Donny Schatz Continues to Put Up Strong Numbers

INDIANAPOLIS Oct. 8, 2008 – It’s always been best for Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz to aim high and try to improve on everything he does. The two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series star set some lofty goals before the 2008 campaign. And with only seven nights of racing remaining, he’s positioned himself to reach a number of them. The numbers that matter are seven and 21 for Schatz this weekend as he joins the rest of the WoO stars at Hollywood Hills Speedway (HHS) in San Felipe Pueblo, N.M.

Seven is the number of races remaining for Schatz in 2008 behind the wheel of the TSR No. 15 Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J. Two at HHS, a pair in California next week, a single-night show in Topeka, Kansas, on Oct. 25, and the two-night Vault World Finals at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Twenty-one is the number of wins in 2008 Schatz would have if he is able to sweep Saturday and Sunday’s programs at HHS.

Winning races has always been the focus and during the last three seasons, the Fargo, N.D., resident has put up convincing numbers winning 21 features in 2006 and 20 feature events in 2007. Last Saturday night, Schatz won his 19th feature event of the season at Princeton (Minn.) Speedway in dominating fashion by leading all 40 laps of the race. The win was his 15th WoO triumph this year and 85th of his 12-year WoO career. This season, he’s also scored a pair of All-Star Circuit of Champions wins, the Ollie’s 360 Challenge opener, and his third consecutive Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals.

The WoO series had held seven events at HHS, a high-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval, all of which occurred during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Schatz has five top-10s in those events. He led the first 13 laps of the 35-lap “A” feature on Nov. 2, 2002, but his best finish at the track came in his most recent appearance. That was on Sept. 13, 2003, when Schatz was the fastest qualifier, finished second in the first heat race, fourth in the dash event and raced from his seventh starting position to a third-place finish.

The victory at Princeton was Schatz’ series-leading sixth victory of the season on a 3/8-mile mile oval. The night before, he charged from 14th to finish seventh at North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn., to collect his fifth KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award of the season.

With those finishes in Minnesota, Schatz added to his lead in the season-long championship point standings and now has 8,177 points, 123 more than second-place Jason Meyers. Schatz leads the series with 15 WoO wins, has 42 top-five finishes and 54 top-10s in 57 races this season.

On Friday and Saturday, the pit gates at HHS will open at 1 p.m. MDT with the grandstands opening at 2 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. For more details, contact HHS at (505) 264-2796. The official Web site of HHS is www.hollywoodhillsspeedway.com.

Race fans unable to attend this weekend’s doubleheader from New Mexico can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 TSR/Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J:

Winning races has been your goal all season. After adding another one last week, does that help you and your team down the stretch?

“Winning is always important, but winning late in the year keeps your guys sharp. This is the time of the year when we are really only racing weekends, so there is a lot of time to think about what you did in the last race. When you win, you are still trying to figure out what you could have done better, and it also keeps your guys hungry for more.

“We’ve always used this last part of the season to be trying things for the next year. This year is no different, so to win races when you are experimenting is really a bonus, too. We’ve still got the big picture in mind with trying to win the most races and be there at end for the season championship, but we’re also smart enough to know that we need to continue to improve every night.”

It’s been a while since you’ve been to Hollywood Hills Speedway. Has your approach changed and what do you expect this weekend?

“There have been a lot of changes since 2003, but the bottom line is the driver with the best car usually wins. This Armor All crew (Rick Warner, Shane Bowers, and Kyle Sundby) has worked its tail off all year to put a good car under me every night, and I’m sure we’ll have a good car in New Mexico, as well.

“I know the track out there is one where it’s been tough to get a good racing surface. The wind, sunshine and sand make it slick to rubber pretty quickly and if you are the guy up front, that’s fine, but we like to be able to race to the front, too. We’ve had some tracks where rubber came in and they were able to re-work the track and we ended up having a good race. That’s what I’m hoping for. We haven’t been there for a few years and we’d like to put on a good show for all the fans.”