Outlaws invade the Fair - Schatz wins second straight at 'The Fair'

(Photo by Michael Fischer) Donny Schatz, of Fargo, N.D., passes Jason Meyers of Clovis ,Calif., during the A-Feature Wednesday, September 10, 2008, during the World of Outlaws at the Clay County Fair. Schatz won for the second straight year at the Clay County Fair, beating out Kraig Kinser of Bloomington, Ind., who had started in the pole position.

It seems Donny Schatz has taken a liking to the Clay County Fair Speedway.

Although, at this point, racing fans would be hard pressed to find a 3/8-mile track Schatz doesn't like.

The winner of last year's inaugural World of Outlaws race at the Clay County Fair Speedway made his second straight trip to victory lane Wednesay, overtaking pole sitter Kraig Kinser to win for the fifth time in 16 season races on 3/8-mile tracks.

Schatz. who took over the lead on lap 12 last year, waited until the final four laps to make his move, passing Kinser on the 27th lap. The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points Leader held off Kinser and last year's runner-up, Joey Saldana, to claim back-to-back victories at 'The Fair'. Kinser led the first 26 laps.

Wednesday's victory was the 14th A-Feature win in 2008 for Schatz, the two-time defending sprint car series champion and a native of Fargo, N.D. Along his second win at the Clay County Fair, Schatz has won three times in the state of Iowa in '08, including his third consecutive win at the Knoxville Nationals.

Just like his victory in the A-Feature, Schatz came on late in Wednesday's showcase. After qualifying ninth, more than 0.2 off the pace of top qualifier Jason Meyers with a lap time of 13.655, Schatz took the runner-up spot in the third of three heats. He went on to finish third in the Crane Cams Dash, a 6-lap race which determines the order of the top 10 starting positions. Meyers' qualifying time of 13.437 is a track record.

(Photo by Michael Fischer) Donny Schatz, of Fargo N.D., competes during heats Wednesday, September 10, 2008, during the World of Outlaws sprint car races at the Clay County Fair. Schatz, who placed second in the B heat, came roaring back to win the A feature. For more Outlaws coverage see Sports, page 11A.

Kinser, who holds one victory on 3/8-mile tracks this season, qualified just behind Schatz in 10th. A native of Bloomington, Ind., Kinser took victory in Heat 1, an 8-lap A-Feature qualifier before earning the pole in the Crane Cams Dash.

Saldana qualified second behind Meyers with a time of 13.469 before finishing second in Heat 2 and fourth in the Crane Cams Dash. Brian Brown, who started second, placed fifth. Meyers, the top qualifier, placed fourth.

World of Outlaws veterans Danny Lasoski and Steve Kinser also competed Wednesday in front of another strong crowd at the Fairgrounds. After qualifying third, Lasoski placed fourth in Heat 3 and 11th in the A-Feature. He started ninth. Kinser qualified 14th, placed fifth in Heat 2 and 15th in the A-Feature.

Terry McCarl, the lone Iowa native in the field who hails from Altoona, qualified fifth with a time of 13.605. He was fourth in Heat 2 and took the eighth spot in the A-Feature.

Craig Dollansky qualified 11th and finished 16th in the A-Feature. Dollansky, currently third in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points Standings, helped promote Wednesday's race with his wife Julie, a Spencer native.

Paul McMahan claimed the win in Heat 2 before finishing sixth; Brown won Heat 3. Jac Haudenschild won the B-main.

World of Outlaws Clay County Fair Speedway

Qualifying

1. 14-Jason Meyers, 13.437; 2. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.469; 3. 33-Danny Lasoski, 13.548; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 13.560; 5. 24-Terry McCarl, 13.605; 6. 55-Kerry Madsen, 13.618; 7. 8K-Chad Kemenah, 13.642; 8. 6-Paul McMahan, 13.649; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.655; 10. 20-Kraig Kinser, 13.684; 11. 2-Craig Dollansky, 13.699; 12. 21X-Brian Brown, 13.700; 13. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.710; 14. 11-Steve Kinser, 13.711; 15. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.727; 16. 5C-Chad Hillier, 13.750; 17. R19-Jac Haudenschild, 13.751; 18. 5-Brooke Tatnell, 13.773; 19. 21-Daryn Pittman, 13.779; 20. 5Z-Dusty Zomer, 13.827; 21. 9P-Rager Phillips, 14.052; 22. 22-Billy Alley, 14.091; 23. 23W-Scott Winters, 14.106; 24. 4W-Matt Wasmund, 14.125; 25. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 14.183; 26. 7K-Justin Zimmerman, 14.240; 27. 33X-Gordy Vogelaar, 14.382; 28. 29-Russ Hall, 14.910.

Heat 1 (8 Laps, top six finishers transferred to A-feature)

1. 20-Kraig Kinser, 2. 8K-Chad Kemenah, 3. 14-Jason Meyers, 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 6. 21-Daryn Pittman, 7. 5C-Chad Hillier, 8. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 9. 29-Russ Hall ,10. 22-Billy Alley.

Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1. 6-Paul McMahan, 2. 9-Joey Saldana, 3. 2-Craig Dollansky, 4. 24-Terry McCarl, 5. 11-Steve Kinser, 6. 23W-Scott Winters, 7. 5Z-Dusty Zomer, 8. 7K-Justin Zimmerman, 9. R19-Jac Haudenschild.

Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature

1. 21X-Brian Brown, 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 3. 55-Kerry Madsen, 4. 33-Danny Lasoski, 5. 7S-Jason Sides, 6. 5-Brooke Tatnell, 7. 9P-Rager Phillips, 8. 33X-Gordy Vogelaar, 9. 4W-Matt Wasmund.

Crane Cams Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)

1. 20-Kraig Kinser, 2. 21X-Brian Brown, 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 4. 9-Joey Saldana, 5. 14-Jason Meyers, 6. 6-Paul McMahan, 7. 8K-Chad Kemenah, 8. 24-Terry McCarl, 9. 33-Danny Lasoski, 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.

B-main (10 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1. R19-Jac Haudenschild, 2. 5C-Chad Hillier, 3. 5Z-Dusty Zomer, 4. 4W-Matt Wasmund, 5. 18-Tony Bruce Jr., 6. 7K-Justin Zimmerman, 7. 29-Russ Hall, 8. 9P-Rager Phillips, 9. 22-Billy Alley,10. 33X-Gordy Vogelaar.

A-main (30 laps, starting position - [#])

1. 15-Donny Schatz [3], $10,000; 2. 20-Kraig Kinser [1], $5,500; 3. 9-Joey Saldana [4], $3,200; 4. 14-Jason Meyers [5], $2,800; 5. 21X-Brian Brown [2], $2,500; 6. 6-Paul McMahan [6], $2,300; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. [10], $2,200; 8. 24-Terry McCarl [8], $2,100; 9. R19-Jac Haudenschild [17], $2,050; 10. 55-Kerry Madsen [11], $2,000; 11. 33-Danny Lasoski [9], $1,500; 12. 8K-Chad Kemenah [7], $1,200; 13. 7S-Jason Sides [15], $1,100; 14. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [13], $1,050; 15. 11-Steve Kinser [14], $1,000; 16. 2-Craig Dollansky [12], $900; 17. 21-Daryn Pittman [19], $800; 18. 5-Brooke Tatnell [18], $800; 19. 5C-Chad Hillier [16], $800; 20. 5Z-Dusty Zomer [20], $800; 21. 9P-Rager Phillips [26], $800; 22. 29-Russ Hall [24], $800; 23. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr. [22], $800; 24. 4W-Matt Wasmund [21], $800; 25. 23W-Scott Winters [25], $200; 26. 7K-Justin Zimmerman [23], $180.

Lap leaders: Kraig Kinser 1-26, Donny Schatz 27-30.