DONNIE SCHATZ, EN ROUTE TO OHSWEKEN (PHOTO BY GARY GRANT)
The Canadian swing by the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series continues tonight at Ohsweken Speedway out near Brantford and if the first three races are any indication, there will be another new winner tonight.
Three different drivers won the races Friday and Saturday at speedways in Quebec and Sunday night in Cornwall, Ont.
On Friday night at Autodrome Granby, legendary sprint car star Sammy Swindell took the checkers with Joey Saldana second and Steve (King of the Outlaws) Kinser third while Saturday night at Autodrome Drummondville, Saldana arrived home first with James McFadden second and Craig Dollansky third.
On Sunday night at Cornwall, Donnie Schatz was the winner with King Kinser second and Dollansky third. Schatz wasn’t feeling at all well, as his primary car was destroyed Saturday night in a grinding crash at Dummondville and he'd emerged, battered and bruised.
His victory Sunday night came in a backup car.
"Last night, I was just glad to walk away from it," Schatz said in Victory Lane. "To come back with a victory, it's the best thing you can ask for. We haven't won a race in a while. We did everything we could tonight right and got a win, so it feels really good."
Schatz’ hauler was spotted Monday on the 401 heading for Ohsweken, on the Six Nations Reserve, by Toronto Star Wheels contributor Gary Grant and a photo was snapped and sent to me for use on this blog.
My pulse always quickens at the sight of racers heading for a race and this picture is no exception. I plan to be at Ohsweken tonight night to see the Outlaws race, to enjoy my annual visit with old Oswego Speedway warriors Warren Coniam and Johnny Spencer and to enjoy the Six Nations hospitality as is exemplified by speedway owner and sprint car star in his own right, Glenn Styres.
Styres, by the way, won the sprint car feature at Ohsweken last Friday night and he'll be out to tackle the Outlaws tonight, you can bet.
Of course, there’s another reason. In addition to the Outlaws regulars, NASCAR star Tony Stewart will be on hand to race. He won his first Outlaws feature at this speedway a year ago and it turned his Sprint Cup season around. It will be fun to see what happens this time out.
He warmed up last night by winning a 360 sprint car race at Ohsweken with Styres second and Stewart's ex-girlfriend, Jessica Zemken, third.
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