Donny Schatz Opens ’21 Season With Three Consecutive Top 10’s At Arizona Speedway
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, officially kicked-off his 2021 campaign and joined some of the best in the business for the three-day Wild Wing Shootout at Arizona Speedway on January 22-24.
Three consecutive nights of 410 sprint car competition resulted in three consecutive top-ten results for the Fargo, North Dakota-native, highlighting the weekend with a runner-up finish on Friday, January 22.
Lining up fifth on the Friday night grid, Schatz was an obvious threat right from the start, eventually working his way through the top five before commencing an epic battle with fellow full-time Outlaw, Carson Macedo, for second. Although the pair were unable to truly challenge eventual winner Buddy Kofoid for the top spot, Schatz and Macedo’s struggle for second continued until the end of the 30-lapper, concluding with Schatz holding off Macedo in a sprint to the flagstand; Schatz’ margin over Macedo equaled three thousandths of a second.
Despite missing the podium the following two evenings, Schatz concluded the inaugural Wild Wing Shootout with back-to-back top-ten appearances, first finishing tenth on Saturday, followed by a sixth-place run during the $10,0410-to-win Shootout finale on Sunday.
In all, Schatz, driver of 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, advanced eight positions during Wild Wing Shootout feature competition and kicked-off the weekend with a fast time award on Friday.
Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing will continue their 2021 campaign with a visit to Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Georgia, on Friday and Saturday, January 29-30. Featuring the All Star Circuit of Champions, the two-day Winter Freeze will feature back-to-back programs awarding a total winner’s share equaling $18,000; $8,000 on Friday and $10,000 on Saturday.
