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LAKE PERRIS, CA (February 29) - Donny Schatz and the ParkerStore team made a habit in 2003 of racing from the back of the field to the front in World of Outlaws feature races. So much so that by season's end, the Fargo, ND driver was recognized for his "hard-charging" efforts by earning the Motorsport Video Hard Charger award for passing the most cars during the season. On Saturday night, a 22nd place qualifying effort put the #15 ParkerStore J&J at the back of the pack for most of the night. Schatz finished seventh in the first heat race and second in the "B" feature before making another run from the back in the "A" feature. Schatz started on the outside of the 11th row in the 30-lap feature event, and in the feature, he was able to maneuver wherever the cars in front of him weren't as he made his push for the front. Late in the race, he had his sights on getting to fifth, but lapped traffic caused him to take a little more time than he wanted and the race ended with him in seventh place. Eighteen-time WoO champion Steve Kinser led most of the feature event, but had a late flat tire allowing Jason Meyers to pick up the victory ahead of Craig Dollansky. Danny Lasoski was third followed by Shane Stewart, Tim Shaffer, Paul McMahan and Schatz. "We probably should have just left the car in the trailer until the feature," said Schatz, who now ranks second in WoO point standings after three nights of action. "It was a similar deal, where I wanted to try something different in the beginning of the night and by the end, we were back to using a regular set-up. We're not happy with a seventh place finish, but we're just trying to find ways to get better. We've got a busy week ahead of us, and we're still hoping to get that first win out of the way." The busy week will begin for the ParkerStore team on Tuesday morning with a carshow at the Hose & Fitting, Etc-ParkerStore in Fresno, CA. The event is in conjunction with Tuesday night's WoO race at King's Speedway in Hanford. Following Tuesday's race, the team will head east to Las Vegas where they will join the NASCAR week festivities with races on Thursday and Friday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. |