Photo Credit: Michael Fry

FARGO, N.D. (October 8, 2019) – After falling 40 points behind in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series point standings, Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing No. 15 team needed a strong weekend at Williams Grove Speedway this past weekend. 

And they delivered. 

Powered by a Ford for the first time, Schatz raced to two podium finishes at the 57th annual National Open to close the gap between himself and points leader Brad Sweet to just 14 points. 

On Friday night, Schatz started and finished third in the 25-lap main event. The 10-time and defending series champion ran in the runner-up spot until late in the going when perennial front-runner Lance Dewease snuck by with three laps to go. Schatz went on to finish third.

Schatz came back even stronger the second night, setting quick time in Flight B and winning his heat race. In DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash No. two, Schatz went from sixth to fourth to earn the eighth starting position for the 40-lap, $65,000-to-win National Open finale. 

Schatz quickly worked his way into the top five before moving by both Aaron Reutzel and Brian Brown in turns one and two with 23 to go to claim the third position. 

donny schatz 2019 diecast

In the late stages of the race, the bottom groove became dominant as Schatz went on to round out the podium. 

“It was a strong weekend for us overall. Any time you can come into Pennsylvania and leave with two podiums, you know you’ve done something,” said Schatz. “It was a strong debut for the new Ford motor. It felt really good in the car. I’m really proud of this Toco Warranty team and everybody involved with the development of the FPS 410 engine. I’m looking forward to working more with it next weekend at a couple of fun tracks in Indiana.” 

Next up, the World of Outlaws will head to the Terre Haute Action Track on Saturday, followed by a stop at Tri-State Speedway
on Sunday. Last year, Schatz finished second at Terre Haute and recorded a fifth-place effort at Tri-State. 

Schatz and the entire Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team would like to thank Toco Warranty, Ford Performance, Curb Records, Sage Fruit, Absolute Automation & Security and J&J Auto Racing for their continued support.

Schatz’s Statbook:
2019 Stats (World of Outlaws):
Races: 66
Wins: 9
Top Fives: 44
Top Tens: 60