Donny Schatz Ends California Visit With Pair Of Top-Tens; Tied For WoO Championship Lead

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Pushing his World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series top-ten streak to ten consecutive thus far in 2019, Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz put together another consistent weekend in the Golden State, ending the month-long, World of Outlaws invasion in sometimes-sunny California with a sixth and seventh place finish, respectively.

Schatz, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rush Truck Centers/Ford Performance/Curb Records/Sage Fruit/Absolute Automation & Security/No. 15 sprint car, visited Keller Auto Speedway and Perris Auto Speedway during his final weekend in California, kicking things off with a sixth place performance at Keller Auto Speedway on Friday night, March 29. A second place finish during heat race and dash competition allowed the ten-time and defending World of Outlaws champion to start second on the grid, and after several laps of racing within the top three or four positions, Schatz faded to sixth.

At Perris Auto Speedway, Schatz was once again at the top of preliminary competition, eventually setting the third-fastest time during qualifying time trials before winning his heat race and finishing fifth in the dash. As a result of his dash finish, Schatz started fifth on the feature grid and held on to finish seventh, eventually forced to navigate an abrasive surface which led to a narrow, rubbered-up racing groove.

Taking his back-to-back top-ten finishes into consideration, Donny Schatz is now tied with Daryn Pittman for the top spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings; Schatz entered the weekend four points behind.

“Consistency is an important part of this whole deal. In the end, we want to win races, but we understand consistency is just as important, especially during the early stages of the season,” Donny Schatz explained. “Hats off to this entire race team. They continue to provide me with great race cars. I’m the lucky guy who gets to drive them.”

Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing will continue their 2019 campaign with a pair of starts in Arizona, first visiting USA Raceway near Tucson on Friday, April 5. The two-day weekend will conclude with action at Arizona Speedway near Queen Creek on Saturday, April 6. Schatz is the defending champion of the Arizona Desert Shootout at Arizona Speedway, doing so from the outside of row six.