From Gary Thomas
STOCKTON, Ca. (February 14, 2017) – The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season officially kicks-off this weekend at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, where Donny Schatz opens his title defense looking to bring home a ninth career series title. Schatz and the rest of the Outlaws will tackle the Stockton Dirt Track in just over one month’s time on Friday & Saturday March 24 & 25 in the FVP Western Spring Shootout.
After narrowly missing out on a victory in 2014 the Fargo, North Dakota veteran has captured three of the last four World of Outlaws events held at the Stockton Dirt Track, including a two-night sweep last season. Schatz passed Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown midway through the feature on opening night and made a late pass of Brownsburg, Indiana’s Joey Saldana during the finale en route to the sweep. He hopes to continue the dominance in March at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds based facility.
Schatz raced to a stellar 25 overall wins with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series last year and captured the title by a massive 314-points. Included in those triumphs were the prestigious Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, the Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park and the Bad Boy World Finals in Charlotte. Schatz will be gunning to have another strong year in 2017 aboard the Tony Stewart Racing/ Arctic Cat No. 15 machine.
A number of drivers will be looking to keep Schatz out of victory lane in Stockton however, including fellow top-five point finishers from last season Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Oklahoma; David Gravel of Watertown, Connecticut; Grass Valley, California’s Brad Sweet and Brownsburg, Indiana’s Joey Saldana. The Golden State contingent will be led by three-time & defending King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series champion Kyle Hirst, who tallied an impressive podium finish during the finale of the FVP Western Spring Shootout last year.
Camping is also available during the weekend with a number of great spots for RV’s on the fairgrounds. To reserve your spot contact 916-370-9417. We will do our best to accommodate everyone as well as we can. There is a two-night minimum for camping at the event. Remember to bring extension cords, water hoses, water hose Y’s, & in-ground water spigots if you have them. For a map of the campground visit http://stocktondirttrack.com/rv_camping.pdf
The event will also be the first World of Outlaws test of the track since modifications to bring the front stretch closer to the grandstands at the end of last season. “We’re really excited to open the year at the Stockton Dirt Track with the FVP Western Spring Shootout,” said promoter Tony Noceti. “We did a lot of work at the end of 2016 and will continue to try and perfect that going into 2017. We hope everyone will come out in March to see the World of Outlaws and spend the weekend with us. If you have a motor home or trailer we have plenty of room for you, so we definitely encourage everyone to bring the family and all their friends.”
On Saturday morning there will be a pancake breakfast on the fairgrounds from 8am-11am in building two at the end of the camping midway. On Friday morning if you’re looking for a good breakfast spot check out the Ranch Coffee Shop, located near the fairgrounds at 1872 E Mariposa Rd, Stockton, CA 95205.
Two-night adult General Admission tickets for the FVP Western Spring Shootout weekend are available for a great value at just $59 and two-night Reserved Grandstand tickets cost only $69. Single-night tickets & box seats are also available. Children 10 & under are free in G.A. only. To reserve your seats simply visit https://dirtcar.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=232 or call (844) 347-8849.
Delta Speedway, also located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, will be running a special micro race on Thursday March 23, making it a three-night happening on the grounds. The Delta Speedway is just a short walk across the parking lot from the camping area behind the grandstands at the Dirt Track.
The Stockton Dirt Track is a lightning fast 4/10 mile clay oval located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. The physical address is 1658 S Airport Way, Stockton, CA 95206. For information on the speedway visit http://www.stocktondirttrack.com/