From J&J
McKENZIE, TN (Feb. 18) – Donny Schatz and Ben Atkinson were recent winners on opposite sides of the world, both driving J&J Auto Racing cars to victory lane. Atkinson was victorious on Feb. 8 at Sydney Speedway taking the KC Tools War of Wings Round six victory. Schatz scored the second night of World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars Series feature action at Volusia Speedway Park.
SYDNEY SPEEDWAY
Ben Atkinson ventured from his Northern Territory home in Australia to Sydney action at Valvoline Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 2 Pick and Payless sponsored J&J. He started from position six in the field on a slick track, and quickly worked his way to the front on the initial start, but a caution called for a complete restart. When the race restarted, Atkinson was again on the move despite several cautions throughout the 25-lap race. He began lapping cars midway through the race and led the race to the finish.
Atkinson was delighted to receive the winner’s trophy after a tough season at Valvoline Raceway where he has enjoyed mixed success this season.
“This feels terrific after the summer I’ve been through,” said Atkinson.
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
After winning 23 WoO A-Feature events in 2013, Donny Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing team were determined to start the season strong in Florida in the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. After advancing from 20th to 12th in the opening night, Schatz continued his charge forward Saturday behind the wheel of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Crimsafe J&J racing from 11th to first in the 30-lap A-Feature. He took the lead on lap 23 and led the final seven laps to score his first win of 2014 and 148th career WoO A-Feature triumph.
“I can’t thank my crew (Rick Warner, Steve Swenson and Eric Prutzman) enough on this STP team,” Schatz said following Saturday’s victory. “We had some issues the first couple of nights trying to find the right balance. Nobody gave up and we just kept working together. I can tell you that was a lot of fun, being to drive through the field. The car was awesome. I could go just about anywhere on the track. That was the key.”
Other Strong J&J Finishers: Tim Shaffer and the Brian Grove team kicked off 2014 in style by racing the No. 45 J&J to a second-place finish at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., in UNOH All-Stars action. He followed that up with another podium finish Thursday in the All-Star feature event at Volusia. Shaffer was followed by Schatz, and Danny Holtgraver in the No. 10H J&J to give J&J three top-five finishers. On Friday night, Shaffer led 26 laps of the World of Outlaws A-Feature at Volusia before losing air pressure in his right rear. He held on to finish fourth…. Holtgraver had a pair of top-10 runs in Florida finishing sixth in the Ocala opener and 10th in the WoO finale at Volusia on Sunday. Christopher Bell raced the CH Motorsports No. 83 J&J from 18th to 12th in Sunday’s WoO A-Feature.