With only six races remaining in the 2013 World of Outlaws (WoO) STP Sprint Car Series campaign entering Saturday’s race at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway, Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Donny Schatz was simply focused on winning another race in his quest to become a six-time Outlaws champion. The driver of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet Performance J&J turned in another flawless performance and earned his 21st WoO A-Feature triumph of the season and 145th of his career.
The victory added to his new career high for WoO A-Feature victories in a single season and allowed him to shave 18 points off of WoO championship standings leader Daryn Pittman’s lead heading into this weekend’s 51st annual Morgan Hughes National Open at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
“These STP guys keep building great race cars,” said Schatz, following his first career victory at Fremont. “I started sixth and kept picking them off, but I had to kind of wait for the right time. People were kind of aggressive early and bouncing off of each other. The way my car was working it felt like it got more drive if I got the wheels spinning. It sure was a long race. We’re happy to keep getting these wins. That’s all we’re worried about right now.”
Schatz was the 14th fastest qualifier in the field of 46 cars and raced to victory in the fourth heat. The five-time and reigning WoO STP Sprint Car Series champion finished sixth in the dash and began the 40-lap A-Feature on the outside of row three. He passed two cars during the opening lap and continued his drive forward by passing Pittman for second following a lap six restart. Schatz took the lead on lap nine from Caleb Griffith and paced the field the rest of the way despite several cautions and one red flag. After each caution, the STP driver would pull back out to a comfortable lead and ultimately won the race by 1.234 seconds over Griffith, one of four Ohio drivers that finished in the top-five.
Schatz leads the series with his 21 A-Feature victories and has posted 42 top-five finishes and 56 top-10s. He trails Pittman by 52 points with five races remaining.
Schatz will travel to central Pennsylvania this weekend for the tradition-filled National Open, where he the defending champion of the race after winning his fifth National Open last September. Schatz has won both WoO races at Williams Grove this season, scoring a thrilling victory in May and making it three straight wins at the historic half-mile, dirt oval in July with his Summer Nationals triumph.