Answers after five straight second place World of Outlaws full points finishes
WEST LEBANON, N.Y. - July 26, 2015 - After five straight second place finishes in full points events, Donny Schatz returned to victory lane Sunday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway as he scored his 21st World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature win of the season.
"It hasn't felt like we've had a very good day lately, I guess," Schatz said. "We've had respectable finishes but this is where we want to be, we want to be winning. I guess you have to go through those stages where you're learning a little bit, get beat, try to get up on your game a little bit."
Schatz came into the night after two frustrating nights at Williams Grove Speedway Friday and Saturday that saw him get passed by Danny Dietrich and run out of time against Stevie Smith.
The event got underway earlier Sunday evening, following an hour and a half delay for rain. The rain set up a fast race track. Kerry Madsen proved that by knocking down the old track record of 16.179 seconds, set by Daryn Pittman in 2013, with his qualifying lap of 16.044 seconds.
Schatz and Brad Sweet started the feature on the front row with Schatz holding the lead through the opening laps. As the reigning series champion began working his way through traffic, Sweet closed the gap in his No. 49 Razorback Professional Tools car.
"When you come on someone a little slower, you have to be cautious," Schatz said of working his way through traffic Sunday. "I was probably just a little too cautious."
By the halfway point, Schatz had built up a half straight lead over Sweet. With nine laps to go, the caution flag flew for David Gravel who had a tire go down and hit the wall in turn four. Sweet tried to make a move on the restart but did not have anything for the No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies car.
"You always want a second chance," Sweet said of the restart. "Donny got out there in front and was able to get by a few of those lap guys but it was really hard to pass, even the lap cars tonight. We're happy to run second but we started on the pole of the dash and lost the start and Donny beat us on every start after that. We had three shots at it. I think if we'd have gotten out front he would have been hard to pass us the same way as it was hard to pass him. He did everything right to win the race and it's nice to get a good solid finish after the weekend we had."
Schatz and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team have finished first or second in 17 consecutive full points Outlaws races and 19 of the past 20.
"Hats off to the Bad Boy Buggies team - they adjusted perfectly," Schatz said. "The motor ran great. Generally when we come here we have a cooling issue (at Lebanon Valley), we can't keep it cool and it ran 180 degrees the whole race. One more thing they overcame. Glad we got it in, glad all the fans got to see a race tonight and we get to go on to Canada now."
Jacob Allen was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing five positions in his No. 1A Shark Racing car to finish in the 12th position.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series heads north to Canada for a three race swing. The series first takes on Ohsweken Speedway and the Six Nations Showdown on Tuesday night. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/ohsweken-speedway.
Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Lebanon Valley Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Kerry Madsen took home the quick time award and set a new track record at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Sunday night after a lap of 16.044. The previous track record was 16.179 seconds, set by Daryn Pittman on July 21, 2013… Jacob Allen was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing five positions to finish in 12th… Tonight's win was the 21st World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the year for Donny Schatz.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Anthony Fiore; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jacob Allen;Super Flow ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Brad Sweet;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Jacob Allen; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Anthony Fiore; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Joe Kubiniec; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Anthony Fiore.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 21 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset's Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 27, Lakeside Speedway on July 1, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 11, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 26); Shane Stewart - 5 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12, Eldora Speedway on July 17); Daryn Pittman - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19); Brad Sweet - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11, I-96 Speedway on June 25); Rico Abreu - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Dale Blaney - 2 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Paul McMahan - 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3);Joey Saldana - 2 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 12); Christopher Bell - 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Brian Brown - 1 (USA Raceway on March 7);Cody Darrah - 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25); Greg Hodnett - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13); Tim Kaeding - 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13); Danny Lasoski - 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5);Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5); Jason Sides - 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3); Stevie Smith - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25).
- administrator on Jul 27, 2015
- Article Date: 7/26/2015