FARGO, ND -- Clearly the favorite of the Red River Valley Speedway capacity crowd, Fargo, ND resident Donny Schatz gave them something to cheer about as he overcame an almost straight away deficit to catch race leader Danny Lasoski with three laps remaining in the World of Outlaws 30-lap Duel in the Dakotas A-main event. Schatz, the defending event champion, worked lapped traffic masterfully to get right on Lasoski's fuel tank on the white flag lap dropping to the low groove as the pair worked through turns three and four and charged to the checkered flag. As the crossed flags waved, Lasoski held the lead by less than a car length to take with victory.
"I gave it everything I had," said Schatz. "The car was as close to perfect as you can get one of these things. We had a good weekend here at home getting the win on Friday night but came up just a little short tonight.
"Tyler (Swank), Keith (Giles) and Chad (Lambert), my crew, along with Ron Shaver, our engine builder, and Jack Elam, our chassis builder, worked their tails off to give me the best car a driver could ask for in any form of racing. But in WoO, you race against the best in the business so you know their crews are doing the same thing and you better have your game together. If Steve (Kinser) hadn't been in that early crash, he was going to be tough for both Danny and I to catch much less pass. None of us come to finish second; we are here to win. Second is second and just not the same as a win.
"I want to thank my family and all the people who worked so hard to put together all the fan events this week so I could see friends I don't get to spend much time with traveling on the road and meet all the North Dakota fans. It was awesome for Subway to come back on board with us for this race. Thanks to ParkerStores and my other sponsors for their continued support. There is always next year to get another win here."
Schatz started the feature from the inside of the second row by virtue of his finish in the dash that determined the first six starting positions. At the drop of the green, pole sitter Kinser jumped in the lead followed by fellow front row sitter Lasoski, Tim Shaffer and Schatz.
On lap six, Kinser was involved in a three-car crash in turn three ending up on his side and damaging his car beyond repair. Lasoski assumed the point on the restart and got a good jump on Shaffer and Schatz. Just before the halfway point in the race, Schatz got by Shaffer and set his sights on Lasoski.
Working lapped traffic with finesse, Schatz maneuvered through the field using both the high and low grooves during his charge to the front as the remainder of the race ran caution flag free. Shaffer, Mark Kinser and Kraig Kinser rounded out the top five. The next event for the #15 ParkerStores team is Wednesday, June 18 at Huset's Speedway, Brandon, South Dakota.
DONNY SCHATZ 2003 RESULTS
DATE EVENT TRACK STARTING FINISHING POSITION POSITION
Feb 21 Season Opener Kings Speedway 11 9 `
Feb. 22 Perris Auto Speedway Feature Perris Auto Speedway 20 16
Feb. 28 J.D. Byrider Preliminary The Dirt Track @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway 16 16
March 1 J.D. Byrider Outlaw Nationals Feature The Dirt Track @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway 5 8
March 8 Hollywood Hills Preliminary Hollywood Hills Speedway 18 12
March 9 Hollywood Hills Feature Hollywood Hills Speedway 13 9
March 1 State Fair Feature State Fair Speedway 4 1
March 15 Spring Nationals Devil's Bowl Speedway 1 20
March 21 Pike County Feature Pike County Speedway - DRIVER - GARY WRIGHT 15 23
March 22 Texas Shootout Houston Raceway Park - DRIVER - GARY WRIGHT 12 21
March 28 Texas Motor Speedway Preliminary Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track 21 12
March 29 Texas Motor Speedway Feature Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track 25 16
April 4 East Alabama Motor Speedway East Alabama Motor Speedway RAIN OUT
April 5 Talladega Short Track Talladega Short Track 5 12
April 11 Sedalia's State Fair Feature Sedalia's State Fair Speedway 24 10
April 12 I-55 Raceway Feature I-55 Raceway 4 4
April 18 Eldora Preliminary Eldora Speedway 6 1
April 19 Eldora Feature Eldora Speedway 3 22
April 22 Powercom Park Feature The Raceway at Powercom Park 19 9
April 25 Spring Classic Preliminary Knoxville Raceway 3 2
April 26 Spring Classic Feature Knoxville Raceway 2 2
May 2 Great Plains Shootout Preliminary Nebraska Raceway Park 19 5
May 3 Great Plains Shootout Feature Nebraska Raceway Park 5 10
May 6 Lawrenceburg Feature Lawrenceburg Speedway DNS
May 8 Farmer City Feature Farmer City Raceway RAIN OUT
May 9 Terre Haute Feature Terre Haute Action Track 12 21
May 10 Tri-City Feature Tri-City Speedway RAIN OUT
May 13 Delaware Int'l Feature Delaware International Speedway 13 6
May 15 Williams Grove Preliminary Williams Grove Speedway RAIN OUT
May 16 Williams Grove Feature Williams Grove Speedway RAIN OUT
May 19 Hagerstown Feature Hagerstown Speedway 3 3
May 18 Grandview Feature Grandview Speedway 13 11
May 21 Lernerville Feature Lernerville Speedway 2 1
May 23 Outlaws Showdown Preliminary Lowe's Motor Speedway RAIN OUT
May 24 Outlaws Showdown Feature Lowe's Motor Speedway 17 8
Danny Wood 19 15
May 27 Lebanon Valley Feature Lebanon Valley Speedway 8 5
May 28 Rolling Wheels Feature Rolling Wheels Raceway Park 6 2
May 30 Sharon Speedway Feature Sharon Speedway RAIN OUT
May 31 Eldora Feature Eldora Speedway 5 9
June 6 River Cities Feature River Cities Speedway 22 1
June 10 Fox Ridge Feature Fox Ridge Speedway 3 2
June 12 Duel in the Dakotas Preliminary Red River Valley Speedway 9 3
June 13 Duel in the Dakotas Preliminary Red River Valley Speedway 1 1
June 14 Duel in the Dakotas Feature Red River Valley
Speedway 3 2
