Donny Schatz made it two wins in two nights
Donny Schatz came into the weekend with no World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series wins in the 2023 season but he left Sharon Speedway on Saturday evening having collected his second winner’s trophy in as many nights. The 10-time series champion emerged from a fierce mid-race battle for the lead then beat the field to the checkered flag.
The Tony Stewart Racing driver from Fargo, North Dakota took the win at the track located in Hartford, Ohio in a race aired live by DirtVision.com.
A total of 36 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results: 1. David Gravel(13.112), 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Rico Abreu, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Logan Schuchart, 6. James McFadden, 7. Brock Zearfoss, 8. Brad Sweet, 9. Giovanni Scelzi, 10. Dale Blaney
Heat 1 Results: 1. David Gravel, 2. Logan Schuchart, 3. Giovanni Scelzi, 4. Brandon Spithaler, 5. Dylan Cisney
Heat 2 Results: 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Danny Dietrich, 3. James McFadden, 4. Dale Blaney, 5. Nate Dussel
Heat 3 Results: 1. Brock Zearfoss, 2. Rico Abreu, 3. Sheldon Haudenschild, 4. Cole Macedo, 5. George Hobaugh Jr.
Heat 4 Results: 1. Carson Macedo, 2. Brad Sweet, 3. Spencer Bayston, 4. Cale Thomas, 5. Jacob Allen
Last Chance Showdown Finish: 1. Henry Malcuit, 2. Robbie Price, 3. Noah Gass, 4. Greg Wilson
WoO Dash Finish: 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Carson Macedo, 3. Brad Sweet, 4. David Gravel, 5. Rico Abreu, 6. Logan Schuchart, 7. Brock Zearfoss, 8. Danny Dietrich
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 35-lap main event it was Schatz who took the early lead with Macedo, Sweet, Gravel and Abreu in his tire tracks. Macedo made a bid for the lead by sliding past Schatz on the second lap but the veteran driver crossed over and regain the top spot. Further back, Gravel and Sweet were engaged in a battle of their own with Gravel taking third.
But sweet would fight back with he and Gravel again contesting positions within the top-5 on lap 5.
With 8 laps on the scoreboard, the top-4 of Schatz, Macedo, Gravel and Sweet were involved in a furious fight for position as they closed in on slower traffic. Macedo briefly wrested the lead away from Schatz on lap 9 with the front runner seemingly exchanging positions at every turn.
Schatz returned the the lead on lap 12 when he got back around Macedo. Then it was Sweet’s turn to make a charge toward the front as he bolted up to second place leaving Gravel and Macedo to dispute third.
Schatz built up an advantage of just over two second while Sweet and Gravel went at it for the runner-up position just past the halfway point. Macedo also got into the mix taking third away from Sweet just before a lap 23 caution for the slowing car of Cale Thomas.
A big move by Haudenschild following the lap 23 restart moved him to fourth with Abreu then fifth and Sweet falling back to sixth.
Nate Dussel and Dylan Cisney tangled on lap 27 to bring out a yellow flag and set up a final dash to the finish.
On the restart, Haudenschild moved to second ahead of Gravel and Macedo. With Schatz continuing to show the way, those three cars battled for the remaining podium positions over the closing laps with Gravel and Haudenschild ultimately winning out. But it would be Schatz who would sail under the checkered flag to claim the win.
Feature Results: 1. Donny Schatz, 2. David Gravel, 3. Sheldon Haudenschild, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Rico Abreu, 6. Brad Sweet, 7. Spencer Bayston, 8. Logan Schuchart, 9. Danny Dietrich, 10. Cole Macedo, 11. Giovanni Scelzi, 12. Brandon Spithaler, 13. Dale Blaney, 14. Jacob Allen, 15. Brock Zearfoss, 16. Greg Wilson, 17. Noah Gass, 18. George Hobaugh Jr., 19. Henry Malcuit, 20. Robbie Price, 21. Dylan Cisney, 22. Nate Dussel, 23. Cale Thomas, 24. James Mcfadden
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Donny Schatz returns to victory lane with the WoO Sprints win at Attica
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