[b Bouncing Back: Schatz Wins at Cedar Lake Speedway on Sunday night after having trouble while leading on Saturday]
New Richmond, WI— July 12, 2009—One of the marks of a champion and a championship caliber team is the way that they are able to bounce back from adversity and bumps in the road. That is exactly what three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing team did on Sunday night at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin. After having a rear end fail while leading on Saturday night at Charter Raceway Park, Schatz was on a mission and he battled Jason Meyers in lapped traffic for most of the race to earn his ninth A-Feature win of the season.
Schatz nearly swept the event, beginning the night by setting fast time in qualifying, along with winning the Crane Came Dash to earn the pole position for the 30-lap A-Feature, which he would lead 15 laps of en route to the triumph. The only blemish on the night for the North Dakota native was a second-place finish in the second heat race.
“Anytime you win these is great,” said Schatz. “We have to thank all of these fans for coming out. It was a great night and I’m glad to see all the people. It feels great to get back to Victory Lane.”
Schatz led from the pole, with Meyers steadily working his way up from the fifth starting spot. He moved into second on a lap-6 restart and dove under Schatz for the lead on the eighth lap in turn one, though Schatz would battle back and retake the top spot in turns three and four and officially was credited with leading that lap.
The pair began to encounter heavy lapped traffic at this point, with Meyers powering his way past Schatz on the back straightaway in traffic on the 12th lap to take the top spot. He opened a slight lead at this point, but again a couple of laps later Schatz closed in. Once he cleared a couple of lapped cars, Meyers pulled away and at one point had about a straightaway lead on Schatz.
With seven laps to go, he encountered the heaviest traffic of the night, having to get on the brakes and allowing Schatz close right back in. On the 26th lap, Meyers drifted a little high exiting the fourth turn as he worked to clear a couple of lapped cars and that gave Schatz the opening he needed down low and he took the lead in turns one and two and would go on to lead the final four laps of the race to earn the $10,000 win aboard the Armor All J&J.
“Jason (Meyers) did a great job out there,” stated Schatz. “Sitting second in traffic like that is the cat bird’s seat and I’ve lost a lot of them like that. I’m just glad I was there at that time. He was really good up top and got going and I really didn’t know if I had anything for him. When we got to traffic, I got smart and got the wing back and started to drive it.”
For Schatz, it was his second consecutive World of Outlaws win at Cedar Lake Speedway and the seventh win of his career at the high-banked 3/8-mile. He competed regularly at the track in the early days of his career as he climbed the sprint car racing ladder.
“It was a pleasure being able to grow up racing around here,” noted Schatz. “I learned a lot around here and racing at Jackson (Speedway, in Minnesota), Sioux Falls (Huset’s Speedway), Fargo (Red River Valley Speedway), Grand Forks (River Cities Speedway). I was lucky to grow up in this part of the county and be able to race so many great race tracks. I learned a lot from every one of them and it’s all helped me today.”
Meyers was credited with leading a total of 15 laps on the night in the GLR Investment KPC. He pulled out to a couple of very healthy leads as he weaved his way through lapped traffic. He used the only restart of the night after a lap-6 caution to get around Brooke Tatnell for the runner-up spot before tracking down Schatz.
“Unfortunately we just didn’t lead the right one,” said Meyers when asked about leading laps on Sunday night. “We have started in decent spots here lately and haven’t run real good and I’ve been disappointed for everyone. Though everyone with this team has been sticking behind us and has kept digging and kept their heads up. They have built me I don’t know how many new race cars this year, but this one seems to be really good. I think we have a handle on things.”
Joey Saldana finished third in the Budweiser Maxim after starting sixth. The 12-time winner this season gained two spots on the opening laps and once he got to third he would remain there for the rest of the way. He had his car owner Kasey Kahne in attendance for the second time in the last three days.
“It was a good run for us,” shard Saldana. “That start was pretty crazy and we fell in line there. I worked my way up to third and felt pretty good. We had a good car, that’s just the way it goes. You win some and you lose some. We made progress on our car all night. It was a great effort by my team.”
Jac Haudenschild wound up fourth in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim, taking that spot from 20-time series champion Steve Kinser with just two laps to go. The two Hall of Famers battled for the majority of the race for first the fifth spot and then the fourth spot.
Kinser ended up fifth in the Quaker State Maxim to earn his series-best 29th Top-10 finish of the season after starting seventh.
Craig Dollansky was sixth in the DirecTV Maxim, with Sammy Swindell seventh aboard the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim. Brooke Tatnell was eighth in the Titan Garages Maxim, with Terry McCarl ninth in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Danny Lasoski rounded out the Top-10 in the Casey’s General Store JEI.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Wednesday, July 15 at Limaland Motorsports Park in Ohio for the Ohio Logistics 21st Annual Brad Doty Classic.
[u CEDAR LAKE SPEEDWAY NOTES]
[b• FAST QUALIFIER:] Donny Schatz paced the 27 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval at 11.846 seconds at 113.963 mph. For his qualifying effort, Schatz earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Terry McCarl (4), Jac Haudenschild (3), Jason Meyers (2), and Joey Saldana (1).
[b • QUALIFYING WINNERS:] Brooke Tatnell, Steve Kinser and Kraig Kinser won heat races. Brian Ellenberger won the B-Main. Donny Schatz won the Crane Cams Dash.
[b • FEATURE WINNERS:] There has been 36 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway, Houston Raceway Park, The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Virginia Motor Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway and 34 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway, River Cities Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Delaware International Speedway, Nodak Speedway, Eagle Raceway and Charter Raceway Park), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway, Paducah International Raceway, I-96 Speedway and Red River Valley Speedway), Dale Blaney (Attica Raceway Park), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Greg Hodnett (Williams Grove Speedway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway) and Terry McCarl (Knoxville Raceway).
[b • 3/8-MILE WINNERS:] Cedar Lake Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile. The World of Outlaws have raced seven times on a track that size this season. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Lawrenceburg Speedway, Dodge City Raceway Park-twice, U.S. 36 Raceway and 34 Raceway), Donny Schatz (Lawrenceburg Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Nodak Speedway) and Jason Meyers (Paducah International Raceway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Cedar Lake Speedway; New Richmond, WI; July, 12, 2009
Qualifying
- 15-Donny Schatz 11.846
- 24-Terry McCarl 11.887
- R19-Jac Haudenschild 11.939
- 14-Jason Meyers 11.975
- 9-Joey Saldana 11.976
- 19-Craig Dollansky 12.017
- 21AU-Brooke Tatnell 12.021
- 11-Steve Kinser 12.034
- 20-Kraig Kinser 12.064
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe 12.064
- 10-Sammy Swindell 12.106
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.148
- 6-Danny Lasoski 12.330
- 9TW-Travis Whitney 12.377
- 7S-Jason Sides 12.419
- 17B-Bill Balog 12.450
- 55-Kerry Madsen 12.463
- 23W-Scott Winters 12.480
- 56-Davey Heskin 12.568
- V92-Mathew Reed 12.570
- 4K-Kris Spitz 12.764
- 9N-Wade Nygaard 12.778
- 22-Brian Ellenberger 12.801
- 10V-Kurt Winker 13.087
- 29-Leigh Thomas 13.128
- 34-Brad Barickman 13.207
- 4WA-Greg Hall 13.353
- 16-Duane Olson -.---
- 13-Mark Dobmeier -.---
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 21AU-Brooke Tatnell
- 15-Donny Schatz
- 14-Jason Meyers
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe
- 6-Danny Lasoski
- 17B-Bill Balog
- 9N-Wade Nygaard
- 56-Davey Heskin
- 29-Leigh Thomas
- 16-Duane Olson
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 11-Steve Kinser
- 10-Sammy Swindell
- 24-Terry McCarl
- 9-Joey Saldana
- 55-Kerry Madsen
- 9TW-Travis Whitney
- 22-Brian Ellenberger
- V92-Mathew Reed
- 34-Brad Barickman
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 20-Kraig Kinser
- R19-Jac Haudenschild
- 7S-Jason Sides
- 19-Craig Dollansky
- 23W-Scott Winters
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
- 4K-Kris Spitz
- 10V-Kurt Winker
- 4WA-Greg Hall
Crane Cams Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
- 15-Donny Schatz
- 24-Terry McCarl
- R19-Jac Haudenschild
- 21AU-Brooke Tatnell
- 14-Jason Meyers
- 9-Joey Saldana
- 11-Steve Kinser
- 10-Sammy Swindell
- 20-Kraig Kinser
- 19-Craig Dollansky
B-main (10 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)
- 22-Brian Ellenberger
- V92-Mathew Reed
- 56-Davey Heskin
- 9N-Wade Nygaard
- 4K-Kris Spitz
- 29-Leigh Thomas
- 34-Brad Barickman [$200]
- 4WA-Greg Hall [$180]
- 16-Duane Olson [$175]
- 10V-Kurt Winker [$160]
A-main (30 laps) - Starting Position [#]
- 15-Donny Schatz[1] [$10,000]
- 14-Jason Meyers[5] [$5,500]
- 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$3,200]
- R19-Jac Haudenschild[3] [$2,800]
- 11-Steve Kinser[7] [$2,500]
- 19-Craig Dollansky[10] [$2,300]
- 10-Sammy Swindell[8] [$2,200]
- 21AU-Brooke Tatnell[4] [$2,100]
- 24-Terry McCarl[2] [$2,050]
- 6-Danny Lasoski[13] [$2,000]
- 55-Kerry Madsen[17] [$1,500]
- 20-Kraig Kinser[9] [$1,200]
- 5W-Lucas Wolfe[11] [$1,100]
- 7S-Jason Sides[15] [$1,050]
- 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[12] [$1,000]
- 22-Brian Ellenberger[22] [$900]
- 23W-Scott Winters[18] [$800]
- 9TW-Travis Whitney[14] [$800]
- V92-Mathew Reed[20] [$800]
- 17B-Bill Balog[16] [$800]
- 56-Davey Heskin[19] [$800]
- 4K-Kris Spitz[23] [$800]
- 29-Leigh Thomas[24] [$800]
- 9N-Wade Nygaard[21] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-11, 27-30; Jason Meyers 12-26
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Terry McCarl
Penske Power Position Award: Joey Saldana
KSE Hard Charger Award: Kerry Madsen
World of Outlaws Championship Standings through July 12
- Donny Schatz 4993
- Joey Saldana 4978 -
- Jason Meyers 4914
- Steve Kinser 4884
- Danny Lasoski 4795
- Jason Sides 4775
- Craig Dollansky 4737
- Jac Haudenschild 4642
- Kraig Kinser 4600
- Lucas Wolfe 4258
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), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), Quaker State (Official Motor Oil), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; 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.
- Tony Veneziano on Jul 13, 2009
- Article Date: 7/13/2009