Donny Schatz: “I’m glad things happened at the right time”

Donny Schatz used plenty of patience and perseverance on Monday night to earn his eighth A-Feature win of the season. He waited until the last lap of the 35-lap contest to pass Kerry Madsen for the lead and ultimately the win at Black Hills Speedway. It was his first win since May 25, exactly one month ago.

The reigning World of Outlaws champion also endured a couple of delays in the racing program to rework the track. After time trials were completed on Monday night, the track crew reworked the 3/8-mile to provide a better racing surface for the heats races. They came back out after the second heat race to remove rocks from the track that had cut down several tires, as well as struck a couple of drivers, and thus rework the surface for a second time.

“It was a trying night, ” said Schatz, driver of the Snap-on Tolls J&J. “We had all kinds of issues. We had guys hit with rocks and then reworking the track. All in all they worked their tails off to get it right. They did a great job. The wind rolled in here late and that made it tough to drive. We saved our tires. I tried everything I could, and I pulled up next to him (Kerry Madsen) and he made a mistake and got a little tight. I was able to get by. I’m glad things happened at the right time. ”

Schatz lined up fourth for the 35-lap A-Feature and gained two spots on the opening lap, as he got around Tim Shaffer and Jason Meyers. From there, he patiently shadowed Madsen looking for any opening to make a move. He closed to within a few car lengths a number of times in traffic throughout the race.

The opening that he needed came as the pair exited the second turn on the final lap, with Schatz diving low under Madsen who slipped out of the low groove and drifted up the track a bit. Schatz powered down the back straightaway and cleanly made his way through the third and fourth turns to earn the $10,000 win.

It was his second win of the season in the specially painted red and black Snap-on Tools car. He won in the car’s debut at Knoxville Raceway at the end of April. In all five events he has competed in with the car, he has finished in the Top-10. He extended his mark of Top-10 finishes to 33 in 36 events, as he continues to chase with second straight World of Outlaws title.

“I think the yellow car works a little better, but this car is not a slacker, ” noted Schatz. “Every time we do something to it changes. We’ll run it again a few times, and hopefully we can get a few more wins before we put it away. ”

Madsen used a strong start on the outside of the front row to beat Jason Meyers into the first turn to take the initial lead. The current leader in the battle for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award led the first 34 laps while enduring two yellow flags and a red flag.

“It was a good run, ” said Madsen, driver of the Selma Shell Maxim. “We just came up short. ”

A couple of cautions hindered Schatz as he was waiting for lapped traffic in order to look for a way around Madsen, who opened up a number of sizeable leads throughout the 35- lap event. In clean race track, Schatz was not sure he would be able to get around the Australian driver.

“We got bottled up a little bit, ” admitted Schatz. “When it’s rubbered up and we all run around the bottom, there is not really much you can do to go by guys. I would have liked to have seen it stay green and have gotten into traffic and moved around. When you get in traffic, you are forced to make people make mistakes, but it’s pretty rare on open race track. ”

Schatz not only beat the 23 other competitors but also the weather, as a strong storm was predicted for the latter part of Monday evening. While the rains did not come, heavy wind gusts developed during the B-Main and remained through the A-Feature, making the cars a handful to drive, and inhibiting the visibility of the drivers at times. Despite all the obstacles, Schatz had nothing but kind words for track promoter Shane Liebig and his staff.

“These guys put every effort forth and did a great job, ” said Schatz, the reigning World of Outlaws champion. “I know Shane Liebig from racing here way back in the 1990’s. He worked his tail off. When everyone was fixing to load up because it was rocky, we had to try to do something to help him get this show in for the fans, for him, and for our sport. There were some people that were probably not very happy with it, but the show has to go on for everyone’s interest. We were glad that Mother Nature held out and didn’t give us any rain. ”

While he wanted to win, Madsen was modestly happy with his runner-up finish. It was his sixth Top-10 finish of the season. After enduring bad luck for the last number of races, he was proud of how hard his crew worked on Monday night.

“We kind of struggled in the A-Feature, ” said Madsen, driver of the Selma Shell Maxim. “I had good track position in the heat and dash. I made a mistake in the feature and (Donny) Schatz was able to capitalize on it. The team really needs a win, but this is a good result for the team. We have some bad luck, but we keep working and hopefully we can get this thing back in the Top-10. ”

While it was a tough night to negotiate lapped traffic, Madsen knew that the cars were racing for position and fighting to stay on the lead lap, and he did not expect them to give the leaders an inch.

“They weren’t doing anything wrong, ” said Madsen. “They don’t know you are there until you let them know you are there. At the same time, if I can’t pass them, then the guy behind me probably can’t pass me. You just try to be patient. ”

Despite all the downtime on Monday night, Madsen was able to keep his focus and block everything else out when he strapped into his car. Being a veteran or the sport, he knows when his concentration needs to be at its peak level.

“Once you get back to racing, it is back to normal, ” he said. “The program got rushed through and we had to make some changes and the guys had to work quick to get that done. The crew did a great job. ”

Jason Meyers had a consistent night as he finished third, to earn his 25th Top-10 finish of the season, driving the Primerica Financial Maxim. After winning last Friday night at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas, he endured some back luck the following night. Danny Lasoski turned in a very valiant effort on Monday night, after sustaining an arm injury during the second heat when he was struck by a rock. He earned a spot in the Crane Cams Dash after turning in the second fastest lap in time trials and finishing third in the first heat. He finished fourth in the Roth Motorsports JEI to earn his 27th Top-10 of the season.

He started the A-Feature in the eighth position and gained three spots on the second lap as he got around rookie Zach Chappell, and Randy Hanngan. He inherited the fifth spot when Daryn Pittman had trouble coming off the fourth turn bringing out the red flag. Shortly after the restart the 2001 World of Outlaws Champion was able to get around Tim Shafer for fourth.

Shaffer finished fifth on Monday night to earn his 11th Top-Five finish of the season aboard the Casey’s General Store Maxim. He dropped back a spot on the opening lap, but on lap-2 was able to retake the position.

Craig Dollansky finished sixth in the Karavan Trailers Maxim, with Randy Hannagan seventh in the Penthouse Magazine Maxim. Steve Kinser was eighth in the Q Oil Maxim, with Terry McCarl in the Big Games Treestands Eagle in ninth. Joey Saldana rounded out the Top-10 after starting 19th in the event in the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI. The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, June 29 with their inaugural visit to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota.