Donny Schatz Highlights Big Guns Bash With Top-Five In WoO Sprint Weekend Opener
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Although concluding the weekend two spots shy of a top-ten outcome, finishing 12th on Saturday, June 12, as the result of an impressive hard charge from 19th on the feature lineup, Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing contended for a victory just one night prior, opening Knoxville Raceway’s Brownells Big Guns Bash doubleheader with a fourth-place performance on Friday, June 11.
A perfect test session for the coveted Knoxville Nationals, Schatz put together a highly-respectable evening in Knoxville, Iowa, on Friday, first winning his respective heat race, then finishing second in the evening’s dash. The ten-time Knoxville Nationals champion and Fargo, North Dakota-native would go on to start alongside his TSR teammate and Tony Stewart substitute, Kerry Madsen, who won dash action to earn the pole position.
Getting away third after the initial start, Schatz battled within the top-five the entire distance, doing his best to challenge Carson Macedo for second. After multiple challenges, Schatz was unable to get by the Lemoore, California-native, taking a backseat to the Jason Johnson Racing entry before feeling some heat from Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart. Unfortunately, Schuchart would also get his way with Schatz, eventually working by the familiar No. 15 to claim the final spot on the podium.
Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Carquest Auto Parts/Curb Records/Ford Performance/Sage Fruit/Digital Ally/Advance Auto Parts/Rush Truck Centers/Absolute Automation and Security/Hunt Brothers Pizza/J&J Auto Racing/No. 15 sprint car team will stand ready for another busy weekend across the Midwest, turning their attention toward a tripleheader at 34 Raceway on Thursday, June 17, Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway on Friday, June 18, and Beaver Dam Raceway on Saturday, June 19. Schatz will enter the three-race campaign fourth in the World of Outlaws championship standings, still hunting for World of Outlaws career victory #300.
