Schatz continues to cut into points deficit
FARGO, N.D. (June 15, 2021) – Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart / Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 15 team continue their ascent up the World of Outlaws Sprint Car point standings. Schatz raced to a fourth-place finish on Friday night at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, highlighting his Brownell’s Big Guns Bash weekend at the Sprint Car Capital of the World.
Schatz now sits fourth in the World of Outlaws standings, 134 markers behind leader Brad Sweet.
Six weeks ago, following the Outlaws’ return to I-70 Motorsports Park in Odessa, Missouri, Schatz’s point deficit to leader Sweet was 198 points and the 10-time series champion was seventh in the standings. The 12 races since that point, Schatz has collected seven top five finishes and 10 top 10s. He is just one top five away from being tied in leading the series in top five finishes.
Schatz’s average finish over the 12 races since the I-70 Motorsports Park finale on May 1st has been a strong 6.08, compared to Sweet’s 8.58.
This week, the Outlaws gear up for a tripleheader weekend starting at 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa on June 17th. From there, the series head to Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Iowa the following night, with a trip to Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin to wrap up the weekend on Saturday.
Schatz has one career win at 34 Raceway, which came in 2014. He finished second at the speedway last year. Schatz has a stout average finish, 3.2, over the course of the five Outlaws events contested at 34 Raceway since 2008.
Friday will be the Outlaws’ debut at the three-eighths mile Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway.
Schatz has two career wins at Beaver Dam Raceway, coming in 2002 and 2015. The Fargo driver has nine career podium finishes at the speedway in 26 appearances.
Last weekend at Knoxville Raceway, Schatz ran inside a podium position for much of the feature on Friday night. Late in the going, he reeled in Carson Macedo for second but lost a position to Logan Schuchart to cross under the checkers in fourth.
On Saturday, he was buried in the starting lineup, rolling off 19th. Schatz steadily worked his way up the running order and brought the Carquest / Ford Performance machine home in 12th.
Schatz and the entire Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team would like to thank all of their great partners for their continued support!
Carquest Auto Parts, Curb Records, Ford Performance, Sage Fruit, Digital Ally, Mobil 1, Absolute Automation & Security, Rush Truck Centers, Advance Auto Parts, Hunt Brothers Pizza, J&J Auto Racing.
Schatz’s Statbook
2021 World of Outlaws Results:
Races: 30
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 17
Top Tens: 21
STAY CONNECTED:
Website: DonnySchatz.com
Store: Store.DonnySchatz.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DonnySchatz15/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DonnySchatz
Instagram: www.instagram.com/donnyschatz/
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Contact:
Mike Spieker
SpiekerPromotions.com
Photo Credit: Trent Gower Photography
FARGO, N.D. (June 28, 2021) – Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart / Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 15 team were back in the upper Midwest last week, competing with the World of Outlaws at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. and Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn.
Schatz was fast early in the week, scoring a pair of podium finishes at Huset’s which highlighted his five-race stint last week.
Action began on Monday night at the Brandon, S.D. three-eighths mile where Schatz lined up on the outside of the front row for the feature.
Schatz grabbed the lead on the opening circuit over David Gravel and led the first nine laps. Pinned on the low side of turns three and four in lapped traffic, Gravel snuck by Schatz to take the lead on lap 10.
The track took rubber around the halfway point and the middle groove became the dominant line around the speedway. Schatz had a chance to steal the lead away from Gravel in the closing laps as Gravel found himself bottled up behind traffic. Schatz pulled even with the No. 2 machine of Gravel, but Gravel’s momentum carried him back into the lead off the corner. Gravel then took Schatz’s line away as Schatz had to settle for second at the checkers.
“I just didn’t go in the right spot there. I misjudged where the lapped car was going to go. That’s the way it goes and Gravel got by us,” recalled Schatz of losing the lead on lap 10. “I think we had something for Gravel though and that’s a positive.
“It was an incredible night. The car was getting better with each change we made. All we want to do is be competitive and if we’re competitive, I know we can win races,” said Schatz.
The following night was another strong outing for the Carquest / Ford Performance team. Schatz again started on the outside of the front row for the $30,000-to-win main event and took the lead at the drop of the green. The original start was called back due to an incident and on the ensuing restart, Schatz filed into second behind polesitter Aaron Reutzel.
Schatz was a contender for the win all race long, but came home in the third position.
“We are a lot closer with where we need to be with the car than we were. We were quick early in the night, but as the night goes on, that’s where we need to get better. We are making gains on it though. Hats off to everybody who works on this car. They are all working as hard as they can,” said Schatz after the race.
The week-long Showdown concluded with three consecutive nights at Jackson Motorplex June 24-26. Saturday’s finale was postponed to Sunday due to rain.
The weekend got off to a rough start as a car came down on Schatz during his heat and sent the 10-time champion into a wicked series of end-over-end flips. The crew pulled down a backup car and Schatz went from 16th to third in the Last Chance Showdown before wheeling his way from 23rd to 11th in the feature.
A 12th-place run on Friday night was followed up by a 22nd-place result on Sunday. Schatz was running inside the top five on Sunday when a mechanical failure plagued the No. 15, ending his race early.
This weekend, the World of Outlaws head to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. for the Independence Day Spectacular July 2-3.
Schatz and the entire Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team would like to thank all of their great partners for their continued support!
Carquest Auto Parts, Curb Records, Ford Performance, Sage Fruit, Digital Ally, Mobil 1, Absolute Automation & Security, Rush Truck Centers, Advance Auto Parts, Hunt Brothers Pizza, J&J Auto Racing.
Schatz’s Statbook
2021 World of Outlaws Results:
Races: 38
Wins: 1
Top Fives: 20
Top Tens: 26
STAY CONNECTED:
Website: DonnySchatz.com
Store: Store.DonnySchatz.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DonnySchatz15/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DonnySchatz
Instagram: www.instagram.com/donnyschatz/
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Contact:
Mike Spieker
SpiekerPromotions.com
Photo Credit: Trent Gower Photography
