Only experience at Talladega is on the DTR-Sprint Cars computer game.

MINOT, ND - Donny Schatz likes going to new race tracks. Last year, he finished in the top four at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway Dirt Track opener and again when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws christened Bristol’s high-banks. He followed up his spring success at Charlotte with a victory in the fall opener on the 3/8-mile track, which has the red-clay surface that the Talladega Short Track (TST) has on its 1/3-mile oval. Schatz and his ParkerStores #15 team are hoping to continue their recent success in this weekend’s two-night affair as the Outlaws make their debut at TST.

"I've never been there and the only thing I really know about it is from the Dirt Track Racing - Sprint Cars game," said Schatz. "I know the surface is more of the red clay variety and that type of surface usually get slick. We hope that's the case as well there, because we're usually pretty good on a slick race track."

After two top five runs in the first two nights of the 2001 WoO season, which included leading 28 of 30 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Schatz and the team struggled to find any consistency causing them to drop to 12th overall in the standings. The ParkerStore’s team is coming off their best weekend of the season, where they finished seventh and fourth at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, OH). Saturday’s performance included Schatz qualifying in the top spot and a thrilling heat race victory over 16-time WoO champion Steve Kinser. Crew Chief Kenny Woodruff and the Anderson brothers (Shane and Brent) built a new J&J racecar prior to the Eldora event, and it seemed to make a difference in their performance.

"We know we can run up front regularly, and I think running in the back was getting Kenny and I down," continued Schatz, who won six Australian feature races in January. "We put a new car together and it really rolled around the racetrack good. I’m confident its going to perform well and from what I hear about the track, it’s going to come down to how well your car handles."

The program at TST will mark the third time this season that the Outlaws will join NASCAR in a racing market. Schatz has scored four top ten finishes in five nights of racing in the first two and he doesn’t put any additional pressure on himself, but knows these events do matter.

"Every race is important, but we know these races give us a chance to show how exciting our sport is. It’s a great opportunity to add to our fan base and maybe impress some of the corporate people that are involved with NASCAR."

Both Friday and Saturday’s programs can be heard live at www.sprintcarnet.com beginning at 7:30 PM (ET).

(Article by Bill Klingbeil)
(Photo by Ron Skinner)