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Schatz Named North American Sprint Car Poll 410-Driver of the Year
Knoxville, IA-- December 12, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director
The post-season laurels continue to add up for two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz, as he was named the 410-sprint car driver of the year today by the North American 410-Sprint Car Poll.
This was the second consecutive season that Schatz has won the award from the organization, and he earned all 25 first-place votes. Schatz was victorious 19 times this season in World of Outlaws competition, in addition to winning the Knoxville Nationals for the second straight year, pocketing $150,000 for winning sprint car racing's biggest event.
"I have to thank all the voters out there for this award," said Schatz. "We approach every night with a goal of winning the race. We started this season with a goal of repeating our championship. One thing you learn is that after you win a championship or big race once, you want more than anything to do it again. I have to thank all the people that helped our race team this year, because without them we couldn't have had the kind of year we did."
In World of Outlaws competition during the 2007 season, Schatz earned 71 Top-10 finishes in 75 A-Feature events. He became the first driver in sprint car racing history to win the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, the National Open, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals in the same season.
Schatz Motorsports, owned by Donny's parents, Danny and Diane were also named the 2007, 410-sprint car racing Team of the Year, by the North American 410- Sprint Car Poll. This is the second consecutive year that the team earned the honor and the first time in the history of the poll that only one nominee in a category was on the ballot, thus making it a unanimous decision.
"We're thrilled to be recognized as the team of the year," said Donny Schatz. "We always try to run our race team the same as our other businesses. We demand a lot of our people and feel like the results are a reflection of the effort that they all put forth. You can never be satisfied and we always pushed to be better."
In his World of Outlaws career with his family's team, Schatz earned 70 A-Feature wins which have him tied for sixth on the all-time list. He also earned the 1997 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award driving for his parents. Schatz will join Tony Stewart Racing in 2008 as a teammate to 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the year Kraig Kinser.
"This is a total team accomplishment," said Diane Schatz, Donny's mother. "We have so many people that play a role in this and all of them helped us have the kind of season we did. From Don driving to the crew guys keeping the car fast on the track and the haulers up and down the road....even all the marketing, website and merchandise activities contribute to the success of our team."
Also earning honors from the North American 410-Sprint Car Poll were: Roger Slack from The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway, as Promoter of the Year Award, Jeannie and Brian Butler from ButlerBuilt Seats along with Ron Shaver from Shaver Engines, who will share the Manufacturer of the Year Award and also Justin Zoch from Flatout magazine and Tony Veneziano from the World of Outlaws, who will share the Media Member of the Year Award.
The North American 410-Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc., of Knoxville, Iowa. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2008 at tracks throughout North America.
The 30th anniversary Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series season opens on February 8 with the 37th Annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
Long Live 20 Time World Of Outlaws Champion Steve
Kinser #11
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