Schatz Grabs Knoxville Win
Knoxville, IA—April 28 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
It was a new car and a new look for Donny Schatz at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night, but the results were the same as he found his way to the winner’s circle at the famed track for the third straight time.
Schatz, driving a specially painted Snap-On Tools J&J battled down the stretch with Joey Saldana and Jason Meyers for the $10,000 win, which was the 55th A-Feature win of his World of Outlaws career.
“How much cooler can that be,” said Schatz of winning in his first outing in the Snap-On Tools machine. “You take the best tools and build this brand new race car, and it’s just been a lot of fun. I walked by my car tonight and it wasn’t yellow, so I kept walking. We are just excited to take a car out the first night and be as decent as we were. You can always improve on things, and we will make things better on it. It’s a lot of fun to be here and to race with the guys that are fast every night.”
The 25-lap A-Feature got off to an auspicious start when rookie Sam Hafertepe Jr. got upside, leading to a complete restart. On the second start, Schatz charged down the front straightaway winning a drag race with Kerry Madsen, who was charging on the high side of the race track.
Madsen fought back on the second lap to take the lead, with Schatz powering his way around on the high side of the track on the following circuit.
Joey Saldana powered around Schatz on the 12th lap, and began to pull away, until he encountered heavy lapped traffic. In traffic, Schatz was able to close the gap, and on the 18th lap, the reigning World of Outlaws champion dove to low side of the second turn to take the lead from Saldana.
The native of Fargo, North Dakota had to endure a late red flag, followed by a caution with a single lap remaining. By way of World of Outlaws rules, a race must end with two consecutive green flag laps of racing, thus setting up a two-lap shootout between Schatz, Saldana, and Meyers. This was the second straight race that saw a “green-white-checker” finish.
Schatz used a very strong restart to power his way into the first turn. He widened that gap on the final lap, winning by over a second. The win was his fourth of the season, as he also gained two bonus points for being the fourth-fastest car in time trials, as he continues to lead the championship standings, as he chases his second straight title.
“It’s nice to be back in victory lane, where we believe we belong,” said a smiling Schatz.
Dating back to last season, the always focused driver has won three straight events at Knoxville, beginning with his triumph in the Knoxville Nationals. When asked what makes him so successful at Knoxville, Schatz is quick to give credit to his team for always providing him with fast race cars each time he takes to the track at hallowed half-mile.
“This place can bite you too,” explained Schatz. “You just have to keep plugging away. You don’t want to push yourself too hard, you have to be patient. You also have to be aggressive at the right times. We’re working on that. Tonight wasn’t easy by any means. You have to be smart and know when to go where.”
Schatz has finished sixth or better in all but one of the first 16 A-Features of the season. The 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year is in his first season working with crew chief Dave Lawrence, a native of Pennsylvania.
“The car was awesome all night,” said Schatz. “With a new crew we have been trying a lot of different things to try and get more speed and a little bit better feel of the car. I think it is starting to pay off. All the things we have been testing for the last month are kicking in. When you get progress like that, it may not show at first, but a month down the road it certainly shows.”
Saldana, who has won a series best five A-Feature events, patiently contended for the win. After lining up third for the 25-lap event, he battled early with Kerry Madsen for the runner-up spot. After taking the spot from Madsen on the fifth lap, he methodically went after Schatz waiting for the right opening came in traffic on the 12th lap. When the final checkered flag flew, he found himself in the second position.
“It was a good night for us,” said Saldana, driver of the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. “Our team worked really hard all night. We qualified well and ran well in our heat, as well as the dash. We had a good car in the feature.”
Though he had a very consistent night, Saldana could only think of what might have been. He had one last chance at Schatz on the final restart, as he lined up behind Schatz and in front of Jason Meyers.
“I got the lead and I got a little impatient lapping some cars and slid my car through the black that one time, and that cost me the race,” Saldana lamented. “At the end I started dialing my shocks in and I really got going. I should have never been in that position to begin with. I definitely had a car good enough to win.”
Jason Meyers turned in another very solid run, coming home in the third position. The native of Clovis, California has finished in the Top-Five in four straight events, and has six consecutive Top-10 finishes, as he continues his ascent in the championship standings.
“It was a great run,” said Meyers, driver of the Primerica Financial Maxim. “The team did a heck of a job tonight. It was a great race car. Our motors just seem to be impeccable. We set fast time again tonight. I am a little disappointed though in myself. I got to second and I didn’t need that yellow. I know I had something for them. We all got single file and I made a mistake, and slipped back to fourth. I thought I had a run on Joey (Saldana) at the end, but it was not quite enough. We’re happy with it. If we keep running in the top-three every night, the wins will come.”
Meyers, who picked up his first win of the season on April 13 at Eldora Speedway in an event that will air on SPEED on Sunday, May 13 at 2 p.m. Eastern, has been one of the most consistent drivers over the last month of the season. He set fast time for the second straight race on Saturday night and third time on the season. He will return next weekend to Tri-City Speedway in Illinois, where he won in the series last visit in 2005.
“A lot of this is confidence and our confidence is up right now,” he explained. “We are running good night in and night out. We’re carrying the confidence into next week, and hopefully we can get another win for our sponsors.”
Craig Dollansky earned his 11th Top-10 finish of the season, as he came home fourth on Saturday night. The native of Elk River, Minnesota started on the outside of the sixth row and steadily worked his way to the front. He began the night by turning in a solid run in the fourth heat, to become the only driver in the series that has transferred from a heat race to the A-Feature in each of the first 16 events of 2007.
“It was a good run,” said Dollansky, driver of the Karavan Trailers Maxim. “We started 12th and drove up there and were fairly decent. We needed to be geared a little different, and I think we could have gotten a little more out of it. We made some changes for this weekend and the car felt good toward the end of the feature. I’m happy with the car.”
Terry McCarl earned his first Top-Five finish in his third race with new crew chief Brian Kemenah, as he came home fifth For the native of Altoona, Iowa, who is a six-time Knoxville Raceway champion, it was his 10th Top-10 finish of the year. He began the night by winning the second heat to earn a spot in the dash.
“Brian (Kemenah) and I are really meshing quick,” said McCarl, driver of the Big Game Treestands Eagle. “We do a lot of the same things set-up wise. It was fun to get back to Knoxville. We both have done really well here. The car felt great. I made a couple mistakes on the restarts at the end, but all in all it was a great weekend. We just have to keep finishing in the Top-Five.”
The rest of the Top-10 was: Tim Shaffer in sixth in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim, Daryn Pittman in seventh in the Titan Garages Maxim, Danny Lasoski in eighth in the Roth Motorsports Eagle, Brooke Tatnell in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee Schnee in ninth, and Jason Solwold in the City Wide Insulation Maxim in 10th.
Tim Kaeding endured a vicious crash in the B-Main and was able to climb from his mangled car under his own power.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, May 4 at the recently reconfigured Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach Illinois, followed by their first visit since 1981 to Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas.
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Jason Meyers paced the 56 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 1/2-mile oval in 14.573 seconds at 122.009 mph. For his qualifying effort, Meyers eared five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Joey Saldana (4), Paul McMahan (3), Donny Schatz (2), and Brooke Tatnell (1). The track record of 14.407 seconds was set by Brooke Tatnell on May 6, 2006.
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kerry Madsen, Terry McCarl, Tim Shaffer and Daryn Pittman won heat races… Justin Henderson won the C-Main… Jason Solwold won the B-Main… Donny Schatz won the dash.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 16 World of Outlaws A-Feature events held in 2007. The win list includes: 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), Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park, March 3 at Manzanita Speedway, March 16 at Houston Raceway Park, and April 28 at Knoxville Raceway), Steve Kinser (March 2 at USA Race Park and April 21 at Tri-State Speedway), Tim Kaeding (February 24 at Thunderbowl Raceway), Danny Lasoski (April 6 at Paducah International Raceway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park), Jason Meyers (April 13 at Eldora Speedway), and Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park).
• HALF-MILE WINNERS: Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked half-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced five times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Donny Schatz (February 9 at Volusia Speedway Park March 3 at Manzanita Speedway and April 28 at Knoxville Raceway), Kerry Madsen (February 10 at Volusia Speedway Park), and Daryn Pittman (February 11 at Volusia Speedway Park).
ON TELEVISION
• The World of Outlaws return to television on May 13 at 2 p.m. Eastern. The Sprint Car stars from the World of Outlaws return to SPEED at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 13, with the warriors from the 360 OTC World of Outlaws Late Model Series making their 2007 SPEED debut on Sunday, May 20.
The World of Outlaws will be televised 20 times this season on ESPN2 and SPEED while the 360 OTC 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.
• ON THE WEB: 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.
• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws live on DIRTVision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.DIRTVision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@DIRTVision.com.
• UP NEXT: A return to the recently reconfigured 3/8-mile Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois on Friday, May 4, followed by a trip to Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas on Saturday, May 5. This will be the series first visit to Riverside since 1981.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: A pair of events in the Show-Me State of Missouri dot the schedule on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. First up is a visit to US 36 Raceway for the 2nd Annual Missouri High Banked Nationals, followed by a visit to Lake Ozark Speedway.
World of Outlaws Sprint Series Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; April 28, 2007
Qualifying
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11H-Kerry Madsen
2) 2-Brooke Tatnell
3) 14-Jason Meyers
4) 11D-Dion Hindi
5) 1-Brent Antill
6) 10C-Jeremy Campbell
7) 4X-Toni Lutar
8) R9-Scott Winters
9) 71R-Ryan Anderson
10) 10-Ricky Logan
11) 28-Brian Paulus
12) 47-Jack Potter
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 24-Terry McCarl
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 83-Danny Lasoski
4) 1Z-Dusty Zomer
5) 2X-Skip Jackson
6) 21X-Brian Brown
7) 35-Jac Haudenschild
8) D1-Justin Henderson
9) 5-Dustin Linquist
10) 13L-Mark Dobmeier
11) 18-Brian Carlson
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Tim Shaffer
2) 3X-Chad Kemenah
3) 20-Paul McMahan
4) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
5) 1X-Randy Hannagan
6) 11K-Tim Kaeding
7) 36-Jason Martin
8) 70-Calvin Landis
9) 15X-Jon Corbin
10) 17G-Dennis Moore Jr.
11) 19-Bob Weave
12) 3-Kaley Gharst
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 21-Daryn Pittman
2) 15-Donny Schatz
3) 55-Billy Alley
4) 7-Craig Dollansky
5) 11-Steve Kinser
6) R19-Jason Solwold
7) 8K-Zach Chappell
8) 7S-Jason Sides
9) 56-Davey Heskin
10) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.
11) 12-Lynton Jeffrey
12) 9P-Rager Phillips
Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) 11H-Kerry Madsen
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) 6-Tim Shaffer
5) 21-Daryn Pittman
6) 14-Jason Meyers
7) 3X-Chad Kemenah
8) 24-Terry McCarl
9) 2-Brooke Tatnell
10) 20-Paul McMahan
D-main (6 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to C-main)
1) 5C-Chad Hillier
2) 72-Mike Deavers
3) 53-Jack Dover [$100]
4) 71-Robert Bell [$100]
5) 47T-Tony Shilling[$100]
6) O3-David Saffell [$100]
7) 69-Mike Moore [$100]
8) 81-Randy Anderson [$100]
C-main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) D1-Justin Henderson
2) 7S-Jason Sides
3) 10-Ricky Logan [$125]
4) 17G-Dennis Moore Jr [$125]
5) 5C-Chad Hillier [$125]
6) 56-Davey Heskin [$100]
7) 19-Bob Weave [$100]
8) 72-Mike Deavers [$100]
9) 18-Brian Carlson [$100]
10) 47-Jack Potter [$100]
11) 9P-Rager Phillips [$100]
12) 28-Brian Paulus [$100]
13) 3-Kaley Gharst [$100]
14) 40-Clint Garner [$100]
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) R19-Jason Solwold
2) 21X-Brian Brown
3) 8K-Zach Chappell
4) 35-Jac Haudenschild
5) D1-Justin Henderson [$200]
6) 4X-Toni Lutar [$180]
7) 70-Calvin Landis [$175]
8) 15X-Jon Corbin [$160]
9) 7S-Jason Sides [$150]
10) 10C-Jeremy Campbell [$150]
11) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$150]
12) 71R-Ryan Anderson [$150]
13) 13L-Mark Dobmeier [$150]
14) 36-Jason Martin [$150]
15) 5-Dustin Linquist [$150]
16) 11K-Tim Kaeding [$150]
17) 12-Lynton Jeffrey [$150]
18) R9-Scott Winters [$150]
A-main (25 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[1] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[3] [$5,500]
3) 14-Jason Meyers[6] [$3,200]
4) 7-Craig Dollansky[12] [$2,800]
5) 24-Terry McCarl[8] [$2,500]
6) 6-Tim Shaffer[4] [$2,300]
7) 21-Daryn Pittman[5] [$2,200]
8) 83-Danny Lasoski[13] [$2,100]
9) 2-Brooke Tatnell[9] [$2,050]
10) R19-Jason Solwold[21] [$2,000]
11) 3X-Chad Kemenah[7] [$1,500]
12) 11-Steve Kinser[23] [$1,200]
13) 7S-Jason Sides[25] [$300]
14) 2X-Skip Jackson[20] [$1,050]
15) 35-Jac Haudenschild[24] [$1,000]
16) D1-Justin Henderson[26] [$100]
17) 1X-Randy Hannagan[18] [$800]
18) 1Z-Dusty Zomer[11] [$800]
19) 21X-Brian Brown[17] [$800]
20) 11D-Dion Hindi[16] [$800]
21) 11H-Kerry Madsen[2] [$800]
22) 20-Paul McMahan[10] [$800]
23) 1-Brent Antill[22] [$800]
24) 8K-Zach Chappell[19] [$800]
25) 55-Billy Alley[14] [$800]
26) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[15] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1; Kerry Madsen 2; Donny Schatz 3-11; Joey Saldana 12-17; Donny Schatz 18-26
Note: Jason Sides and Justin Henderson used provisionals to start the A-Feature
2007 STAT ATTACK
There have been 16 World of Outlaws A-Feature events this season.
A-Feature winners (8 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Wins
1- #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN - 5
2- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND - 4
3- #11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN - 2
4- #11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA - 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW – 1
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 1
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 1
Lap leaders, including A-features and preliminary features Car, driver, hometown - Total laps led (12 different drivers have led a lap)
#9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN. – 153 laps
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. – 87 laps
#11 Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN – 64 laps
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH – 46 laps
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA – 40 laps
#7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN – 39 laps
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK – 34 laps
#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA – 23 laps
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW – 22 laps
#D1 Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD – 14 laps
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO – 7 laps
#7S Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN – 6 laps
Time trial leaders (11 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Quick times
1 – #9 Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN - 4
2 – #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 3
3- #18T Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS - 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
#20 Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN - 1
#15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND - 1
#6T Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA – 1
#R19 Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon, WA - 1
Track records established during 2007 World of Outlaws events (4)
* 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.
Dash Winners (12 different winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Dash Wins
1- #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 3
2–#14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 2
4 – #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 1
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX - 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH - 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 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
Pole Positions (12 different drivers) Rank - Driver, Hometown - Poles
1 – #15 Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND – 3
2- #14 Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA - 2
#21 Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK - 2
4 – #7 Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN - 1
#15H Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX - 1
#35 Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH - 1
#83 Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO - 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
B-main Winners (15 different winners) Rank - Driver, Hometown - "B" Wins
1 –#11D Dion Hindi, Albuquerque, NM - 2
2 -#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
#11K Tim Kaeding, San Jose - 1
#11H Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s NSW - 1
#24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA - 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
#2 Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW – 1