GREENWOOD, Neb. (August 31, 2021) – Donny Schatz parked the Carquest Auto Parts / Ford Performance No. 15 in victory lane on Friday night at I-80 Speedway for the third time this season after a dominating performance during the 30-lap main event. 

Schatz started fourth on the grid, but moved by Sheldon Haudenschild on the opening circuit to take over third. 

Schatz was the only driver in the top five running the low side of the speedway and he used it to his advantage as he reeled in both David Gravel and leader Carson Macedo. 

The 10-time series champion raced by Gravel on lap 10 before storming passed Macedo on the following circuit as the leaders encountered lapped traffic. 

Once Schatz took command of the point, there was no looking back. The Fargo, N.D. driver quickly drove away from the battle for second and opened up a healthy lead. 

By the end of the caution-free event, Schatz had over a four-second lead as he took the checkers. 

The win was the first of his career at I-80 Speedway after finishing second in three of his last four appearances at the four-tenths mile oval. 

“We really didn’t feel good in the dash,” said Schatz who went from second to fourth in dash. “The guys took a big swing at the setup for the feature to try to make it better and it obviously worked. That’s what’s fun about racing… when you take those big swings and make something happen. Hats off to the whole Carquest / Ford Performance team.”

The Outlaws made the nearly eight hour trek to Rapid City, S.D. for Sunday’s event at Black Hills Speedway. Schatz came up one spot shy of sweeping the entire night. He set quick time in qualifying before racing to wins in both his heat and the dash to earn the pole for the feature. 

Outside front row starter Haudenschild grabbed the lead on lap one, however, and led all 25 laps as Schatz ended the weekend with a second place finish. 

“Hats off to (Haudenschild), he did a great job. He set a fast pace early on and I just had to try to move around the track to try to get by him. I wish we could try that one over again and do a few things differently, but that’s not the way this game is played. We’ll move on and get to race again on Friday,” said Schatz.

Up next, the Outlaws head to Skagit Speedway in Burlington, Washington for the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals Sept. 3-5. The series then heads to Gray’s Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington on Monday, Sept. 6. 

Schatz enters the four-race weekend sitting fourth in the standings, 222 points out of the lead.

Schatz and the entire Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team would like to thank all of their great partners for their continued support!

Carquest Auto Parts, Curb Records, Ford Performance, Sage Fruit, Digital Ally, Mobil 1, Absolute Automation & Security, Rush Truck Centers, Advance Auto Parts, Hunt Brothers Pizza,  J&J Auto Racing.

Schatz’s Statbook
2021 World of Outlaws Results:
Races: 59
Wins: 3
Top Fives: 33
Top Tens: 45

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Contact:
Mike Spieker
SpiekerPromotions.com

Photo by Trent Gower.