HomeSprint Car & Midget NewsDONNY KNOXVILLE: Schatz Claims Fifth Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Crown in Six Years

DONNY KNOXVILLE: Schatz Claims Fifth Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Crown in Six Years

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World of Outlaws Sprint Car SeriesGutsy early move to charge past Swindell and Sweet leads to $150,000 payday

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Aug. 13, 2011 — Donny Schatz wasted little time finding his way to the front of the 51st Goodyear Knoxville Nationals on Saturday night at historic Knoxville Raceway. Normally a driver who excels in the latter stages of a race, the four-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion quickly charged from 13th to fifth, then set his sights on the lead of the $150,000-to-win, 50-lap main event.

Schatz struggled through his qualifying night on Wednesday when motor issues forced his car into the pits, but he was saved by strong time trial and heat race performances that blunted the effects of his rough time in the A-main.

“I was sweating bullets when I thought were going to have to come through the Last Chance Showdown after we finished 24th in that main (qualifying night),” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., who drives the Tony Stewart Racing STP/Armor All/Chevrolet. “Thankfully we had enough points to qualify to start 13th in Saturday’s show. My car was awesome all night long. The motor, the chassis, everything was great. The bottom was a place where my car was able to work really well early on and as the race progressed, I kind of wore out that line so I had to move up a bit. I’m very lucky to be with great people and I need to thank the over 1,100 people the signed up for our sign and ride program. It was really cool to get all of those people into victory lane tonight.”

Once the green flag flew, Schatz quickly mounted a charge to the front. Lap by lap, Schatz picked off car after car until a restart on lap 14 gave him the opportunity to make his move for the lead. Riding the low side, Schatz made it a three-wide coming down the front stretch underneath front row starters Sammy Swindell and Brad Sweet. From that point, Schatz held off hard-charging Oklahomans Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart, who wound up second in his third consecutive event during the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals after being the runner-up in Friday’s Q20 Race of Champions and the Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge.

“This guy over here started two rows in front of me and in a few laps, I couldn’t see him it all,” Stewart said as he motioned towards Schatz at the post-race press conference. “I looked up at the scoreboard during our first caution and noticed he was already in the top three. I feel really proud of our work. My team did a great job and we passed a lot of cars.”

Swindell earned the pole through a strong run on his qualifying day, but settled for third in the A-main.

“We just weren’t fast enough,” said Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn., who won the event in 1983. “During the red, we didn’t change much, just put two new rear tires on and I got a bad restart when we came off of that red. I was racing really hard towards the end to make up that ground I had lost but I just didn’t have enough.”

Defending Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Champion Tim Shaffer put on another excellent display of driving talent as he charged from the 19th starting position to finish fourth with Pittman finishing in fifth. Outside pole-sitter Sweet was 8th after qualifying for his first Goodyear Knoxville Nationals A-main and led four laps early on. Current World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series points leader Jason Meyers experienced mechanical woes after changing gears during the event’s pit stop and finished 22nd.

With the rigs and teams pulling out of the famed half mile oval, they now set their sights on the ‘Great Northern Tour’ that will see the Outlaws race Friday, Aug. 19, at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.; Saturday, Aug. 20 at Husets Speedway; Tuesday, Aug. 23, at Black Hills Speedway; and Aug. 26-27 at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.

KNOXVILLE RACEWAY NOTEBOOK

 

WINNERS – There have been 42 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events in 2011. The winners include: Craig Dollansky – 7 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 12, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 3, River Cities Speedway on June 17 and 18, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 1, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 24, I-55 Raceway on August 6); Steve Kinser – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 11 and 12, Pike County Raceway on Feb. 25, the Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Lakeside Speedway on June 4); Donny Schatz – 5 (Attica Raceway Park on May 20, Princeton Speedway on June 25, Limaland Motorsports Park on July 13, Bloomington Speedway on August 5, Knoxville Raceway on August 13); Sammy Swindell – 4 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 26, Merced Speedway on April 1, Tri-State Speedway on April 30, Knoxville Raceway on June 11); Joey Saldana – 4 (Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 19, Eldora Speedway on May 6, Beaver Dam Raceway on July 9); Jason Sides – 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Calistoga Speedway on April 2, I-96 Speedway on May 30, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 2); Paul McMahan – 3 (the Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 28, Belleville Highbanks on June 3, Brockville-Ontario Speedway on July 29); Jason Meyers – 3 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8, Williams Grove Speedway on July 23, Autodrome Drummond on July 30); Tim Shaffer – 2 (Eldora Speedway on July 15, Lernerville Speedway on July 19); Dale Blaney – 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 19); Greg Hodnett – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 22); Daryn Pittman – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 13); Tony Stewart – 1 (Oshweken Speedway on July 27); Tyler Walker – 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 16.)

WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out the all-new WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Knoxville Raceway; Knoxville, Iowa; Aug. 13, 2011

A main (started), 50 laps: 1. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (13) 2. 57, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (17) 3. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (1) 4. 83x, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (19) 5. 27, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (5) 6. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (7) 7. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (6) 8. 9, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (2) 9. Lance Dewease (24) 10. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (18) 11. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (20) 12. 83, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (16) 13. Stevie Smith (21) 14. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (11) 15. 55, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (14) 16. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (8) 17. Don Droud Jr. (23) 18. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (10) 19. Kraig Kinser (22) 20. 2, Dale Blaney, Fowler, OH (3) 21. 51, Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA (9) 22. 14, Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA (4) 23. 92, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (15) 24. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (12). Lap Leaders: S. Swindell 1, Sweet 2-5, S. Swindell 6-14, Schatz 15-27, Pittman 28, Schatz 29-50. KSE Hard Charger: Shane Stewart (+15)

E-main (started), 10 laps: 1. 96AU, Bruce White, Merrylands West, NSW, Aust. (2) 2. 19D, Donovan Peterson, Brookings, SD (1) 3. 22H, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (8) 4. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD (7) 5. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (3) 6. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (6) 7. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (5) 8. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (4) DNS – 7AB, Billy Alley, Bennet, NE, 20PK, Ron Krysl, Atkinson, NE, 23x, Russel Borland, Kewaskum, WI

D-main (started), 12 laps: 1. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (1) 2. D4, Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh, PA (3) 3. 44w, Austen Wheatley, Lake Stevens, WA (4) 4. 91x, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (12) 5. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (8) 6. 02, Mike Reinke, Howards Grove, WI (5) 7. 04, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (13) 8. 1K, Chris Shirek, Thompson, ND (6) 9. Robby Wolfgang (19) 10. Randy Hannagan (27) 11. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (7) 12. 19K, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (9) 13. 8, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (15) 14. 45, Mark Johnson, Des Moines, IA (10) 15. Tasker Phillips (20) 16. Bruce White (14) 17. Donovan Peterson (16) 18. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (11) 19. Mike Houseman Jr. (18) DQ – 4x, Toni Lutar, White Horse, BC, Can. (2, crossed 2nd – no scales) DNS – Kevin Ingle, Bob Weuve

C-main (started), 15 laps: 1. 1J, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (2) 2. 83JR, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (4) / 3. 55x, Jason Solwold, Mount Vernon, WA (3) 4. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS (1) 5. 17B, Bill Balog, Eau Claire, WI (7) 6. 5w, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (10) 7. 1s, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (11) 8. 63, Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH (15) 9. 23w, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (18) 10. 22, Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, OH (13) 11. Jason Sides (21) 12. 11c, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (16) 13. 29, Bud Kaeding, Campbell, CA (9) 14. Austen Wheatley (22) 15. 1w, Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls, SD (8) 16. 6H, Danny Heskin, St. Michael, MN (19) 17. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA (5) 18. 2D, Bryan Dobesh, Sioux Falls, SD (6) 19. 20E, Brian Ellenberger, Butler, PA (17) 20. Danny Holtgraver (20) 21. 0, Jonathan Allard, Chico, CA (14) DNS – 6RX, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL, 6M, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH.

B-main (started), 22 laps: 1. 1z, Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow, OK (3) 2. 6, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (2) 3. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (15) 4. 30c, Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA (9) / 5. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (8) 6. 39, Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, PA (14) 7. 4, Danny Smith, Danville, IN (16) 8. 89G, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (18) 9. 45x, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (12) 10. 2B, Ben Gregg, Glendale, AZ (19) 11. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (5) 12. 01, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (17) 13. Bronson Maeschen (21) 14. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (6) 15. 1zz, Jessica Zemken, Sprakers, NY (20) 16. 59, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust,. (4) 17. 28, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (13) 18. 7x, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (10) 19. 35, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (1) 20. Tim Kaeding (22) 21. 14x, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (7) 22. 91, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (11)

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points Standings through Aug. 13, 2011:

Pos. Driver

Total

Diff

W

T5

T10

QT

1. Jason Meyers

5600

3

25

34

6

2. Donny Schatz

5548

-52

4

18

33

2

3. Steve Kinser

5495

-105

5

18

32

1

4. Craig Dollansky

5393

-207

7

18

28

1

5. Paul McMahan

5360

-240

3

12

27

9

6. Jason Sides

5325

-275

4

14

27

3

7. Cody Darrah

4990

-610

0

5

14

0

8. Lucas Wolfe

4984

-616

0

5

15

0

9. Joey Saldana

4953

-647

4

16

23

5

10. Chad Kemenah

4936

-664

0

3

10

4

11. Kraig Kinser

4872

-728

0

2

13

0

12. Sammy Swindell

4800

-800

4

15

22

4

13. Bill Rose

4526

-1074

0

1

3

0

14. Kerry Madsen

3317

-2283

0

4

11

0

15. Brad Sweet

3023

-2577

0

5

13

2

16. Ben Gregg

2723

-2877

0

1

1

0

17. Sam Hafertepe Jr.

1951

-3649

0

3

8

0

18. Daryn Pittman

1672

-3928

1

4

6

0

19. Lance Dewease

1442

-4158

0

0

3

0

20. Jessica Zemken

1400

-4200

0

0

0

0

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Factory Motor Parts, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel), Vicci (Official Apparel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, RacingJunk.com KSE Race Products, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and R2C Performance; Engine Builder’s Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company. 

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