Lernerville Speedway WoO is all about Donny Schatz. 05/21/03.

Schatz Wins Rain-Delayed Lernerville Event By Richard Day SARVER, PA (May 21) – Neither a 24-hour rain delay, dense lapped traffic nor a late caution period could keep Donny Schatz from winning Wednesday’s O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series "A" Feature at Lernerville Speedway. The 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J passed Greg Hodnett early in the 12th lap and beat Pennsylvanian Lance Dewease under the checkered flag by 20 car-lengths to win his second "A" Feature of the season.

"I’d rather have the traffic in front of me than those restarts – that’s where you win or lose these races," Schatz said of the 34th-lap caution. "I got by Greg in traffic, and the traffic makes you move around and try to find something. I didn’t think the bottom would come in tonight, but when I moved down there in (turns) one and two it worked, and the top was still fast in three and four. "I caught up to Paul McMahan, and he was racing pretty hard with someone (Jason Meyers). When that happens, sometimes you just have to try something off the wall, and I did when I split Johnny Herrera and another guy (Stevie Smith) getting into the turn. It’s nice to win here at Lernerville and Western Pennsylvania.

"The car was great tonight. My guys have been working real hard. We’ve been struggling a little bit with some DNFs lately, but maybe this will get us back on track. I have to go to Indy to run a Silver Crown car tomorrow (Thursday) night. Hopefully, we can do the same thing there that we did here tonight, though that may be a bit far-fetched."

The $10,000 victory was Schatz’ 15th in 6 ½ years with the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series. Schatz, the eighth-fastest qualifier in the 39-car field, won the Second Dash Race for the privilege of starting the 35-lap main event next to Hodnett on the front row.

Hodnett burst into the lead as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature. Schatz raced wheel-to-wheel with the 1993 Rookie of the Year through turns three and four late in the second lap, but was unable to surge ahead. Tim Shaffer, who lives in Aliquippa, PA, brought out the caution flag when the #83 Beef Packers Eagle spun in the fourth corner several seconds later. Tyler Walker was on the move when the race resumed, driving C&W Motorsports’ #35 Maxim past First Heat Race winner Joey Saldana and Ed Lynch, Jr., within two laps to take over fifth place. Hodnett controlled the restart, and was 15 car-lengths ahead of Schatz when he entered lapped traffic during the sixth lap. Schatz narrowed the gap to three car-lengths in dense lapped traffic three laps later.

Walker continued his run toward the front during the race’s middle stages, passing fast qualifier Steve Kinser and O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series points leader Danny Lasoski to claim third place. Dewease, who started inside the sixth row, claimed second place by passing Kinser, Lasoski, Walker and Hodnett between the 25th and 29th laps. Lasoski and Walker, the 2002 World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion, passed Hodnett as mechanical problems in the #12 Apple Motorsports Maxim forced him into the pit area late in lap 32.

Daryn Pittman claimed fifth place with an inside move past Kinser between turns one and two several seconds later. Shaffer spun in the second corner two laps later, setting up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Schatz raced away from the field as the green flag replaced the yellow and coasted to victory. Pittman and "The Dude" exchanged fourth place during the final two laps. Walker finished third, ahead of Lasoski, Pittman, Steve Kinser, 14th-starting Mark Kinser, Saldana, Dale Blaney and Sammy Swindell, who has won 14 main events at Lernerville Speedway.

"The King of the Outlaws" set quick time for the second time in as many races, circling the high-banked, ½-mile oval in 12.54 seconds, an average speed of 143.541 M.P.H. Meyers, making his debut in Karavan Motorsports’ #7 VMAC Maxim, was the 20th-fastest qualifier and finished second in the Fourth Heat Race. The 2000 Gumout Series Rookie of the Year raced into 15th place from outside the 10th row in the "A" Feature. Meyers will drive the #7 for the remainder of the season while Craig Dollansky recovers from a back injury.

After blowing an engine during hot laps and missing the qualifying session, Brian Paulus of Mechanicsburg, PA, drove the #28 Verdelli Farms Maxim past 14 cars in the "B" Feature and seven more in the main event to finish 17th. WoO

2003 O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA Wednesday, May 21, Feature Program #22

Qualifying: 1. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.540; 2. Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, 12.566; 3. Lance Dewease, Hamilton 77, 12.573; 4. Tyler Walker, C&W Motorsports 35, 12.600; 5. Greg Hodnett, Apple 12, 12.616; 6. Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 12.633; 7. Ed Lynch, Jr., Lynch 2L, 12.661; 8. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 12.680; 9. Dale Blaney, Andrews 72, 12.722; 10. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 12.727; 11. Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 12.773; 12. Jason Johnson, Harrison 22, 12.794; 13. Jac Haudenschild, Forbrook 5, 12.802; 14. Sammy Swindell, Roth 1, 12.805; 15. Eric Smith, Smith 7Z, 12.815; 16. Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, 12.822; 17. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 12.839; 18. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 12.910; 19. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 12.916; 20. Jason Meyers, Karavan Racing 7, 12.921; 21. Johnny Herrera, Wilburn 2W, 12.923; 22. Fred Rahmer, Harz 88H, 12.956; 23. Brian Carlson, Carlson 18, 12.975; 24. Rod George, George 13.167; 25. Dan Shetler, Shetler 7K, 13.419; 26. Bob Altmeyer, Altmeyer 14, 13.585; 27. Brent Matus, Matus 33, 13.708; 28. Ricky Ferkel, Ferkel 0, 13.775; 29. Charlie Holben, Holben 42G, 13.822; 30. Butch Beasley, Beasley 1B, 13.899; 31. Davey Jones, Jones 76, 13.904; 32. Bill Kiley, Kiley 4K, 14.262; 33. Paul Kish, Beasley 45B, 14.555; 34. Gary Rankin, Rankin 16, 14.956; 35. Glenn Noland, Noland 34, 15.462; 36. Sheila Rankin, Rankin 6, 19.246; 37. Rick Kozminski, Jones 2J, 19.393; 38. Rob Chaney, SC Racing 9X, no time; 39. Brian Paulus, P and P Motorsports 28, no time.

First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Joey Saldana, 2. Dale Blaney, 3. Tim Shaffer, 4. Donny Schatz, 5. Steve Kinser, 6. Rod George, 7. Dan Shetler, 8. Paul Kish. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jason Sides, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Ed Lynch, Jr., 4. Daryn Pittman, 5. Eric Smith, 6. Brian Carlson, 7. Davey Jones, 8. Bob Altmeyer, 9. Gary Rankin. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Fred Rahmer, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Lance Dewease, 5. Danny Lasoski, 6. Paul McMahan, 7. Brian Paulus, 8. Charlie Holben, 9. Brent Matus, 10. Glenn Noland. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Jason Meyers, 3. Greg Hodnett, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Tyler Walker, 6. Jason Johnson, 7. Bill Kiley, 8. Sheila Rankin. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)

First Dash Race (five laps): 1. Greg Hodnett, 2. Steve Kinser, 3. Ed Lynch, Jr., 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Joey Saldana, 6. Lance Dewease, 7. Dale Blaney, 8. Eric Smith. (finish determined the inside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature lineup)

Second Dash Race (five laps): 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Tyler Walker, 4. Daryn Pittman, 5. Tim Shaffer, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Mark Kinser, 8. Jason Sides. (finish determined the outside starting positions in the first eight rows in the "A" Feature lineup)

B Feature (12 laps): 1. Paul McMahan, 2. Jason Johnson, 3. Brian Paulus, 4. Brian Carlson, 5. Rod George ($200); 6. Davey Jones ($180); 7. Charlie Holben ($150); 8. Brent Matus ($120); 9. Dan Shetler ($100); 10. Bob Altmeyer ($90); 11. Butch Beasley ($70); 12. Gary Rankin ($60); 13. Paul Kish $60); 14. Bill Kiley ($50); 15. Sheila Rankin ($50); 16. Rick Kojminski ($50); 17. Glenn Noland ($50). (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)

A Feature (35 laps): 1. Donny Schatz [2] ($10,000); 2. Lance Dewease [11] ($5,500); 3. Tyler Walker [6] ($3,200); 4. Danny Lasoski [4] ($2,800); 5. Daryn Pittman [8] ($2,500); 6. Steve Kinser [3] ($2,300); 7. Mark Kinser [14] ($2,200); 8. Joey Saldana [9] ($2,100); 9. Dale Blaney [13] ($2,050); 10. Sammy Swindell [12] ($2,000); 11. Jason Sides [16] ($1,500); 12. Jac Haudenschild [7] ($1,200); 13. Ed Lynch, Jr. [5] ($1,100); 14. Greg Hodnett [1] ($1,050); 15. Jason Meyers [20] ($1,000); 16. Paul McMahan [17] ($920); 17. Brian Paulus [24] ($820); 18. Johnny Herrera [21] ($800); 19. Stevie Smith [19] ($800); 20. Jason Johnson [18] ($820); 21. Dan Shetler [26] ($800); 22. Tim Shaffer [10] ($800); 23. Eric Smith [15] ($800); 24. Brian Carlson [23] ($820); 25. Rod George [25] ($800); 26. Fred Rahmer [22] ($800).

Provisional starters: Dan Shetler, Rod George

Lap leaders: Greg Hodnett 1-11, Donny Schatz 12-35

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