PARKERSTORE TEAM WINS TOPEKA OUTLAW RACE

TOPEKA, KS - Patience is something that usually comes with age. Donny Schatz has become known as a "stand on the gas" kind of driver in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws.

On Saturday, he proved that in his fifth season of competition with the WoO that he's learned how to win no matter what the circumstances may be. Saturday's victory in the Sunflower Shootout at Heartland Park Topeka came as he methodically worked his way around the new racetrack and past Craig Dollansky on the 17th lap. He patiently drove the final 18 laps to claim his third "A" feature victory of the season and to go along with 2 preliminary feature wins.

"Patience was the key to victory tonight," said Schatz, from victory lane. "We're on a roll. What can I say? We've been real good, the ParkerStores team works real hard, and we just keep finding ourselves in the right place at the right time."

Schatz finished third in the Friday's preliminary feature and fourth in Saturday's Channellock Dash to earn the #15 ParkerStores/Featherlite Coaches J&J the fourth starting position in the 35-lap race. After starting slowly "The Minot Missile" began his run to the front by using the low line around the O'Reilly Auto Parts Motor Speedway.

"I would have never expected to be running around the bottom," said Schatz. "Getting in the corners was tough, but if you were patient it would really work. Kenny Woodruff had the J&J car set up perfectly and once our Goodyear tires got some heat in them, they worked great."

Schatz took the second position from Danny Wood exiting turn two on lap 14. On the 17th circuit, Schatz closed in on race-leader Craig Dollansky and passed him by going low through turns three and four. The two raced through heavy traffic and as soon as Schatz got away Dollansky would close right back on the #15's back bumper. A caution flag with three laps to go gave Schatz a clear track and he beat Dollansky to the checkered flag by 1.8 seconds.

Schatz, who remained in sixth in the WoO standings, climbed to within 20 points of fifth place with the win. He has five WoO wins in 2001 and each have come on a different day of the week and in different states. He has won on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kansas and South Dakota. The team will try to add Tuesday and Oklahoma to the list on Tuesday as they compete at State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma City, OK.

(Article by Bill Klingbeil)
(Photo by Doug Johnson)