KNOXVILLE – Donny Schatz was nearly flawless this weekend winning a pair of World of Outlaws(WoO) STP Sprint Car Series events at Jackson (Minn.) Speedway and Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. Schatz led the final 17 laps Friday at Jackson aboard the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet Performance J&J and the final 10 laps of Saturday’s return to Knoxville.
“We had a great weekend,” said Schatz, who now has 131 career WoO A-Feature wins. “The STP guys (Rick Warner, Steve Swenson and Jim Oare) have been doing an incredible job. They gave me a fast racecar both nights and it’s always fun to win. Last week was tough on all of us and it was good to come out and have the success we did. We’ve been gaining on it and now it’s just a matter of remaining consistent. We’re focused on winning races. We got two this weekend and our goal is to get two more next week up near home…Friday at Grand Forks and Fergus Falls Saturday.”
Schatz started fifth in Friday’s 30-lap A-Feature in Jackson. He won the main event at the half-mile track in 2006 and finished second the year before. The Fargo, N.D. racer charged from eighth to fifth in the dash before methodically passing Paul McMahan, Sammy Swindell, Craig Dollansky and Daryn Pittman on his way to victory.
Saturday he made it four straight wins at the famed Knoxville Raceway and second WoO win on the half-mile in 2013. Schatz qualified 10th in the field of 42 cars and finished second in both the second heat and dash. He took the lead from Brian Brown midway through the race and pulled away to earn his 17th career triumph at Knoxville.
The five-time and reigning WoO STP Sprint Car Series champion continues to hold second in the season championship standings and will return to action on Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. Schatz is a two-time WoO winner (2008 and 2009) at the high-banked, dirt oval. He’ll then be part of the Outlaws inaugural event at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn.