Donny Schatz Caps 10th WoO Sprint Car Championship Run With Victory In Charlotte
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Capping off an extraordinaire season with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz earned a win during his final WoO start of the year, snagging $12,000 in the process and raising his season win mark to 22.
Ultimately distracted by wet weather, Schatz’ World Finals performance at The Dirt Track at Charlotte included a pair of top-ten performances in one day, advancing a grand total of 20 positions in front of a sellout crowd in Concord, North Carolina.
“Hats off to my guys, they have worked their butts off all season. I’m the hardest guy in the pits to work for because if it’s not perfect, I’m not happy,” Schatz said with a smile next to his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Textron Off Road/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/ No. 15 sprint car. “These guys do an excellent job night in and night out. I wouldn’t want anyone else out here with me.”
With Mother Nature wreaking havoc during much of the day on Friday, the World of Outlaws main event scheduled for later that evening was eventually pushed to Saturday afternoon, forcing an epic doubleheader for the Greatest Show On Dirt.
After an impressive rally from 21st to finish tenth during the first 30-lap program, Schatz did one better later that evening and earned a trip to victory lane from the outside of row five.
The nine-position rally was impressive, but it did not come easy as Schatz was forced to hold back multiple late race takeover attempts by Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart.
“I felt great on that restart with seven laps to go and I knew it would take someone with a lot of speed to get by me and sure enough here comes Logan (Schuchart),” Schatz continued. “He has been fast all season.”
Schatz’ 2018 WoO title bumps his total to eight under Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), all after accumulating back-to-back triumphs for Donny Schatz Motorsports (DSM) in 2006 & 2007. The transition from DSM to TSR in 2008 proved to be a successful decision for Schatz, actually kicking off his TSR tenure with a title later that season.
Including the eight captured by Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing now owns nine World of Outlaws team titles. The first of the nine was accomplished in 2001 by Dover, Missouri’s Danny Lasoski. Schatz’ titles for TSR were earned in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2014-2018.
