Frank Smith photo

Fargo, N.D. (May 27, 2024) – Donny Schatz scored top tens in all three races contested last weekend in the Buckeye State in the No. 15 CarQuest / Ford Performance J&J including a weekend-best fifth place finish on the opening night of the two race set at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe.

Schatz started Friday night at Atomic Speedway with the sixth best qualifying lap, a heat win from the third starting spot and a berth in the dash. Schatz finished sixth in the dash and started on the outside of the third row in the first 30-lap main event of the weekend at Atomic.

Schatz was running sixth following a lap 23 red flag for Sheldon Haudenschild when he made his way into the top ten on the first lap following the feature’s resumption, passing Brady Bacon on the bottom of turns three and four to take the spot. Schatz ended the night in fifth.

Schatz went out late in qualifying on night two at Atomic and ended the session 19th quick. Schatz saw a rough start to the night continue in the heat race as front end damage from a turn two slide job produced a ninth place heat finish.

Schatz started deep in the 12-lap Last Chance Showdown but charged from eighth to second to easily qualify into the final 30-lapper of the weekend at Atomic. Throughout the first half of the feature, Schatz sliced and diced his way through the field, climbing up to 12th before a lap 13 restart. 

Schatz made three passes on the restart to make his first appearance in the top ten of the race on lap 14. Schatz stayed in the top ten for the duration of the race, finishing ninth and winning the KSE Hard Charger Award for passing 11 cars.

Schatz and the Outlaws returned to Fremont Speedway for the first time since 2016 for the Rick Ferkel Tribute on Memorial Day Monday where Schatz finished fifth quick in his qualifying group and second in his heat, making his second dash in three nights.

Schatz started in row three of the main event and remained solidly inside the top five for a majority of the first half of the red flag plagued 35-lap main event but lost a couple spots around the midway point and ended the race with an eighth place finish.

This week, Schatz and the Outlaws head to the Badger State for the first time in 2024 as the series will again be part of the Jim Boyd Memorial at Beaver Dam Raceway. Schatz had appeared at 32 of the 33 previous Outlaw events held at the three-eighths mile oval.

Schatz has two wins, 16 top fives, and 26 top tens in his career at Beaver Dam. Schatz is third in the series standings but is only 52 markers back of point leader David Gravel for the series lead as Schatz’s quest for series title number 11 continues.

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, Advance Auto Parts, Curb Records, Ford Performance, Sage Fruit, Mobil 1, Absolute Automation & Security, J&J Auto Racing, Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts

2024 Stats:
Races: 24
Wins: 2
Top Fives: 11
Top Tens: 21