Donny Schatz Does It Again at Knoxville!
by Bill Wright
Knoxville, IA, June 15, 2013 – Donny Schatz served notice that he’s still in charge at the Knoxville Raceway. The Fargo, North Dakota native secured his 17th career feature win in the World of Outlaws last appearance before August’s 53rd Annual FVP Knoxville Nationals in August. Clint Garner also scored his 17th career win in the 360 class on Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway.
Schatz led lap one, trading the spot with Brian Brown. Brown took command on lap two ahead of Schatz and quick-timer, Bronson Maeschen. By lap nine, Brown had opened up a two second lead on the field, when Mark Dobmeier blew his right rear tire and flipped down the backstretch. He was uninjured.
The double-file restart saw Brown choose the high side ahead of Schatz, Maeschen and Davey Heskin. The fight for second through fourth had been hectic in lapped traffic. Before another lap could be completed, Kerry Madsen blew his right rear on the frontstretch while running in the top ten, necessitating a single-file restart. In the melee, Lynton Jeffrey was collected by Jason Solwold and was forced to retire.
Brown continued to lead, while Ian Madsen worked by Paul McMahan into the top five. It was smooth sailing for Brown until Kraig Kinser slowed dramatically in front of him in turn one. Brown’s front nerf bar caught the tail of Kinser’s car. He veered towards the wall and was able to save it, but Schatz roared by into the lead.
Ian Madsen had things working, as he worked his way into fourth, and by Maeschen for third on lap 16. Maeschen brought his mount back into third and he, Ian Madsen and Heskin battled in the top five. Unfortunately for Heskin, he would blow a left rear tire with nineteen laps in the books. He would restart at the tail.
The caution erased a 2.5 second lead for Schatz over Brown, but he pulled away for the win. Brown settled for second, while McMahan got by Maeschen, who was running out of fuel for third. Ian Madsen and Daryn Pittman were fourth and fifth. Danny Lasoski (from 18th), David Gravel, hard-charger Tim Kaeding, Craig Dollansky and Sammy Swindell rounded out the top ten.
“This is a tribute to a great race team,” said Schatz in Victory Lane. “These guys are awesome and are great to be around. I’m just a lucky guy. I wasn’t really racing (Brown), I was racing myself. As hard as those guys were running up there, it got a little bit choppy up there in one and two. There was a tough spot coming off of four. When you’re playing a game you can’t win, you know you better be careful. I tried to avoid the holes in the middle of the corner. Our car was pretty decent through the middle there for a while. I’m glad to get a win. It never gets old, I can tell you that.”
“I think Ray Charles could see who our target is right now,” said Brown of Schatz. “It was one of those deals where we got caught up in a lapped car and got balled up. We had a good car all night long. Donny’s just outdriving me, and we’ll go back to work.”
“It was a good run,” said McMahan. “I had my hands full with my racecar. We were really tight and I about drove in the pits several times. I’d like to thank all the fans for coming out.”
McMahan, Steve Kinser, Brown and Jason Sides were heat race winners. Brown won the Dash and Danny Lasoski took the B. Forty-three cars were on hand.
Ryan Roberts led Clint Garner and Jon Agan early in the 18-lap 360 feature. The lead pair separated themselves from the pack, while Jamie Ball took over in third. With ten laps to go, the lead trio raced ahead of Agan, Nate Van Haaften, Matt Moro and Russ Hall.
With thirteen laps in the books, Roberts bobbled on the cushion and Garner reeled him in to take the lead sliding through turn three. Roberts made a late bid to return the favor on a Garner bobble with two laps to go, but slowed behind the lapped car of Tom Lenz. Ball was third, ahead of Van Haaften and Agan. Russ Hall, Matt Moro, Joe Beaver, Ricky Montgomery and Matt Juhl rounded out the top ten.
Beaver posted quick-time, while Agan and Van Haaften won the heat races.
“The cushion was there, it was just way up along the fence,” said Garner in Victory Lane. “Turn four was scarier than heck, but if you did it right, there was all kinds of bite there. It was a lot of fun, and that’s the kind of racetrack I love. It was home track advantage. If (Roberts) had been here more this year, he may have won that race.”
Saturday, June 22, all three sprint car divisions will be back in action for Farm Bureau Mid-Season Championships Night! It’s also Knoxville Hall of Fame Night. Friday night, June 21, will be “Nostalgia at Knoxville” as well, with $5 admission for adults. For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (17), 15.018; 2. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (10), 15.127; 3. 6, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (14), 15.172; 4. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (21), 15.191; 5. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (13), 15.212; 6. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aus (12), 15.260; 7. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (23), 15.290; 8. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (11), 15.298; 9. 51, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (6), 15.318; 10. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (34), 15.332; 11. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (8), 15.357; 12. 71m, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (20), 15.373; 13. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (4), 15.412; 14. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (18), 15.418; 15. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (31), 15.466; 16. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (19), 15.467; 17. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (28), 15.481; 18. 63, Chad Kemenah, Elvada, OH (1), 15.603; 19. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (15), 15.620; 20. 7K, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (25), 15.646; 21. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (37), 15.650; 22. 82, Jason Solwold, Mount Vernon, WA (2), 15.651; 23. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (3), 15.664; 24. 83, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (27), 15.734; 25. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (35), 15.750; 26. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (24), 15.751; 27. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (29), 15.772; 28. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aus (43), 15.781; 29. 2, Garrett Dollansky, Elk River, MN (26), 15.785; 30. 4, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (39), 15.798; 31. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (33), 15.818; 32. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.872; 33. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (36), 15.888; 34. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (30), 15.901; 35. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (40), 16.102; 36. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (32), 16.113; 37. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (16), 16.345; 38. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (38), 16.486; 39. 10V, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (5), 16.578; 40. 71, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (41), 17.399; 41. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (42), 17.423; 42. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA (9), NT; 43. 4x, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (22), NT.
Heat one (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Paul McMahan (2); 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 3. Craig Dollansky (3); 4. Bronson Maeschen (4); 5. Jason Solwold (6) / 6. Dusty Zomer (5); 7. Cody Darrah (8); 8. Tasker Phillips (7); 9. Dustin Clark (10); 10. Wayne Johnson (9) DNS – Dustin Selvage
Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:11.1: 1. Steve Kinser (1); 2. Donny Schatz (2); 3. Kerry Madsen (3); 4. Davey Heskin (4); 5. Kraig Kinser (6) / 6. Josh Schneiderman (8); 7. Ryan Bunton (9); 8. Rob Kubli (7); 9. Chad Kemenah (5); 10. Glen Saville (10) DNS – TJ Peterson
Heat three (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (2); 2. Ian Madsen (3); 3. David Gravel (4); 4. Tim Kaeding (6); 5. Brooke Tatnell (7) / 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 7. Austin McCarl (8); 8. Terry McCarl (1); 9. Robert Bell (9) DNS – AJ Moeller, Dakota Hendrickson
Heat four (started), 8 laps, 2:13.4: 1. Jason Sides (1); 2. Joey Saldana (2); 3. Daryn Pittman (4); 4. Mark Dobmeier (6); 5. Sammy Swindell (3); 6. Danny Lasoski (5); 7. Don Droud Jr. (9); 8. Mike Moore (10); 9. Rager Phillips (8); 10. Garrett Dollansky (7)
Dash (started), 6 laps, 1:37.7: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Donny Schatz (2); 3. Paul McMahan (3); 4. Bronson Maeschen (6); 5. Ian Madsen (4); 6. Davey Heskin (5); 7. Joey Saldana (7); 8. Steve Kinser (9); 9. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (8) DNS – Jason Sides
B main (started), 12 laps, NT: 1. Danny Lasoski (3); 2. Chad Kemenah (1); 3. Don Droud Jr. (11); 4. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 5. Cody Darrah (7); 6. Tasker Phillips (6); 7. Wayne Johnson (9); 8. Rager Phillips (12); 9. Mike Moore (15); 10. Ryan Bunton (14); 11. Rob Kubli (5); 12. Garrett Dollansky (8); 13. Dustin Clark (16); 14. Robert Bell (18); 15. Dusty Zomer (2); 16. Josh Schneiderman (10); 17. Glen Saville (13); 18. Terry McCarl (17) DNS – Austin McCarl, AJ Moeller, Dustin Selvage, TJ Peterson, Dakota Hendrickson
A main (started), 25 laps, NT: 1. Donny Schatz (2); 2. Brian Brown (1); 3. Paul McMahan (3); 4. Ian Madsen (5); 5. Daryn Pittman (12); 6. Danny Lasoski (18); 7. David Gravel (11); 8. Tim Kaeding (21); 9. Craig Dollansky (13); 10. Sammy Swindell (15); 11. Kerry Madsen (14); 12. Jason Sides (10); 13. Chad Kemenah (16); 14. Steve Kinser (8); 15. Joey Saldana (7); 16. Davey Heskin (6); 17. Bronson Maeschen (4); 18. Brooke Tatnell (23); 19. Jason Solwold (19); 20. Dusty Zomer (26, pr.) 21. Kraig Kinser (20); 22. Don Droud Jr. (24); 23. Cody Darrah (25, pr.) 24. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 25. Lynton Jeffrey (17); 26. Mark Dobmeier (22). Lap Leaders: Schatz 1, Brown 2-14, Schatz 15-25. Hard-charger: Kaeding.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (14), 15.520; 2. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (7), 15.615; 3. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (13), 15.842; 4. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (8), 15.880; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (9), 15.929; 6. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (10), 15.962; 7. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (11), 15.975; 8. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (6), 16.006; 9. 71, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (4), 16.064; 10. 11x, Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls, SD (5), 16.065; 11. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO (3), 16.124; 12. 09, Matt Juhl, Estherville, IA (2), 16.233; 13. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (12), 16.359; 14. 39x, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.430.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Jon Agan (4); 2. Ricky Montgomery (1); 3. RJ Johnson (2); 4. Joe Beaver (6); 5. Clint Garner (3); 6. Russ Hall (5); 7. Tom Lenz (7)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Nate Van Haaften (4); 2. Ryan Roberts (3); 3. Jamie Ball (2); 4. Matt Moro (5); 5. Matt Juhl (1); 6. Alan Ambers (6) DNS – Gregg Bakker
A main (started), 18 laps, 5:33.9: 1. Clint Garner (2); 2. Ryan Roberts (1); 3. Jamie Ball (3); 4. Nate Van Haaften (7); 5. Jon Agan (4); 6. Russ Hall (6); 7. Matt Moro (5); 8. Joe Beaver (8); 9. Ricky Montgomery (10); 10. Matt Juhl (11); 11. Gregg Bakker (14); 12. Tom Lenz (12); 13. Alan Ambers (13); 14. RJ Johnson (9). Lap Leaders: Roberts 1-12, Garner 13-18. Hard-charger: Van Haaften.
Category: Iowa, Knoxville Raceway
