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"I wasn't sure we were going to get this one tonight after the Dash," said Schatz following his second consecutive One-Third Mile Short Track Nationals win in his #15 ParkerStore J&J. "I guess we were lucky to only lose a couple of spots in the dash. We thought the bottom would stay better for longer. We didn’t think the top would get up there like it did. We put a big left rear tire on and just tried to make it work."
He spent the next 24 laps slicing and dicing through traffic trying to keep the competition behind him. The strategy worked as Schatz won his third "A" feature of the season and sixth total Outlaw triumph in 2004 winning by 1.77 seconds over Steve Kinser. “Jason (Sides) was setting a pretty good pace," continued Schatz. "I just had to not do anything silly there in traffic. I caught up to Shane Stewart toward the end, and he was running good and passing cars and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get by him, but when I saw the two to go signal I figured that green car (Steve Kinser) would be breathing down my neck because that’s usually when he’s the toughest."
Schatz leaves a racetrack where he's become very formidable, winning three times in the past two years at Eagle Raceway. He made sure the people at the racetrack knew he enjoyed the Outlaw's stop there. "I want to thank Craig Cormack for giving us a great race track both nights—they do things right here," concluded Schatz. "We had a little rubber down the last time we were here, but that’s just how the weather was, and this weekend it was awesome both nights. We just hope we can come back and run as good the next time.” Schatz and the ParkerStore team will return to their Fargo shop this week before competing on Friday night at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, MN. They'll follow Friday night's race with a program in Beaver Dam, WI before traveling east the next week for a single night program at Port Royal Speedway and the two-night Williams Grove National Open. Keep up with all the latest news and information on Donny Schatz and the ParkerStore team by visiting www.donnyschatz.com and www.parker.com/racing. |