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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – Another chapter will be written in the Red River Valley Speedway (RRVS) history books Saturday night as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars make their highly anticipated return to West Fargo. The event, which was originally scheduled for June 17th, but was postponed due to rain, will mark the 31st appearance by the 900+ horsepower winged sprint cars at RRVS.

Leading the way is eight-time and defending World of Outlaws champion and Fargo’s own, Donny Schatz.

Schatz is riding a wave of momentum this weekend after capturing his 10th Knoxville Nationals title at the famed Knoxville (IA) Raceway last Saturday night.

“The Knoxville Nationals are something you look forward to at the beginning of the year. You’re excited about it whether you have or haven’t won it before. It’s what makes or breaks your year. We were able to put ourselves in a position to win it again this year and it means the world to everybody on the team,” said Schatz, who had to fend off NASCAR star Kyle Larson on the final lap to claim the $150,000 victory.

“We’re still enjoying (the win), but we are also looking forward to this weekend. With the Outlaws running in Grand Forks, Fargo, and Minot, it’s going to kind of be a dream weekend for me,” he said.

Despite living in Minot in his younger days, Schatz still competed weekly at RRVS in the early 1990s and considered the West Fargo clay oval a home track. Schatz quickly saw success in the WISSOTA 360 sprint car division and became a fan favorite in Fargo before he moved up to World of Outlaws ranks in 1997.

“It’s always special to come back and race at Red River Valley Speedway. You know a majority of the people you’re going to see,” Schatz said. “The track is just minutes away from where I live and most of my family is from around here. There is just something about being able to sleep in your own bed the same night you race at your home track.”

The World of Outlaws have made just one visit to RRVS since the track was reconfigured from a half-mile to a three-eighths mile track in 2010. Since then, Schatz has gotten laps on the smaller racing surface with the All Star Circuit of Champion sprint cars and the NLRA Late Models. Despite all of that on-track experience over the last handful of years, Schatz says the key to being fast is relying on setups that have been working as of late, even if they are for different tracks.

“You have to stick with your basics and parameters you’ve set and know that work at all of the different places,” he said. “The team changes little things from place to place to account for the different dirt and speeds that you go. For the most part, you start with a pretty basic setup and try to work from there.”

This weekend’s three-race trek through North Dakota is just a small drop in the bucket in comparison to the complete 94-race schedule the World of Outlaws are enduring this season. In his quest for his ninth series championship, Schatz is in good shape thus far with an 82 point lead atop the point standings with 27 races remaining.

“We’re going to have to stay after it to get the championship this year. There’s never too much of a buffer when you’re leading the points,” he said. “At the same point, we don’t really race for points, we race to win each night. As the season winds down, everything becomes more important and you don’t want to make any mistakes. There’s more pressure on me and the race team and we are all up for it. Hopefully, we can be in a position a couple months from now we’re looking at championship number nine. But if not, it’s not going to go without a hard fought fight.”

The Outlaws’ latest threat:

Twenty-five year old Watertown, Conn. driver, David Gravel, has been the most impressive up-and-comer the World of Outlaws have seen in its youth movement over the last couple of years. Gravel is having a breakout season in 2017, compiling 13 victories to date, which is second-most on the Outlaw tour to Schatz.

Gravel also turned heads last weekend at the Knoxville Nationals by completing a “perfect night” on his qualifying night. Gravel was the fastest driver in time trials and won both his heat race and the feature to earn the pole for Saturday night’s championship feature. In doing so, Gravel became the first driver since Steve Kinser in 1992 to accomplish that feat at Knoxville.

“We were the best car all week,” said Gravel. “On our qualifying night, I was worried about getting a good pill draw for time trials and transferring through my heat race. Thankfully, we were able to do that all with flying colors.”

After preliminary action was complete, Gravel was a favorite entering championship night on Saturday. In the first half of the race, Gravel lived up to the expectations as he led the first 22 circuits. However, a mechanical failure forced him to retire from the event early, dashing his hopes of taking the Knoxville title.

Gravel will look to rebound this weekend in North Dakota.

After winning at River Cities Speedway in June, Gravel will look to pick up the season sweep at the Grand Forks three-tenths mile clay oval in his CJB Motorsports No. 5.

“If we can win again at River Cities, that would be great,” continued Gravel. “That’s been Schatz’s track over the years, but we still have a shot at (the championship) this season so we are going to try to kick him off his block and win a bunch more races.”

In his three previous starts at Red River Valley Speedway, Gravel has a best finish of third, which came in 2011 with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Like many other drivers in the World of Outlaws field, Gravel hasn’t seen RRVS for several years. He says he looks forward to Saturday because it will be a new track for almost all of the drivers and no one will have a distinct advantage.

“It’s good to go to tracks that people haven’t been to in awhile. It equals the playing field a bit,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going somewhere new and fresh. We should have a good crowd just like we do in Grand Forks and hopefully, we can have a good night.”

Tickets for Saturday’s “Duel in the Dakotas” event, featuring World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at RRVS can be purchased online at slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by phone at 815-344-2023.

Fans can also save $5 on General Admission tickets when purchased at participating NAPA Auto Parts stores. Tickets buyers will exchange their NAPA receipt for a race ticket at the Main Grandstand ticket booth on race day.

WEST FARGO, N.D. — August 14, 2017 — Red River Valley Speedway is set to host the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Saturday, August 19. The event was originally scheduled for June 17, but postponed due to inclement weather. All tickets and pit pass armbands from that date will be honored. The Duel in the Dakotas will mark the Outlaws first visit to the track since 2012, when Hall of Famer Sammy Swindell was victorious. Donny Schatz, who calls Fargo home, is the winningest active driver with the series at the track. He has won with both the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions at the track. This edition of By the Numbers sets the stage for the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas at Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday, August 19.

By the Numbers: Red River Valley Speedway

0.375- Miles around Red River Valley Speedway

0.5- Miles around the original configuration of the track

2- Drivers competing for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award this season with the Outlaws: Sheldon Haudenschild and Brent Marks

4- Total nights of racing in the state of North Dakota for the World of Outlaws this season

12.045- Track record established by Paul McMahan in 2012

13- Drivers who have won A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws at Red River Valley Speedway over the years

14- Drivers who have won A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws this season through August 12

16- Wins for Donny Schatz through August 12 to lead the series; Teams that are following the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tour full-time this season; A-Feature wins for Donny Schatz in his home state of North Dakota in his Outlaws career

27- Top-10 finishes with the Outlaws for Jac Haudenschild at Red River Valley Speedway, the most of any driver expected to compete

30- Different seasons in which the World of Outlaws have raced at Red River Valley Speedway, dating back to 1981

37- Main event starts (including preliminary features) with the Outlaws for Donny Schatz at his home track, dating back to 1993

38- Main event starts (including preliminary features) for Jac Haudenschild with the Outlaws at the track, dating back to 1986 the most of any driver expected to race on August 19

43- Top-Five finishes for Donny Schatz this season through August 12 to lead the series

50-Top-10 finishes for Brad Sweet this year through August 12 to lead the series

79- Miles from River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, where the World of Outlaws race on August 18 to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo

10,000 Dollars that the winner will receive on Saturday, August 19

1981- Year the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series first raced at Red River Valley Speedway

2006- Year of Donny Schatz’s most recent World of Outlaws win at Red River Valley Speedway

2011- Year that Schatz most recently won at the track, with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions

2012- Year the Outlaws last raced at the track

Tickets for the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas, featuring the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, along with the INEX Legends at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, North Dakota, on Saturday, August 19 can be purchased online atslspromotions.ticketforce.com or by phone at 815-344-2023, as well as at the track on race day.

Fans can also save $5 on General Admission tickets when purchased at participating NAPA Auto Parts stores. Tickets buyers will exchange their NAPA receipt for a race ticket at the Main Grandstand ticket booth on race day.

Twitter: @SLS_Promotions
Facebook: SLS Promotions LLC

KNOXVILLE, IA — August 13, 2017 — On the heels of winning his 10^th Knoxville Nationals in the last 12 years on Saturday, August 12, Donny Schatz will return to his home state of North Dakota this week for a three-race weekend with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series in Grand Forks, West Fargo and Minot. Schatz pocketed $150,000 for winning sprint car racing’s biggest event at the famed half-mile Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.

In the 57^th Annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals, Schatz took the lead on the 22^nd lap of the 50-lap contest, when pole sitter and early leader David Gravel had engine trouble. Schatz then held off a furious charge by Kerry Madsen on the ensuing restart and NASCAR star Kyle Larson in the late-going to pick up the win. Larson tried a slide job in turns three and four on the final lap, but came up just short.

Schatz has now finished first or second in 16 of the last 18 editions of the Knoxville Nationals. The 10 wins in the Knoxville Nationals are second only to 20-time World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion Steve Kinser, who won the event a record-12 times.

“It’s been a hell of a streak,” said Schatz. “All the second places I had before I finally won changed the whole dynamic and view of this place for me. I’m fortunate enough to be able to work with the same people for such a long amount of time. I knew I needed to push the issue. It got pretty hairy a couple of times. The race track had a pretty tricky lip.”

Schatz is the current World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series point leader as he chases his ninth title. He leads the series with 16 wins this season and also tops the leaderboard in top-five finishes. He is multi-time winner at all three tracks the series is heading to in his home state this coming weekend.

The triple-header weekend for Schatz begins on Friday, August 18 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks as American Tire Service Inc. Presents the 2^nd Leg of the Northern Tour. The Outlaws then head south to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo on Saturday, August 19 for the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas. The weekend wraps up on Sunday, August 20 at Nodak Speedway in Minot with the Gerdau Recycling Magic City Showdown Presented by Schatz Crossroads Truck Stop and Fastlane Carwash.

Tickets for all three events can be purchased online at https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by phone at 815-344-2023 and at the respective tracks on race day.

For the events at Red River Valley Speedway and Nodak Speedway, discount general admission are available for purchase at participating NAPA Auto Parts stores. Each General Admission ticket purchased at a NAPA Auto Parts location will feature a special $5 discount. Tickets buyers will exchange their NAPA receipt for tickets at the Main Grandstand ticket booth on race day.

Twitter: @SLS_Promotions
Facebook: SLS Promotions LLC