Eldora Kings Royal results 2007-07-14

Schatz Crowned at Kings Royal

Donny Schatz had won nearly every big event in sprint car racing entering this season. He claimed his first Knoxville Nationals title last season, and also was a past winner of the Historical Big One, the Gold Cup Race of Champions, the National Open and the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. The one trophy missing on his mantle was the crown that comes with winning the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

Schatz wore the traditional crown and held the scepter on Saturday night as he stood victorious in the winner's circle after dominating the 24th Annual Kings Royal by Crown Royal to earn the $50,000 top prize.

"This is the Kings Royal," said a triumphant Schatz, driver of the ParkerStore J&J. "You only get to come around here once a year, and this was one that we had never won. We're just stoked about it. I think it will be a thing like the (Knoxville) Nationals, where it will begin to sink in a little tomorrow. As a race car driver, your job is to go out and win everything regardless of what it is. It sure feels good, especially for my team."

The 40-lap event began with Craig Dollansky charging from the third starting spot to take the lead on the high side of the track. Schatz, who started on the pole, battled back exiting the second turn as he looked low for the lead.

Dollansky continued to run the high side of the track in the opening laps, with Schatz on the bottom. Schatz began to close on Dollansky on the fourth lap. Two laps later, the reigning World of Outlaws champion dove under Dollansky exiting the fourth turn to take the lead.

On the seventh lap, Schatz entered lapped traffic and would weave his way through the slower machines until the yellow flag flew on the 22nd lap. Under the Kings Royal format, the lapped cars maintained their position on the track, thus putting six cars between Schatz and Dollansky on the ensuing restart.

Schatz quickly pulled away with open track ahead of him and was again in traffic on the 29th lap. When the final checkered flag flew, Schatz had won by over seven seconds, in what was one of the most dominating performances in Kings Royal history, leading the final 35 laps of the event.

"This was an awesome night," acknowledged Schatz. "This team works so hard. Last night was a trying night and we played around. Tonight we went back to an old trusty set-up. It was rocking and rolling."

Schatz took full advantage of the Kings Royal format that kept the lapped cars in the running order, as used a strong restart on the only caution of the night to open another sizeable advantage.

"We were glad to see the lapped cars stay in there," he said. "The car was so good that we could go anywhere. I wasn't concerned about lapped traffic too much. We have the crown and we have the trophy. We're going to go and celebrate tonight."

Schatz had a six second lead when the only yellow flag of the race flew on the 22nd lap. He extended that lead even more during the second half of the race which ran in just over 14 and-a-half minutes, as he crossed the finish with a seven second gap between himself and Meyers.

"I had no idea that I was that far ahead," he said. "I just kept pushing and pushing. I knew if I could keep my tires caught up I would be ok. There were some fast cars we were lapping so I knew we were good. We're glad to have been that good at the right time tonight and be able to get the Kings Royal victory."

Jason Meyers started seventh in the Kings Royal by Crown Royal and wound up second. On the opening lap, he got around Joey Saldana, Brandon Wimmer and Chad Kemenah as he began his march to the front.

"We have a great race car right now," said Meyers, driver of the Primerica Financial Maxim. "The team is doing a great job. I wish we could have started up there a little more. The format didn't quite work out in our favor tonight, but I don't know if we would have had anything for Donny (Schatz) anyway."

After shadowing rookie Kerry Madsen for a number of laps, Meyers took the fourth spot from the Australia on the 22nd lap. From there, he set his sights on Jason Solwold and after passing him he took the second spot from Craig Dollansky.

"We moved around a lot looking for a better groove," he said. "We started at the top and then moved to the middle and late in the race I couldn't get around a lapped car so I moved to the bottom. It wasn't quite rubber down there but it had gotten clean. All part of the race track worked. My hat is off to Tony Stewart and his crew here at Eldora Speedway. The track was probably the best I have seen it the last two nights in all of the years I have been coming here."

The runner-up finish was the 20th Top-Five of the season for the native of Clovis, California. With three A-Feature wins on the season and a currently holding the fourth spot in points, Meyers is excited for the second East Coast Swing of the season that awaits the World of Outlaws beginning on Tuesday.

"We're excited for a second-place finish in the Kings Royal," he said. "What a great way to start the "Month of Money." We'll be heading to some tracks we have done really well at in the next couple weeks so we'll see how it goes."

Terry McCarl finished in the Top-three for the second straight night at Eldora. He lined up 11th and wound up third. It was his 22nd Top-10 finish of the season.

"We had a great car all weekend," said McCarl, driver of the Big Game Treestands Eagle. "I screwed up a little bit yesterday and showed my hand too early. Tonight we started a little too far back. You can't have Donny Schatz up front with one yellow and have a shot at it."

McCarl gained three spots in the opening five laps of the event. On the 10th lap he got around Joey Saldana to move into sixth. He inherited the fifth spot on the lap 22 caution, and then passed Jason Solwold on the 37th lap to secure a podium finish.

"Usually you think after a race of the things you would go back and change on the car and this weekend I cannot think of anything that I would change," he noted. "We've been very competitive and this is one of the best cars that I have ever had."

With the Kings Royal by Crown Royal being a 40-lap event. McCarl used plenty of patience as he worked his way to the front, despite only having one caution flag to bunch the field up.

"There was some tire management tonight," he said. "Sometimes it can be tricky wondering if it will lay rubber or not. It was a very racy track tonight. I was patient and tried very hard not to spin my tires and not to blister them up. Early on we were passing a lot of cars, but I was trying to take it easy on my tires."

Jason Solwold started on the outside of the front row and ran in the Top-Five the entire night, finishing fourth as he continues to close in on his first win of the season.

"We were good early," said Solwold, driver of the City Wide Insulation Maxim. "We were as good as we were going to be in the first 20 laps of the race. I started to see people run through the middle and didn't know if there was rubber or not. It's good that we finished fourth."

Joey Saldana who won the Kings Royal last season finished fifth in the Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI.

Paul McMahan was sixth in the Bass Pro Shops Eagle, with early leader Craig Dollansky seventh in the Karavan Trailers Maxim. Jac Haudenschild, a three-time winner of the Kings Royal was eighth in the Wright One Construction Maxim. Chad Kemenah was ninth in the Kantor Oil Company XXX. Brian Paulus rounded out the Top-10 in the Arnold Transportation Maxim.

The World of Outlaws continue the "SuperClean Summer of Money" on Tuesday, July 17 at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania with the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup that will pay $30,000 to win.

KINGS ROYAL BY CROWN ROYAL NOTEBOOK

* FAST QUALIFIER: Kenny Jacobs paced the 51 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked half-mile oval in 13.687 seconds at 131.512 mph. For his qualifying effort, Jacobs earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Ed Lynch Jr. (4), Joey Saldana (3), Dale Blaney (2) and Jimmy Stinson (1).

* QUALIFYING WINNERS: Craig Dollansky, Chad Kemenah, Brandon Wimmer, Kerry Madsen, Jason Solwold and Donny Schatz won heat races... Randy Hannagan won the C-Main... Steve Kinser won the B-Main... Donny Schatz won the Crane Cams dash.

* UP NEXT: The Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, July 17.

World of Outlaws Statistical Report; Kings Royal by Crown Royal; Rossburg, OH; July 14, 2007

Qualifying
1) 29-Kenny Jacobs 13.687
2) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr. 13.719
3) 9-Joey Saldana 13.790
4) 2B-Dale Blaney 13.834
5) 92-Jimmy Stinson 13.861
6) 83-Danny Lasoski 13.862
7) 35-Jac Haudenschild 13.917
8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 13.920
9) 11B-Brock Mayes 14.013
10) 2M-Dustin Daggett 14.053
11) 24-Terry McCarl 14.058
12) 10C-Jeremy Campbell 14.160
13) 14-Jason Meyers 14.162
14) D1-Justin Henderson 14.182
15) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer 14.194
16) 6-Tim Shaffer 14.232
17) 19-Stevie Smith 14.261
18) 20E-Brian Ellenberger 14.301
19) 7-Craig Dollansky 14.303
20) 8K-Chad Kemenah 14.333
21) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. 14.353
22) 11H-Kerry Madsen 14.361
23) 56R-Ryan Myers 14.363
24) 15-Donny Schatz 14.377
25) 11M-Brandon Martin 14.402
26) 28-Brian Paulus 14.422
27) 7K-Dean Jacobs 14.440
28) 4-Danny Smith 14.502
29) R19-Jason Solwold 14.545
30) 21-Daryn Pittman 14.552
31) 11-Steve Kinser 14.680
32) 5C-Chad Hillier 14.738
33) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 14.786
34) 8H-Shane Stewart 14.825
35) 16-Lee Stark 14.835
36) 11D-Dion Hindi 14.890
37) 75-Lee Jacobs 14.945
38) 9X-Kevin Huntley 14.968
39) 7S-Jason Sides 14.968
40) 2-Brooke Tatnell 14.984
41) 20-Paul McMahan 15.057
42) W20-Greg Wilson 15.104
43) 5B-Chad Blonde 15.129
44) 96AU-Bruce White 15.178
45) 71M-Paul May 15.192
46) 1X-Randy Hannagan 15.236
47) 36-Jason Martin 15.273
48) 18-Brian Carlson 15.334
49) 24H-Rob Chaney 15.683
50) 6X-Bill Rose 15.744
51) 63-Barry Ruble 16.284

Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 7-Craig Dollansky [$35]
2) 14-Jason Meyers [$35]
3) 35-Jac Haudenschild [$35]
4) 11-Steve Kinser [$100]
5) 29-Kenny Jacobs [$100]
6) 11M-Brandon Martin [$100]
7) 5B-Chad Blonde [$100]
8) 75-Lee Jacobs [$100]
9) 24H-Rob Chaney [$100]

Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 8K-Chad Kemenah [$35]
2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe [$35]
3) 28-Brian Paulus [$35]
4) 5C-Chad Hillier [$100]
5) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr [$100]
6) D1-Justin Henderson [$100]
7) 9X-Kevin Huntley [$100]
8) 6X-Bill Rose [$100]
9) 96AU-Bruce White [$100]

Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [$35]
2) 9-Joey Saldana [$35]
3) 7K-Dean Jacobs [$35]
4) 71M-Paul May [$100]
5) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$100]
6) 7S-Jason Sides [$100]
7) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$100]
8) 63-Barry Ruble [$100]
9) 11B-Brock Mayes [$100]

Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11H-Kerry Madsen [$35]
2) 4-Danny Smith [$35]
3) 2B-Dale Blaney [$35]
4) 6-Tim Shaffer [$100]
5) 2M-Dustin Daggett [$100]
6) 8H-Shane Stewart [$100]
7) 1X-Randy Hannagan [$100]
8) 2-Brooke Tatnell [$100]

Heat 5 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) R19-Jason Solwold [$35]
2) 24-Terry McCarl [$35]
3) 20-Paul McMahan [$35]
4) 36-Jason Martin [$100]
5) 56R-Ryan Myers [$100]
6) 92-Jimmy Stinson [$100]
7) 16-Lee Stark [$100]
8) 19-Stevie Smith [$100]

Heat 6 (8 Laps, top 3 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz [$35]
2) 10C-Jeremy Campbell [$35]
3) 21-Daryn Pittman [$35]
4) W20-Greg Wilson [$100]
5) 83-Danny Lasoski [$100]
6) 20E-Brian Ellenberger [$100]
7) 11D-Dion Hindi [$100]
8) 18-Brian Carlson [$100]

Crane Cams Dash (5 laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 15-Donny Schatz
2) R19-Jason Solwold
3) 11H-Kerry Madsen
4) 8K-Chad Kemenah
5) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer
6) 7-Craig Dollansky

C-main (10 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to B-main)
1) 1X-Randy Hannagan [$35]
2) 9X-Kevin Huntley [$35]
3) 5B-Chad Blonde [$35]
4) 75-Lee Jacobs [$35]
5) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [$125]
6) 11D-Dion Hindi [$125]
7) 6X-Bill Rose [$125]
8) 24H-Rob Chaney [$125]
9) 18-Brian Carlson [$125]
10) 11B-Brock Mayes [$125]
11) 63-Barry Ruble [$125]
12) 96AU-Bruce White [$125]
13) 16-Lee Stark [$125]
14) 2-Brooke Tatnell [$125]
15) 19-Stevie Smith [$125]

B-main (15 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 11-Steve Kinser [$40]
2) 83-Danny Lasoski [$40]
3) 5C-Chad Hillier [$40]
4) W20-Greg Wilson [$40]
5) 36-Jason Martin [$500]
6) 8H-Shane Stewart [$450]
7) 71M-Paul May [$400]
8) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr. [$350]
9) 92-Jimmy Stinson [$300]
10) 5B-Chad Blonde [$250]
11) 2M-Dustin Daggett [$200]
12) 9X-Kevin Huntley [$200]
13) 7S-Jason Sides [$200]
14) 20E-Brian Ellenberger [$200]
15) 56R-Ryan Myers [$200]
16) 11M-Brandon Martin [$200]
17) 1X-Randy Hannagan [$200]
18) 75-Lee Jacobs [$200]
19) D1-Justin Henderson [$200]
20) 6-Tim Shaffer [$200]
21) 29-Kenny Jacobs [$200]
22) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr [$200]

A-main (40 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 15-Donny Schatz[1] [$50,000]
2) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$12,500]
3) 24-Terry McCarl[11] [$7,000]
4) R19-Jason Solwold[2] [$5,000]
5) 9-Joey Saldana[9] [$4,000]
6) 20-Paul McMahan[17] [$3,500]
7) 7-Craig Dollansky[6] [$3,000]
8) 35-Jac Haudenschild[13] [$2,500]
9) 8K-Chad Kemenah[4] [$2,250]
10) 28-Brian Paulus[14] [$2,200]
11) 83-Danny Lasoski[20] [$1,950]
12) 2B-Dale Blaney[16] [$1,850]
13) 4-Danny Smith[10] [$1,700]
14) 11-Steve Kinser[19] [$1,600]
15) 21-Daryn Pittman[18] [$1,550]
16) W20-Greg Wilson[22] [$1,500]
17) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[12] [$1,450]
18) 7TW-Brandon Wimmer[5] [$1,450]
19) 5C-Chad Hillier[21] [$1,400]
20) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[8] [$1,350]
21) 7K-Dean Jacobs[15] [$1,300]
22) 2L-Ed Lynch Jr[24] [$1,275]
23) 11H-Kerry Madsen[3] [$1,250]
24) 29-Kenny Jacobs[23] [$1,250]

Lap Leaders: Craig Dollansky 1-5, Donny Schatz 6-40
KSE Hard Charger Award: Paul McMahan

-credit: woo