From WoO
SPRING VALLEY, Minn. – Sept. 19, 2015 – A little good luck and a little skill helped Brad Sweet hold off Donny Schatz in Saturday night’s Meyerhofer Crane & Rigging Service Clash at the Creek at Deer Creek Speedway and propelled him to his fourth World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season.
Sweet, who took the lead on lap two from his Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb teammate Daryn Pittman, faced a critical moment late in the feature as Schatz tried to get around his No. 49 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet/Razorback Professional Tools car for the lead. As he ran the curb at the top of the track he got too high and hit the wall. Just as Schatz drove around him on the exit of turn two, the caution flew. Sweet held his position.
“It definitely helped me,” Sweet said of the caution. “I don’t know if I would have been able to get back by Donny. He makes it really hard. I messed up once and luckily I got a yellow.”
Schatz worked hard to get around Sweet in the closing laps of the feature following the caution, getting his nose in and throwing sliders but lapped traffic popped up and helped block the bottom to Sweet’s advantage.
“I tell you what,” Sweet said. “Donny always makes you work really hard for these wins. (Lee Stauffer) came on board and we’ve definitely made some strides and had some really strong runs. We probably should have won some races earlier but some bad luck came our way and it was just nice to get this Ollie’s Bargain Outlet car back in victory lane – it’s been a little while… Donny threw everything he had at us there at the end and luckily he showed me the rubber.”
As Pittman led the field to the green to start the night in his No. 9 Great Clips/Team ASE car, Schatz battled with Sweet back and forth for two laps for the second position. Through cautions and restarts early, Schatz faded back, at one point as far as seventh. Danny Lasoski, who has one Outlaws win on the season, battled through the middle portion of the feature for second but it was Schatz who came roaring back at midway.
After a restart with 14 to go, Schatz fought his way from seventh place to second in just four laps. As he ascended, so did Jacob Allen, who went from ninth to third in the same four lap space. He battled the No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance car for two laps, recording the second position on lap 27. Schatz got back around though as Pittman bear down on Allen for third. Allen went on to score a career-best sixth place World of Outlaws finish.
Pittman held on through the late going as Sweet crossed the finish line in first with Schatz in second.
“I don’t know that we got caught up in traffic there at the end,” Schatz said. “We found the race track there, it cleaned up right there at the top at the end and my car was pretty decent there… We probably went one lap too soon there but we’ll never know. Brad did a good job hanging on at the end. We did the best we could to get the win but it wasn’t good enough tonight.”
Pittman said he made a mistake on an early restart taking the outside as he was leading.
“I think I was fourth at the flagstand and it was nobody’s fault but my own,” Pittman said. “I won the Dash from the start on the outside and I thought the momentum would take off and I could pick the start and go first. Man, it was just a big mistake.”
He fell back again late but ended up climbing back on to the podium before the 35-lap feature let out.
“Just a good rebound. I’m happy that we got back to third. You hate giving up those spots then again you’re not going to win an outlaw race making mistakes and I just made too many.”
For Sweet, the win was a long time coming. It was his first trip to victory lane since he won at I-96 Speedway back on June 25.
“Everything finally went right there for us,” Sweet said. “You’ve got to drive a perfect drive to win these races so it was nice to do it tonight.”
As Schatz and Stewart hold firm in their championship points position, the battle for third heated up tonight following a DNF for Kerry Madsen. Joey Saldana is now just one point away from Madsen in the closing stretch of the season.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series next heads to Eldora Speedway on Friday, Sept. 25 for the 4-Crown Nationals. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/deer-creek-speedway.
Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.
Deer Creek Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Kerry Madsen picked up quick time tonight after a qualifying lap of 11.855 seconds. It was his 11th quick time of the season… Brad Sweet’s win tonight was his fourth World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season and his first Outlaws win at Deer Creek… Following tonight’s feature, just one point separates third place Kerry Madsen and fourth place Joey Saldana in the championship standings… David Gravel was the night’s KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing 12 positions to finish in fifth… Jacob Allen picked up his best ever World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series finish after battling up front. He closed out the night in sixth.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Kerry Madse; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): David Gravel;JE Pistons ($50 cash): David Gravel; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Terry McCarl; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Sides;Super Flow ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Brad Sweet;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): David Gravel; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Brad Sweet; Mobil 1(20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Brant O’Banion; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): N/A; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Brant O’Banion.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 29 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset’s Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 27, Lakeside Speedway on July 1, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 11, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 26, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 15, River Cities Speedway on Aug. 21, Nodak Speedway on Aug. 23, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 28, Grays Harbor Raceway on Sept. 7, Cottage Grove Speedway on Sept. 9, Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 12); Shane Stewart – 9 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12, Eldora Speedway on July 17, Eldora Speedway on July 18, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8, Skagit Speedway on Sept. 5, Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 11); Daryn Pittman – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 29, Antioch Speedway on Sept. 13); Brad Sweet – 4(Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11, I-96 Speedway on June 25, Deer Creek Speedway on Sept. 19); Rico Abreu – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Dale Blaney – 2 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Paul McMahan – 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3); Joey Saldana – 2 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 12);Christopher Bell – 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Brian Brown – 1 (USA Raceway on March 7); Cody Darrah – 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 21);Danny Dietrich – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25); Stewart Friesen – 1 (Ohsweken Speedway on July 28);Greg Hodnett – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13); Tim Kaeding – 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13);Danny Lasoski – 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5); Kerry Madsen – 1 (Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 18); Terry McCarl – 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5);Jason Sides – 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3);Stevie Smith – 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25).
A-Main – (35 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2] [$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3] [$5,500]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [1] [$3,200]; 4. 2L-Danny Lasoski [7] [$2,800]; 5. 7-David Gravel [17] [$2,500]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [10] [$2,300]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [11] [$2,200]; 8. 24-Terry McCarl [12] [$2,100]; 9. 71M-Joey Saldana [5] [$2,050]; 10. 41-Jason Johnson [15] [$2,000]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart [14] [$1,500]; 12. 19-Paige Polyak [16] [$1,200]; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [9] [$1,100]; 14. 56N-David Heskin [13] [$1,050]; 15. 51-Paul McMahan [6] [$1,000]; 16. 19L-Donovan Peterson [22] [$900]; 17. 71A-R.J. Johnson [21] [$800]; 18. 2KS-Craig Dollansky [19] [$800]; 19. 2-Shane Stewart [8] [$800]; 20. 3-Tim Kaeding [20] [$800]; 21. 17W-Bryan Clauson [18] [$800]; 22. 47-Brant O’Banion [23] [$800]; 23. 29-Kerry Madsen [4] [$800]; 24. 4W-Matt Wasmund [24] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-2, Brad Sweet 3-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 7-David Gravel [+12]
Qualifying – 1. 29-Kerry Madsen, 11.855; 2. 51-Paul McMahan, 11.913; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.941; 4. 71M-Joey Saldana, 11.942; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman, 11.970; 6. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.988; 7. 2L-Danny Lasoski, 12.037; 8. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.063; 9. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.107; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen, 12.110; 11. O9-Matt Juhl, 12.117; 12. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.118; 13. 24-Terry McCarl, 12.123; 14. 56N-David Heskin, 12.133; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.137; 16. 41-Jason Johnson, 12.149; 17. 19-Paige Polyak, 12.165; 18. 7-David Gravel, 12.184; 19. 17W-Bryan Clauson, 12.190; 20. 2KS-Craig Dollansky, 12.200; 21. 3-Tim Kaeding, 12.354; 22. 71A-R.J. Johnson, 12.486; 23. 4W-Matt Wasmund, 12.529; 24. 47-Brant O’Banion, 12.541; 25. 11K-Mikey Kuemper, 12.545; 26. 19L-Donovan Peterson, 12.694; 27. 7X-Trent Stengl, 13.340
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 2L-Danny Lasoski [2]; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana [3]; 3. 24-Terry McCarl [5]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 5. 17W-Bryan Clauson [7]; 6. 41-Jason Johnson [6]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 8. 71A-R.J. Johnson [8]; 9. 11K-Mikey Kuemper [9]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [2]; 3. 51-Paul McMahan [4]; 4. 2KS-Craig Dollansky [7]; 5. 19-Paige Polyak [6]; 6. 56N-David Heskin [5]; 7. 19L-Donovan Peterson [9]; 8. 4W-Matt Wasmund [8]; 9. O9-Matt Juhl [1]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 2-Shane Stewart [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 6. 7-David Gravel [6]; 7. 3-Tim Kaeding [7]; 8. 47-Brant O’Banion [8]; 9. 7X-Trent Stengl [9]
Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 8 starting positions of A-feature – 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [6]; 5. 71M-Joey Saldana [3]; 6. 51-Paul McMahan [5]; 7. 2L-Danny Lasoski [7]; 8. 2-Shane Stewart [8]
Last Chance Showdown – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen [1] [-]; 2. 3-Tim Kaeding [3] [-]; 3. 19L-Donovan Peterson [8] [-]; 4. 71A-R.J. Johnson [4] [-]; 5. 47-Brant O’Banion [6] [-]; 6. 4W-Matt Wasmund [5] [-]; 7. 11K-Mikey Kuemper [7] [$300]; 8. 7X-Trent Stengl [9] [$250]; 9. O9-Matt Juhl [2] [$225]