Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – A weekend close to home is always a good weekend for ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, eventually concluding his two-race sweep through North Dakota and Minnesota with back-to-back top-fives, opening competition with a third-place performance at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Friday, June 7.
Schatz, ace of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Carquest, Advance Auto Parts, Ford Performance, Curb Records, Sage Fruit, Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts, Mobil 1, Hoosier, VP Racing Fuels & Tub ‘O Towels, No. 15 sprint car, started second on Friday’s Don Mack Classic grid, fading spots initially before battling back to the podium.
Impressive enough, the River Cities podium was the 23rd of Donny Schatz’ illustrious Outlaw career, accomplished in just 32 attempts.
“I was just too tight from the word go,” Schatz acknowledged. “The only shot I had really was on the restart trying to get around Gio on the outside and then obviously traffic. I don’t know what happened in traffic there. We lost a bunch of spots. I went in, got under someone, and I guess I got freight trained for a little bit, but I was able to make some spots back up.”
Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing raced on to finish fourth the following evening at Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 8, commencing main event action from ninth on the grid. Digging himself out of a hole early, Schatz was forced to start ninth in his respective heat race, as well, doing so after an ignition issue during qualifying time trials. He battled ahead to finish third.
Schatz’ eventual top-five outcome bumped his season total to 13 in 27 World of Outlaws starts. The Fargo, North Dakota, native remains third in the current World of Outlaws championship standings.
Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing and Donny Schatz will continue their 2024 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series campaign with two days at the Sprint Car Capital of the World – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – on Friday and Saturday, June 14-15. The two-day blockbuster will give teams one last chance to test before the coveted Knoxville Nationals later this summer.