Podium Finish for Donny Schatz at Thunderbowl Raceway

World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz was back in action at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. Schatz ended the two-night program with a third place finish but continues to be the early leader in the WoO championship points battle.
Donny Schatz uses K&N Engineering Products Donny Schatz uses K&N Engineering Products

“The weekend went a little different than we hoped,” said Schatz. “But finishing with a strong third place finish helps keep things in perspective. We made a couple of bad laps in qualifying on Friday night that really put us behind right out of the box. By Saturday night the track was much more to our liking. I tried to run all over the place, but we couldn’t get the lead and ended up third.”

Donny Schatz and some of the ParkerStore Team Donny Schatz and some of the ParkerStore Team
The bad laps came in Friday during the opener. Schatz fought an uphill battle, which ended up being one lane throughout the early stages of the night. He finished eighth in the second heat race and 10th in the B-Feature.

Things went better for Schatz and the ParkerStore Team on Saturday night. The Fargo, North Dakota racer qualified 13th and won the first heat race. He finished second in the dash event, which earned him a front row starting spot in the 40 lap feature event.

At the start of the event, Schatz had to take evasive action as polesitter Jason Meyers got crossed up. Tim Kaeding took advantage and raced past both and Schatz was in hot pursuit, but could not make the winning move. He took third for the third time in five events this year.

Schatz returns to action next weekend in Arizona for a single night program at USA Race Park at Tucson, Arizona on Friday and at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday. Last season, Schatz finished second and first at USA Race Park in two events and came home second last fall at Manzanita.

Schatz and the ParkerStore Team will continue to use a lot of the equipment that has proven to be successful during last year’s championship season. Schatz uses K&N Engineering products. “The K&N Airbox works flawlessly,” he said. “K&N builds a superior product and we are able to attain maximum horsepower.”

Follow Donny Schatz's  progress  throughout the racing season at the K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.