WILMOT, Wis. — The time of year is near when Donny Schatz begins to heat up. And he stoked the flames in a big way on Saturday night at Wilmot Raceway.
Sprint car racing’s crown jewels are where the Fargo, N.D., legend has always excelled. The Kings Royal and NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals are both less than a month away, and Schatz appears to be getting warmed up at the right time.
The 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car champion delivered an absolute masterclass at Wilmot.
Schatz lost the lead on the opening lap after starting on the pole, grabbed it back on lap 10, and set sail through traffic on his way to a Federated Auto Parts Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40 victory.
After Friday’s opener didn’t go Schatz’s way when he started 14th and had to salvage a sixth-place run, rolling into victory lane on Saturday felt even sweeter.
“Last night was really trying, but that’s what makes nights like this so much more important,” Schatz said. “The guys spent a lot of time today digging and changing things. It was a whole different race car tonight. Hats off to them – Scuba (Steve Swenson), Todd (Devnich), and Dauson (Heitritter). There’s a lot of communication there, and that’s what it takes to be in this situation.
“We won the Larry Hillerud Memorial, so that’s pretty damn cool. Larry was a North Dakota boy with tons of passion for this sport. I’m sure he’s up there arguing with my dad about something. I’m pretty honored to win this tonight.”
The triumph marked Schatz’s second Badger 40 triumph to go along with the one he topped in 2019. Schatz joins David Gravel (four) and Carson Macedo (three) as the only drivers with multiple World of Outlaws wins at Wilmot.
His third win of the season snaps a 20-race winless drought dating back to I-55 in mid-April. Schatz’s career win total with The Greatest Show on Dirt grew to 314.
Schatz led the field to green for the 40-lap finale with Michael “Buddy” Kofoid alongside. The outside lane proved to be the place to be for the start as Kofoid jumped out ahead to lead the opening lap in the Roth Motorsports No. 83.
The opening laps belonged to Kofoid as he maintained a small advantage over Schatz. But when traffic came into play, the gap began to fade.
Schatz closed in on the top spot aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 as Kofoid struggled to work through slower cars. And on lap 10 the door opened.
Kofoid drifted up the track in turns one and two as he stared down traffic and Schatz pounced. He stuck the lowline perfectly in the No. 15 and powered ahead of Kofoid as the two raced down the back straightaway.
Schatz had no plans of letting Kofoid return the favor. Right away he began to masterfully carve his way through traffic. He went anywhere required to clear a lapper. Schatz could even float right through the middle of the turns to complete a pass. It didn’t matter where he went. Schatz would not be slowed.
Behind Schatz the battle for second heated up between Kofoid and Carson Macedo, who was in search of his fourth Wilmot triumph in a row. Macedo blasted around Kofoid on the high line on lap 14 to secure the spot.
But even with a new runner-up, the distance between first and second expanded. Schatz pushed the margin over six seconds by lap 21.
A caution with 18 laps to go gave the rest of the field a chance. It lined Macedo, winner of the past three at Wilmot, alongside Schatz. But it simply did not matter who was placed in his proximity. Schatz only had plans to drive away from them.
And that’s exactly what he did when the green flag brought the racing back to life. Schatz drove away from Macedo and went back to work navigating traffic when he reached the tail of the field.
On multiple occasions he even split cars running side by side to clear both of them. When the checkered flag waved Schatz crossed the finish line nearly seven seconds ahead.
“That was a hell of a lot of fun,” Schatz said. “Traffic was actually pretty awesome for me there. There were a couple times we would get two or three-wide and split guys. That car was really good no matter where we went.”
Macedo’s pursuit of four in a row at Wilmot fell one spot shy as he brought the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 home in the runner-up spot.
“I think Donny tonight was a little bit like I was last night,” Macedo explained. “I feel like he could just maneuver and really go anywhere on the racetrack. I felt like I was decent in (turns) three and four moving around a little bit. But I had to stay pretty committed other than that, especially in (turns) one and two. That allowed him to get through lapped traffic a little bit easier and better. But overall this is a great effort for this JJR team.”
Sheldon Haudenschild moved by Kofoid in the closing laps to claim the final spot on the podium. It was a productive 40 laps for the Wooster, Ohio, native as his NOS Energy Drink No. 17 got better and better throughout the feature.
“I worked on him (Kofoid) the whole race,” Haudenschild said. “Him and the 41 (Macedo) had a good battle, and I was just kind of sitting back there watching and was able to move around a little bit. I wasn’t sure what happened after that restart. I think Buddy’s car might’ve went away a little bit, and I think we got better and also kind of ran the 41 down there at the end, too.”
Kofoid, who was the fast qualififer, and David Gravel completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz[1]; 2. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 4. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 5. 2-David Gravel[7]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[13]; 7. 17B-Bill Balog[10]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart[17]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[6]; 10. 21H-Brady Bacon[5]; 11. 70-Kraig Kinser[8]; 12. 29-Logan McCandless[9]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson[19]; 14. 45-Landon Brooks[23]; 15. 15K-Creed Kemenah[21]; 16. 7S-Landon Crawley[14]; 17. 24D-Danny Sams III[12]; 18. 79-Blake Nimee[16]; 19. 3N-Jake Neuman[20]; 20. 6-Kelby Watt[11]; 21. 96-Jake Blackhurst[18]; 22. 49J-Josh Schneiderman[22]; 23. 16-Anthony Knierim[24]; 24. 73-Scotty Thiel[15]