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KNOXVILLE, IA – For the third consecutive year, Donny Schatz parked his familiar No. 15 in Victory Lane at the Knoxville Raceway in Sprint Car racing’s most prestigious event.
Schatz won $150,000 for his efforts at the 48th Annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals while becoming only the second driver in the history of the event to capture three wins in a row. The last driver to do it was Steve Kinser between 1992 and 1995.
“When I use to sit here as a kid in the back of the grandstands I never expected to come here and race cars,” said the three time defending champion from Fargo, N.D. “I never expected to come here and win the Knoxville Nationals and I certainly never expected to win three in a row. This is a second dream come true.”
Schatz run to the Knoxville Championship with his Tony Stewart Racing mount wasn’t as easy as it was in year’s past. This year Schatz was forced to run the B-Main on qualifying night after failing to finish in the top four in his heat race event. He then had to race his way up through the pack to guarantee a better starting position in Saturday night’s concluding event.
“When I saw the heat lineup for the first night that I come here the first that crossed my mind was don’t put your racecar on the hook,” stated Schatz. “As a good race car driver you have to sometimes not do silly things. I didn’t want to do any silly things in that heat race.
“When you are quick time and you get yourself into the B (Main) you get through that. I know I can get up through the A (Main). I feel like we are a good enough team with a good enough race car.”
Schatz started the feature from the outside of the second row in his J&J mount thanks to his impressive run on Wednesday night. Within the first five laps he easily moved by Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski to put himself in the runner-up position behind Jason Myers.
At the halfway point Schatz was running in second with Myers starting to pull away in slower traffic. Schatz was saved by a caution on lap 22 when Tyler Walker slowed and came to a stop on the front straightaway.
Three laps later Schatz was able to pull off the pass to take the lead away from Myers. He held on through one more caution to claim his third national’s title in as many years.
For Myers, it was his best ever finish in the nationals as he crossed the line just behind Schatz in second. Craig Dollansky, of Elk River, Minn., moved from the fifth starting position to finish in third.
Danny Lasoski, of Dover, M.O., came up short in his bid to capture his 93rd win at the Marion County oval as he settled for fourth. Steve Kinser, of Bloomington, Ind., battled with Lasoski for much of the race but wound up finishing in fifth.
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ALMOST READY TO GO: Doug Clark dropped the green flag with the yellow coming quickly after that. The caution was to put out in order to place Walker at the rear for pulling out of line and passing cars prior to the green flag.
THIS TIME IS FOR REAL: The next green flag started the 30-lap event with Myers, of Clovis, Cal., jumping out to the lead in his Elite Racing, KPC chassis No.14. Myers raced around the outside of the pole-sitter, Lasoski, to take the lead in turns three and four.
MOVING ON UP: The race remained green with Myers leading and Schatz shooting by Kinser and then Lasoski for the second position on lap 4. Schatz utilized all lanes of the speedway to get in position to challenge Myers for the lead.
CLOSE TO THE LEAD: Myers began encountering slower cars at the tail of the field with Schatz in pursuit within the first third of the race. On lap 9, the two drivers were virtually even on the back straightaway as Schatz tried to get under Myers for the lead as they battled in heavy lapped traffic. Schatz was unable to gain the lead and Myers began pulling away.
“I decided to kind to save the tire because I didn’t expect it to stay green that long,” stated Schatz. “I probably was playing it too cautious there during the middle of the race.”
IT’S ALL GONE NOW: On lap 22 the caution came out as Walker exploded an engine on the back straightaway and coasted to a stop on the front stretch near the entrance to the pits. This changed the entire complexion of the event. Schatz was now on the rear bumper of Myers ride.
NO STOPPING HIM: On the restart Myers bolted to the top of turn one with Schatz taking the low line. The pair battled of off turn two with Myers holding onto a small advantage. Myers stranglehold on the lead came to an end on lap 25 when Schatz got a strong off of the fourth turn and pulled up to the top in turns one and two to take the lead.
“When the yellow came out I had saved enough tire where I had a good race car there at the end that I could sneak by him (Myers) on the bottom,” commented Schatz. “Once I got back by him I needed to get back up on the cushion and roll.”
ONE MORE CHANCE: Schatz started to pull away when Shane Stewart brought out the final yellow of the event bunching the field up again on lap 27. Once the race resumed, no one had anything for Schatz as he cruised to Victory Lane once again in Sprint Car racing’s biggest event of the season.
SECOND BEFORE A WIN: Myers crossed the line just behind Schatz giving him a podium finish for the first time in his career. Like Schtaz in the past, Myers hopes that a second place finish will eventually lead him to a win.
“It’s kind of heart wrenching to let it slip away like that but to get our first podium finish at the nationals we couldn’t be pleased more,” stated Myers. “They say you got run second before you can win and now we got that out of the way.”
CAUTION COST HIM: Myers had checked out prior the caution with less than ten laps to go. Had the caution not come out Myers may have been able to hold on to win his first national’s title.
“It’s a yellow flag, you can’t control everything that goes on in a race,” said Myers. “Had he (Walker) gotten off the race track it might have different story for us. The fact is he didn’t and second place is still a good run for us.”
BAD TO GOOD: Dollansky’s third place finish was also a career best for the outlaw regular. It came after a week in which the team had various problems including losing two motors. One motor on qualifying night and then another on Saturday night during A-Main hot laps.
“It started for us on qualifying night when we broke a valve spring and we started chasing the ignition and it ended up being the valve spring,” stated Dollansky of his problems. “We ran our whole qualifying night that way and then we lost that motor. Tonight we lost a motor in hot laps. We changed that and the motor we put in wasn’t running right. We were behind the eight ball all week long and to come home in third is pretty good.”
B-MAIN: Daryn Pittman set a new track record in the 22-lap B-Main with a time of 6:12.5. This excludes the red at the drop of the green flag when Roger Crockett, of Medford, O.R., got over the cushion in turn one and flipped numerous times.
On the restart, Pittman beat Chad Kemenah into turn one. Pittman and Kemanah battled throughout the opening laps of the event, but by the midway point Pittman began pulling away.
At the finish it was Pittman, Kemenah, Terry McCarl and Gary Wright earning births into the A-Main.
C-MAIN: Action got underway with Dean Jacobs taking the lead from the pole starting position. Jacobs led the 15-lap event until the 12th circuit when his No.59 went up in smoke on the front straightaway. This handed the lead and the eventual win to Jesse Hockett in his Buch Motorsports mount.
D-MAIN: All-Star Circuit of Champions regular, Rob Chaney, captured the win in the 12-lap D-Main. It took two attempts to get the main underway. On the first try, Bill Rose stopped in turn four negating the start. On the second attempt, John Vandenberg flipped in turn three.
E-MAIN: JJ Hickle, of Quilcene, Wash., started on the outside of the front row and led the entire caution free event to earn a win in the 10-lap event.
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA - August 9, 2008 (410 RESULTS)
A Feature, 30 laps, No Time: 1. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND; 2. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA; 3. Craig Dollansky, Elk River MN; 4. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 5. Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN; 6. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 7. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 8. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 9. Dusty Zomer, Brandon SD; 10. Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls SD; 11. Sammy Swindell, Germantown TN; 12. Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. ; 13. Paul McMahan, Nashville TN; 14. Billy Alley, Lincoln NE; 15. Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK; 16. Wayne Johnson, Knoxville IA; 17. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN; 18. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 19. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 20. Shane Stewart, Bixby OK; 21. Bronson Maeschen, Knoxville IA; 22. Tyler Walker, Encino CA; 23. Jason Solwold, Mt. Vernon WA; 24. Gary Wright, Hooks TX; Lap Leaders: Meyers 1-24; Schatz 25-30
B Feature, 22 laps, 6:12.5 (New Track Record): 1. Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK; 2. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 3. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 4. Gary Wright, Hooks TX; 5. Greg Hodnett, Thomasville PA; 6. Tim Kaeding, San Jose CA; 7. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 8. Jack Dover, Springfield NE; 9. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX; 10. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 11. Jonathan Allard, Chico CA; 12. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK; 13. Ed Lynch Jr, Apollo PA; 14. Jason Johnson, Eunice LA; 15. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw MO; 16. Davey Heskin, St. Michael MN; 17. Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City IA; 18. Mike Moore, Des Moines IA; 19. Sean Michael, Allentown PA; 20. Travis Whitney, Coon Rapids MN; 21. Travis Rilat, Forney TX; 22. Roger Crockett, Medford OR; Lap Leaders: Pittman 1-22.
C Feature, 15 laps, No Time: 1. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw MO; 2. Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City IA; 3. Danny Smith, Danville IN; 4. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks ND; 5. Doug Esh, Lancaster PA; 6. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 7. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 8. Fred Rahmer, Salfordville PA; 9. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA; 10. Rager Phillips, Pleasantville IA; 11. Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa PA; 12. Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount IN; 13. Cody Darrah, Red Lion PA; 14. Brock Mayes, Bucyrus OH; 15. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 16. Dean Jacobs, Wooster OH; 17. Don Droud Jr., Lincoln NE; 18. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington IA; 19. Lee Sowell, Nesbit MS; 20. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE; 21. Lee Jacobs, Wooster OH; 22. Rob Chaney, Millersburg OH; Lap Leaders: Hockett 1; L. Jacobs 2-11; Hockett 12-15.
D Feature, 12 laps, 3:14.3: 1. Rob Chaney, Millersburg OH; 2. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington IA; 3. Cody Darrah, Red Lion PA; 4. Lance Dewease, Fayetteville PA; 5. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 6. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA; 7. Justin Zimmerman, Royce City TX; 8. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR; 9. Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls SD; 10. Bill Balog, Eau Claire WI; 11. Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. ; 12. Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge OH; 13. Caleb Griffith, Sandusky OH; 14. Chad Hillier, Burlington WA; 15. John Lambertz, Sioux Falls SD; 16. Greg Nikitenko, Minot ND; 17. Dion Hindi, Albuquerque NM; 18. JJ Hickle, Quilcene WA; 19. Brian Ellenberger, Butler PA; 20. John VanDenBerg, Albia IA; 21. Bill Rose, Plainfield IN; 22. Bob Weuve, Newton IA; Lap Leaders: Chaney 1-12.
E Feature, 10 laps, 2:41.7: 1. JJ Hickle, Quilcene WA; 2. Bill Rose, Plainfield IN; 3. John Lambertz, Sioux Falls SD; 4. Greg Nikitenko, Minot ND; 5. Scott Uttech, New Berlin WI; 6. Matt Wasmund, Jackson MN; 7. Marlon Jones, Harrisburg SD; 8. Ty Bartz, Sheboygan Falls WI; 9. Steve Dyer, Vancouver, BC, Can. ; 10. Robert Bell, Colfax IA; Lap Leaders: Hickle 1-10. |
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