PEVELY, MO - The calendar says springtime has arrived, but Donny Schatz and the rest of the Pennzoil World of Outlaws raced in cold conditions this weekend with two events in Missouri. Schatz and the ParkerStores #15 team heated up on Saturday and made a terrific charge from 20th to fifth in the 40-lap "A" Feature at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO.

"We needed a run like this," said Schatz following the race. "We were really good on the restarts and probably could have used a harder tire. I abused the tire a little bit passing everybody, but I really got going around the middle of the track. The crew did a tremendous job tonight, and I think this top five will boost everyone's spirits."

Schatz began the weekend on Friday at State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, MO by finishing 13th after starting 18th in the 30-lap race. Both Friday and Saturday's programs were held with the temperatures dropping from the 40's into the 30's.

A late draw in qualifying for Saturday's event at the high-banked 3/8-mile oval made for an uphill climb. The track had slowed down significantly and Schatz was the 36th of 46 cars to qualify. He ended up 20th overall and started the fourth heat race in the fifth position. A fifth place finish in the 10-lap heat race qualified Schatz for the 40-lap feature.

The track had taken rubber by the time the "B" Feature was completed making passing very difficult. The ParkerStores team debated on which tire compounds to chose knowing that the track was taking rubber. They decided on the Goodyear 50 compound for the right rear, and that proved to be a good call. In the feature, Schatz remained patient early, but took advantage of several restarts where he was able to pass a couple cars each time the race was restarted. Late in the race several teams stopped with flat right rear tires, but Schatz kept the #15 Featherlite Coaches sprinter moving forward. In the final laps, he made a couple of attempts to pass Dale Blaney for fourth, but at the checkered he was fifth.

"The guys that could save their tires were the ones that finished up front," said Schatz, whose right rear tire was almost bald and began to lose air following the race. "It was kind of a fluke that I found that middle lane. I followed Kelly Kinser for a while and was able to get around him and we just kept picking them off on the restarts. We were plus fifteen for tonight, so we'll just hope that next weekend we can start a little closer to the front."

Schatz and the ParkerStores team will have a two-race program at Texas Motor Speedway's Dirt Track on Thursday and Friday. Friday's race will be aired live on TNN: The National Network beginning at 9 PM (ET).