ROSSBURG, Ohio — Donny Schatz was hired by Tony Stewart to win races with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and he did exactly that this weekend, sweeping both events in the state of Ohio, capped off by a win at his car owner’s track, the famed Eldora Speedway Saturday night.
Schatz, who took the lead from Jason Meyers on the 26th lap of the 30-lap event, also took over the series point lead, after earning his third A-Feature victory of the season.
He remains the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in all 14 events this season.
“I’m glad to get two wins this weekend,” said Schatz. “We had a team pow-wow the other day and it really seems to have helped. We’re excited to head into the big-money events this summer.”
Schatz, aboard the Armor All J&J, chased Meyers down in traffic to take the lead with four laps remaining. Meyers charged back down the front straightaway and into the first and second turns, before stopping on the backstretch after his right-rear tire exploded, ending his night.
Schatz, the two-time defending series champion, led on the restart and pulled away to pick up his 73rd WoO triumph, with Joey Saldana in second and Shane Stewart third.
“Any time you take the point lead you are excited,” noted Schatz. “We have been there the last few years and are excited to be back there. The other guys have been working very hard and it’s unfortunate to see them have bad luck tonight. The hand of the matter was that we needed to get our car better. We passed him in open race track and we were operating.”
Saldana got around Stewart on the opening lap and shadowed Schatz for the remainder of the race, as the pair chased Meyers for the majority of the event.
“We had a very good car,” said Saldana. “I think we had the best car actually. I ran them down, but it’s hard to get a run on a guy when everyone is using the whole race track up, because they watered it so much. We came home second and can’t be too disappointed.”
Stewart picked up his fourth top-five finish in the last five races. He also moved into the top 10 in points.
“It was another good night,” Stewart said. “The crew did a great job on the car. Paul Kistler really hustled this week to get us our motor back. That is our best motor, so I have to thank him for working hard. We just have to keep it going. Hopefully, we can get ourselves back up in the points, where this car belongs.”
Jac Haudenschild picked up his fourth top-five finish in the last five races, taking fourth, while Daryn Pittman returned to action after taking a precautionary trip to the hospital on Friday night after an accident, finishing fifth.