From Tony Veneziano
Concord, NC— Back in Victory Lane: Donny Schatz returned to action on Sunday at Parramatta City Raceway in Australia and won a duel over Garry Brazier in the annual $10,000 to-win Valvoline Sprint Car Grand Prix, which was postponed a day by rain. For Schatz the win was the 32nd of his career at the track. He has won at least one race at Parramatta every year since 2000. Schatz began the event on Sunday by turning in the fastest lap in time trials of the 43 cars that took to the track. He followed that up with a second-place finish in the first heat race and also finished second in the dash. He lined up sixth for the A-Feature quickly getting to the front in the scheduled 30-lap race which wound up running 27 laps due to time constraints and impending weather.
Also competing at Parramatta City Raceway on Sunday was Schatz’s car owner, Tony Stewart, who finished seventh after lining up 25th. Schatz, the four-time and defending World of Outlaws champion, will be back in action at the track on Tuesday as well as Friday and Saturday in the annual $50,000 to-win Scott Darley Memorial, which he has won a record seven times in his career. Stewart will also be in action in all of those events.
“I’m glad to be back, Mother Nature didn’t cooperate last night and we’re here tonight, we got a great race in and are glad to get the win,” said Schatz, following the victory. “This is a terrific track, one of the best I’ve raced on and Garry (Rush-car owner) always makes us feel at home.”
Racing Down Under: Craig Dollansky began an extended tour of Australia on Monday competing with the World Series Sprintcars at Borderline Speedway in the sixth round of their season during their annual Speedweek. The native of Elk River, Minnesota will be back in action on Wednesday at Avalon Raceway with the World Series and then will race at Sungold Premier Stadium Speedway on New Year’s Day also with the World Series.
Fan of February: Every fan that purchases a ticket for the 2010 season opening 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park before January 15 will be entered in the “Fan of February” contest presented by Hoseheads.com which is currently being held. The winner will be announced on January 16 and will receive two tickets for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series portion of the DIRTcar Nationals, February 5-7, as well as a free hotel stay during that time. Winners will also be selected for the World of Outlaws Late Models Series potion of the event, as well as the Super DIRTcar Series and UMP DIRTcar Modifieds portions. For more information visit: www.fanoffebruary.com.
Heading indoors: A number of World of Outlaws drivers will again compete in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals this off-season in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will run from January 12-16. Among those are Jason Meyers, who finished second in the World of Outlaws championship standings this past season, who will team up with long-time midget owner Steve Lewis and the Nine Racing team. It will be the fifth appearance for Meyers in his career at the event, where he finished sixth in the A-Feature in 2003.
Joey Saldana who won 20 A-Feature events and 21 times overall in 2009 with the World of Outlaws, will also be in action, piloting a Kasey Kahne Racing machine, as a teammate to his car owner and also Brad Sweet. For the native of Brownsburg, Indiana it will be the third appearance of his career in the event.
Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion, will also compete in the Chili Bowl for the Loyet Motorsports team. The 2010 edition of the event will mark the 19th appearance for Lasoski at the Tulsa Expo Center, where he has finished second three times in his career.
Cody Darrah, who will be a contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws in 2010, will make his second appearance in the event wheeling a car owned by his father Joe.
Tune in: With snow covering the ground in a large portion of the country and the 2010 season opening Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park still over a month away, fans can take in some sprint car action from Springs Speedway in New Zealand via The Dirt Track Channel Webcast. This past weekend’s event which featured three-time World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell as well as Californian Jonathan Allard can be heard by visiting The Dirt Track Channel at http://thedirttrackchannel.com/Webcast.html.
Up close and personal: A FREE Fan Pit Pass is available to every ticket buyer who comes through the main gates every night during the 39th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park beginning on February 2. All fan have to do once they arrive at the track is take their grandstand ticket and head toward the pits, where a table will be set up to sign-in for an up-close look at the cars and stars who will be racing that night. To purchase tickets call Volusia Speedway Park at 386-985-4402 and for more information visit www.DIRTcarNationals.com.
Keep up with all the action: The number of “Followers” keeping up with the World of Outlaws via Twitter online and through text messages on cell phones continues to grow and recently surpassed the 2,200 “Follower” mark. Updates are provided throughout race nights beginning with hot laps and continuing all the way through the final checkered flag of the night. To sign-up visit: http://twitter.com/worldofoutlaws and receive live race updates, anywhere, anytime. Off-season news and notes are also provided.