TUCSON, AZ (March 9) – Donny Schatz left Las Vegas a bit frustrated after seeing a potential doubleheader sweep at the The Dirt Track go by the wayside because of flat left front tire. The five-time and reigning World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series champion headed down the road and returned to Tucson International Raceway on Saturday night.
Rain in the area on Friday and early Saturday made the racing surface lightning fast, making both qualifying and racing a little on the difficult side. Schatz went out 10th in the field of 30 cars and qualified the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 STP/Armor All/ Chevrolet Performance J&J 13th overall. That left him one spot out of the heat inversion and he raced to a fifth-place finish in the opening heat. The finish qualified the No. 15 for the 30-lap A-Feature. In the main event, he made an early charge up into the top-10 and late in the race moved from ninth to sixth.
Following Wednesday’s victory and back-to-back sixth-place runs, Schatz ranks third in the championship standings through six nights of racing. The Fargo, N.D., racer will return to action next weekend with a doubleheader at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.