By Lee Elder
MESQUITE, Texas (April 28, 2018) – Donny Schatz started fifth but he finished first, winning the second night of the Texas Outlaw Nationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
It was the fifth win of the 2018 campaign for Schatz. He is the points leader.
“I was hearing voices,” Schatz said. “I was hearing (series founder) Ted Johnson telling me (to drive better). I did.”
The series was founded at the Devil’s Bowl and the weekend marked an observation of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Outlaws.
Brad Sweet started on the pole and led the first 26 laps of the 30-lap chase around the half-mile oval. But Schatz reeled the leader in over the final ten laps. Once he got the lead, Schatz pulled away from Sweet.
“You know you’re going to have (caution periods), you know you’re going to hit that traffic,” Schatz said. “You never want to let anybody get away but you don’t want to start using your tires up on lap five.”
Sweet agreed that working through lapped traffic played a role in the outcome of the race and said, “That’s what wins and loses these races every night. Donny is the best at it.”
At the end of the race, Schatz used the inside grove to pass Sweet for the lead. Both men said after the race that the track gave them their choice of where to race because the surface was equally good over the inside, middle and outside.
Shane Stewart finished third, followed by Logan Schuchart, and Sheldon Haudenschild.
NOTES: Double initials led the way early in the evening. Jason Johnson posted the quick time in qualifying, giving him the pole on both nights of the Texas Outlaw Nationals; Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Shane Stewart won the heat races … There were 22 starters in the WoO feature race, so every starter in the heat races started the feature.