From Aaron Fielder
Nisku, AB — (August 22, 2014) — Donny Schatz is on a roll. Since July 19 he has finished no worse than third, giving him 13 straight podium finishes, and he has World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series wins in seven of the last ten races, including Friday night’s dominate performance on night one of the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway.
Schatz started the feature in third in his STP/Armor All car and powered to the lead before the field made it around the 3/8-mile oval for the first time.
“We had a very good car at the beginning and we were able to stick to the bottom and get by those guys,” Schatz said.
On lap five, Schatz’s three second lead was erased by a caution. The caution flag flew again on lap seven and lap 20, erasing sizable leads for Schatz each time.
“You just have to take what you get. We’re never a fan of cautions but it happens,” Schatz said. “The only thing it does is it lets the tires cool down and you always wonder if they’re going to reheat, if the car is going to feel the same. There are a lot of factors – what do I do next?”
Another factor the Tony Stewart Racing driver contended with throughout much of the night was lapped traffic. Schatz battled through, even passing three cars on one lap.
As the 35-lap feature wore on, Schatz struggled to maintain his earlier speed on either the top or the bottom. This opened up an opportunity for Joey Saldana, who was running second, to make a run for the lead. On the lap 20 restart, Saldana slid Schatz through turn four.
“That was the only shot I had at it so I was trying everything I could… (the track) was very technical and you have to have a good racecar,” said Saldana, who started the feature on the outside pole and spent much of the night in his Motter Equipment car running in that position.
“We just didn’t know where to run,” Schatz said. “It was awful slick in three and four – I was bouncing off the fence and couldn’t really get around on the bottom. (Saldana) must have gotten a good run and gone for the slider and it wasn’t going to stick. All we had to do was turn and go back underneath him. We did the best we could.
“These STP guys keep doing a phenomenal job with this racecar. It’s fun to drive right now.”
In the closing laps, David Gravel, who spent much of the night running third in his Roth Motorsports car, got around Saldana for second and set his sights on the lead. With a car that was able to run the faster top line, Gravel was making up ground on Schatz.
“Last five, six laps I thought I was as good as Donny there,” Gravel said. “Just a little too late. I wish this was a 40-lapper.”
“The top was best for me – Joey was running the top too,” Gravel said. “It was kind of tough for me to gain much, but I thought, with open track, I was maybe just as good as Donny. But he got through lapped traffic very, very well.”
This was Gravel’s 18th top-five finish of the season.
Saldana, who ultimately finished the night in third, said the track was challenging throughout the feature.
“As a driver you just can’t make a mistake because the track is so unique and slick and heavy and on the fence,” Saldana said. “It’s just everything you can imagine, you get to race on here. We had a shot at it and that’s all you can ask for.”
“Hats off to Donny, he’s on a tear right now. I think if you beat him, you know you accomplished something pretty special. We’ve just got to get a little better.”
With his win, Schatz again extended his lead over second place Daryn Pittman to 169 points in the battle for the 2014 championship. Schatz also heads into night two of the Oil City Cup leading the fight to become the weekend’s champion.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to action on Sat., Aug. 23 for night two of the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway. The Outlaws then head to the west coast, making stops in Washington, Oregon and California.
CASTROL RACEWAY NOTES: Donny Schatz scored his 16th win of the season… Donny Schatz extended his points lead to 169 over Daryn Pittman… David Gravel scored his eighth quick time of the season, the third most of any driver this season… Joey Saldana broke the tie for fourth in the points standings with Kerry Madsen. Saldana now holds the position outright with a two point lead on Madsen… Jacob Allen was the KSE Hard Charger of the night, advancing five positions to finish in 14th… Kerry Madsen, Cody Darrah and Joey Saldana all won their heat races.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 16 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 6, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 19, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 27, I-96 Speedway on May 31, River Cities Speedway on June 20, 34 Raceway on June 27, Cedar Lake Speedway on June 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 15, Autodrome Drummond on July 26, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 27, Ohsweken Speedway on July 29, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 9, Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 12, Nodak Speedway on Aug. 17 and Castrol Raceway on Aug. 22); Daryn Pittman – 12(Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Calistoga Speedway on April 6, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 19, Williams Grove Speedway on May 16 and May 17, Orange County Fair Speedway, May 18, New Egypt Speedway, May 20, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4 and 5, Lincoln Speedway on July 17, Fulton Speedway on July 23 and River Cities Speedway on Aug. 15); Kerry Madsen – 5(Stockton Dirt track on March 22, El Paso Speedway Park on April 15, Lakeside Speedway on June 7, Eldora Speedway on July 12 and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 3); Joey Saldana – 5(Perris Auto Speedway on April 12, Salina Highbanks on April 25, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 23, I-80 Speedway on June 6 and Jackson Speedway on June 13); Brad Sweet – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Tucson International Raceway on March 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 5, Knoxville Raceway on June 14 and Beaver Dam Raceway on June 28); David Gravel – 4(Merced Speedway on March 28, Eldora Speedway on May 3, Wilmot Raceway on May 9 and Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 20); Paul McMahan – 4(The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 5, Tri-State Speedway on May 10, Limaland Motorsports Park on July 9 and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 1);Cody Darrah – 2(Kings Speedway on April 11 and Lernerville Speedway on July 15); Sammy Swindell – 2 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on April 26 and Eldora Speedway on July 11); Rico Abreu – 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 15); Christopher Bell – 1(Jacksonville Speedway on May 7);Dale Blaney – 1 (Attica Raceway Park on May 30); Lance Dewease – 1 (July 20 at Williams Grove Speedway); Greg Hodnett – 1 (July 18 at Williams Grove Speedway); Roger Crockett – 1(I-94 Speedway on June 21); Mark Dobmeier – 1 (Huset’s Speedway on July 2); Steve Kinser – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 16); Stevie Smith – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 14); Shane Stewart – 1(Eldora Speedway on May 2) .
World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Castrol Raceway; Nisku, Alberta; Aug. 22, 2014
A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [3] [$10,000]; 2. 83-David Gravel [1] [$5,000]; 3. 71M-Joey Saldana [2] [$3,000]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [8] [$2,700]; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman [6] [$2,500]; 6. 1s-Logan Schuchart [9] [$2,200]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [5] [$2,000]; 8. 4-Cody Darrah [7] [$1,800]; 9. 51-Paul McMahan [10] [$1,600]; 10. 11-Steve Kinser [11] [$1,450]; 11. 39C-Travis Rilat [13] [$1,300]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4] [$1,200]; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [15] [$1,100]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen [19] [$1,000]; 15. 44-Kelly Miller [16] [$950]; 16. 91K-Kyle Fedyk [18] [$900]; 17. 99-Skylar Gee [14] [$850]; 18. 56-Ross Mathewson [20] [$750]; 19. 3-Dennis MacEachern [17] [$725]; 20. 11EH-Marc Duperron [12] [$700]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 1A-Jacob Allen [+5]
Qualifying – 1. 83-David Gravel, 14.890; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.061; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.072; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.159; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman, 15.256; 6. 71M-Joey Saldana, 15.295; 7. 29-Kerry Madsen, 15.299; 8. 1s-Logan Schuchart, 15.491; 9. 51-Paul McMahan, 15.550; 10. 11-Steve Kinser, 15.558; 11. 4-Cody Darrah, 15.574; 12. 11EH-Marc Duperron, 15.802; 13. 39C-Travis Rilat, 15.829; 14. 99-Skylar Gee, 15.844; 15. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.190; 16. 44-Kelly Miller, 16.302; 17. 3-Dennis MacEachern, 16.376; 18. 91K-Kyle Fedyk, 16.569; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.639; 20. 56-Ross Mathewson, nt
Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen [2]; 2. 83-David Gravel [4]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 4. 39C-Travis Rilat [5]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 7. 44-Kelly Miller [6]
Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 4-Cody Darrah [1]; 2. 1s-Logan Schuchart [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 3-Dennis MacEachern [6]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 7. 56-Ross Mathewson [7]
Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 71M-Joey Saldana [3]; 2. 51-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [4]; 5. 91K-Kyle Fedyk [6]; 6. 11EH-Marc Duperron [1]
Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 8 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 83-David Gravel [1]; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana [6]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman [5]; 7. 4-Cody Darrah [8]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [7]
World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
| Pos. |
Car |
Driver |
Total |
Diff |
Wins |
Top 5’s |
Top 10’s |
QT |
| 1 |
15 |
Donny Schatz |
9049 |
0 |
16 |
45 |
58 |
6 |
| 2 |
9 |
Daryn Pittman |
8880 |
-169 |
12 |
35 |
56 |
2 |
| 3 |
51 |
Paul McMahan |
8826 |
-223 |
4 |
34 |
58 |
9 |
| 4 |
71M |
Joey Saldana |
8663 |
-386 |
5 |
28 |
45 |
21 |
| 5 |
29 |
Kerry Madsen |
8661 |
-388 |
5 |
34 |
53 |
5 |
| 6 |
49 |
Brad Sweet |
8457 |
-592 |
5 |
21 |
44 |
2 |
| 7 |
4 |
Cody Darrah |
8169 |
-880 |
2 |
15 |
36 |
2 |
| 8 |
11 |
Steve Kinser |
8040 |
-1009 |
1 |
8 |
32 |
0 |
| 9 |
11k |
Kraig Kinser |
7879 |
-1170 |
0 |
6 |
26 |
0 |
| 10 |
83 |
David Gravel |
7541 |
-1508 |
4 |
18 |
38 |
8 |
| 11 |
7s |
Jason Sides |
7259 |
-1790 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
0 |
| 12 |
1S |
Logan Schuchart |
6814 |
-2235 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
0 |
| 13 |
1 |
Sammy Swindell |
5990 |
-3059 |
2 |
11 |
19 |
1 |
| 14 |
1A |
Jacob Allen |
5849 |
-3200 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 15 |
5W |
Lucas Wolfe |
3442 |
-5607 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
| 16 |
59 |
Tim Kaeding |
3410 |
-5639 |
0 |
3 |
13 |
0 |
| 17 |
21 |
Brian Brown |
2778 |
-6271 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
0 |
| 18 |
2 |
Shane Stewart |
2723 |
-6326 |
1 |
6 |
12 |
3 |
| 19 |
77X |
Wayne Johnson |
2614 |
-6435 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 20 |
W20 |
Greg Wilson |
2481 |
-6568 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |