FARGO, N.D. (April 14, 2025) – Donny Schatz had his best weekend of the season at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, gaining 12 spots in the feature on Friday and garnering his first podium finish of the season on Saturday.
Schatz struggled early on Friday night, qualifying 11th quick in Group B, which mired him midpack for his heat race where he went on to finish fifth.
That put the 10-time series champion 18th on the grid for the 40-lap feature.
A new ownership group has recently made numerous improvements to the Pevely, Missouri high-banked oval. Most notable has been the racing surface, which promoted passing, slide jobs and good overall racing nearly all weekend.
Schatz used that to his advantage on Friday night to drive from 18th to sixth, passing 12 cars and coming up position shy of the night’s KSE Hard Charger Award.
Schatz carried that momentum into Saturday night as a dash appearance led to a fifth place starting position in the feature.
Schatz quickly moved up to the third position, but the track took rubber near the halfway point of the 40-lap feature. Schatz went on to finish third behind Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo.
“My guys are doing a phenomenal job,” Schatz said after the race on Saturday. “Friday was big. We got ourselves through the field quite aways. Tonight, we made that much more improvement. It makes you want to get on to the next race sooner than later.”
A doubleheader at the famed Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa is up next. Schatz goes into the weekend sitting sixth the Outlaw standings, 212 points behind leader David Gravel.
2025 Stats:
Races: 15
Wins: 0
Top-Fives: 2
Top-Tens: 10