FARGO – The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars annual June stop in North Dakota is always a busy one for Donny Schatz. It’s usually the first time the North Dakota native gets to race in his home state with his championship winning team. Results from this past weekend’s WoO action included a fourth-place finish at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks and he finished seventh in the Outlaws debut at nearby I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn.
Schatz continued his string of top-10 finishes in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet Performance J&J with his 12th straight top-seven finish at the always exciting River Cities Speedway. He qualified second in the field of 36 cars and finished fourth in heat two. An eight pill draw didn’t help his chances for win number three as he started the dash seventh. Schatz tried several ways to advance both in the dash and during the first 30 laps of the main event. A red flag on lap 34 gave his STP team a chance to make an adjustment to his machine, which led to him advancing forward. His forward progress nearly reached third, but he wasn’t able to get around Steve Kinser on the final lap.
Saturday was his first trip back to the semi-banked, 3/8-mile dirt oval in Fergus Falls since his 1994 season with the WISSOTA 360 Sprint car series. He went out 26th in the field of 28 and timed in 10th. A victory in heat one transferred him into the dash, but once again he started in the fourth row. The lightning fast track made passing difficult throughout the 30-lap race, and Schatz took the opportunities when they came and finished seventh.
He continues to rank second in the season standings with the Outlaws and returns to action this weekend with races at LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway, Beaver Dam (Wisc.) Raceway and Cedar Lake Speedway in Somerset, Wisc.
Donny Schatz races his dirt late model at River Cities Speedway (Rick Rea photo)
That wasn’t the whole story for the five-time and reigning WoO STP Sprint Car Series champion. His week back home also included a pair of races behind the wheel of his Dirt Late Model. Last Wednesday, he raced his No. 15 Petro Fargo/Fastlane Car Wash to a fifth-place finish at Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn., and he pulled double duty Friday night at River Cities Speedway jumping into his late model following the 40-lap WoO main event. He started the race fifth, but was moved back to ninth following the first lap. He was made his way back up to fifth during the race, and ultimately was scored seventh.