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Elbridge, NY— Over the years on the road with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, Donny Schatz has taken a great liking to a number of tracks that the series annually visits from coast-to-coast. Many of those are big, fast, wide, momentum race tracks such as Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in New York, where the series will compete today.
Schatz has two career A-Feature wins at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. He was victorious for the first time at the track in 2004, taking the lead from 20-time champion Steve Kinser who was celebrating his 50th birthday that day, to lead the final two laps of the event. Schatz also picked up the checkered flag at the sprawling 5/8-mile in 2006, besting Daryn Pittman and Joey Saldana. He has seven Top-10 finishes at the track in his career, with six of those being in the Top-Five, including two consecutive. He will look to add to this impressive record at the track, as the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series make their traditional Memorial stop at Rolling Wheels tonight.
“It’s always good to go up there,” said the two-time defending series champion. “The track is unique and there are always good fans there. We always enjoy going there. I’ve had some wins there and we always seem to be pretty fast up there. I’m excited to get to a race track that we know will get slick.”
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series drivers reach some of their highest speeds all season at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. With the track record being just a tick over 141 miles per hour, the track holds the distinction of having the fastest average lap time in terms of speed, of any track the series visits.
“You definitely feel it when you enter the corners,” noted the North Dakota native, of the speed the cars carry at the track. “You have to have your race car pretty decent. The track is usually pretty wide and good for moving around, which allows for plenty of passing. Hopefully we put ourselves in a good position there.”
The event at Rolling Wheels is one of just two stops this season for the World of Outlaws on 5/8-mile tracks, both of which are in New York Along with his strong track record at Rolling Wheels, Schatz also has had a great deal of success at Orange County Fair Speedway, the other 5/8-mile facility that the series visits.
“You really don’t have to do anything different,” Schatz pointed out of racing on larger tracks. “The track is pretty flat and the straight-a-ways are so long. When the track gets slick, that is when it slows down some and gets racy.”
The second generation driver is in the midst of his first season behind the wheel of the Armor All J&J for Tony Stewart Racing, as part of a two-car effort for the two-time NASCAR champion. Schatz recently moved into the second spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings, as he chases his third consecutive title. He picked up his first World of Outlaws win with the team on May 3 at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. He is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in all 11 races thus far in 2008.
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