[i Concord, NC—January 5, 2010-—]
50,000 reasons to smile: For a record eighth time in his career, Donny Schatz claimed the $50,000 Scott Darley Memorial at Parramatta City Raceway in Australia on Tuesday. The four-time and defending World of Outlaws champion came from the eighth starting spot to take the lead from Danny Smith and then picked up the hard fought win over Tim Shaffer and Brooke Tatnell. It was Schatz’s second win at Parramatta this off-season and in all four of his starts he finished on the podium. Schatz’s World of Outlaws car owner Tony Stewart also competed in the event and was running in the Top-Five when a flat tire ended his night. Jason Sides was in action in the Scott Darley Memorial and ran the alphabet, winning the C-Main, then transferring through the B-Main into the main event and eventually charging all the way from the 24th starting spot to finish 11th.
Starting the New Year with a win: Craig Dollansky won on New Year’s in Australia with the World Series Sprintcars at Sungold Premier Stadium Speedway in Warrnambool to close out the series annual Speedweek, besting Robbie Farr and Jason Johnson. The native of Elk River, Minnesota began the night by turning in the 10th fastest lap in time trials of the stout 49-car field that was in attendance. He followed that up with finishes of second and third in the heat races, to earn a spot in the dash where he finished fourth. For Dollansky, it was his first career win in Australia as well as his first win with the World Series. He followed that up with a runner-up finish at Murray Bridge Speedway in the South Australian Championship on Saturday night. Dollansky will compete this weekend at Hobart International Speedway in Tasmania.
A strong start: Donny Schatz opened the two-day Scott Darley Memorial at Parramatta City Raceway, which was postponed by rain for two days, with a third-place finish on Monday and was the second highest point earner to put himself in a good position for the $50,000 finale. He began the night by turning in the fifth-fastest time in qualifying of the 55 cars that took to the track. He won the fifth heat race and wound up starting 10th in the preliminary feature. Schatz’s World of Outlaws car owner Tony Stewart set fast time in qualifying and followed that up with a second-place finish in the first heat race and wound up sixth in the preliminary feature. Jason Sides, who finished fifth in the World of Outlaws championship standings in 2009, also competed in the event coming up just a couple of spot short of racing his way into preliminary feature.
A thriller down under: For the second consecutive race at Parramatta City Raceway, Donny Schatz found himself locked in a battle with Garry Brazier for a win last week in the Hogs Breath Café Sprintcar International event. The pair was joined by Ian Madsen, the brother of 2007 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Kerry Madsen. The younger Madsen held off both of the veterans to pick up the $10,000 victory, which was the biggest of his career. Schatz began the night by setting fast time for the second consecutive race at Parramatta, besting the 47 cars that took to the track. Schatz’s World of Outlaws car owner Tony Stewart finished fourth in the race after turning in the third-fastest lap in time trials. For Schatz and Stewart, it was the second of a four-race stint at Parramatta City Raceway.
2010 Schedule Update: The World of Outlaws event at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 15 has been moved to Friday, September 17, 2010. The race will mark the World of Outlaws fourth consecutive visit to the historic 3/8-mile fairgrounds track. Jason Meyers won a thriller at Clay County Fair Speedway last season taking the lead from Joey Saldana on the final lap to snap Donny Schatz’s two race win streak at the track. The event on Friday, September 17 will be promoted again in 2010 by Craig and Julie Dollansky.
Win a 410-winged sprint car: The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Raffle Car will be hitting the road again in 2010. The state-of-the-art J&J with Kistler power and the No. 8 adorning the top wing and tail tank will be on display at seven different World of Wheels events beginning this week. The Raffle Car is currently on display the World of Wheels events in Cincinnati, which began on Monday and runs through January 8. The car will also be on display at the World of Wheels show in Pittsburgh, January 22-24, Kansas City, February 12-14, St. Paul, Minnesota, February 26-28, Chicago on March 5-7, Omaha, March 12-14 and Des Moines, March 19-21. Raffle tickets are $20 each or six tickets for $100 and will be available at the display table at each of the aforementioned World of Wheels shows. The raffle will be held in Knoxville, Iowa, on December 17, 2010. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, Iowa, at 1-800-874-4488.
Fan of February: Every fan that purchases a ticket for the 2010 season opening 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park before January 15 will be entered in the “Fan of February” Contest Presented by Hoseheads.com which is currently being held. The winner will be announced on January 16 and will receive two tickets for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series portion of the DIRTcar Nationals, February 5-7, as well as a free hotel stay during that time. Winners will also be selected for the World of Outlaws Late Models Series potion of the event, as well as the Super DIRTcar Series and UMP DIRTcar Modifieds portions. For more information visit: www.fanoffebruary.com.
Up close and personal: A FREE Fan Pit Pass is available to every ticket buyer who comes through the main gates every night during the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park beginning on February 2. All fans have to do once they arrive at the track is take their grandstand ticket and head toward the pits, where a table will be set up to sign-in for an up-close look at the cars and stars who will be racing that night. To purchase tickets call Volusia Speedway Park at 386-985-4402 and for more information visit www.DIRTcarNationals.com.
Keep up with all the action: The number of “Followers” keeping up with the World of Outlaws via Twitter online and through text messages on cell phones continues to grow and recently surpassed the 2,200 “Follower” mark. Updates are provided throughout race nights beginning with hot laps and continuing all the way through the final checkered flag of the night. To sign-up visit: http://twitter.com/worldofoutlaws and receive live race updates, anywhere, anytime. Off-season news and notes are also provided.
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), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), 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 Jan 08, 2010
- Article Date: 1/8/2010