Donny Schatz Links with Kevin Kozlowski, Paul Silva to Pilot Works Limited Car for Western Swing

From WorldofOutlaws.com

Donny Schatz has found a ride for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series western swing.

The 10-time Series champion will get behind the wheel of Kevin Kozlowski’s Works Limited Sprint Car with Paul Silva on the wrenches for the six-race stretch that begins at New Mexico’s Vado Speedway Park (Sept. 5-6), then moves to California’s Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway on Sept. 12 and Perris Auto Speedway on Sept. 13, and wraps up at Tulare, CA’s Thunderbowl Raceway for the $83,000-to-win Dennis Roth Classic (Sept. 19-20).

Schatz parted ways with Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing less than two weeks ago after an 18-year partnership. He jumped in a Big Game Motorsports car at Ogilvie Raceway and has driven for Lunstra Motorsports since then as he navigates his 29th season with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Four starts with the Lunstra team have yielded a trio of top 10s with a best of seventh at Red River Valley Speedway for the Fargo, ND driver. Schatz’s final event in Dave Lunstra’s car will be at Brandon, SD’s Huset’s Speedway this weekend.

“Sam Elicker from JVI, someone who is a friend and obviously involved with Kyle (Larson) and Paul, organized it,” Schatz said. “He wanted me to call Paul and drive for him on the West Coast. Obviously, it’s not Paul’s car. It’s not the 57. It’s Kevin’s (Kozlowski) car. It’s a great opportunity. I consider Paul one of the best in the sport. To be able to drive for the caliber of someone like him and that group of guys is really an honor. Glad they’re giving me the opportunity to go out west.”

Schatz has seen Silva’s work ethic firsthand, as Silva has spent time in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing shop before, but now Schatz will get to see that effort put into the car he’s driving.

“Paul is a very quiet, reserved person similar to myself,” Schatz said. “Back in the day, he’d come to TSR and hung out with Jimmy (Carr) a lot. I’ve seen how hard he works. I’ve seen how he doesn’t spend anything that’s unnecessary, so I have the utmost respect for what he’s done. His record speaks for itself, just like mine does. It’s going to be quite an honor to race with him. I can tell you after we got this situation done, it wasn’t an hour later, he was texting me, ‘How much do you weigh? What about this? You OK with that?’ So, he’s obviously thinking ahead on all of these things that maybe some people take for granted.”

Silva is no stranger to success at some of the tracks he’ll be teamed with Schatz. Justin Sanders took the Kozlowski-owned Sprint Car to victory at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway with the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) in 2021. He’s won multiple Trophy Cups at Thunderbowl Raceway, along with a World of Outlaws win with Kyle Larson behind the wheel of Kozlowski’s car in 2022.

The Works Limited car is one of many opportunities Schatz had open as teams continue to offer support as he looks to finish up the 2025 campaign.

“It’s really overwhelming,” Schatz said. “The part that’s hard to decipher is what’s right and what’s wrong. I’ve had so many great people stick their neck out… You’ve got all these people. It’s so overwhelming. It’s almost like you want to tell them yes because of the great opportunities. Some people have driven for a lot of different people, and I haven’t. Obviously, it was cool to say I drove for the Big Game Motorsports guys and got to work with Cody Jacobs. Now, I’m going to get to say I worked with Paul Silva driving Kevin’s car.”

Schatz finishes his stint with Lunstra Motorsports at this weekend’s L.G. Everist Huset’s Shootout at Brandon, SD’s Huset’s Speedway on Aug. 30-31 before jumping in the Works Limited Sprint Car for the western swing.