Tony Stewart Racing Seeking Ultimate Bragging Rights for 2012
As Outlaws Close Campaign at Charlotte's World Finals
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 30, 2012) - The achievement most competitors strive for is to be named champion at season's end. It's a goal not easily accomplished but remarkably rewarding when a driver and his team is hoisting the coveted trophy when the dust settles.
The 2012 World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series season concludes this weekend with the PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals presented by NAPA Auto Parts. Following Saturday night's final 30-lap A-Feature of the season, there will be a familiar face ready to accept the hardware at The Dirt Track @ Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) Donny Schatz can clinch his fifth WoO championship Thursday by simply making a qualifying lap behind the wheel of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevrolet J&J, and the Fargo, N.D., racer would like nothing more than to put an exclamation point on a championship season by duplicating his sweep of the World Finals in 2011.
Twenty-time WoO champion Steve Kinser finished second to his TSR teammate Schatz in last year's season finale and looks to close his season on a high note by finishing one spot better in the World Finals this weekend in his TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevrolet Maxim.
Only one driver can win the final race of the season and, since the first World Finals in 2007, Schatz and Kinser have earned three of the five checkered flags. Kinser won the finale in 2007 while Schatz was victorious in 2008 and 2011. The event, which includes WoO Sprint Cars, WoO Late Models and the Big-Block Modifieds from the Super DIRTcar Series, begins with a pair of qualifying sessions for the Sprint Cars and Late Models Thursday. Complete programs with heat races, a dash and feature races will be held both Friday and Saturday.
Schatz is the only driver to make all 30 WoO features at the 4/10-mile Charlotte dirt oval, which opened in May 2000. He won his first race at the track in October 2000 and, since 2003, hasn't finished outside the top-eight in 18 races. He clinched his third WoO title, and first with TSR, by leading all 30 laps of the season finale in 2008. In May 2010, he led 29 of 30 laps to earn his fourth win at the track. And last fall, he won both nights of the World Finals to increase his win tally at the track to six, most by any driver. Earlier this year, Schatz drove the STP machine from the ninth starting position and finished second.
Kinser will be looking to win at Charlotte for the third time this weekend. His first triumph came in October 2000 and his most recent victory at the facility closed the 2007 campaign. He has 18 top-five finishes in 29 starts. The Bloomington, Ind., native has finished second at the track eight times, including last year's runner-up finish in the finale. In May, he raced from the sixth starting position and raced his way into the lead during the 30-lap A-Feature, but a blown left-rear tire ended his chances at victory.
The two A-Features this weekend will be races 73 and 74 of the 2012 WoO season. Schatz finished second in a pair of races Oct. 13 at I-55 Raceway near St. Louis to continue an incredible streak of consistency since July 29. The STP driver has finished inside the top-five 25 times in the last 29 races, and those results, which also include victories in the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals and Williams Grove (Pa.) National Open, have been the difference in the title chase. For the season, Schatz has earned 11 victories, 39 top-fives and 60 top-10s, which has helped him build a 176-point advantage over Craig Dollansky in the championship standings. Kinser, who scored his most recent win Oct. 6 when he raced to victory at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y., has four wins, 26 top-fives and 47 top-10s on the season. "The King of the Outlaws" ranks fifth in the championship standings and is guaranteed a fifth-place finish.
Saturday's 2012 WoO season finale will be broadcast live on SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. EDT.
On Thursday, the pit gates will open at 11 a.m. EDT, with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, the pit gates will open at 12:45 p.m. with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. For more details and ticket information, call the track at 800-455-3267 or visit www.CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com/Dirt.
Race fans unable to attend this weekend'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.
Source: http://www.motorsportsjournal.com/archives/2012/10/steve_kinser_donny_schatz_5.php
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