The 2006 racing season was a career best for World of Outlaws (WoO) star Donny Schatz, and after claiming his first career WoO title, the ParkerStore sponsored racer is primed to defend his championship.
The off-season consisted of another impressive run of races in Australia that included five consecutive wins, his sixth $50K Sprintcar International and third consecutive Outlaws Down Under victory. Now his sights are set on maintaining his position on top of the sprint car world.
“We are really excited to get back to the track and do what we do, ” said Schatz, who garnered numerous awards following his championship including being named first team All-America by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, earning the National Sprint Car Poll Driver of the Year and Team of Year honors, voted the 2006 Lucas Oil/Dirt Nation sprint car driver of the year, and most recently ranking as the number one driver in Australia. “Last year we proved that we can be champions, and our goal right now is as simple as it was last year at this time and that’s to win races. “
Winning races was the key ingredient to the Fargo, ND racer’s championship charge in 2006 as he won 17 WoO “A” features. On nights when he didn’t win he was consistently racing near the front as evidenced by his 14 runner-up finishes. Schatz led the series with 42 top-five finishes, 49 top-ten finishes, nine fast-time awards, and led 441 laps last year.
“Consistency was something that we worked towards for a long time, ” continued Schatz, who is coming off a 21-win season including his first Knoxville Nationals victory. “Last year was my tenth year on the road and we used a lot of that experience to help us reach the championship. Now that we’ve earned our first championship, we’re not going to be satisfied. I feel like we’ve still got a lot to accomplish. Nothing would make me happier than winning another Outlaws title and repeating at Knoxville. “
The ParkerStore team that was so consistent last year that the familiar yellow and black No. 15 J&J with Shaver powered only failed to finish the feature event on two occasions. Schatz Motorsports has reshuffled its crew members with Dave Lawrence being added to lead the team as crew chief with a goal of maintaining that consistency.
Lawrence has been involved in racing for a good part of his life and has a specialty in the engine performance area. He has worked with a number of winning sprint car teams through the years including the famous Zemco teams when the late Kevin Gobrecht and current NASCAR star Kasey Kahne had a lot of success and more recently toured the Outlaws with Tim Shaffer and the Roth Motorsports team.
“I’m really looking forward to this opportunity, ” said Lawrence. “I had the chance a few years ago to be on the road with an Outlaw team, and I understand what it takes to be successful. I wanted an opportunity to be part of something special. Donny is an amazing driver and I’m totally confident in the equipment we’ve got here. This is the defending championship team and I know the pressure is on for us to stay on top. We can’t wait to get started and our goal is to keep building on their championship form. “
Schatz is pleased with how his new team has worked together during the off season preparing for the 2007 campaign.
“My guys have worked extremely hard to make sure we are ready to hit the ground running in Florida, ” continued Schatz. “They’ve put in some really long hours, but also have found a way to enjoy each other’s company. This is a hard lifestyle, but everything they do is really important to our success. “
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