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Schatz Wins Knoxville Preliminary for Third Straight Year By Richard Day KNOXVLLE, IA (August 13) - With two second-place finishes, a pole position and two preliminary victories in the previous last three years, Donny Schatz knows plenty about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat at the Ford Dealers of Iowa Knoxville Nationals.
The Fargo, ND, racer took a big step toward fulfilling his dream of winning sprint car racing's crown jewel Wednesday when the O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series opened the 43rd Annual Ford Dealers of Iowa Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Schatz, who started outside the third row, passed Joey Saldana early in the seventh lap and held off two-time Nationals champion Danny Lasoski by one car-length to claim the $10,000 first prize. It was the third straight year Schatz won a Preliminary Feature at the Nationals.
"This is exactly where we needed to be at the conclusion of our qualifying night," Schatz said. "Qualifying here and accumulating as many points as possible is so important for the Nationals. You have to be in the Scramble Friday night to have a chance of starting up front in the A Main on Saturday night. This is good for my guys; they have worked so hard on this new car. A win just builds momentum and confidence for Friday night's Scramble and the Kele World Challenge."
Schatz, who has raced past more cars than any other driver with the O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series during its 25th Anniversary Season, drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J past seven cars to finish second behind Greg Hodnett in the First Heat Race. He was the third-fastest qualifier in the 50-car field, only .023 seconds off fast qualifier Sammy Swindell's pace. The combination of speed and passing ability gave the 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year a one-point lead over Lasoski in the standings used to determine the starting lineup in Saturday's $125,000-to-win championship feature.
Saldana drove his family's #17 Eagle Raceway Maxim past Hodnett and pole-sitter Chad Kemenah to take the lead, while Schatz passed Lasoski and surprising rookie Erin Crocker during the opening lap. Schatz shot past Swindell the next time around, then took third place from Hodnett with an inside move in the second corner early in lap three. Donny raced past Kemenah during the fifth lap and caught Saldana the next time around. Schatz took the inside line through the first corner to pass Saldana for the lead early in lap seven. He was approaching lapped traffic two laps later when Kasey Kahne stopped on the front straightaway, bringing out the caution flag. Kahne, who won the Third Heat Race, also races with NASCAR's Busch Series.
Lasoski, who fell as far back as 10th place early in the race, started making his way back toward the front in lapped traffic during the final six laps. "The Dude," who won Nationals titles in 1998 and 2001, won a back-straightaway drag race with Hodnett for the runner-up spot late in the 21st lap. A pair of cautions during the final three laps gave Lasoski the opportunities he needed to make a run at Schatz. With lapped cars separating them on the restarts, "The Dude" was unable to mount a serious run at Schatz until the final lap.
"I really have not changed our approach to this race from any other year," Schatz said. "The crew has worked hard to make sure we have everything we need to be where we are tonight and, hopefully, the same place Saturday night."
"We just got beaten tonight; that's the bottom line," said Lasoski, who won the Fifth Heat Race. "On the first lap, the #16 car got sideways and I checked up and let a lot of cars pass me. Donny won and did a great job. We gave it everything we had and came up a little short."
Hodnett finished in third place, ahead of hard-charging Second Heat Race winner Shane Stewart, Paul McMahan, Swindell, Saldana, Mark Kinser, Brooke Tatnell and Jason Meyers.
O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Sides won the Fourth Heat Race and raced into 12th place from inside the 10th row. Swindell, who won the 1983 Ford Dealers of Iowa Knoxville Nationals, paced the qualifying session with a 117.755-M.P.H. lap around the legendary half-mile oval. WoO
2003 O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series 43rd Annual Ford Dealers of Iowa Knoxville Nationals Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA Wednesday, August 13, Preliminary Program #1
Qualifying: 1. Sammy Swindell, Roth 1, 15.286; 2. Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 15.303; 3. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 15.309; 4. Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 15.374; 5. Erin Crocker, Woodring 18, 15.376; 6. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 15.402; 7. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 15.462; 8. Greg Hodnett, Apple Motorsports 12, 15.475; 9. Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, 15.489; 10. Ed Lynch, Jr., Lynch 2L, 15.529; 11. Calvin Landis, Landis 70, 15.563; 12. Shane Stewart, Chilcutt 4M, 15.565; 13. Jason Meyers, Karavan Motorsports 7, 15.577; 14. Mike Kertscher, Osborn 80K, 15.603; 15. Jon Agan, Agan 4, 15.628; 16. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 15.667; 17. Brooke Tatnell, Grandstaff 66, 15.687; 18. Johnny Herrera, Forbrook 5, 15.694; 19. Eric Vanderploeg, Vanderploeg 57A, 15.711; 20. Kevin Frey, Kevlar Racing 2K, 15.738; 21. Lance Dewease, Hamilton 77, 15.765; 22. Jaymie Moyle, Vanderecken 10, 15.766; 23. Jesse Hockett, VKSS Racing 75J, 15.770; 24. Kasey Kahne, Roth 83Jr, 15.783; 25. John Sernett, Sernett 91, 15.788; 26. Justin Henderson, Carnahan R19, 15.805; 27. Skip Jackson, JTR Racing 21X, 15.851; 28. Toni Lutar, Lutar 4X, 15.916; 29. Curt Trainer, Trainer 36, 15.924; 30. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 15.937; 31. Adam West, Trostle 20A, 15.943; 32. Bruce Robenalt, Robenalt 98, 15.954; 33. Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 15.955; 34. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10C, 15.960; 35. Jan Howard, Webb 51, 16.029; 36. Joe Bustillos, Bustillos 37, 16.053; 37. Derek Beckman, Cox 50D, 16.058; 38. Jeff Johnson, Phillips 11J, 16.096; 39. Matt Moro, Sonner 47, 16.134; 40. Mike Moore, Moore 69, 16.197; 41. Ty Bartz, Snapper Motorsports 75, 16.219; 42. Bobby Mincer, Mincer 15M, 16.271; 43. Robert Altmeyer, Altmeyer 14, 16.382; 44. Eddie Leavitt, Jr., Arends 1A, 16.395; 45. Chuck Swenson, Swenson X, 16.588; 46. Bob Hildreth, Hildreth 55KC, 16.888; 47. Greg Jones, Jones 35X, 16.929; 48. Doug Strong, Strong 43, 17.300; 49. Adam Clarke, Graham 14A, no time; 50. Corey Haigh, Gifford 17X, no time.
First Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Greg Hodnett, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Jason Meyers, 4. Jaymie Moyle, 5. Brandon Wimmer, 6. Robert Altmeyer, 7. Doug Strong, 8. Jeff Johnson, 9. Johnny Herrera, 10. Toni Lutar. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature, next four for the "B" Feature and last two for the "C" Feature)
Second Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Shane Stewart, 2. Paul McMahan, 3. Lance Dewease, 4. Brooke Tatnell, 5. Skip Jackson, 6. Kraig Kinser, 7. Greg Jones, 8. Bruce Robenalt, 9. Derek Beckman; 10. Bobby Mincer. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature, next four for the "B" Feature and last two for the "C" Feature)
Third Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Kasey Kahne, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Joey Saldana, 5. Calvin Landis, 6. Adam West, 7. Ty Bartz, 8. Joe Bustillos, 9. Bob Hildreth, 10. Justin Henderson. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature, next four for the "B" Feature and last two for the "C" Feature)
Fourth Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jason Sides, 2. Ed Lynch, Jr., 3. Erin Crocker, 4. Kevin Frey, 5. Mike Moore, 6. Jan Howard, 7. John Sernett, 8. Chuck Swenson, 9. Jon Agan. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature, next four for the "B" Feature and last two for the "C" Feature)
Fifth Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Jeremy Campbell, 3. Chad Kemenah, 4. Jesse Hockett, 5. Matt Moro, 6. Eric Vanderploeg, 7. Mike Kertscher, 8. Eddie Leavitt, Jr., 9. Curt Trainer. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature, next four for the "B" Feature and last two for the "C" Feature)
C Feature (six laps): 1. Toni Lutar, 2. Justin Henderson, 3. Bobby Mincer ($300); 4. Curt Trainer ($250); 5. Derek Beckman ($225); 6. Bob Hildreth ($200); 7. Johnny Herrera ($190); 8. Jon Agan ($180). (first two qualified for the last row of the "B" Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Kraig Kinser, 2. Calvin Landis, 3. Skip Jackson, 4. Eric Vanderploeg, 5. Miker Kertscher ($460); 6. Jan Howard ($420); 7. Brandon Wimmer ($380); 8. Justin Henderson ($450); 9. Matt Moro ($315); 10. John Sernett ($260); 11. Adam West ($245); 12. Mike Moore ($230); 13. Ty Bartz ($200); 4. Chuck Swenson ($180); 15. Toni Lutar ($320); 16. Joe Bustillos ($170); 17. Bruce Robenalt ($165); 18. Eddie Leavitt, Jr. ($160); 19. Robert Altmeyer ($175); 20. Greg Jones ($160); 21. Doug Strong ($160); 22. Jeff Johnson ($150). (first four earned the final four starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)
Preliminary Feature (25 laps): 1. Donny Schatz [6] ($12,125); 2. Danny Lasoski [5] ($7,150); 3. Greg Hodnett [2] ($7,150); 4. Shane Stewart [10] ($6,150); 5. Paul McMahan [7] ($5,125); 6. Sammy Swindell [8] ($4,100); 7. Joey Saldana [3] ($3,590); 8. Mark Kinser [12] ($2,625); 9. Brooke Tatnell [13] ($2,090); 10. Jason Meyers [11] ($1,850); 11. Jaymie Moyle [17] ($1,590); 12. Jason Sides [19] ($1,550); 13. Skip Jackson [23] ($1,580); 14. Jeremy Campbell [18] ($1,325); 15. Erin Crocker [4] ($1,200); 16. Ed Lynch, Jr. [9] ($1,125); 17. Kraig Kinser [21] ($1,170); 18. Eric Vanderploeg [22] ($1,070); 19. Lance Dewease [24] ($850); 20. Calvin Landis [20] ($980); 21. Kevin Frey [14] ($740); 22. Chad Kemenah [1] ($700); 23. Jesse Hockett [22] ($690); 24. Kasey Kahne [15] ($750). Lap leaders: Joey Saldana 1-6, Donny Schatz 7-25 Fast qualifier: Sammy Swindel
Wednesday A-Main Finish: 1. Schatz, 2. Lasoski, 3. Hodnett, 4. S. Stewart, 5. McMahan, 6. Swindell, 7. Saldana, 8. M. Kinser, 9., Tatnell, 10. Meyers. 11. Moyle, 12. Sides, 13. S. Jackson, 14. Campbell, 15. Crocker, 16. Lynch Jr., 17. K. Kinser, 18. Vanderploeg, 19. Dewease, 20. Landis, 21. Frey, 22. Kemenah, 23. Hockett, 24. Kahne. (More)
B-Main: Winner Kraig Kinser, 2. Calvin Landis, 3. Skip Jackson, 4. Eric Vanderploeg ...With eight cars inverted, Chad Kemenah will share the front row with Greg Hodnett for the preliminary feature. Kraig Kinser could have started on the front row but failed to transfer through his heat.
C-Main results: Two transfer, Toni Lutar winner, Justin Henderson second.
8:15 PM Pacific...The heats are done. - Paul McMahan is the high points man through the heats followed by Sammy Swindell, Danny Lasoski, and Donny Schatz. The story so far is Erin Crocker, who tied for fifth with Greg Hodnett. Crocker is a female 410 rookie.
...Heat 5 results: 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Jeremy Campbell, 3. Chad Kemenah, 4. Jesse Hockett.
...Heat 4 - Top four finishers: 1. Jason Sides, 2. Ed Lynch Jr., 3. Eric Crocker, 4. Kevin Frey.
...Heat 3 - Kasey Kahne gets it done. Second through fourth are Mark Kinser, Sammy Swindell, and Joey Saldana.
Heat 2 - Shane Stewart wins the second heat. Paul McMahan was second, Lance Dewease third, and Brooke Tatnell got the last transfer.
Heat 1 - Greg Hodnett is the winner. Also transferring to the preliminary A-main are, Donny Schatz, Jason Meyers, and Jaime Moyle.
7:30 - PM Heat 1 - Johnny Herrera flipped in Guy Forbrook's #5. Herrera was trying to avoid Jeff Johnson who was spinning in turn one. RED Flag. Both drivers said to be okay. ...Sammy Swindell quickest of 48 cars to qualify tonight.
Qualifying - At 6:52 PM Pacific, Sammy Swindell has quick time for the opening night of the Nationals. The top 10: 1. Sammy Swindell #1, 2. Paul McMahan #11h, , 3. Donny Schatz #15, 4. Danny Lasoski #20, 5. Erin Crocker #16, 6. Joey Saldana #17, 7. Kraig Kinser #11k, 8. Greg Hodnett #12, 9. Chad Kemenah #15k, 10. Ed Lynch Jr. #2L (hit REFRESH to check for new update)
