that kicked-off with a tenth place finish at Placerville Speedway on Wednesday, September 12, Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing really picked up the pace during action at Calistoga Speedway on Friday and Saturday, September 14 & 15. After finishing fourth on Friday, the product of an outside-third row starting position after setting the evening’s fastest time during time trials and earning a heat race victory, Schatz was in the hunt for a win on Saturday until a late caution ruined his chances.
Starting fourth on the Wine Country Outlaw Showdown finale grid, Schatz climbed ahead and took the top spot away from race leader, Cory Eliason, with just two circuits remaining. Unfortunately for the World of Outlaws championship point leader, caution flags flew just as Schatz took the lead, forcing the familiar No. 15 to restart behind Eliason with a green-white-checkered restart ahead. Cory Eliason held on with Schatz in tow at the final checkers.
A cross country trip that will register well over 2,000 miles on the dashboard, Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing will now leave the West Coast and set aim for a pair of starts on the East Coast, ready to invade Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on Friday, September 21, followed by a stop at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., on Saturday, September 22. Schatz is certainly no stranger to competition at each of his upcoming destinations. In fact, Schatz is four for five at Eldora Speedway thus far in 2018 which includes a $50,000 Kings Royal title in mid-July.
Smoke Hard Charges At Outlaw Speedway With All Stars
Smoke’s return to Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, N.Y., with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 showed promise.
Although the evening started out not so stellar for the former three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, qualifying fifth in his respective time trial group before finishing fifth during heat race action, Tony Stewart made the best of his situation and rebounded big during the 30-lap main event. Forced to start 14th, Stewart climbed through the field in a hurry, capturing MSD Performance Hard Charger Award honors on his way to a sixth place finish. It was Smoke’s 14th top-ten finish of the 2018 season against the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“We enjoy visiting Outlaw Speedway. It’s a fun, little place that usually boasts some really good racing. Hopefully we get an opportunity to return in the near-future,” Tony Stewart said, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rush Truck Centers/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/No. 14 sprint car. “We’ve been working hard to improve our program. I’m not sure what our schedule has in store next, but the year is coming to a close quickly. We’ll do what we can to get back up front.”
