Tony Stewart Racing Ready for an Old-Fashioned Shootout in Kansas

INDIANAPOLIS (June 21, 2012) – With summer officially underway, it seems only appropriate the next stop on the rugged World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series tour is in Dodge City, Kan., where temperatures are expected to rise above 90 degrees this weekend. The 2012 WoO championship standings have been hotly contested all season and Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz have been major players in the battle.

The two-night Boot Hill Showdown at Dodge City Raceway Park is the next opportunity for Schatz and Kinser to resume their title shootout. Kinser, who is chasing his 21st WoO crown, will look to regain the top spot behind the wheel of the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevrolet Maxim. Schatz, driver of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J, overtook Kinser in the standings last Saturday when he charged from 11th to third at his home track of Red River Valley Speedway in Fargo, N.D.

Both drivers continue to chase victories, and it’s been a while since either has visited victory lane at the 3/8-mile dirt oval. Kinser won the Outlaws’ debut at the track in June 2004, and Schatz was a Dodge City winner in June 2008. Kinser finished seventh and sixth in two races at the track last season. Schatz finished 20th in the opener when his TSR No. 15 machine had an oil fire, but he bounced back to finish eighth in the finale.

Consistency of late has allowed Schatz to grab the WoO points lead for the sixth time this season. He has earned six straight top-eight finishes, including three consecutive top-fours. He is looking to end a 17-race winless streak dating back to his 116th career WoO A-Feature triumph at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway on April 25. The four-time WoO champion leads the series with 23 top-10 finishes this season.

Both nights at Dodge City, the grandstands open at 5 p.m. CDT. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. For more details, contact Dodge City Raceway Park at (620) 225-3277 or visit the track’s official Web site at www.dodgecityraceway.com.

Race fans unable to attend this weekend’s races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

Donny Schatz, Driver of the No. 15 TSR/STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J:

Last weekend’s trip to your home state of North Dakota proved to be a good one for you. Can you use this momentum to help continue your chase for a fifth WoO championship?

“We had a decent weekend and Steve had some trouble Saturday night, so we came out with the points lead. Both nights, we started 11th and were in the battle for the win at one point and that’s all you can ask for. I think we could have done a couple of things differently and maybe the outcome would have been just a bit better. We’re still gaining on it. By no means have we gotten everything where it needs to be. Momentum can come and go so, yes, we’d like to keep running up front and build on last weekend.”

Dodge City Raceway Park is a newer facility on the circuit. Has it been tough to figure out?

“We’ve raced on it quite a few years and I feel like we’ve got a lot of it figured out, but we still need to get better there. We went through a spell where we timed in really well there and couldn’t race quite as well. The surface really takes a beating with the heat and wind. As someone who now knows more about that stuff because of what my family is doing with Red River Valley Speedway, I can appreciate all the effort it takes to try and give us a good track. Sometimes you have to rework the track. Sometimes you have to leave it alone. I’m sure they’ll do everything they can to give us a good track both nights and, maybe after Saturday, we’ll be able to say we’ve got it figured it out.”