rebelracewriter Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 DONNY SCHATZ VICTORIOUS IN OLLIE’S CHALLENGE AT SHARON Rich Vleck, HARTFORD, Ohio (June 17, 2008) - Donny Schatz had not driven a 360 sprint car since 1996, but that didn’t seem to phase him one bit as he dominated the ASCS Patriots-sanctioned 30-lap Ollie’s 360 Challenge Feature at Sharon Speedway. Schatz bested a started studded field of sprint car drivers, making the pass on Bryan Howland on lap 12 and driving away to the win in his Armor All No. 15. “We used a hard tire tonight and that really seamed to pay off as the race went on,” said the Fargo, ND veteran. “I just can’t thank this crew enough for getting out here and getting the job done.” Schatz started third in the feature event. After early leader Ronnie Blair tagged the turn two wall on the second lap, Schatz took the runner-up position behind Bryan Howland. Howland, who was using a softer tire, pulled away in the early stages but slowly began to feel the pressure of Schatz. Donny slid underneath Howland on lap nine in turn three only to see the No. 51 drive back underneath and take back the lead. Stevie Smith stopped on the track on lap 11 to draw the first caution flag of the night, allowing Schatz the restart he needed to capture the lead once and for all. Schatz slid underneath Howland off of turn two and put as much as four seconds on the rest of the pack before the bunched up 21 laps in for a two car spin involving Trevor Lewis and Kasey Kahne. Danny Lasoski, who started 10th, used his bonus laps in the Bonnell’s Collision Center Four Laps of Fame Dash for Cash and ran the bottom to get into the runner-up spot. Schatz allowed his hindrance become his aid though as he moved to the bottom to hold off “Catfish”. “The top was good for a while but then when it went away I had no place to go but on the inside,” noted Schatz in Victory Lane. “It actually worked out because that’s where I had to be to block.” After starting in sixth in the first heat race, Schatz would waist no time gathering passing points as he grabbed the lead from Fred Rahmer coming to complete the first lap. The win in that event would put him in the redraw and set him up in perfect shape for the feature. With the win, Schatz would net $6,000 and set himself up for a run towards the Ollie’s $50,000 bonus if he wins at Eldora and Williams Grove over the next two months. Lasoski’s run in his own No. 33 was strong on the bottom the whole night. He started scratch in the final heat and charged to a fourth place showing. He moved up as soon as the green flag dropped. Jason Meyers, who won the four laps of fame dash, used that knowledge to complete the podium. The Clovis, CA driver made arguably the move of the A-main, sliding underneath both Jason Johnson and Terry McCarl for fourth place in turn four. Bryan Howland was the top 360-regular of the night, as the ASCS Patriot point leader led from laps 2 to 11. Howland was hurt by a left rear tire, which had burned off allowing himself to fade back after a pair of late race cautions. Jason Johnson rounded out the top-five in his No. 41 as the representative for the American Sprint Cars on Tour. Ron Blair led from the drop of the inaugural green flag, which would have to be attempted a second time after Darren Long flipped in turn one and collected Jason Barney. While Kasey Kahne won his head, Dave Blaney and Tony Stewart used their provisionals usefully, as Blaney charged up to 11th and Stewart stating that it was the most comfortable he has ever been in a winged sprint. An impressive 49 cars filled the pit area with 17 states represented. The only cautions of the night came out in the feature, allowing for a quality pace to the program in front of a full house at the impressively revamped Sharon Speedway. The ASCS Patriots will return in September for a two-day event as part of the Apple Festival Nationals. These events also figure to have quality fields at this 3/8-mile. For more information, visit www.ASCSracing.com or www.ASCSpatriotsprints.com. ASCS Patriots Results: 6/17/08, Sharon Speedway, Hatford, OH. A-Main (30 Laps)- 1. Donny Schatz (15), 2. Danny Lasoski (33), 3. Jason Meyers (14), 4. Bryan Howland (51), 5. Jason Johnson (41), 6. Terry McCarl (1M), 7. Dale Blaney (6b), 8. Fred Rahmer (51R), 9. Danny Smith (4), 10. Paul McMahan (67), 11. Dave Blaney (23), 12. Ronnie Blair (35), 13. Bobby Breen (9b), 14. Greg Wilson (w20), 15. Justin Barger (32), 16. Trevor Lewis (21), 17. Curtis Evans (1p), 18. Kasey Kahne (91), 19. Tony Stewart (20), 20. Jared Zimbardi (35z), 21. Joey Saldana(9), 22. Stevie Smith (19), 23. Scott Bonnell (3B), 24. Davey Franek (28F), 25. Darren Long (7), 26. Jason Barney (87). Lap Leaders- Blair 1, Howland 2-11, Schatz 12-30. B-Main (10 Laps Each, Top 2 Cars Transfer)- Race 1: 1. Justin Barger (32), 2. Jason Barney (87), 3. Kramer Williamson (73), 4. Tony Stewart (20), 5. Bubba Broderick (5), 6. Kent Wolters (1x), 7. Tim Allison (11), 8. Tim Kelly (12), 9. Aaron Moloney (311), DNS: Tim Viles (77), Chuck Swenson (X). Race 2: 1. Davey Franek (28F), 2. Jared Zimbardi (35z), 3. Chris Shuttleworth (11c), 4. Steve Irwin (30), 5. Luke Hall (34), 6. Blake Breen (8), 7. Gary Edwards (94e), 8. Ken Meggett (01), 9. John Schuyler (3T), 10. T.J. Newton (57). Race 3: 1. Joey Saldana (9), 2. Bobby Breen (9b), 3. Dave Blaney (23), 4. Josh Weller (63), 5. Justin Collett (69), 6. Cap Henry (04), 7. Scott Kreutter (52), 8. Chad Gullett (61), 9. Kyle Moffit (7x), 10. Nick Mulheim (38M). Bonnell’s Collision Center Four Laps of Fame Dash (4 Laps)- 1. Jason Meyers (14), 2. Danny Lasoski (33), 3. Greg Wilson (w20), 4. Fred Rahmer (51R), 5. Danny Smith (4), 6. Curtis Evans (1P). Heats (8 Laps Each)- Race 1: 1. Donny Schatz (15), 2. Fred Rahmer (51R), 3. Danny Smith (4), 4. Davey Franek (28F), 5. Paul McMahan (67), 6. Joey Saldana (9), 7. Luke Hall (34), 8. Dave Blaney (23), 9. John Schuyler (3T), 10. Tim Kelly (12). Race 2: 1. Ronnie Blair (35), 2. Jason Johnson (41), 3. Scott Bonnell (3B), 4. Terry McCarl (1M), 5. Josh Weller (63), 6. Bubba Broderick (5), 7. Chad Gullett (61), 8. Tim Viles (77), 9. Gary Edwards (94e), 10. T.J. Newton (57). Race 3: 1. Kasey Kahne (91), 2. Dale Blaney (6B), 3. Darren Long (7), 4. Jason Meyers (14), 5. Jared Zimbardi (35z), 6. Steve Irwin (30), 7. Tony Stewart (20), 8. Blake Breen (8), 9. Cap Henry (04), 10. Kyle Moffit (7x). Race 4: 1. Stevie Smith (19), 2. Greg Wilson (w20), 3. Trevor Lewis (21), 4. Kramer Williamson (73), 5. Jason Barney (87), 6. Chris Shuttleworth (11c), 7. Justin Collett (69), 8. T.J. Newton (57), 9. Aaron Moloney (311), 10. Chuck Swenson (X). Race 5: 1. Bryan Howland (51), 2. Curtis Evans (1p), 3. Justin Barger (32), 4. Danny Lasoski (33), 5. Blake Breen (8), 6. Tim Allison (11), 7. Ken Meggett (01), 8. Kent Wolters (1x), 9. Nick Mulheim (38M). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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