Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Although a tough start to the weekend that saw ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz lose a tire while battling for a podium position at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Friday, May 26, the Fargo, North Dakota, native got his fair share of redemption, eventually concluding his three-race holiday stretch with not only a pair of top-ten performances, but a podium result along the way, highlighting his weekend agenda with a third-place outcome during Atomic’s second night of competition on Saturday, May 27.
Schatz, ace of the Advance Auto Parts, Carquest, Ford Motor Company, Ford Performance, MadJax XSeries, Curb Records, Sage Fruit, Absolute Automation and Security, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts, No. 15 sprint car, started third in his podium pursuit, moving up to battle Lemoore, California’s Carson Macedo for the race lead within the first ten circuits. The two-time winner in 2023 would eventually take command from the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 on lap 18, driving off to lead five circuits in total before Macedo reclaimed the top spot for the final time on lap 24.
Big Game Motorsports’ David Gravel would also get by Schatz on lap 31.
“Second or third…it’s not a win so not much difference to me,” Schatz said about Atomic’s podium. “Hats off to the whole Carquest team. These guys have a great race car. What we did in the Dash was incredible around the bottom line, and we just kind of have good drive everywhere.”
Although Schatz was plagued with bad luck in Atomic Speedway’s Friday night opener, his speed and potential was obvious, and after starting 16th on the A-Main grid, Schatz was pressuring for a podium position as early as lap ten.
Other weekend results include finishing tenth in Lawrenceburg Speedway’s annual Memorial Day Spectacular on Monday, May 29; Schatz started sixth.
Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing will continue their 2023 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series campaign with a two-day swing through North Dakota and Minnesota, first paying a visit to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Friday, June 2, then stopping by Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 3.