Donny Schatz Claims Third National Open Title at Williams
Grove
Mechanicsburg, PA — Oct. 1, 2005 — By
Chris Dolack, WoO Sprint Series Public Relations Director
Donny Schatz knows it’s not where you start but where you finish so on Saturday
night in the Cleveland Brothers National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, he
continued his roll as the hottest driver on the
Schatz slid past Daryn Pittman to grab the lead on Lap 17 in Turn 3 and he made
it stick as they raced down the front-stretch. From there, he survived two
restarts and drove away to the checkered flag in the ParkerStore J&J to win
his third National Open crown, and second in a row. It also was his second
consecutive A-feature victory and his eighth win of the season as he gears up
for the 2006 Outlaws season.
Pittman, another of the ’06 Outlaws, continued his own hot streak by holding on
to finish second in the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim for the best
Williams Grove A-feature finish in his career, one night after his second-place
run in the preliminary feature. Pittman has finished first or second on five of
the past six race nights.
Pennsylvania legend Fred Rahmer, the preliminary feature winner on Friday,
brought his Miller Brothers Cadillac J&J to the checkered flag in third,
followed by Steve Kinser in the Quaker State Maxim and Greg Hodnett in the
Manheim Auctions JEI.
Chad Layton powered the Apple Dealerships Maxim to sixth, with ’06 Outlaw and
fast-qualifier Terry McCarl in the Big Game
Following the preliminary feature, many pointed to Schatz as the driver who
would challenge Rahmer, who was looking to win the National Open for the first
time in his career in a season that saw the Pennsylvania Posse leader earn his
first victory in the Summer Nationals and at Knoxville Raceway. A nine-time
winner at Williams Grove, Schatz didn’t disappoint. He started on the inside of
the third row and after a red flag with six laps down, he used a long
green-flag run in the 40-lap feature to work his way past Rahmer, Greg Hodnett
and finally Pittman, who like the preliminary feature led much of the first
half of the race.
Pittman didn’t go easily, either. He raced to the top but caught the rear of
the field on Lap 13 and allowed Schatz and Hodnett to close the gap. Schatz
tailed Pittman through traffic for four laps before finally making his move Lap
17 in Turn 3. He slid under Pittman and into the lead at the same time Hodnett
had to slow up for a lapped car, allowing Rahmer to slip into third.
“I slid in there and parked it, got the wheels caught up and got going again,”
said Schatz, a Mean 15 racer from
“I tried not to get back to the third row, but we tried something with our car
and that’s really what won the race. We tried something in the Dash and it
wasn’t very good so we knew what direction we needed to go and we went the
right direction. It was pretty good just to get locked in [on Friday]. That was
the whole goal. Sometimes when you start on the front you don’t have the
advantage.”
Schatz was easily weaving through traffic by Lap 25 when the third caution came
out, bunching the field with 26 laps complete. By that point, Kinser had
already worked his way to fifth and was looking for more, but with three lapped
cars between him and Pittman, Schatz had a big jump on the restart and sailed
away with clear track. The final caution with 31 laps complete saw Kinser in
fourth but Schatz still had the benefit of lapped cars littered throughout the
leaders on the restart. He smoothly drove to the top and powered his way to the
checkered flag for the ninth time in his career at Williams Grove.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Schatz, who has finished in the top 10 for 16
consecutive race nights. “We had to race with guys. I think I was running sixth
when we started there and I just had to pick them off one by one. It says a lot
about the racecar and this race team. These guys dig down deep and work hard. I
can get frustrated sometimes but they pick me up and point me in the right
direction and I need that from time to time.”
The victory moves Schatz to fourth in the
“It’s definitely a big bonus,” Schatz said. “All these race teams need money to
keep surviving. We’re a family-owned team and we do our best. Sometimes we win
the big ones and sometimes we don’t. Tonight we were very fortunate.”
Pittman, who in the past three weeks has raced from 11th to seventh in the
standings, started on the front row both nights during the National Open and
paced the field during the early laps.
“We were good, we just got beat,” said Pittman, a Mean 15 racer and native of
Pittman was strong rolling along the top, but once he hit traffic his car got
tight as he tried to maintain his lead.
“That was all I had run so I didn’t have any confidence in what I needed to do
when I got to traffic,” Pittman said. “I knew I was going to have to move
around. Sometimes the middle is good, sometimes the bottom is good. I tried the
middle and I know I lost a lot of speed, it wasn’t very good. I tried the
bottom and I didn’t feel very good down there, either. I mainly just got real
tight when I got behind guys. This place is really bad when you get right
behind because it takes all the air off you. I just got real tight and couldn’t
steer the thing. On that last restart, he never pulled away that far from us
but I got stuck behind Kraig Kinser a little bit.
“It was a good run for us. He’s tough and he’s been on fire. He’s been a little
bit better than we have for the past couple of weeks but as long as we keep
running first and second we’ll be happy with that.”
After starting on the pole, Rahmer was disappointed to finish third even though
he has had a remarkable season of 31 victories, including two victories against
the Outlaws.
“We should have been able to do better, we just messed the car up a little
bit,” said Rahmer, a native of
“You want to win every one you tow to. Tonight, with the way it was played out.
It’s hard to put a plan together to win a race like this. We were good all
night long, we just screwed up in the feature with what I think was the wrong
tire choice. Forty laps is a lot longer than what we run.”
Kinser, a winner earlier this season at Williams Grove, was one of the few cars
that was able to come forward through the field. Starting 15th, Kinser
methodically worked his way to a fourth-place finish.
“I was just off a little bit all week,” said Kinser, who has virtually wrapped
up the 2005
“It’s tough to pass. These cars are pretty even. You have to get yourself in a
position to win a race. To win one of these races right now you need to start
in the first three rows. It’s pretty hard to win from 15th, especially here.
You might do it on a short track, but they get strung out here, even with the
yellows. By the time somebody picks the gas up here you’re a full straightaway
behind.”
The Outlaws head back across the
WILLIAMS GROVE NOTEBOOK
• 2006 Outlaw Terry McCarl paced the
46 cars that went through time trials with an AMB i.t.-timed lap around the
half-mile oval in 16.356 seconds at 108.353 mph.
• The Kinsers joined what has to be a legendary list of names on Saturday when
Kraig Kinser won his first asphalt race in an ARCA Re/Max Series event at
Talladega Superspeedway in
“It’s real big to me, and it says something about the team I’m with down
there,” said Kraig Kinser of his MB2 Motorsports team. “It’s a great group of
guys who make me feel right at home. They have good cars and they run fast. The
Hendrick motors in them are unbelievably quick.”
“I got penalized about halfway through the race for not obeying blend-line
rules or something like that [and had to go to the back]. It was actually
better for us, since we ended up winning, because we got to experience drafting
more that way rather than just being out front.”
Steve Kinser, who won an IROC event at
“It was a good day for him and they had a good racecar, too,” Steve Kinser
said. “They went out and set quick time. MB2 gave him a good car. It’s only his
second pavement race after he ran good at
Kraig went out last in time trials and showed no signs of being affected by his
earlier race.
“You still have the speed,” said Kraig of being back in the sprint car at
night. “The acceleration here is unbelievable. You still have that feel. I love
being in a sprint car so much that it makes it that much better to be back.
“It’s unbelievable family tradition and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
• Donny Schatz’s victory Saturday night at Williams Grove Speedway was his
eighth of the season, second-most this year with the Outlaws. … Steve Kinser
has a series-leading 19 A-feature victories and six preliminary feature wins
this season. … There have been 17 different A-feature winners this season.
Including preliminary features, 22 different drivers have visited
• Including preliminary features, the series has raced 36 times this year on
half-mile circuits with Steve Kinser winning nine times (Volusia, Eldora three
times, Knoxville, Williams Grove, Hartford, Red River Valley and Calistoga),
Donny Schatz winning four times (Las Vegas, Route 66 Raceway, Calistoga,
Williams Grove), Sammy Swindell winning four times (twice at Eldora, once at
Hagerstown and Knoxville), Kraig Kinser winning three times (Las Vegas and
twice at Knoxville), Craig Dollansky winning twice (Manzanita and Williams
Grove),
• Drivers who have raced to victory in preliminary features this season include
(in alphabetical order) Craig Dollansky three times (Manzanita/Williams
Grove/Silver Dollar), Jason Johnson once (Williams Grove), Kraig Kinser once
(Las Vegas), Steve Kinser six times (Eagle twice/Billings/Elma/Calistoga/Silver
Dollar), Danny Lasoski three times (Australia/Knoxville/Calistoga), Fred Rahmer
twice (Knoxville/Williams Grove), Kerry Madsen once (Australia), Paul McMahan
once (Williams Grove),
• Fred Rahmer, Daryn Pittman, Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky were locked into
the Stacker 2® Dash, and joined Saturday night by Greg Hodnett and Keith
Kauffman. Rahmer charged to a quick lead and drove to victory and the pole for
the main event. Pittman held on to finish second with Dollansky, Kauffman,
Schatz and Hodnett rounding out the field. The field also established a six-lap
record by completing the Dash in 1 minute, 37.29 seconds.
• The B-main featured the four fastest qualifiers on Saturday night. Terry
McCarl, the quick qualifier, was strong on the top and rolled to the win with
Lucas Wolfe,
• In heat race action, the four fastest cars were inverted with the top four
cars transferring to the A-main, but none of the top four fastest cars were
able to transfer, sending all four to the B-main. Brandon Wimmer captured the
first heat, Brooke Tatnell charged to victory in the second heat, Doug Esh cruised
to victory in the third heat and Steve Kinser coasted to victory in the fourth
heat.
• The Outlaws head back across the
• The Outdoor Channel will air at 8 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 5 the event from The
Raceway at Powercom Park, followed by the National Open from Williams Grove
Speedway on Oct. 12.
• The Official
• If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the
excitement of the
• The
WoO Sprint Series Statistical Report; National Open Finale;
Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Oct. 1, 2005
Qualifying
1) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 16.536
2)
3) Lucas Wolfe, Allebach 5W, 16.772
4) Lance Dewease, Postupack 25, 16.798
5) Greg Hodnett, Hamilton 77, 16.807
6) Kenny Jacobs, Hamilton 77H, 16.807
7) Keith Kauffman, Middlesworth 7K, 16.843
8) Chad Layton, Apple 12, 16.862
9) Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 16.878
10) Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 16.878
11)
12) Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 16.900
13) Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 16.905
14) Doug Esh, Leach Bros. 30, 16.919
15) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 16.926
16)
17) Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 16.887 (Scored 17th after missing his position
in the qualifying order)
18) Brooke Weibley, Shellada 32, 16.959
19) Shane Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 16.962
20) Mike Erdley, Lisi 11E, 16.986
21)
22) Tim Shaffer, Parsons 6, 17.007
23) Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 17.007
24) Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 17.010
25) Jason Johnson, Kline 22, 17.012
26)
27) Dave Ely, Franckowiak 3, 17.031
28) Kevin Swindell, Swindell 1, 17.039
29) Barry Ruble, Ruble 63, 17.042
30) Joey Saldana, Woodward 2, 17.043
31) Mark Smith, Zemco 1Z, 17.065
32) Niki Young, Neiderer 10N, 17.067
33) Ed Lynch, Jr., Lynch 2L, 17.114
34) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 17.133
35) Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, 17.141
36) Dale Blaney, J&M Motorsports 55, 17.154
37) Craig Keel, Pottorff 9K, 17.173
38) Jeff Shepard, Roth 83, 17.184
39) Kerry Madsen, Kahne 9, 17.246
40) Don Kreitz, Jr., Kreitz 69K, 17.246
41) Greg Wilson, Elden 22W, 17.279
42) Mike Walter, Walter 49, 17.315
43) Michael Carber, Carber 69C, 17.358
44) Alan Cole, Sorokach 35, 17.373
45) Kyle Pruitt, Pruitt 21K, 17.439
46) Mike Kostic, Kostic 40, 18.357
47) Alan Krimes, Krimes 87, No time
Top 4 finishers in preliminary A-feature (locked into first 4 starting
positions in Dash): Fred Rahmer, Harz 88H; Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA
21; Donny Schatz, Schatz 15; Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7
First Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Brandon Wimmer
2) Chad Layton
3)
4) Kraig Kinser
5) Jason Johnson
6)
7) Terry McCarl
8) Ed Lynch, Jr.
9) Craig Keel
10) Barry Ruble
11) Kyle Pruitt
12) Greg Wilson
Second Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Brooke Tatnell
2) Jason Sides
3) Tim Shaffer
4) Keith Kauffman
5) Brooke Weibley
6)
7) Joey Saldana
8)
9) Jeff Shepard
10) Jason Solwold
11) Mike Walter
12) Mike Kostic
Third Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Doug Esh
2)
3) Shane Stewart
4) Danny Lasoski
5) Lucas Wolfe
6) Kenny Jacobs
7) Mark Smith
8) Chad Kemenah
9) Dave Ely
10) Michael Carber
11) Kerry Madsen (DNS)
Fourth Heat Race (8 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Steve Kinser
2) Paul McMahan
3) Greg Hodnett
4) Stevie Smith
5) Lance Dewease
6) Mike Erdley
7) Niki Young
8) Dale Blaney
9) Don Kreitz, Jr.
10) Alan Cole
11) Kevin Swindell
C-Main (10 laps, top 2 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) Ed Lynch, Jr. [$20]
2) Jason Solwold [$20]
3) Jeff Shepard [$20]
4) Don Kreitz, Jr. [$125]
5) Chad Kemenah [$100]
6) Alan Cole [$100]
7) Greg Wilson [$100]
8) Michael Carber [$100]
9) Kyle Pruitt [$100]
10) Mike Kostic [$100]
11) Dale Blaney [$100]
12) Craig Keel (DNS) [$100]
13) Mike Walter (DNS) [$100]
Stacker 2 Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting
positions of A-feature)
1) Fred Rahmer
2) Daryn Pittman
3) Craig Dollansky
4) Keith Kauffman
5) Donny Schatz
6) Greg Hodnett
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Terry McCarl [$20]
2) Lucas Wolfe [$20]
3)
4)
5) Mike Erdley [$200]
6) Brooke Weibley [$180]
7) Jason Solwold [$175]
8) Jason Johnson [$160]
9) Mark Smith [$150]
10) Niki Young [$150]
11) Dave Ely [$150]
12) Jeff Shepard [$150]
13)
14) Ed Lynch, Jr. [$150]
15) Kenny Jacobs [$150]
16) Joey Saldana [$150]
17) Lance Dewease [$150]
18) Barry Ruble [$150]
19) Kevin Swindell (DNS) [$100]
A-main (40 laps)
1) Donny Schatz [$30,000]
2) Daryn Pittman [$12,000]
3) Fred Rahmer [$7, 500]
4) Steve Kinser [$5,000]
5) Greg Hodnett [$4,000]
6) Chad Layton [$3,500]
7) Terry McCarl [$3,200]
8) Jason Solwold [$2,750]
9) Paul McMahan [$2,300]
10) Danny Lasoski [$2,200]
11) Doug Esh [$2,100]
12)
13) Brooke Tatnell [$1,600]
14) Lucas Wolfe [$1,300]
15) Joey Saldana [$1,200]
16) Keith Kauffman [$1,100]
17)
18) Jason Sides [$1000]
19) Kraig Kinser [$1000]
20) Stevie Smith [$1000]
21) Tim Shaffer [$900]
22) Shane Stewart [$900]
23) Mark Smith [$900]
24) Brandon Wimmer [$900]
25)
26)
27) Craig Dollansky [$900]
28) Lance Dewease [$900]
Lap leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-17, Donny Schatz 18-40
Driver Team Team Team Team A-feature
Rank Driver Points Points Earnings Diff. Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 Steve Kinser 8944 8944 $466,700 0 19 44 57
2
3 Craig Dollansky 8287 8287 $191,050 -657 2 21 39
4 Donny Schatz 8146 8146 $308,310 -798 8 20 37
5 Kraig Kinser 8105 8105 $322,770 -839 6 20 35
6 Danny Lasoski 7992 7992 $189,505 -952 1 12 34
7 Daryn Pittman 7866 7866 $190,355 -1078 5 15 29
8 Tim Shaffer 7832 7832 $185,585 -1112 3 15 28
9 Terry McCarl 7817 7817 $142,580 -1127 0 12 27
10 Brooke Tatnell* 7790 8066 $181,065 -878 2 19 32
11 Paul McMahan 7787 7787 $122,930 -1157 0 7 23
12 Joey Saldana 7585 7585 $152,585 -1359 0 15 27
13 Shane Stewart 7516 7516 $133,900 -1428 0 6 22
14
15 Jason Sides 7307 7307 $89,250 -1637 0 2 12
16 Jason Solwold 7079 7079 $102,570 -1865 0 4 14
17 Brandon Wimmer 6585 6585 $59,580 -2359 0 1 5
18 Tim Kaeding** 6461 0 $0 -8944 0** 0 0
19 Sammy Swindell 4607 4457 $116,580 -4487 2 14 18
20 Kevin Swindell 3519 3519 $29,545 -5425 0 1 3
NOTE: Dennis Roth’s No. 83 car driven
Saturday night by Jeff Shepard is 13th in owners’ points. The car also has been
driven this season by Tim Kaeding, Jac Haudenschild and
*Rush Racing’s No. 8 car driven by Brooke Tatnell is sixth in owners’ points.
**Tim Kaeding and Jac Haudenschild each have one victory this season in the No.
83 car.
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