KNOXVILLE, IOWA – Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) No. 15 team were recognized today by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. The Poll named Schatz, 410 North American Driver of the Year, and TSR, Team of the Year.
“We had a tremendous 2014 season and we’re all honored to be recognized by the National Sprint Car Poll,” said Schatz. “When you are in the midst of a year like we had in 2014, you rarely get the time to truly appreciate what you are accomplishing. It was a total team effort, and I couldn’t have earned this award without incredible dedication from my crew at Tony Stewart Racing (Rick Warner, Steve Swenson and Eric Prutzman) and our organization led by Tony Stewart, and assisted by people like Jimmy Carr, Misha Geisert and Bill Klingbeil. We had a record-breaking season, and it was the result of tremendous effort by everyone involved. I’m thrilled the team was also honored for all the hard work they put in.”
Schatz won a career-best 26 WoO A-Features in 88 starts and finished every race en route to his sixth WoO championship. Winning his eighth Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals in the last nine seasons also highlighted the 2014 campaign.
It marks the seventh time Schatz has been named the Driver of the Year. He previously won the award in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013. The Fargo, North Dakota native earned 23 of the 24 available first place votes.
For Tony Stewart Racing, it was the fourth time the team was recognized as Team of the Year in 410 Winged Sprints. TSR also earned top honors in 2001, 2008, and 2012.
Schatz and TSR will begin their 2015 campaign next month in Florida during the annual DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.