NORTH DAKOTA DRIVER SET FOR ANOTHER PACKED WEEKEND OF RACING

Sedalia, MO, July 2, 2003 Donny Schatz took his #15 ParkerStores Shaver J & J to the World of Outlaws victory lane at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway with a last lap charge past second place Danny Lasoski and leader Steve Kinser. The victory in the 25-lap A-Main is the fifth win for the North Dakota driver this season with previous A-Main wins at Oklahoma City and Lernerville, PA plus preliminary feature victories at Eldora and Fargo.

Following a red flag on lap 22 for separate incidents involving Brooke Tatnell and Randy Hannagan, the stage was set for the three lap shoot out to the checkered with Kinser in the lead followed by Lasoski, Schatz, Tim Shaffer and Johnny Herrera.

The top three quickly broke away from the field at the restart with Schatz all over Lasoski's fuel tank. After disposing of the "Dude," he set his sights on "The King." As the pair thundered under the white flag, Schatz was working every line in an attempt to take the lead when Kinser suddenly slowed, smoke billowing out of his car. He coasted to the finish in seventh after suffering a blown engine.

Schatz started the evening by qualifying 13th in the 28 car order. He finished second in his heat race and fifth in the second dash giving him the tenth starting position, outside the fifth row, for the feature.

"This is a great win for this team," said Schatz. "I am sorry for Steve, it isn't any fun to lose an engine on the last lap. He was fast and who knows if I could have actually passed him before the checkered but I have lost races the same way and it is just a bummer. But it is an awesome win for this whole ParkerStores team.

"We have been racing very well this past several weeks, staying up near the front running with the leaders. My crew, Tyler (Swank, crew chief), Keith (Giles) and Chad (Lambert) have worked so hard to give me great race cars. This is as much their win as mine. Consistency pays off as does hard work. It is all part of being a team."

Lasoski was second, followed by Shaffer, Herrera and Paul McMahan.

Schatz heads for Pikes Peak International Raceway just south of Colorado Springs, Colorado for the two-day USAC Silver Crown event. Practice and qualifying are Thursday, July 3 with the race set for Friday, July 4 approximately 5:30 pm Mountain time. On the program with the Silver Crown series are the USAC National Midget Series and the USAC National Spring Car series. Schatz will be piloting the #115 ParkerStores J & J.

The WoO heads for a two-day appearance at the undisputed home of sprint car racing, Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA on July 4 and 5. Because of the conflict with the Silver Crown event, Danny Wood will again step in the #15 car for Schatz at Knoxville on Friday night. Schatz will travel to Knoxville for Saturday night's show where ParkerStores will have two cars in the field. Schatz will be in the #15 and Wood will climb in the cockpit of #115.

(Photo by Doug Johnson, Dirt Track Fury)