Schatz Makes It Twenty With Charlotte Win

Friday's penultimate night of the Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte saw Donny Schatz win the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series feature, Brandon Sheppard take the World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory and Mat Williamson prevail in the Super DIRTcar big-block modifieds
Saturday's events mark the final races of the season for all three series; Championships will be decided and fans will be in for a thrill unlike anything on the racing calendar
Tickets to the Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals are available by calling the ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267), visiting the gates or shopping online

CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 3, 2017) – High speeds and high drama converged during a spectacular Friday night of Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals racing at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The second night of World Finals action saw Donny Schatz collect his 249th World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars victory after 30 laps of adrenaline-charged, wheel-to-wheel racing on Charlotte's high-speed, four-tenths-mile oval.

Schatz – who has already clinched his ninth series championship and fourth in a row – had a tough road to victory on Friday. He started third in the feature but managed to out-maneuver Ian Madsen and Bill Balog, the top two starters, in the first half of the 30-lap event.

The Tony Stewart Racing driver held off Madsen by 0.376 seconds after a six-lap shootout to the finish. Dave Blaney, Kerry Madsen and Joey Saldana completed the top five.

"This team worked awful hard all year," Schatz said. "We've been stuck on 19 (wins), so to get to 20 is good. It actually sucks that the season's over (after Saturday) because we're rolling, but the guys deserve some time off to be with their families. We enjoy the hell out of winning. That's for sure."

David Gravel, Paul McMahan, Saldana, Daryn Pittman, Blaney and Jason Johnson captured heat victories. Madsen and Balog won dashes.

The penultimate night of World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Models racing saw Brandon Sheppard score an impressive victory after he cleared Mike Marlar for the lead with three laps to go. Sheppard rode the cushion to his 18th victory of the season, tying Josh Richards' single-season Outlaw late model win record.

"I haven't been this pumped up in a while," Sheppard said. "I hope I put on a good show for the fans. Dirt late model racing wouldn't be what it is without the fans out here.

"What a phenomenal year. We tied the record so I guess we got a chance at breaking it now. We've got to win tomorrow. … I know we had the points championship wrapped up so I was going to crash it or win."

"(Sheppard) was up there where I wanted to be but he got beside us and got by us," Marlar said. "We've had a good start to the week so far so we're pretty happy with that."

Marlar, Richards, Jimmy Owens, Dale McDowell, Dennis Erb Jr. and Brandon Sheppard won heats.

Mat Williamson rocketed to a dominant Super DIRTcar Series victory, the second of his career and his first on dirt racing's biggest stage. Williamson held off a spirited challenge from points leader Matt Sheppard while Billy Decker, Keith Flach and quick-timer Mike Mahaney rounded out the top five.

"I just couldn't get through traffic," Williamson said. "Once I caught lapped cars we kind of struggled a bit and I knew Matt (Sheppard) would be there. He's a hell of a race car driver. We had to capitalize on that last restart and we did. It's pretty awesome."

Sheppard's bid for a championship continues Saturday as Decker gets one last try to unseat Sheppard from the top spot in Super DIRTcar's season finale.

"We just seemed so darn equal," Sheppard said of his battle with Williamson. "It just seemed whoever beat who to the front on that restart, that's who had it won. … I guess we're still alive (for the title). It's going to come down to the last 40 laps."

Gates for Saturday's season finales open at noon with opening ceremonies beginning at 4:45 p.m.

Fans from 48 U.S. states including Alaska and Hawaii have joined attendees from as far away as South Africa and Scotland to make the World Finals a truly world-class showcase of speed, excitement and championship drama.

TICKETS: To purchase tickets or pit passes, call the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or go online at http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets/world-of-outlaws-world-finals/.

KEEP TRACK: Connect with The Dirt Track at Charlotte and stay up to speed by visiting The Dirt Track on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheDirtTrackatCharlotte and by following on Twitter at www.twitter.com/thedirttrack.

-30-

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:

World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars

Heat Race #1 (8 laps): 1. David Gravel; 2. Tim Shaffer; 3. Trey Starks; 4. Cole Duncan; 5. Shawn Dancer; 6. Jason Sides; 7. Jacob Allen; 8. Paige Polyak; 9. Dane Lorenc
Heat Race #2 (8 laps): 1. Paul McMahan; 2. Donny Schatz; 3. Shane Stewart; 4. Brian Brown; 5. Jac Haudenschild; 6. Brent Marks; 7. Justin Barger; 8. Jay Galloway; 9. Scott Kreutter
Heat Race #3 (8 laps): 1. Joey Saldana; 2. Ian Madsen; 3. Greg Wilson; 4. Carson Macedo; 5. Greg Hodnett; 6. Spencer Bayston; 7. Ryan Smith; 8. Dan Shetler
Heat Race #4 (8 laps): 1. Daryn Pittman; 2. Brock Zearfoss; 3. Terry McCarl; 4. Sam Hafertepe; 5. Cale Conley; 6. Kraig Kinser; 7. Parker Price-Miller; 8. Coleman Gulick; 9. Troy Fraker
Heat Race #5 (8 laps): 1. Dave Blaney; 2. Kerry Madsen; 3. Sammy Swindell; 4. Logan Schuchart; 5. Sheldon Haudenschild; 6. Brad Sweet; 7. Josh Baughman; 8. Paul Nienhiser; 9. Sadie Siegel
Heat Race #6 (8 laps): 1. Jason Johnson; 2. Bill Balog; 3. Tony Stewart; 4. Danny Dietrich; 5. Chad Kemenah; 6. Clyde Knipp; 7. Eric Riggins Jr.; 8. John Price; 9. Caleb Helms

C-Main (10 laps): 1. Greg Hodnett; 2. Shawn Dancer; 3. Parker Price-Miller; 4. Carson Macedo; 5. Josh Baughman; 6. Clyde Knipp; 7. Jacob Allen; 8. Eric Riggins Jr.; 9. Dane Lorenc; 10. Dan Shetler; 11. Jay Galloway; 12. John Price; 13. Coleman Gulick; 14. Paul Nienhiser; 15. Caleb Helms; 16. Scott Kreutter; 17. Justin Barger; 18. Troy Fraker; 19. Sadie Siegel

B-Main (12 laps): 1. Brian Brown; 2. Logan Schuchart; 3. Sam Hafertepe; 4. Ryan Smith; 5. Cole Duncan; 6. Kraig Kinser; 7. Jason Sides; 8. Brad Sweet; 9. Jac Haudenschild; 10. Sheldon Haudenschild; 11. Danny Dietrich; 12. Chad Kemenah; 13. Spencer Bayston; 14. Brent Marks; 15. Shawn Dancer; 16. Cale Conley; 17. Paige Polyak; 18. Greg Hodnett

Dash #1 (6 laps): 1. Ian Madsen; 2. Donny Schatz; 3. Joey Saldana; 4. David Gravel; 5. Tim Shaffer; 6. Paul McMahan

Dash #2 (6 laps): 1. Bill Balog; 2. Kerry Madsen; 3. Brock Zearfoss; 4. Daryn Pittman; 5. Dave Blaney; 6. Jason Johnson

A-Main (30 laps): 1. Donny Schatz; 2. Ian Madsen; 3. Dave Blaney; 4. Kerry Madsen; 5. Joey Saldana; 6. Bill Balog; 7. Logan Schuchart; 8. Jason Johnson; 9. Brad Sweet; 10. Tim Shaffer; 11. Paul McMahan; 12. Brian Brown; 13. Cole Duncan; 14. Shane Stewart; 15. Jason Sides; 16. Sheldon Haudenschild; 17. David Gravel; 18. Sammy Swindell; 19. Brock Zearfoss; 20. Jac Haudenschild; 21. Tony Stewart; 22. Daryn Pittman; 23. Trey Starks; 24. Kraig Kinser; 25. Terry McCarl; 26. Brent Marks; 27. Ryan Smith; 28. Parker Price-Miller; 29. Sam Hafertepe; 30. Greg Wilson

World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Models

Heat Race #1 (8 laps): 1. Mike Marlar; 2. Shane Clanton; 3. Scott Bloomquist; 4. Jonathan Davenport; 5. Steve Casebolt; 6. Riley Hickman; 7. Darrell Lanigan; 8. Devin Moran; 9. Kyle Lear; 10. Donny Schatz; 11. Nick Davis; 12. Justin Williams; 13. Chub Frank

Heat Race #2 (8 laps): 1. Josh Richards; 2. Hudson O'Neal; 3. Brian Shirley; 4. Dale Hollidge; 5. Steven Roberts; 6. Jason Feger; 7. Mason Zeigler; 8. Ryan King; 9. Freddie Carpenter; 10. Mike Lupfer; 11. Brian Ruhlman; 12. Blake Spencer; 13. Tyler Carpenter

Heat Race #3 (8 laps): 1. Jimmy Owens; 2. Brandon Kinzer; 3. Brandon Overton; 4. Rusty Schlenk; 5. Casey Roberts 6. Tyler Erb; 7. Jared Hawkins; 8. Gary Stuhler; 9. Jason Jameson; 10. Chad Ruhlman; 11. T.J. Reaid; 12. Russ King

Heat Race #4 (8 laps): 1. Dale McDowell; 2. Zach McMillan; 3. Jason Covert; 4. Chris Madden; 5. Eric Wells; 6. Rick Eckert; 7. Joey Coulter; 8. Tyler Millwood; 9. Cale Conley; 10. Matt Sponaugle; 11. Kody Evans; 12. Kerry King
DNS: Chris Ferguson

Heat Race #5 (8 laps): 1. Dennis Erb Jr.; 2. Chase Junghans; 3. Don O'Neal; 4. Nick Hoffman; 5. Morgan Bagley; 6. Clay Daly; 7. Ross Robinson; 8. Dustin Mitchell; 9. Andy Fries; 10. Logan Martin; 11. Greg Clark; 12. Tom Decker III

Heat Race #6 (8 laps): 1. Brandon Sheppard; 2. Tim McCreadie; 3. Benji Hicks; 4. Brent Larson; 5. Steve Francis; 6. Dan Stone; 7. Kyle Hardy; 8. Tyler Horst; 9. Bob Gordon; 10. Carder Miller; 11. Ross Bailes; 12. Brian Ledbetter

B-Main #1 (12 Laps): 1. Jonathan Davenport; 2. Steve Casebolt; 3. Dale Hollidge; 4. Jason Feger; 5. Steven Roberts; 6. Justin Williams; 7. Donny Schatz; 8. Mike Lupfer; 9. Chub Frank; 10. Mason Zeigler; 11. Blake Spencer; 12. Kyle Lear; 13. Nick Davis; 14. Freddie Carpenter; 15. Ryan King; 16. Riley Hickman; 17. Darrell Lanigan; 18. Tyler Carpenter; 19. Brian Ruhlman; 20. Devin Moran

B-Main #2 (12 Laps): 1. Chris Madden; 2. Casey Roberts; 3. Rick Eckert; 4. Jared Hawkins; 5. Tyler Erb; 6. Tyler Millwood; 7. Gary Stuhler; 8. Eric Wells; 9. Jason Jameson; 10. Joey Coulter; 11. T.J. Reaid; 12. Chad Ruhlman; 13. Corey Conley; 14. Matt Sponaugle; 15. Kody Evans; 16. Rusty Schlenk
DNS: Russ King; Kerry King; Chris Ferguson

B-Main #3 (12 Laps): 1. Brent Larson; 2. Nick Hoffman; 3. Dan Stone; 4. Morgan Bagley; 5. Logan Martin; 6. Clay Daly; 7. Ross Robinson; 8. Kyle Hardy; 9. Dustin Mitchell; 10. Ross Bailes; 11. Andy Fries; 12. Bob Gordon; 13. Carder Miller; 14. Greg Clark; 15. Tyler Horst; 16. Tom Decker III; 17. Brian Ledbetter; 18. Steve Francis

A-Main (50 laps): 1. Brandon Sheppard; 2. Dennis Erb Jr.; 3. Mike Marlar; 4. Jimmy Owens; 5. Dale McDowell; 6. Brandon Overton; 7. Chris Madden; 8. Josh Richards; 9. Brian Shirley; 10. Devin Moran; 11. Tim McCreadie; 12. Shane Clanton; 13. Scott Bloomquist; 14. Don O'Neal; 15. Steve Casebolt; 16. Hudson O'Neal; 17. Brent Larson; 18. Eric Wells; 19. Chase Junghans; 20. Brandon Kinzer; 21. Nick Hoffman; 22. Morgan Bagley; 23. Rick Eckert; 24. Tyler Erb; 25. Steven Roberts; 26. Chub Frank; 27. Benji Hicks; 28. Jason Covert; 29. Casey Roberts; 30. Zach McMillan; 31. Jonathan Davenport

Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds

Last-Chance Qualifier #1 (10 laps): 1. Michael Maresca; 2. Jim Rasey; 3. Tyler Dippel; 4. Marcus Dinkins; 5. Carey Terrence; 6. Rick Regalski Jr.; 7. J.F. Corriveau; 8. Kody Graham; 9. Max McLaughlin; 10. Jimmy Phelps; 11. Brandon Walters; 12. Gary Edwards Jr.; 13. Jeremiah Shingledecker
DNS: Justin Racey

Last-Chance Qualifier #2 (10 laps): 1. Tim Kerr; 2. Brett Hearn; 3. Frank Cozze; 4. Erick Rudolph; 5. Rich Scagliotta; 6. Chad Jeseo; 7. Joe August Jr.; 8. Rick Richner; 9. Dave Blaney; 10. Louie Jackson Jr.; 11. Chris Hile; 12. Pierre Hebert; 13. Dave Rauscher

A-Main (40 laps): 1. Mat Williamson; 2. Matt Sheppard; 3. Billy Decker; 4. Keith Flach; 5. Mike Mahaney; 6. Danny Johnson; 7. Tim Fuller; 8. Larry Wright; 9. Pat Ward; 10. Max McLaughlin; 11. Brett Hearn; 12. Peter Britten; 13. Ryan Godown; 14. Justin Haers; 15. Michael Maresca; 16. Jimmy Phelps; 17. Yan Bussiere; 18. Billy Whittaker; 19. Jimmy Horton; 20. Justin Wright; 21. Frank Cozze; 22. Brandon Walters; 23. Rich Scagliotta; 24. Tyler Siri; 25. Demetrios Drellos; 26. Brian Swartzlander; 27. Tim Kerr; 28. Gary Tomkins; 29. Jim Rasey

-XXX-