INDIANAPOLIS (July 1, 2015) – With the kind of results they are putting up in World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series action this season, Tony Stewart-Curb Agajanian Racing’s (TSR) Donny Schatz and his Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance are looking forward to every night they get to race. The winners of 17 of the first 39 WoO A-Feature races in 2015 will look to add to their win total this week in Kansas with stops first in Kansas City and then a doubleheader in Dodge City this weekend.
They might feel like wanted men rolling into tracks across the country, and that’s just fine with the fearsome foursome that have been on an incredible run over the past two plus seasons. Schatz, the six-time and reigning WoO champion, and his TSR crew of Rick Warner, Steve Swenson and Eric Prutzman continue to raise their expectations and the results have followed. Schatz has driven the TSR No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance J&J to victory lane in six of the previous seven races, 17 times total in 2015 and 66 times since the start of the 2013.
First up is a stop in Kansas City Wednesday for the O’Reilly Auto Parts presents the Outlaws at Lakeside Speedway. The race was originally scheduled for June 6, but Mother Nature for the event to be postponed. Schatz, winner of 189 career WoO A-Features, is looking to make the semi-banked, 4/10-mile dirt oval the 75th track where he’s scored a WoO A-Feature triumph during his 19-year career. He made his debut at the track in 2001 and has competed in eight of the Outlaws nine all-time appearances at the track. He finished third in 2003, twice finished sixth (2010 and 2011) and finished 10th (2012) and ninth (2013). Last season, he started 13th and finished 11th.
Following the midweek make-up race at Lakeside, Schatz will lead the Outlaws to classic Old West town of Dodge City for the annual Boothill Showdown. Friday’s race will be the Outlaws’ 20th A-Feature contest on the 3/8-mile, dirt oval. Schatz will be looking for his third career victory at the track. He won a preliminary feature at the facility in the fall of 2005 and earned his first WoO A-Feature victory in 2008 when he drove around Daryn Pittman and led the final six laps of the 30-lap race. In 2013, he took the lead from Jason Sides coming out of turn four on the final lap to take his second win. The following night, he led the first 21 laps before he had a tire go down during a caution. The Fargo, North Dakota racer returned the race and charged back up to finish ninth. Last season, he seventh in the opener and 11th in the finale.
Schatz is the Outlaws’ most recent winner with his thrilling run from 10th to first at Beaver Dam (Wis.) Raceway Saturday. Schatz hovered around fifth position for most of the race before storming forward between laps 27 through 34 picking up positions each lap. The victory was his sixth in the previous seven starts and 13th time in the last 15 races where he’s finished first or second. He is on top of the WoO championship standings with 210-point advantage over Shane Stewart heading into the first race of July, the 40th of 88 scheduled A-Feature events. Schatz leads all competitors with 17 wins, 29 top-fives, 36 top-10s, 332 laps led and six KSE Hard Charger Awards. The team is also on a remarkable streak of consecutive finishes. Saturday’s victory was the 140th straight race where they have completed every lap.
Friday and Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park, the pit gates will open at 3 p.m. CT and the grandstands at 5 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit dodgecityraceway.com or call 620-225-3277.
Race fans unable to attend this week’s races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.
Donny Schatz, Driver of the No. 15 TSR Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance J&J:
This has been an incredible start to the 2015 season. What’s been the biggest difference this year versus year’s past in terms of having so many wins?
“We’ve always raced to win and this year the work the guys on this Bad Boys Buggies/Chevrolet Performance team – Rick Warner, Steve Swenson and Eric Prutzman – has paid off. We’ve had a really good program for a long time and we all put in some work in the offseason to get us better where we weren’t having the results we had in the past. We’ve continued to work hard and try to get better no matter what. No one is satisfied. Everyone in this organization is motivated to keep improving. Tony Stewart gives us a great opportunity to be successful. We have marketing partners like Bad Boy Buggies and Chevrolet Performance that allow us to race all across the country. We have people in Indy that support our guys while they are on the road. We are surrounded by successful people and everyone is doing all they can to help us get these kind of results. It has been an incredible start to the season, but it won’t be one of our best if we don’t finish the year out. There are so many races and so much of the season still in front of us. We are excited about all the opportunities we have ahead.”
The Boothill Showdown is your annual trip to Dodge City and traditionally one of the more challenging races. You are a two-time winner at the track. What is it going to take this weekend to add to your win total?
“We are going to have to have the best racecar at the end of the night both Friday and Saturday if we are going to have a chance to win. Dodge City has a great facility and Tommy Estes and his people do a great job. It’s tough when it is 100 degrees during the day and the wind kicks up all afternoon and into the evening. Dirt is a tough business and they work really hard to give us a good track to put on a good show for the fans. We’ve had some really good races there in the past and our game plan is to tried have a couple more. My guys love a challenge and Dodge City can definitely be a challenge. That’s why we race. We want to be the best every night.”
About Bad Boy Buggies®
Bad Boy Buggies® is a leader in off-road utility vehicles for hunting and outdoor lifestyles. Bad Boy Buggies pioneered the category of electrically powered four-wheel-drive vehicles, ideal for hunting and outdoor recreation due to their silent, odorless operation and environmentally friendly, emissions-free drivetrains.
Today, the Bad Boy Buggies product line ranges from four-wheel-drive electric hunting machines such as the Recoil®, a fully electric, four-wheel-drive vehicle with an innovative, highly efficient 72-volt AC electric drivetrain, to the Work Series of diesel- and gas-powered utility vehicles, including the Bad Boy Buggies XD, a versatile four-wheel-drive, diesel-powered utility vehicle with a total capacity of 1,600 pounds.
About Chevrolet Performance®
Driven by more than 100 years of motorsports heritage, Chevrolet Performance fuels the passions of automotive enthusiasts through high-performance vehicles, parts and racing. Performance cars include Camaro SS, SS 1LE, ZL1, Z/28 and the COPO Camaro. Chevrolet Performance parts include crate engines, transmissions, controllers and street-level components. Chevrolet competes in NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, IndyCar and a variety of circle track racing series.
More information can be found at: www.chevrolet.com/performance
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