From Bill Klingbeil
Indianapolis, IN — (March 26, 2015) — After ending his California winless streak last Saturday night, six-time and reigning World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz is ready to pocket more gold this weekend. The driver of the of Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing’s (TSR) No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance J&J continues the California bullring battles Saturday and Sunday with the Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and at Antioch Speedway.
The competition has been fierce through the first two weekends of the California Spring Tour for the Outlaws. Schatz admitted after last Saturday’s triumph at the Stockton Dirt Track that he and his Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance team have experienced just about everything early in the 2015 WoO campaign, and the 19-year WoO veteran knowns the challenges will continue this weekend.
Schatz returns to Silver Dollar Speedway with four career triumphs at the quarter-mile dirt oval. The track has been a staple on the WoO circuit since 1979 and Schatz has made numerous trips to the northern California track since his rookie season in 1997. His most notable weekend at Chico came in September 2004 when he won both his preliminary feature and the 40-lap Gold Cup Race of Champions. He returned to victory lane at the track in 2010 during the opening night of the Gold Cup program and won the Mini Gold Cup in the spring of 2011. His most recent victory at the track came in 2012, when he kicked off the three-night Gold Cup program with a victory. Last September, Schatz charged from 16th to sixth in the opening-night A-Feature and 19th to fifth in the Gold Cup finale.
Sunday’s stop at Antioch marks the fifth consecutive season the 3/8-mile, high-banked dirt oval has hosted the Outlaws. Schatz has a pair of top-four runs and two finishes outside the top-10. His best finish at the track came in September 2012, when he finished second. The race was a classic California battle to the end. Jonathan Allard led most of the way, but Schatz made a number of attempts to grab the top spot away. A late restart opened the door and Schatz took advantage, grabbing the lead with one lap to go, but his bid for victory came up just short when Tim Kaeding got around him in the final corner. Last September, Schatz qualified seventh, started fourth and finished fourth in the 30-lap A-Feature.
Schatz continues to rank second in the 2015 WoO championship standings after 10 of 88 scheduled nights of racing. Shane Stewart leads the standings with 1,399 points and Schatz is just 18 back with 1,381. His victory last Saturday at Stockton was his second of the season, his 178th career A-Feature win, and Stockton became the 70th different track where Schatz has earned an A-Feature triumph. He’ll be looking to make Antioch the 71st Sunday.
For Saturday’s Mini Gold Cup, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. while the grandstands open at 5 p.m. PDT. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit www.silverdollarspeedway.com or call 530-350-7275.
Sunday at Antioch, the pit gates will open at noon while the grandstands open at 4 p.m. PDT. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit www.antiochspeedway.com or call 925-779-9220
Race fans unable to attend this weekend’s races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.