Brad Sweet Claims One-Point Lead After Donny Schatz has DNF

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. – June 15, 2016 – Shane Stewart proved to be like a rock Wednesday night at Granite City Speedway as he battled past Kerry Madsen and held off Brad Sweet to win his fourth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series feature of the season.

Kerry Madsen led the first third of the feature with Stewart in hot pursuit. As Madsen encountered traffic, Stewart closed the gap in his No. 2 Eneos/GoPro car. On lap 10, Stewart dove low into turn three and got around Madsen. Madsen countered, taking the spot back, sliding Stewart through turns one and two. Stewart though made a similar move as the previous lap and took the position back through turns three and four. Through one restart, Stewart held the position and scored the win.

It was a triumphant trip to victory lane following a difficult weekend at Knoxville Raceway and the knowledge that last season, he was leading at Granite City with three laps to go and did not see a similar end.

“I was actually getting really nervous,” Stewart said. “The guys gave me a really great car. Obviously being out front, you’re kind of a sitting duck. I felt like I was getting through lapped traffic OK, but you never can tell with the guys behind you. I know Brad is really good in lapped traffic and so is Kerry. I just had to keep my nose clean and be as patient as possible.” (more…)

Claims Ninth World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Victory of the Season

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – June 11, 2016 – Wrecked cars and flared tempers could not hold back reigning World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz on Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway as he barely avoided an early multi-car crash and battled past Jamie Veal to score his ninth series win of the season during the Xtream Shootout powered by Mediacom.

Schatz, who started fifth, battled Shane Stewart early for fourth. After a crash on lap five caught up several of the front runners, Schatz restarted in third and then fought his way around second place Ian Madsen. As Veal worked his way through traffic, Schatz closed the distance, then commenced to battle Veal, side-by-side, lap-after-lap for the lead. Veal held tough but Schatz got around off of turn four with just three laps remaining to take the top spot.

“This place has been very, very good to me,” Schatz said. “I’ve been very blessed to not get hurt here and have the success I’ve had. This team is incredible. We can always go back to the same old setup but it’s kind of fun to try new things and try to get better. We keep playing around and we make a lot of gains and we make a lot of steps backwards but the racecar just kept getting better and better as the race went on.” (more…)

Donny Schatz Claims the Points Lead from Brad Sweet Who has Led All Season

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – June 10, 2016 – Terry McCarl dominated the Outlaws and Knoxville regulars in Friday night’s Budweiser Night with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway as he scored his first World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory of the season.

McCarl was the class of the field throughout much of the night in his No. 24 SnowPlow.com/Country Builders Maxim, claiming a spot in the Dash and the feature pole. McCarl held off reigning Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz throughout the 25-lap feature.

“You know, it’s David vs. Goliath,” McCarl said. “We just beat the best team and driver in the world. For us to beat him one night is pretty amazing and we’re pretty proud of it… This means a lot if you can win this thing. It makes you feel like you can be decent for the Nationals.” (more…)

Claims Eighth Victory of the Season and Ties Brad Sweet for Point Lead

PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. – June 8, 2016 – Seven-time World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz held off a red-hot David Gravel on a green-white-checkered finish to claim his eighth victory of the season at Lincoln Park Speedway on Wednesday night.

Making their first trip since 1988 to the track located just an hour from Indianapolis, the World of Outlaws returned with a thrilling show that saw Schatz hold on to the lead for all 40 laps to claim the victory and tie Brad Sweet atop the championship standings.

“I wasn’t here in ’88 but I am feeling old tonight,” Schatz said. “This place takes its toll on you – it’s a neat little place, very tricky…I’d rather it went right to the end, but I knew [David Gravel] is a racer and he is going to try something – wherever I am at he is going to try and go somewhere else.

“It’s a bonus [to be tied in the championship standings]. We are here to win races, and that’s what this team has always stood for…we have never been point’s racers and I am not going to start that now. We’re in a better position than we were a month ago and I know these guys are going to go work their hearts out.” (more…)