Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / TONY STEWART RACING – BROWNSBURG, IN – Two nights at the Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota, resulted in back-to-back top-ten appearances for Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, highlighting the pair with a perfect 35-lapper in the $25,000-to-win finale on Saturday, August 17.
Schatz, now a four-time winner with the Greatest Show On Dirt in 2024, started from the pole position Saturday night, forced to fend off Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild in the closing circuits for the five-figure payday.
The 46th Annual Jackson Nationals triumph was the second of Schatz’ storied career and his first since 2018, simultaneously increasing his 2024 top-ten tally to 40 in 46 point-earning starts.
“Man, on the racetrack you could go everywhere. We could run the bottom and the top. I ran in the middle there at the end. I kind of knew I needed to keep my tires underneath me. I was kind of hanging off of (Turn) 4. I don’t know what was going on up there, but that’s my own fault. I asked to get really tight, and sometimes you pay the price when you get over that crown that way.”
As noted, Schatz earned back-to-back top-tens in his Jackson Nationals visit, opening competition with a four-spot rally to tenth on Friday, August 16.
“All I can say is if you’re a fan, it’s a good time to be alive,” Schatz said. “These kids, I criticize them a lot, there’s no question. But it makes me damn proud to race with guys like Sheldon and Carson (Macedo) and see what’s happening because not only are they awesome, but they make the old guys like me even better. And that’s what this is all about. Happy to steal one from them tonight, that’s for sure.”
Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing and Donny Schatz will continue their 2024 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series campaign with a North Dakota doubleheader at River Cities Speedway (Grand Forks, ND) on Friday, August 23, and Red River Valley Speedway (West Fargo, ND) on Saturday, August 24.