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High-Banked Excitement
Two-Time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz
Seeking First Triumph in Hoosier State at Tri-State Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS (April 15, 2008) – When you put 24 of the best winged Sprint car drivers on a high-banked quarter-mile dirt oval, almost anything can happen. Usually, the outcome is 40 of the most exciting laps of the season. This Saturday, two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint series champion Donny Schatz is hoping to be right in the thick of things when he and the rest of the traveling Sprint car stars converge on Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt , Ind.
Schatz will drive the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) No. 15 Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J in the series’ seventh night of racing in 2008. Even though he ranks sixth in all-time WoO feature wins with 70, the Fargo , N.D. , native is still searching for his first triumph in the Hoosier state. He came close to claiming that first win last June at Kokomo Speedway before finishing second, and he’s had some exciting performances on the high banks of Haubstadt.
Saturday’s race will be Schatz’ 10th appearance at the ultra-fast track where the lap record is a blistering 11.11 seconds. He’s scored six consecutive top-10 finishes at Tri-State, and three of those have come after starting deep in the field. In June 1998, Schatz was in his second full season on the road with the Outlaws and charged from 23rd to finish 10th. The following May, he used a provisional starting spot and raced from 26th to finish sixth. Last season, he started 18th and stormed to a sixth-place finish. His career-best effort at the track came in October 2004, when he finished fourth.
Through six nights of racing in 2008, Schatz has finished second on four occasions, including last Friday night at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway. His six consecutive top-eight finishes to start the season extended his current Outlaws top-10 streak to 29 races dating back to August 14, 2007.
Schatz holds the third position in the WoO standings with 857 points, trailing leader Craig Dollansky by 36 points entering this weekend.
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series program at Tri-State Speedway, located in southwestern Indiana on U.S. 41, three miles north of I-64, will be the 26th time the track has hosted the winged warriors. Thirteen different drivers have been able to win at the track during the first 25 events.
Pit gates open at 2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday and Grandstand gates open at 4 p.m. Hot laps are tentatively scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Race tickets can be purchased by calling (812) 768-6025, or by visiting the track’s Web site, www.tristatespeedway.com.
Race fans can also listen to all the action from the weekend on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other fans listening to the action.
Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 TSR/Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J:
What kind of challenges does racing at Tri-State present?
“The best part about racing with the World of Outlaws is that we get to race at all kinds of different tracks. Tri-State is your typical bullring, where you have to be able to get your car working all over. There’s usually a cushion to lean on and the bottom groove can be fast, as well. You just have to be ready for anything at Tri-State. It can get pretty wild, but it’s always a good show. I know I’ve been able to run from the back to the front several times. Hopefully, we’ll be starting close up there and have a chance to win at the end of 40 laps.
“The thing we hope for every race is that lapped traffic will come into play. Last weekend, we were sitting in a pretty good position as we approached lapped traffic. But a yellow flag took us out of it. This week, the track is so small that the leaders will be dealing with lapped traffic early and often. We feel good about how our cars work through the middle of the track and that usually allows us to excel later in the race.”
Last week, you picked up your first fast qualifier award and were in the top three every time you hit the track. Can you do anything so that momentum carries over to this week?
“Once the checkered flag falls on a race, it’s over and behind you. All you can do is look to the next one and try your best. Obviously, being the fastest car in qualifying last week was a good start. We try to do that every night. We’ve got great horsepower from Chevy that helped us last week and it will be important again this week. When you go to a tight, little place like Haubstadt, every little thing counts. I know (crew chief) Ricky (Warner) and all the guys will be working hard to give me a great car again this week. We’re hoping to get some testing in before the race, so we can continue getting better.
“We’re still in the mode of only concentrating on the next race. Winning is the expectation that we all have at Tony Stewart Racing, and we’re working as hard as we can to get that first Outlaws win of the year for all the people at Armor All, Chevy, and ParkerStore.”
For complete Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series results, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com. For information regarding TSR, Schatz, Armor All, Chevy, or ParkerStore, log on to www.tonystewartracing.com, www.donnyschatz.com, www.aa-ownercenter.com, www.chevrolet.com, or www.parkerstore.com.
-TSR-
About Armor All
The Armor All/STP Products Company is a subsidiary of The Clorox Company, headquartered in Oakland , Calif. Clorox is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with fiscal year 2007 revenues of $4.8 billion. With 7,600 employees worldwide, the company manufacturers products in two dozen countries and markets them in more than 100 countries. For more information about Clorox, visit www.TheCloroxCompany.com. For more information on Armor All, go to www.armorall.com or www.aa-ownercenter.com. |
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