Seventh Heaven: Schatz Wins Finale of Boot Hill Showdown to Earn Seventh Win of 2008 & First Career Win at Dodge City Raceway Park
There are not too many tracks on the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series schedule that two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz has not won at.
One those places just happened to be Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, where the World of Outlaws competed in the Boot Hill Showdown this weekend. When the dust settled in the finale of the event on Saturday night, Schatz found himself in the winner’s circle at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile, to earn his seventh A-Feature win of the season, with the cameras from SPEED capturing all of the action before a standing room only, sellout crowd.
Schatz took the lead from Daryn Pittman on the 27th lap on the high side of the second turn, after Pittman was held up by a lapped machine. Schatz nearly took the lead the lap before as he went to the high side of turn four.
The North Dakota native lined up sixth for the 30-lap event and picked up two spots on the opening lap, getting around Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Joey Saldana. He powered his way around Shane Stewart on the third lap to move into third, next setting his sights on Craig Dollansky, who he would overtake on the next lap.
“It was fun tonight,” said Schatz, after climbing from the Armor All J&J. “I can’t say enough about this whole team. These guys definitely had the Armor All shine tonight. I didn’t know what it would be like when it took rubber. When he slowed down on the bottom and I was running second, I had nothing to lose. I just tried smoking around the top and just barely had enough tire to do it. There was plenty of race track left up there. It was pretty challenging, but we got it done.”
During his career with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, Schatz has won at 46 different tracks, including three in the state of Kansas. He has 77 career A-Feature wins, including a series-best seven this season and is just four triumphs short of breaking into the Top-Five on the all-time win list. He picked up $10,000 for his win on Saturday night.
“It always means something to come to a place you have never won at and win,” he noted. “I have really never felt that good racing here. I have qualified well several times and have the track record. To come out and win tonight after not having that great of a race car last night feels good. We found it in time for the feature tonight.”
Schatz nearly took the lead from Pittman on the 10th lap as the pair was entering lapped traffic. He was even with the leader and had a run on him when the caution flag came out, putting him in second for the restart. Pittman pulled away on the ensuing restart, but the caution flag would fly again on the 16th lap, bunching the field up and giving Schatz a couple of more chances to battle for the lead.
“It was my job to figure out how I was going to pass him,” explained Schatz. “I knew I wasn’t going to pass him on the bottom in the rubber and I had not choice. I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. I come here to win and if I can’t win, I’ll go down trying.”
While most of the leaders including Schatz did not have much left on their right rear tire, he was more focused on doing whatever it took to give himself a shot at winning the race than worrying about his tire. He remains the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in every World of Outlaws event this season.
“There was a couple of laps at the end when I slid it in and didn’t grab the corner much,” Schatz shared. “I knew I had used my tires up. When I rode it in high, I smoked it in there pretty hard and probably used more tire up there than any other time. It worked and got the job done.”
Pittman led 26 laps on the night en route to the runner-up finish in the Titan Garages Maxim. He had a couple of healthy advantages over the course of the 30-lap contest, one that was negated by a caution and another that shrank when he was held up by a lapped machine. For Pittman, the second-place performance matched his season-best finish.
“I could sit here and complain about finishing second, but I won’t do that,” said Pittman. “My hat is off to those guys. When you are leading in rubber and there is a question of another line, second-place is the spot to be. I’m disappointed, but my crew told me that I did nothing wrong and we just got beat.”
While he would have liked nothing more than to have won at Dodge City Raceway Park for the second consecutive season, Pittman was pleased with his finish on Saturday night, after a rash of bad luck that his team has endured during the early portion of the 2008 campaign.
“Our car was good and we know that our car was good enough to win,” he said. “That’s a big encouragement because we have been struggling. We think we have found some stuff and can hopefully get this thing going in the right direction. Hopefully we can get better from here. It’s a Top-Five finish and that is hard to complain about.”
Joey Saldana backed up his win on Friday night in the opener of the Boot Hill Showdown with a strong third-place run on Saturday night. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana started third in the Budweiser/Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI and fell back to sixth on the opening lap, before dropping another position on the fourth circuit. He then steadily worked his way back to the front.
First, he got around Chad Kemenah on the fifth lap, before working his way past Steve Kinser and Shane Stewart. He was back up to third by just the 10th lap, and would try several times to run down Pittman.
“The start really hurt us,” explained Saldana, who won on Friday night at Dodge City. “We were back to about seventh. I think we were a little tight getting into the rubber and wore our tire out. I was running the top and got to third, but then was just too tight to run up there. I think (Donny) Schatz moved up there because of that. You could make some speed up there. That’s the way it goes and we got a good solid finish. It was a good run for us and we didn’t fall out.”
Craig Dollansky earned his seventh consecutive Top-Five finish as he was fourth in the Auto Value Parts Stores Maxim on Saturday night. The Minnesota native started fourth and moved into third on the opening lap, before taking the runner-up spot from Shane Stewart just two laps later. He ran second for a couple of laps before Schatz got around him.
“I felt best when we were running the top and were second to Daryn (Pittman),” said Dollansky. “I felt comfortable there and thought we may have had a car good enough to win the race. When the rubber came in, Donny (Schatz) got underneath me and I knew that the rubber was there. I dropped down into the rubber groove and that is where I ran to finish the race off.”
Steve Kinser finished fifth in the Q Oil Maxim, after being fastest in time trials for the second consecutive night. The 20-time series champion lined up eighth and picked up three spots on the opening lap.
Shane Stewart finished sixth in the Roth Motorsports KCP, with Jac Haudenschild in seventh aboard the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim. Jason Meyers was eighth in the GLR Investments KPC, while Sam Hafertepe Jr. was ninth in the G.H. Plumbing J&J. Kraig Kinser rounded out the Top-10 in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
Chad Kemenah was running seventh in the Kantor Oil Company Maxim before a mechanical problem ended his night just past the halfway mark of the race. He and his team had to change an engine during the Crane Cams Dash, thus forcing him to miss that event, in which he was scheduled to start second. He started 10th in the A-Feature and gained several spots early in the race.
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action on Friday, June 28 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota for the first round of the Gerdau Ameristeel Northern Tour.
BOOT HILL SHOWDOWN NIGHT #2 NOTEBOOK
• NEW NUMBERS: Tim Shaffer made his second start of the weekend in the No. 7 machine for the Sides Motorsports team on Saturday night in the Boot Hill Showdown. He was a teammate to Jason Sides in the No. 7S. Shaffer, who was the 1999 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year recently parted ways with the Parson Motorsports team. Mike Wagner of Herrisonville, Pennsylvania was behind the wheel of the No. 6 machine this weekend for car owner Lonnie Parsons.
• FAST QUALIFIER: Steve Kinser paced the 25 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval at 12.889 seconds at 104.740 mph. For his qualifying effort, Kinser earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4), Terry McCarl (3), Jac Haudenschild (2), and Craig Dollansky (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Donny Schatz, Chad Kemenah and Joey Saldana won heat races… Shane Stewart won the Crane Cams Dash.
There have been 22 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2008. The winners include: Donny Schatz (Knoxville Raceway-twice, Attica Raceway Park, Eldora Speedway, Tri-City Speedway, Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway and Dodge City Raceway Park), Jason Meyers (Volusia Speedway Park, Manzanita Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Lernerville Speedway and Virginia Motor Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Volusia Speedway Park, Eldora Speedway, Huset’s Speedway and Eagle Raceway), Steve Kinser (Williams Grove Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway Park), Lance Dewease (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Volusia Speedway Park), Joey Saldana (Dodge City Raceway Park) and Shane Stewart (Knoxville Raceway).
• 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Dodge City Raceway Park is a high-banked 3/8-mile oval. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series raced four times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Donny Schatz (Tri-City Speedway and Dodge City Raceway Park), Craig Dollansky (Huset’s Speedway) and Joey Saldana (Dodge City Raceway Park).
The Official Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. 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 2008 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: The month of July opens with a return to Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota on July 3, followed by events at I-55 Raceway in Missouri and Tri-State Speedway in Indiana.
Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Boot Hill Showdown Night #2; Dodge City, KS; June 21, 2008
Qualifying
1) 11-Steve Kinser 12.889
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13.008
3) 24-Terry McCarl 13.042
4) R19-Jac Haudenschild 13.106
5) 2-Craig Dollansky 13.158
6) 14-Jason Meyers 13.172
7) 15-Donny Schatz 13.206
8) 8K-Chad Kemenah 13.280
9) 9-Joey Saldana 13.297
10) 21-Daryn Pittman 13.317
11) 83-Shane Stewart 13.332
12) 20-Kraig Kinser 13.437
13) 7-Tim Shaffer 13.463
14) 6-Mike Wagner 13.592
15) 18-Tony Bruce Jr. 13.595
16) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.680
17) 1-Jason Martin 13.690
18) 55-Kerry Madsen 13.693
19) 7S-Jason Sides 13.771
20) 24X-Glen Saville 13.885
21) 1X-Dennis Park 14.148
22) 97-Brian Herbert 14.615
23) 15K-Kerry McAlister 14.648
24) 81-Jon Freeman 15.060
25) 33-Kris Miller 15.365
26) 69-Justin Chaffin -.—
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 21-Daryn Pittman
3) 11-Steve Kinser
4) R19-Jac Haudenschild
5) 5C-Chad Hillier
6) 7-Tim Shaffer
7) 7S-Jason Sides
8) 97-Brian Herbert
9) 33-Kris Miller
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 8K-Chad Kemenah
2) 83-Shane Stewart
3) 2-Craig Dollansky
4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
5) 1-Jason Martin
6) 6-Mike Wagner
7) 15K-Kerry McAlister
8) 69-Justin Chaffin
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 9-Joey Saldana
2) 24-Terry McCarl
3) 20-Kraig Kinser
4) 14-Jason Meyers
5) 55-Kerry Madsen
6) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
7) 1X-Dennis Park
8) 81-Jon Freeman
Crane Cams Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 83-Shane Stewart
2) 21-Daryn Pittman
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) 2-Craig Dollansky
5) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
6) 15-Donny Schatz
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild
8) 11-Steve Kinser
9) 24-Terry McCarl
10) 8K-Chad Kemenah
A-main (30 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[6] [$10,000]
2) 21-Daryn Pittman[2] [$5,000]
3) 9-Joey Saldana[3] [$3,000]
4) 2-Craig Dollansky[4] [$2,700]
5) 11-Steve Kinser[8] [$2,500]
6) 83-Shane Stewart[1] [$2,200]
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild[7] [$2,000]
8) 14-Jason Meyers[11] [$1,800]
9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[5] [$1,600]
10) 20-Kraig Kinser[12] [$1,450]
11) 7-Tim Shaffer[13] [$1,300]
12) 55-Kerry Madsen[18] [$1,200]
13) 1-Jason Martin[17] [$1,100]
14) 5C-Chad Hillier[16] [$1,000]
15) 7S-Jason Sides[19] [$950]
16) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.[15] [$900]
17) 24-Terry McCarl[9] [$850]
18) 15K-Kerry McAlister[23] [$750]
19) 8K-Chad Kemenah[10] [$725]
20) 6-Mike Wagner[14] [$700]
21) 81-Jon Freeman[24] [$700]
22) 33-Kris Miller[25] [$700]
23) 1X-Dennis Park[21] [$700]
24) 24X-Glen Saville[20] [$700]
25) 97-Brian Herbert[22] [$700]
26) 69-Justin Chaffin[26] [$700]
Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-26, Donny Schatz 27-30
Chicken Hawk Hot Lap Award: Daryn Pittman
Penske Power Position Award: Joey Saldana
SuperClean Start of the Race Award: Chad Kemenah
KSE Hard Charger Award: Donny Schatz
2008 STAT ATTACK
There have been 22 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (8 Different Drivers) Driver, Hometown – Wins
1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 7
2- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 5
3- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 4
4- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2
5- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 1
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 1
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown – Total laps led (15 Drivers have led laps)
1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 153 laps
2- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 121 laps
3- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 114 laps
5- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 69 laps
5- Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 53 laps
6- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania- 30 laps
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 30 laps
8- Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 27 lap
9- Craig Keel, Weedsport, New York- 17 laps
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW- 17 laps
11- Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 10 laps
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 10 laps
13- Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 9 laps
14- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 8 laps
15- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 7 laps
Time trial leaders (12 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Quick times
1- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota – 4
2- Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 3
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 3
4- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 2
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 2
6- Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio- 1
Cody Darrah, Red Lion, Pennsylvania- 1
Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1
Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, Pennsylvania- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio – 1
Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia- 1
Track records established during 2008 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series events (1)
* Joey Saldana, May 24, Virginia Motor Speedway (1/2-mile), Jamaica, VA, 14.537 seconds at 123.822 mph.
Crane Cams Dash Winners (15 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Dash Wins
1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 3
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 3
3- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 2
Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 2
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 2
6- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1
Craig Keel, Weedsport, New York- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW- 1
Pole Positions (15 different drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – Poles
1 – Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota – 3
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 3
3- Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 2
Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 2
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana – 2
6- Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1
Craig Keel, Weedsport, New York- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW- 1
B-main Winners (16 different winners) Rank – Driver, Hometown – B-Main Wins
1- Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, Kansas-2
Rob Chaney, Wooster, Ohio-2
3- Billy Alley, Lincoln, Nebraska- 1
Chris Andrews, Sandusky, Ohio- 1
Pat Cannon, Etters, Pennsylvania- 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas- 1
Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Calvin Landis, Knoxville, Iowa- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 1
Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 1
Danny Smith, Danville, Indiana – 1
T.J. Stutts, Liverpool, Pennsylvania- 1
Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania- 1
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award
1- Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NWS- 4
2- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 3
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 3
Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania- 3
5- Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 2
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 2
7- Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania- 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio-1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Penske Power Position
1- Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 5
2- Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 4
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 4
4- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas- 1
Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, Ohio- 1
Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tennessee- 1
Chicken Hawk Hot Lap
1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 3
Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Indiana- 3
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 3
4- Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 2
5- Dale Blaney, Hartford, Ohio- 1
Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania- 1
Tim Kaeding, San Jose, California- 1
Craig Keel, Weedsport, New York- 1
Danny Lasoski, Dover, Missouri- 1
Terry McCarl, Altoona, Iowa- 1
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tennessee- 1
Jason Meyers, Clovis, California- 1
Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Oklahoma- 1
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Oklahoma- 1
Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW- 1
SuperClean Start Award
1- Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minnesota- 2
2- Chad Kemenah, Findlay, Ohio- 1
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Indiana- 1
Donny Schatz, Fargo, North Dakota- 1
Crane Cams Engine Builder Challenge
Shaver Specialties 98
Speedway Engines 71 / -27
Kistler Engines 69 / -29
Don Ott Engines 65/ -33
Chassis Builder Challenge
Maxim 101
J&J 97 / -4
Triple X Race Co. 15 / -86
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets As of April 19, 2008, the Company operated 3,291 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s web site at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.
