Donny Schatz

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Pontoon Beach, IL— June 8, 2008— In the first 12 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series races of the 2008 season, Donny Schatz had just one A-Feature victory, but in that time, he and his team tried a number of different combinations that have recently paid off, as he has won four of the last five series events, including his second consecutive race on Sunday night at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois.

The two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion led all 35 laps of the event to capture the 75th A-Feature win of his career. It was his first win at Tri-City Speedway, and he became just the second driver to win on the reconfigured 3/8-mile version of the storied track. He continues to lead the series championship standings as he chases his third straight title.

“We are glad to get this thing back in victory lane,” Schatz said. “The hard part is keeping it there. We’re pumped to be running this good. We are having a lot of fun doing what we are doing right now.”

Schatz led from the drop of the green flag in the Armor All J&J, which took two starts to get going. The first start was interrupted by a Sam Hafertepe Jr. spin. On the complete restart, he again charged to the lead high off the second turn with pole sitter Tim Shaffer in his shadows. The second lap saw a big wheelstand from Schatz on the back straightaway, as he extended his lead. Just five laps into the race, he was in lapped traffic as he set a blistering pace. A couple of other times the caution flew right as he was about to enter traffic, giving him clean race track to operate with.

“Sometimes the toughest place that you can be is leading, because you can’t see what is going on behind you,” said the North Dakota native. “When you are running second, you really have nothing to lose, chasing the race track. I started to get loose there at the end, but everyone else seemed to be looser than I was.”

Schatz endured a number of cautions in the late going of the 35-lap contest. One of those was on the 14th lap for an accident involving Jac Haudenschild who was running third, which also collected Chad Kemenah who was running fourth at the time and who had nowhere to go. Also the caution flew for Tim Shaffer who lost a tire while running second on the 23rd lap, as well as Joey Saldana who also had a tire go down while running third on the 29th go-around. Schatz also made some contact with the fourth turn wall with just a handful of laps remaining in the race.

“Those last six laps, I think I bounced off it (the wall) coming off three and four every lap,” he shared. “When it gets that close up to the fence and you are leading and trying to keep your speed up you try to get everything you can. I did that. I tried to not cross the line and I may have gotten over one or two times, but I didn’t beat up the race car too bad. We got home first and that is what counts. It was an awfully hot night and it got real hot in the car.”

In a period of 11 days, Schatz has picked up four wins and a second-place finish. He remains the only World of Outlaws driver that has finished in the Top-10 of all 17 A-Feature events this season.

“We have tried a lot of things with this race car and learned a lot of things that we didn’t think we would learn in the last week,” Schatz explained. “All the testing that we did earlier in the year is really paying off.”

Jason Meyers picked up the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award on Sunday night, after earning a runner-up finish after he lined up 18th for the A-Feature event. The native of Clovis, California leads the series with 14 Top-Five finishes.

“It’s certainly not where we wanted to start,” Meyers said. “I think if we would have started up front, we would have had the car to win the race. We minimized our damage by being able to come from the back up to the front.”

Meyers continues to keep pace with Schatz as he chases his first World of Outlaws title. He found himself in the Top-10 just 15 laps into the race and proceeded to make it into the Top-Five by the 25th lap, aboard the GLR Investment KPC..

“We have to figure out our qualifying,” explained the native of Clovis, California. “We went out late, which hurt us a little bit, but we still should have been better than we were. We tried a few things tonight starting as far back as we were and it worked. Hopefully that will help us on nights when we do qualify late like that. All you have to be is in the Top-16 to be on a front row, and we just missed it by a few. This team is working hard and they are doing what it takes. We’ll get the wins and we’ll get the points.”

Steve Kinser has a very consistent night after lining up seventh in the A-Feature. He moved into fifth on the second lap and battled with Craig Dollansky for a number of laps. Late in the race he too jumped the cushion in the fourth turn, tagging the wall, but that was the least of his worries.

“I had a motor go sour about halfway through,” said the 20-time series champion. “I kept thinking it would pitch it out. I don’t know if something went wrong with the fuel or what. It just quit running, but we hung in there and kept digging and got a finish and that’s the main thing.”

Kinser, who has 22 career wins at Tri-City Speedway with the World of Outlaws, tried a number of different lines early in the race, as he was feeling his car out. Along with battling Dollansky for a number of laps, he also had to contend with Meyers last in the race.

“I was ok in (turns) one and two,” he said. I was good on the bottom in both corners, but once the motor quit running I could not really go down there. Then I had to go to the top. I was pretty good on the bottom in one and two, but once it got choked up, there was no picking it up. I had to go back up top then and at least we finished.”

Craig Dollansky finished fourth in the Auto Value Parts Stores Maxim to earn his 10th Top-Five finish of the season, as he continues to hold down the fourth spot in the standings.

“We were pretty good in the dash, but we struggled in the feature,” said the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion. “We got ourselves way too tight and I had my hands full pretty much the entire race. I think the reworking of the track, really made the race what it was. You could pass and make some things happen. If you were operating, it was a fun little track to race on.”

Shane Stewart continued his strong stretch of runs, with a fifth-place finish aboard the Roth Motorsports KPC.

Daryn Pittman was sixth in the Titan Garages Maxim, with Danny Lasoski one spot behind him in the American Compressed Steel JEI. Kerry Madsen finished eighth in the TK Concrete Maxim. Chad Hillier earned a season-best ninth-place finish in the DIRT Inc. Maxim. Jason Sides rounded out the Top-10 in the Wethernington Tractor Service Maxim.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action on Wednesday, June 11 at Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway in Missouri for an event which will benefit the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation.

TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK

• A TOUGH NIGHT: After getting upside while lining up for the fourth heat race, Lucas Wolfe and his team had to utilize a back-up car for the rest of the night. Then his back-up car caught fire while trying to get the engine started for the B-Main. After some time in the work area, he was able to get the car powered and lined up at the back of the B-Main. The current Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender charged to a second-place finish to earn a starting spot in the A-Feature. He wound up having trouble in the middles stages of the 35-lap contest which ended his night. After complaining of back and chest pain, he was transported to a local hospital for observation after the race. The native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania began the night by turning the fourth-fastest lap in time trials.

• FAST QUALIFIER: Jac Haudenschild paced the 33 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 3/8-mile oval at 12.899 seconds at 104.659 mph. For his qualifying effort, Haudenschild earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4), Terry McCarl (3), Lucas Wolfe (2), and Steve Kinser (1).

• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Donny Schatz, Shane Stewart, Craig Dollansky and Chad Kemenah won heat races…Tim Shaffer won the Crane Cams Dash… Tony Bruce Jr. won the B-Main.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been 17 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2008. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Volusia Speedway Park, Manzanita Speedway, I-55 Raceway, Lernerville Speedway and Virginia Motor Speedway), Donny Schatz (Knoxville Raceway-twice, Attica Raceway Park, Eldora Speedway and Tri-City Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Volusia Speedway Park and Eldora Speedway), Steve Kinser (Williams Grove Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway Park), Lance Dewease (The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Volusia Speedway Park) and Shane Stewart (Knoxville Raceway).

• 3/8-MILE WINNERS: Tri-City Speedway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile oval. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series raced once on a track that size this season. The winner was Donny Schatz (Tri-City Speedway).

• ON THE WEB: The Official Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the 2008 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.

• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws live on DIRTVision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.DIRTVision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@DIRTVision.com.

• UP NEXT: The series annual stop at Sedalia’s State Fair Speedway in Missouri on Wednesday, June 11 for an event that will benefit the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation.

• UPCOMING EVENTS: A visit to Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota on Friday, June 13, followed by the Eagle Nationals at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on Saturday, June 14.

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Tri-City Speedway; Pontoon Beach, IL; June 8, 2008

Qualifying
1) R19-Jac Haudenschild 12.899
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13.139
3) 24-Terry McCarl 13.140
4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.142
5) 11-Steve Kinser 13.148
6) 5C-Chad Hillier 13.162
7) 9-Joey Saldana 13.244
8) 8K-Chad Kemenah 13.262
9) 1X-Randy Hannagan 13.274
10) 83-Shane Stewart 13.287
11) 2-Craig Dollansky 13.312
12) 20-Kraig Kinser 13.324
13) 15-Donny Schatz 13.340
14) 5-Danny Lasoski 13.348
15) 6-Tim Shaffer 13.470
16) 55-Kerry Madsen 13.543
17) 7S-Jason Sides 13.590
18) 21-Daryn Pittman 13.617
19) 14-Jason Meyers 13.707
20) 21X-Brian Brown 13.891
21) 44-A J Bruns 13.927
22) 18-Tony Bruce Jr. 13.973
23) 71M-Paul May 13.979
24) A12-John Pate 14.174
25) 57D-Tom Dickerman 14.575
26) 3B-Brad Greer 14.622
27) 39W-Alex Shanks 14.756
28) 42-Cory Bruns 14.801
29) 96-Nathan Charron 14.816
30) 10S-Jeremy Standridge 14.941
31) 88-Jason Evans 15.011
32) 15Z-Eric Ziegler 15.102
33) 74-Shane Wade 16.044

Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) R19-Jac Haudenschild
3) 11-Steve Kinser
4) 7S-Jason Sides
5) 1X-Randy Hannagan
6) 44-A J Bruns
7) 57D-Tom Dickerman
8) 96-Nathan Charron
9) 74-Shane Wade

Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 83-Shane Stewart
2) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
3) 21-Daryn Pittman
4) 5-Danny Lasoski
5) 5C-Chad Hillier
6) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
7) 10S-Jeremy Standridge
8) 3B-Brad Greer

Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 2-Craig Dollansky
2) 6-Tim Shaffer
3) 9-Joey Saldana
4) 14-Jason Meyers
5) 24-Terry McCarl
6) 71M-Paul May
7) 88-Jason Evans
8) 39W-Alex Shanks

Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 8K-Chad Kemenah
2) 55-Kerry Madsen
3) 20-Kraig Kinser
4) 21X-Brian Brown
5) A12-John Pate
6) 15Z-Eric Ziegler
7) 42-Cory Bruns
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe

Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 6-Tim Shaffer
2) 15-Donny Schatz
3) 8K-Chad Kemenah
4) R19-Jac Haudenschild
5) 2-Craig Dollansky
6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
7) 11-Steve Kinser
8) 83-Shane Stewart
9) 55-Kerry Madsen
10) 24-Terry McCarl

B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
3) 71M-Paul May
4) 44-A J Bruns
5) 57D-Tom Dickerman [$200]
6) 96-Nathan Charron [$180]
7) 10S-Jeremy Standridge [$175]
8) 42-Cory Bruns [$160]
9) 39W-Alex Shanks [$150]
10) 3B-Brad Greer [$150]
11) 74-Shane Wade [$150]
12) 15Z-Eric Ziegler [$150]
13) 88-Jason Evans [$150]

A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[2] [$10,000]
2) 14-Jason Meyers[18] [$5,500]
3) 11-Steve Kinser[7] [$3,200]
4) 2-Craig Dollansky[5] [$2,800]
5) 83-Shane Stewart[8] [$2,500]
6) 21-Daryn Pittman[17] [$2,300]
7) 5-Danny Lasoski[15] [$2,200]
8) 55-Kerry Madsen[9] [$2,100]
9) 5C-Chad Hillier[11] [$2,050]
10) 7S-Jason Sides[16] [$2,000]
11) 24-Terry McCarl[10] [$1,500]
12) 21X-Brian Brown[19] [$1,200]
13) 20-Kraig Kinser[14] [$1,100]
14) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6] [$1,050]
15) 1X-Randy Hannagan[13] [$1,000]
16) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.[21] [$900]
17) 71M-Paul May[22] [$800]
18) 44-A J Bruns[20] [$800]
19) 9-Joey Saldana[12] [$800]
20) 6-Tim Shaffer[1] [$800]
21) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[24] [$800]
22) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4] [$800]
23) 8K-Chad Kemenah[3] [$800]
24) A12-John Pate[23] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-35
Chicken Hawk Hot Lap Award: Donny Schatz
Penske Power Position Award: Steve Kinser
KSE Hard Charger Award: Jason Meyers