Donny Schatz One Spot Back With WoO At Granite City; Knoxville Doubleheader Ahead
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Just one spot shy of the top of the podium, ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, capped his weekend in the upper-Midwest with another sound performance with the Greatest Show On Dirt, this time finishing second at Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 5.
A product of the front row, Schatz faded to fourth initially before working his way back to a podium spot, eventually utilizing a last lap pass to get by Sheldon Haudenschild for second; the gap between Haudenschild and Schatz was .094 seconds.
Schatz opened his evening at Granite City with the fifth-fastest time during qualifying trials. The Fargo, North Dakota-native went on to finish second during heat race competition, then capped preliminary action by winning the evening’s dash.
“We just couldn’t get to the right place at the right time,” Schatz noted on their A-Main run. “Trying to get those spots back was tough. We salvaged a decent finish, though. We’re in the hunt and we’re getting closer. That makes me feel a lot better.”
Ruined by Mother Nature, action set for Friday, June 4, at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was ultimately canceled.
Donny Schatz and 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 team will continue their World of Outlaws championship quest with the Brownells Big Guns Bash doubleheader at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on Friday and Saturday, June 11-12. Certainly familiar with the Sprint Car Capital of the World, Schatz is a ten-time Knoxville Nationals champion, most recently scoring the world’s most prestigious sprint car prize in 2017.
With the Brownells Big Guns Bash in mind, Kerry Madsen, continuing his substitution for Tony Stewart aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 14 sprint car, visited Knoxville Raceway during the recent weekend and nailed down some valuable lap time. The random outing proved successful for the “Madman,” finishing second during main event competition after opening the program with the fastest time during qualifying time trials and a heat race win.
Tentatively, Madsen is scheduled to join Schatz for the Big Guns Bash this Friday and Saturday.
