By Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
Donny Schatz won a preliminary feature at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2000, the first year the World of Outlaws raced at the state-of-the-art facility. He been trying every since to return to the winner’s circle at the 0.4-mile track and did exactly that on Friday night, as he took the lead from Paul McMahan with just four laps remaining to earn the $10,000 top prize.
Schatz lined up in the fifth spot for the 30-lap event. McMahan took the lead on the opening lap after a red flag led to a complete restart. McMahan began to pull away early before a series of yellow flags and another red flag bunched the field. On each subsequent restart, he shot to a sizeable advantage with Schatz doing all he could to keep up.
When the pair entered lapped traffic with less than five laps to go, Schatz closed the gap and he dove low coming off the fourth turn to take the lead on the 27th lap. From there, he would pull away as he recorded his seventh A-Feature win of the season and his first in the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown, which was contested in front of a sold out crowd.
“It was an awesome night,” said Schatz, driver of the ParkerStore J&J. “We are glad to be in victory lane, especially in front of these 14,000 fans. It’s always good to be in victory lane, because you never know when it will be your last one, and hopefully that won’t be any time soon.”
McMahan led the first 26 laps of the event as he sought his first win of the season. While he was disappointed he was not standing in the winner’s circle, he was pleased to know that it was another consistent run for his team, which has four straight Top-10 finishes, with three of those being in the Top-Five.
“I led a lot of laps, just not the most important one,” said McMahan, driver of the Bass Pro Shops Eagle. “We have been getting better and better every week. We are in the hunt every night now and sooner or later we are going to win some races.”
Tony Bruce Jr. one of the contenders for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award earned his best career World of Outlaws finish in the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown as he was third. He lined up seventh for the A-Feature and quickly worked his way into the Top-Five
“It’s a dream come true,” said Bruce, driver of the Best Well Service Maxim. “I have always dreamed about racing with these guys and beating these guys. Hopefully there is more of this to come.”
Schatz lined up fifth for the A-Feature and actually fell back a spot on the opening lap. He began his march to the front on the ninth lap when he got around Steve Kinser for the fifth spot. On the next lap he charged around Tony Bruce Jr. for the fourth spot and followed that up one lap later with a pass of Justin Henderson to move into third. The 12th lap saw him get by Danny Lasoski who he battled for the win on Wednesday night at Grandview Speedway to take the runner-up spot. From there, Schatz patiently followed McMahan looking for the perfect opportunity to make a move, and that move came in heavy lapped traffic.
“The car was good all over,” said Schatz. “We weren’t that good in qualifying and the heat, but in the dash we got on to a little something. We have been trying a lot of things here lately. What used to work for me before just isn’t working right now. I am not sure if it’s the new tire or the way I am driving. I am glad we are on to something new and we just have to keep plugging away.”
With the win, Schatz the reigning World of Outlaws Champion and current series point leader extended his lead in the standings. He leads the series in Top-10 finishes with 22, to go along with 17 Top-Five finishes in the first 25 events of the season.
“When you put 14,000 people in the stands, you want to put on the best show you can,” he said. “The winner didn’t come from the front row tonight, he came from fifth. We searched around and I found the race track before anyone else.”
With the racing surface a little bit rough during the A-Feature, Schatz continually searched the track to find the fastest line. He was able to maneuver the car on both sides of the race track and was quick to credit his crew for all of their hard work during the afternoon leading up to the event.
“You have to drive the track over the edge and also under the edge, when it gets like it was tonight,” said the native of Fargo, North Dakota. “You have to put a lot of faith in your car. I had a lot of faith in the shocks on the car. The shocks that I bolt on this car are manicured by me, and we spend a lot of times working on them. I put the best four shocks I had in the trailer on tonight
Early in the A-Feature, McMahan opened up leads of about a quarter of the track, though those were negated on several occasions by yellow flag as well as a couple red flags. Each time he had a restart he was flawless and held off each attempt Schatz made when the green flag flew. He changed his line a couple of times during the race, as well as the team making a couple slight changes during the red flag that flew on the 16th lap
“I had everything going my way tonight and I made a mistake,” deadpanned McMahan. “When you make a mistake Donny Schatz capitalizes. He had a fast race car and I had a fast race car, and I made one more mistake than he did.”
Bruce lined up seventh in the A-Feature and steadily worked his way to the front. His previous career best finish was a 10th last October at Knoxville Raceway. Bruce learned every single lap he turned on the track on Friday, especially in the A-Feature when the track became a little rough.
“My inexperience kind of showed on some laps,” he explained. “I would hit the holes and tell myself not to hit those holes. I made some mistakes, but I kept worrying about running a good race, and passing cars. As long as I kept the car underneath me, I knew that I could pass cars and that I could keep moving forward.”
Bruce competed in the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown last season and turned in the 10th quickest lap in time trials. He had one of the fastest cars on the track in the heat race, when bad luck befell him.
“We were really looking forward to coming back here,” he said. “Last year we had such a good car and had some bad luck and did not make it out of the heat or the B-Main. We had something go wrong in both races. Hopefully what we did tonight is a sign of things to come.”
Danny Lasoski was fourth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle. The 2001 World of Outlaws Champion ran in the Top-Five all evening after earning a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. The native of Dover, Missouri won on May 23 at Grandview Speedway.
Steve Kinser earned his 12th Top-Five finish of the season as he was fifth in the Q Oil Maxim. The 20-time champion lined up 14th for the A-Feature and steadily passed cars to work himself to the front.
Brooke Tatnell was sixth in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee in his first race back in the car after spending time with his family in Australia. Jac Haudenschild was seventh in the Wright One Construction Maxim. Chad Kemenah was eighth in the Arizonatools.com Maxim. Terry McCarl was ninth in the Big Game Treestands Eagle. Daryn Pittman rounded out the Top-10 in the Titan Garages Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Monday, May 28 with an event at the sprawling 5/8-mile Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on Memorial Day.
THE DIRT TRACK @ LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK
• FILLING IN: After having an allergic reaction to an insect bite on Friday night, Jason Solwold was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Leonard Lee, his crew chief and a former World of Outlaws competitor climbed behind the wheel to fill-in. Lee finished a very respectable 18th in the A-Feature in his first time in a sprint car since 2002.
• BACK IN ACTION: Brooke Tatnell, a native of San Souci, NSW, Australia, was back in action on Friday night in the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown. The three-time reigning Australian Sprintcar Champion spent a couple weeks in his native land after the passing of his father. The always optimistic driver finished sixth in the A-Feature on Friday night.
• FAST QUALIFIER: Paul McMahan paced the 26 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 0.4-mile oval in 12.223 seconds at 117.811 mph. For his qualifying effort, McMahan eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Danny Lasoski (4), Jason Meyers (3), Donny Schatz (2) and Tony Bruce Jr. (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Justin Henderson, Joey Saldana and Randy Hannagan won heat races… Justin Henderson won the Crane Cams dash.
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There have been 25 World of Outlaws A-Feature events held in 2007. The win list includes: Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park, March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, March 16 at Houston Raceway Park, April 28 at Knoxville Raceway, May 17 at Williams Grove Speedway, May 18 at Williams Grove Speedway and May 25 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Joey Saldana (February 23 at Thunderbowl Raceway, March 17 at Pike County Speedway, March 24 at Volunteer Speedway, March 31 at Dixie Speedway, and April 20 at Attica Raceway Park), Steve Kinser (March 2 at USA Race Park, April 21 at Tri-State Speedway, May 15 at Lernerville Speedway, and May 20 at New Egypt Speedway), Danny Lasoski (April 6 at Paducah International Raceway and May 23 at Grandview Speedway), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway and May 11 at U.S. 36 Raceway), Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park and May 5 at Riverside International Speedway), Craig Dollansky (May 12 at Lake Ozark Speedway), Tim Kaeding (February 24 at Thunderbowl Raceway) and Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park).
The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a semi-banked 0.4-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced three this year on a track size. The winners include: Steve Kinser (Lernerville Speedway), Joey Saldana (Volunteer Speedway and Donny Schatz (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway).
•ON TELEVISION: The World of Outlaws event at Williams Grove Speedway from Friday, night was taped for broadcast on SPEED at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, June 3. This will be the second of 12 World of Outlaws races broadcast on SPEED this season.
The warriors from the World of Outlaws Late Model Series will make their second appearance of 2007 on SPEED on Sunday, May 27 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
The World of Outlaws will be televised 20 times this season on ESPN2 and SPEED while the World of Outlaws Late Model Series is set for six appearances on SPEED. The one-hour broadcasts will air on Sundays from May 13 to Nov. 4, when the series champions will be crowned during the World Finals from The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The Official World of Outlaws Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the Media Guide and 2007 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: The only visit of the season to Sharon Speedway in Ohio, on Friday, June 1, followed by the second visit of the season to the famed Eldora Speedway on June 2, the following night, Saturday, June 3. A midweek event at Kokomo Speedway in Indiana dots the schedule on Tuesday, June 5.
World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Eckerd Outlaw Showdown;The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway; Concord, NC.; May 25, 2007
Qualifying
1) 20-Paul McMahan 12.223
2) 83-Danny Lasoski 12.252
3) 14-Jason Meyers 12.330
4) 15-Donny Schatz 12.383
5) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. 12.451
6) 24-Terry McCarl 12.499
7) D1-Justin Henderson 12.539
8) 9-Joey Saldana 12.543
9) 1X-Randy Hannagan 12.551
10) 8K-Zach Chappell 12.584
11) 7S-Jason Sides 12.590
12) 3X-Chad Kemenah 12.599
13) 35-Jac Haudenschild 12.600
14) 11-Steve Kinser 12.612
15) 21-Daryn Pittman 12.620
16) 2-Brooke Tatnell 12.624
17) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 12.669
18) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.671
19) 6-Tim Shaffer 12.676
20) 11H-Kerry Madsen 12.763
21) O-Gus Wasson 12.765
22) 7-Craig Dollansky 12.769
23) 11D-Dion Hindi 12.780
24) 36-Jason Martin 12.844
25) R19-Leonard Lee 12.852
26) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.261
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1) D1-Justin Henderson
2) 20-Paul McMahan
3) 8K-Zach Chappell
4) 2-Brooke Tatnell
5) 15-Donny Schatz
6) 35-Jac Haudenschild
7) 6-Tim Shaffer
8) R19-Leonard Lee
9) 7-Craig Dollansky
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1) 9-Joey Saldana
2) 83-Danny Lasoski
3) 7S-Jason Sides
4) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
5) 11-Steve Kinser
6) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
7) 11H-Kerry Madsen
8) 11D-Dion Hindi
9) 5C-Chad Hillier
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1) 1X-Randy Hannagan
2) 14-Jason Meyers
3) 3X-Chad Kemenah
4) 24-Terry McCarl
5) 21-Daryn Pittman
6) 36-Jason Martin
7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
8) O-Gus Wasson
Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) D1-Justin Henderson
2) 20-Paul McMahan
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 9-Joey Saldana
5) 15-Donny Schatz
6) 14-Jason Meyers
7) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
8) 24-Terry McCarl
9) 1X-Randy Hannagan
10) 8K-Zach Chappell
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[5] [$10,000]
2) 20-Paul McMahan[2] [$5,500]
3) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.[7] [$3,200]
4) 83-Danny Lasoski[3] [$2,800]
5) 11-Steve Kinser[14] [$2,500]
6) 2-Brooke Tatnell[16] [$2,300]
7) 35-Jac Haudenschild[13] [$2,200]
8) 3X-Chad Kemenah[12] [$2,100]
9) 24-Terry McCarl[8] [$2,050]
10) 21-Daryn Pittman[15] [$2,000]
11) 7S-Jason Sides[11] [$1,500]
12) 1X-Randy Hannagan[9] [$1,200]
13) 5C-Chad Hillier[26] [$1,100]
14) 9-Joey Saldana[4] [$1,050]
15) 36-Jason Martin[18] [$1,000]
16) 11H-Kerry Madsen[20] [$900]
17) 6-Tim Shaffer[19] [$800]
18) R19-Leonard Lee[22] [$800]
19) 14-Jason Meyers[6] [$800]
20) D1-Justin Henderson[1] [$800]
21) 11D-Dion Hindi[23] [$800]
22) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[17] [$800]
23) O-Gus Wasson[24] [$800]
24) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[21] [$800]
25) 8K-Zach Chappell[10] [$800]
26) 7-Craig Dollansky[25] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-26, Donny Schatz 27-30
KSE Hard Charger Award: Chad Hillier
Qualifying
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 25 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (9 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 7
2- #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 5
3- #11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 4
4- #83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 2
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
7- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown – Total laps led (14 different drivers have led a lap)
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN. – 153 laps
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 126 laps
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 110 laps
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 74 laps
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 65 laps
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 63 laps
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 46 laps
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 40 laps
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 40 laps
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 26 laps
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 24 laps
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 22 laps
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 22 laps
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 14 laps
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA- 9 laps
Time trial leaders (15 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Quick times
1 – #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 4
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 4
3- #20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 3
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 2
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 2
6- #18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS – 1
#10C Jeremy Campbell, Monroe, MI – 1
#8K Zach Chappell, Talala, OK – 1
#89 Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA – 1
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 1
#5C Chad Hillier, Burlington, WA – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 1
#8MChris Meleason, Carlisle, PA – 1
#6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#5W Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA – 1
Track records established during 2007 World of Outlaws events (5)
* Craig Dollansky, March 2, United Sports Arizona Race Park (3/8-mile), Tucson, AZ, 12.624 seconds at 106.939 mph.
* Kerry Madsen, March 3, Manzanita Speedway (1/2-mile), Phoenix, AZ, 15.255 seconds at 118.149 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 16, Houston Raceway Park (1/4-mile) Baytown, TX, 11.996 seconds at 75.025 mph.
* Joey Saldana, March 24, Volunteer Speedway (4/10-mile) Bulls Gap, TN, 11.696 second at 123.119 mph.
* Jason Solwold, May 5, Riverside International Speedway (1/4-mile) West Memphis, AR, 11.060 seconds at 81.374 mph.
Crane Cams Dash Winners (16 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Dash Wins
1- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 4
2- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 3
3- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 2
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 2
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
7 – #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 1
Pole Positions (16 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Poles
1- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 4
2- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 3
3- #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 2
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 2
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 2
7- #15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX – 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA – 1
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger (4 drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown
1- #35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 1
#5C Chad Hillier, Burlington, WA – 1
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownburg, IN – 1
B-main Winners (20 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – “B” Wins
1 –#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque, NM – 2
#24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA – 2
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 2
#4 Danny Smith, Danville, IN – 2
5 -#18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS – 1
#24H- Rob Chaney, Wooster, OH – 1
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX -1
#1X Randy Hannagan, San Jose – 1
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 1
#22 Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA – 1
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 1
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN – 1
#51 Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA – 1
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN – 1
#6 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 1
