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Schatz prepares to defend Knoxville’s Nationals title with win in WoO June tilt
By Bob Wilson

KNOXVILLE, IA (June 7) Defending Nationals champion Donny Schatz let it be known that he is the man to beat when the 48th annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals roll around August 6-9 as he swept to a win in the 25-lap feature event at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night.

The feature event began with front row starter Joey Saldana beating pole sitter Terry McCarl to the first turn when the green was thrown. With the bottom of the big half-mile oval being nearly useless, the cushion was the fastest way around on this night and Saldana had it from the get go. Schatz tried the bottom at first but quickly moved to the top like Saldana and McCarl.

By lap five the front runners had hit lap traffic and two laps later Schatz took second from McCarl with a low run through turns one and two. On lap nine Schatz tried the same thing with Saldana but the front running car had the momentum on the cushion to fend off the bid. With 10 laps in the books a gap began to form between the top three cars and fourth running Danny Lasoski.

Just after the five-mile mark, Schatz again tried to slide Saldana in turns one and two. It did not work. Two laps later as the top two cars flew past the flagstand, Schatz nosed out Saldana. When he flew into turn one and two he had the lead but Saldana regained it as they edged into a group of backmarkers.

By lap 15 it had become a two-car race as McCarl had begun to slowly fade from the battle. Both Saldana and Schatz did masterful jobs at running the cushion on a track which had become hard and dry from there to the bottom. Schatz continued to look for advantages to get by the point car but either Saldana had the momentum, an open track or a lap car in his pocket.
Lap 20 of the non-stop affair saw Saldana with a 10 car-length lead. On the very next lap everything changed as Saldana came upon lap traffic running the cushion and Schatz made up the distance and very nearly got by him. The next circuit saw both drivers fly side by side down the front chute with Schatz on the inside. It was a test of wills when they hit turn one as Saldana tried his best to pinch off Schatz while Schatz did not give. In the end, Schatz threw dust from the inside berm as Saldana shot to the cushion to find some track.

With Schatz in the lead, it was now up to Saldana to find a way to regain the that spot. The battle to the end was not to be as lap traffic again hindered Saldana and he faded. For Schatz it was his ninth career win at this historic oval in the Tony Stewart J&J. McCarl took third place, Jason Meyers came from 12th to place fourth and Craig Dollansky charged hard in the latter half of the event to finish fifth. Completing the top ten where Lasoski, Chad Kemenah, Steve Kinser, Jac Haudenschild and Lucas Wolfe.

The 360 sprint feature was a blowout as Wayne Johnson set sail in the 15-lap event to win by over half a lap. Johnson was never contested as he was masterful in lap traffic as he ran away with the race on a track that was nearly worn out from the 28 360 entrants and 55 World of Outlaws 410 sprinters racing on it. Completing the top ten in the feature event were Matt Moro, Natalie Sather, Brett Mather, Gregg Bakker, Jesse Giannetto (from 12th), Josh Higday, Eric Vander Ploeg, John Kearney and Russ Hall.





KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA
June 7, 2008


410 RESULTS

Time Trial, 1. Craig Dollansky, Elk River MN, 15.525; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN, 15.583; 3. Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN, 15.663; 4. Shane Stewart, Bixby OK, 15.664; 5. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND, 15.69; 6. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA, 15.705; 7. Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK, 15.721; 8. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO, 15.725; 9. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH, 15.73; 10. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH, 15.768; 11. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN, 15.774; 12. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX, 15.784; 13. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN, 15.785; 14. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA, 15.805; 15. Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg PA, 15.813; 16. Bronson Maeschen, Knoxville IA, 15.821; 17. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO, 15.86; 18. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR, 15.868; 19. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN, 15.891; 20. Jack Dover, Springfield NE, 15.893; 21. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA, 15.913; 22. Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa PA, 15.918; 23. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA, 15.92; 24. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks ND, 15.938; 25. Jason Johnson, Greenville TX, 15.952; 26. Travis Cram, Knoxville IA, 15.957; 27. Jake Peters, Sioux Falls SD, 15.978; 28. Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls SD, 15.98; 29. Rager Phillips, Pleasantville IA, 16.017; 30. Ryan Anderson, Charter Oak IA, 16.018; 31. Dion Hindi, (R) Albuquerque NM, 16.018; 32. Josh Schneiderman, (R) West Burlington IA, 16.066; 33. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS, 16.081; 34. Randy Anderson, Clarion IA, 16.114; 35. Dusty Zomer, Brandon SD, 16.152; 36. Chad Hillier, Burlington WA, 16.165; 37. Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. , 16.17; 38. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. , 16.192; 39. Brandon Wimmer, (R) Fairmount IN, 16.217; 40. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. , 16.223; 41. Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City IA, 16.224; 42. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL, 16.283; 43. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE, 16.302; 44. Tony Shilling, Knoxville IA, 16.317; 45. Derek Ingalls, (R) Snohomish WA, 16.374; 46. Bob Weuve, Newton IA, 16.385; 47. Billy Alley, Lincoln NE, 16.397; 48. Jon Agan, Knoxville IA, 16.421; 49. Davey Heskin, St. Michael MN, 16.431; 50. Mike Moore, Des Moines IA, 16.565; 51. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA, 16.574; 52. Greg Nikitenko, Minot ND, 17.449; 53. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK, No Time; 54. Paul Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. , No Time; 55. Kaylene Verville, (R) Avondale AZ, No Time;


Heat 1, 8 laps, 2:11.2: 1. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND; 2. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 3. Craig Dollansky, Elk River MN; 4. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 5. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 6. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 7. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA; 8. Jason Johnson, Greenville TX; 9. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 10. Ryan Anderson, Charter Oak IA; 11. Randy Anderson, Clarion IA; 12. Mike Moore, Des Moines IA; 13. Bob Weuve, Newton IA;

Heat 2, 8 laps, 2:14.1: 1. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 3. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA; 4. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 5. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR; 6. Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa PA; 7. Jake Peters, Sioux Falls SD; 8. Dusty Zomer, Brandon SD; 9. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE; 10. Dion Hindi, (R) Albuquerque NM; 11. Brandon Wimmer, (R) Fairmount IN; 12. Billy Alley, Lincoln NE; 13. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA;

Heat 3, 8 laps, 2:12.8: 1. Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg PA; 2. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 3. Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN; 4. Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK; 5. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 6. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA; 7. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN; 8. Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls SD; 9. Chad Hillier, Burlington WA; 10. Josh Schneiderman, (R) West Burlington IA; 11. Tony Shilling, Knoxville IA; 12. Greg Nikitenko, Minot ND; 13. Jon Agan, Knoxville IA;

Heat 4, 8 laps, No Time: 1. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX; 3. Shane Stewart, Bixby OK; 4. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks ND; 5. Jack Dover, Springfield NE; 6. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 7. Rager Phillips, Pleasantville IA; 8. Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. ; 9. Davey Heskin, St. Michael MN; 10. Derek Ingalls, (R) Snohomish WA; 11. Bronson Maeschen, Knoxville IA;

C Feature, 10 laps, 2:57.6: 1. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 2. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 3. Mike Moore, Des Moines IA; 4. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE; 5. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA; 6. Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. ; 7. Bob Weuve, Newton IA; 8. Greg Nikitenko, Minot ND; 9. Davey Heskin, St. Michael MN; 10. Derek Ingalls, (R) Snohomish WA; 11. Billy Alley, Lincoln NE; 12. Tony Shilling, Knoxville IA;
Dash, 6 laps, No Time: 1. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 3. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND; 4. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX; 6. Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN; 7. Craig Dollansky, Elk River MN; 8. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 9. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 10. Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg PA;

B Feature, 12 laps,3:33.8: 1. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA; 2. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN; 3. Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa PA; 4. Jake Peters, Sioux Falls SD; 5. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA; 6. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 7. Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls SD; 8. Ryan Anderson, Charter Oak IA; 9. Dion Hindi, (R) Albuquerque NM; 10. Dusty Zomer, Brandon SD; 11. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 12. Chad Hillier, Burlington WA; 13. Josh Schneiderman, (R) West Burlington IA; 14. Rager Phillips, Pleasantville IA; 15. (Car Number Not On File); 16. Randy Anderson, Clarion IA; 17. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 18. Bronson Maeschen, Knoxville IA;

A Feature, 25 laps, 47:45.1: 1. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 3. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 4. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA; 5. Craig Dollansky, Elk River MN; 6. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 7. Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 8. Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN; 9. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 10. Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg PA; 11. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 12. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX; 13. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 14. Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK; 15. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 16. Shane Stewart, Bixby OK; 17. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks ND; 18. Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa PA; 19. Chad Hillier, Burlington WA; 20. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 21. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN; 22. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 23. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA; 24. Jack Dover, Springfield NE; 25. Jake Peters, Sioux Falls SD; 26. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR. Lap Leaders: Saldana 1-12; Schatz 13; Saldana 14-22; Schatz 23-15




360 RESULTS

Heat 1, 7 laps, 2:00.7: 1. Natalie Sather, Fargo ND; 2. Wayne Johnson, Knoxville IA; 3. Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls SD; 4. John Kearney, Valley Falls KS; 5. Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines IA; 6. Dustin Selvage, Indianola IA; 7. Tyler Thompson, Des Moines IA; 8. Joe Beaver, Knoxville IA; 9. Rick Ideus, Silver City IA; 10. Danny Heskin, St. Michael MN;

Heat 2, 7 laps, No Time: 1. Eric Vanderploeg, Altoona IA; 2. Russ Hall, Des Moines IA; 3. Jesse Giannetto, Palo IA; 4. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA; 5. Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood CO; 6. Nate Van Haaften, Otley IA; 7. Cody Petersen, (R) Hermosa SD; 8. Pete Crall, DeSoto KS; 9. Dave Hall, Des Moines IA;

Heat 3, 7 laps, No Time: 1. Brett Mather, Ames IA; 2. Matt Moro, Ankeny IA; 3. Nate Mosher, Prairie City IA; 4. John Hall, Marion IA; 5. Tom Lenz, Marion IA; 6. Bill Boles, Harris IA; 7. RJ Johnson, (R) Tampa FL; 8. Ryan Roberts, Aurora NE; 9. Rod Richards, Runnells IA;

B Feature, 10 laps, No Time: 1. Dave Hall, Des Moines IA; 2. Ryan Roberts, Aurora NE; 3. RJ Johnson, (R) Tampa FL; 4. Nate Van Haaften, Otley IA; 5. Bill Boles, Harris IA; 6. Cody Petersen, (R) Hermosa SD; 7. Danny Heskin, St. Michael MN; 8. Tyler Thompson, Des Moines IA; 9. Rick Ideus, Silver City IA; 10. Rod Richards, Runnells IA; 11. Joe Beaver, Knoxville IA; 12. Pete Crall, DeSoto KS;

A Feature, 15 laps, 4:42.2: 1. Wayne Johnson, Knoxville IA; 2. Matt Moro, Ankeny IA; 3. Natalie Sather, Fargo ND; 4. Brett Mather, Ames IA; 5. Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls SD; 6. Jesse Giannetto, Palo IA; 7. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA; 8. Eric Vanderploeg, Altoona IA; 9. John Kearney, Valley Falls KS; 10. Russ Hall, Des Moines IA; 11. Nate Mosher, Prairie City IA; 12. Dustin Selvage, Indianola IA; 13. Dave Hall, Des Moines IA; 14. Tom Lenz, Marion IA; 15. Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood CO; 16. Nate Van Haaften, Otley IA; 17. John Hall, Marion IA; 18. RJ Johnson, (R) Tampa FL; 19. Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines IA; 20. Ryan Roberts, Aurora NE. Lap Leaders: Johnson 1-15