North Dakota native slices into World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car title race

MINOT, N.D. – Aug. 18, 2013 – Donny Schatz’s 16th World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season was definitely a sweet one on Sunday night at Nodak Speedway. His win completed a weekend sweep of his native North Dakota and in the city where he was raised.

Schatz became the first Outlaw to repeat as winner at Nodak, and it continued an impressive hot streak as he attempts to catch Daryn Pittman in the overall championship battle. Since the Brad Doty Classic on July 10, Schatz has eight victories and only one finish outside the top three, which was a sixth-place run in the Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

On Sunday night, it looked as if Schatz was going to have to settle for the runner-up position as his Tony Stewart Racing teammate, Steve Kinser, was in control of the 35-lap main event. With four laps to go, though, Kinser and Schatz were in traffic when a slight bobble by the 20-time champion gave Schatz the break he needed. Schatz pounced, drove to the front and took the checkered flag in what’s becoming a familiar sight on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series tour. (more…)

Continues closing gap in World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car championship

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Aug. 16, 2013 – Donny Schatz is proving once again there isn’t much he can’t do in a racecar.

A week after making history by winning the FVP Knoxville Nationals from the deepest starting position ever, Schatz on Friday night at River Cities Speedway became the first driver to win a World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series A-main in addition to winning a dirt Late Model feature just minutes apart.

In the main event at the 3/10-mile high-banked oval, Schatz powered to his 15th World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season, leading all 40 laps and preventing runner-up Cody Darrah from completing a sweep of the Outlaws events at the track after he won there in June.

Championship points-leader Daryn Pittman was third with Brad Sweet and Craig Dollansky rounding out the top five.

Schatz, the five-time and defending series champion who is second in points behind Pittman, started on the pole and beat Pittman into turn one. Schatz faced a few tricky spots in lapped traffic, including near disaster when contact nearly spun him. As the laps ticked off, Schatz continued to build his advantage in his STP/Armor All J&J and no cautions in the 40-lap A-main hindered Darrah’s efforts to close the gap. (more…)

Steve Kinser Slides to His Second Victory of the Season

McCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. – August 13, 2013 – Steve Kinser has returned to victory, bringing cheers from the crowd as the 20-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series champion climbed from his car at the end of the 30-lap feature at Junction Motor Speedway on Tuesday night.

Kerry Madsen, who started on the pole, tightened the battle for the lead towards the end of the feature event, even leading lap 28. Madsen lost the lead on the next laps and settled for second. Donny Schatz, who is coming off his seventh FVP Knoxville Nationals title, rounded out the podium.

Justin Henderson had a strong run early in the race, running second early and giving up third to Schatz late to finish fourth while Kings Royal winner Brad Sweet finished out the top five. Sweet’s Kasey Kahne Racing teammate and World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship leader, Daryn Pittman, missed the top five by just one spot.

Kinser dominated much of the feature in his Bad Boy Buggies Maxim until around lap 20 when Aussie Madsen ran him down after Kinser struggled on the exit of turn four on a couple of occasions. As Kinser struggled to weave around lap cars, Madsen drew nearer by nearly throwing his car onto the bottom of one and two and willing the car to stick. On lap 25 Madsen passed Kinser for the first time, but Kinser stuck with him and won the drag race on the back stretch. (more…)

Tony Stewart Racing driver charges from Last Chance Showdown to victory lane

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 10, 2013 – Donny Schatz didn’t just win the 53rd running of the storied FVP Knoxville Nationals on Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway, he turned in one of the greatest performances in the history of sprint car racing on the sport’s biggest stage.

After struggling during the Wednesday preliminary feature, Schatz was forced to start Saturday on the outside of the second row in the Last Chance Showdown, or B-main. He won that race to earn the 21^ststarting position in the $150,000-to-win, 50-lap A-main.

Nobody had ever won the Nationals from deeper than 14th and here was Schatz attempting to win from another area code in his STP Gas Booster J&J. Then, in one of the most dominating runs in World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series history, Schatz picked off car after car until finally, with nine laps to go, he caught and passed leader Brian Brown, who finished second to Schatz for the second consecutive year.

Justin Henderson, Paul McMahan and Chad Kemenah rounded out the top five finishers.

“It was a fun run,” said Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., who also turned 36 on Saturday. “We went where we had to, we go to the top, or the bottom, but we couldn’t really make the bottom work. I just can’t say enough for the STP Gas Booster guys. We tried to win the Speed Sport News World Challenge on Friday night, but we also tried something new with the car to see what we could find. We wanted to get locked in. It put a lot of doubt in a lot of minds because I usually run well on the World Challenge night, but when you’re not that good you have nothing to lose testing. I’d rather crash than run 20th or fifth.” (more…)

Last year’s runner-up earns front row spot alongside point man Saldana

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Aug. 8, 2013 – Brian Brown charged to victory on Thursday’s 53rd FVP Knoxville Nationals qualifying night at Knoxville Raceway, putting him on the front row alongside Joey Saldana for Saturday night’s $150,000-to-win main event.

Kerry Madsen was second with Kevin Swindell, Roger Crockett and Saldana rounding out the top five. Saldana also led qualifying and finished fourth in his heat race to earn the pole position for the biggest sprint car race in the world on Saturday night.

Brown started the feature event fifth, but quickly worked his way through the field. Two laps in, Brown restarted second after a caution brought out by Jon Agan, who slowed off of turn four. On the restart Brown threw a slide job at Crockett and both he and Madsen advanced to run one-two.

Immediately after the top three crossed the line, caution flew for a spinning Brian Paulus. Event and track rules state that the cars that crossed the line would remain in that order, while cars that had not would revert to the previous lap, meaning Brown took the lead.

Madsen joined the fight for the lead on lap 9 after a restart as he would slide Brown into turn two and lead down the back stretch. Brown didn’t yield and returned the slider into turn three and barely made the pass stick to hold onto the lead. (more…)

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car rookie edges Sweet; Stewart leads points

KNOXVILLE, Iowa. – Aug. 7, 2013 – David Gravel earned the biggest victory of his young career when he drove around Greg Hodnett early then held off Brad Sweet to the checkered flag during Wednesday’s opening night of the 53rd FVP Knoxville Nationals featuring the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Knoxville Raceway.

Gravel, the leading contender for the series’ Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award, got off to a stellar to start. Taking the green in fourth, he was in second by the end of the first lap when a caution then flew as Johnny Herrera’s machine rolled to a stop on the front stretch. On the restart, Gravel shot to the lead on the low side of turn one around Greg Hodnett. The start, however, was called back as Shane Stewart hit the orange cone, leading to a caution to assess the penalty.

On the following restart Hodnett went to the bottom to defend the line. Gravel then shot to the top, and after another lap and a half used his momentum to swing the FMR Racing-sponsored car to the lead. Gravel led the rest of the race nearly unchallenged until the final front stretch run, where his car stumbled from running out of fuel. (more…)