Schatz Claims First Win at Lake Ozark

ELDON, MO (May 4, 2018) – There aren’t many tracks on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tour that Donny Schatz hasn’t visited victory lane. On Friday night, that list got even smaller as Schatz picked up a convincing win at Lake Ozark Speedway.

After a third-place finish in the Craftsman Club Dash, Schatz started inside of the second row for the 40-lap main event. Shark Racing teammates, Jacob Allen and Logan Schuchart, led the field in the opening laps, trading slide jobs for the lead.

Schatz remained patient running the extreme inside groove around the semi-banked one-third mile clay oval.

On lap five, Schatz powered around Schuchart exiting turn two for the runner-up position and set his sights on Allen for the lead. The nine-time and defending World of Outlaws champion quickly reeled in Allen. Schatz ran the middle groove in turns three and four to pull even with Allen and take the lead at the completion of lap seven.

At the midway point, Schuchart threatened to take the lead as Schatz was mired in heavy lapped traffic. Schuchart looked to the outside of Schatz out of turn four, but Schatz was able to hold the position.

A lap 26 caution allowed David Gravel to take the second spot on the restart. One more caution in the latter portion of the event slowed the field to set up another restart.

With a clear track ahead, however, Schatz was able to fend of Gravel and Schuchart to open a comfortable advantage in the closing laps.

Schatz went on to score his sixth victory of the season by 1.495 seconds over Gravel. The win marks the 267th World of Outlaws triumph of his career.

“It’s awesome to win anywhere with the World of Outlaws, let alone for the first time at a track,” said Schatz in victory lane. “I don’t remember being here in 2007, but I remember being here tonight. Hats off to this race team. It’s a lot of fun to race with guys that you have a special bond with.”

Schatz will be back in action Saturday, May 5 at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Oka. He has now extended his points lead to 84 points over Brad Sweet.

2018 Donny Schatz Stats:
Total Races: 17
Total Wins: 8
Total Top-5s: 13
Total Top-10s: 16

World of Outlaws Races: 15
World of Outlaws Wins: 6
World of Outlaws Top-5s: 11
World of Outlaws Top-10s: 13

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