World of Outlaws Recap

6/20/2015

Schatz Claims 5th RCS World of Outlaw Win

Donny Schatz & Dusty Zomer battle for the lead in the World of Outlaws A-main. Photo by Mike Spieker.

By Mike Spieker

GRAND FORKS, ND (June 19) – The World of Outlaws stormed into River Cities Speedway Friday night with 32 cars signed in and a sold out crowd in attendance, as Gerdau presented the first leg of the Northern tour.

The 24 car starting grid was set with Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s Dusty Zomer and Fargo, North Dakota’s Donny Schatz on the front row for the 40 lap A-main. At the drop of the green flag, Zomer jumped out to the lead on the low side of the speedway. Zomer led the first three circuits until the six-time Outlaw champion reeled him in and made the pass on the high side heading into turn three.

From there, Schatz checked out from the field as a heated battle for the second position broke out between Zomer, Shane Stewart, Joey Saldana, Sammy Swindell, and Paul McMahan. All six drivers battled wheel to wheel in heavy lapped traffic as they tried to break free from one another.

A red flag halted the action on lap 33 when Paige Polyak hooked the cushion and went for a wild ride off the turn three embankment. Polyak’s #19 Sprinter was destroyed, but she walked away unharmed. Schatz’s four-second lead was erased as a result. Zomer and Stewart lined up right on Schatz’s tail tank for the seven lap shootout.

Schatz took off as the Evergreen Insurance restart resumed the race and left Zomer and Stewart to battle for the runner-up position.

The driver of the Tony Stewart Racing/Bad Boy Buggies #15 paced the field around the 3/10th mile bullring and took his fifth World of Outlaw victory at River Cities Speedway. Zomer held off Stewart for second, as McMahan and Swindell rounded out the top five.

“The guys did a great job getting the car to roll the way it needed to. It was snug enough to drive forward in the slick spots and free enough to roll in the wet,” said Schatz after the race.

The win was Schatz’s fourth consecutive win on the Outlaw circuit and 15th of 2015.

“These three guys that are working on the car are really on their “A” game. They are trying to stay ahead of the curve with adjustments and are trying a lot of new things. When you can do some testing and still be able to win races, it’s a plus. That’s one thing that’s fun about this sport; even if you think you’re in a good spot, you can always make it better and that’s what these three guys work on every day.”