Donny Schatz picked up exactly where he left off last season on Friday night and that was in Victory Lane in the season opening 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
The three-time and defending World of Outlaws champion tracked down Jason Sides in heavy lapped traffic on the 11th lap and led the remainder of the 30-lap contest that went nonstop to earn the $10,000 top prize, which was the 89th A-Feature win of his World of Outlaws career. It was the third win in the last four days of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH for Schatz, who now has seven wins in his career at the half-mile.
“This is where we want to be,” said Schatz. “We wanted to get the first one under our belts and keep at it. We have this thing rolling very well and the guys are communicating very well. We are all doing what we are supposed to do and having fun.”
Schatz began the night by turning the fastest lap in time trials and went on to win the Crane Cams Dash to start on the pole in the A-Feature aboard the Armor All J&J. He led the field into turn one, with Sides using a slidejob in turns three and four to take the early lead. He set a blistering pace over the first five laps before entering lapped traffic, which allowed Schatz to close the gap, as his car came to life.
Schatz was right on Sides on the ninth lap sliding to the lead in turns one and two, with Sides battling right back, retaking the lead in turns three and four to be officially scored the leader at the line. The pair battled for the next couple of laps in traffic, with Schatz making the pass for the lead and ultimately the win on the 11th circuit.
“I used my tire pretty hard and had to be cool with it,” Schatz explained. “The worst place to be is leading a race until you know what you want. That’s kind of the way it went. Jason (Sides) was kind of better than me at the beginning and I had to wait for my car to come to me a little bit. Once that car came to me it was really good. We’re learning from every little thing we do right now and that’s the most important thing.”
Sides wound up second in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim to earn his second podium finish of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. Dating back to the end of last season, Sides has finished sixth or better in seven of his last eight starts in a sprint car. The 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, charged by Greg Hodnett on the final lap to earn the runner-up finish.
“It was great to start the year off with a good run,” said Sides. “Hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow night. To be able to run with those guys is a pleasure for us. You can run with Donny (Schatz) and Greg Hodnett and know they won’t crash you. It gives our team some good hope for the rest of the year.”
Greg Hodnett battled Sides for a number of laps in the middle of the race taking the second spot on the 12th lap and setting his sights on Schatz. He wound up third in the Macri Concrete JEI, after finishing seventh on Thursday night in the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. He began the night by winning the second heat race.
“We had a good middle stage of the race,” said Hodnett, the 1993 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year. “In traffic at the end, we just didn’t make it happen and got passed back. For a while we caught up to Donny (Schatz) and just followed him around. He was a little maneuverability wise. My hat is off to my crew, they did a great job. We’ll just keep plugging away and hopefully get better yet.”
Kraig Kinser wound up fourth in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim, with three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell rounding out the Top-Five in the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim.
Steve Kinser was sixth in the Quaker State Maxim, with Cody Darrah in seventh aboard the J&K Salvage Maxim, with Jason Meyers in eighth in the GLR Investments KPC, Jac Haudenschild ninth in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim and Terry McCarl 10th in the Big Game Treestands Maxim.
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