The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars went north, making stops in Minnesota for a pair of 30-lap events at Ogilvie Raceway and Jackson Motorplex over the weekend. Also, Donny Schatz finds trouble on his first night out with Big Game Motorsports.
Macedo Dominates
Carson Macedo dominated Minnesota, leading 50 of the 60 feature laps run this weekend by the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, but he had to work for it. On Friday at Ogilvie Raceway, Macedo started 4th and was able to wrestle the lead away from Bill Balog on lap five, despite two cautions slowing the field in the opening few laps. The two would do battle for the next ten laps, with Balog retaking the lead on lap ten before Macedo finally took control on lap 15. From there, it was game over. Balog would fall to 4th, while Buddy Kofoid would grab second, and David Gravel would round out third.
On Saturday, it was more of the same at the Jackson Motorplex. Macedo started on the front row next to Bill Balog and immediately drove around him into turn one. Logan Schuchart, who started sixth, made it interesting late in the event, cutting Macedo’s lead down to around a half second before running out of laps and finishing 2nd. Balog would round out third to complete his solid weekend.
Donny Schatz finds trouble.
The big story of the week was the Donny Schatz saga. Schatz was released from his ride on Tuesday by Tony Stewart Racing. By Wednesday, it was announced that Big Game Motorsports would field a second car for Schatz for the next seven races, giving the ten-time champ time to find a ride for the remaining schedule and beyond. Unfortunately, in turn one of lap one of his first race with the team at Ogilvie, Schatz took a bad bounce on the cushion and flipped the car, ending his night almost before it got started. In the accident, the car suffered some frame damage and had to be taken back to the chassis builder for repair. Some fans were surprised when Schatz showed up on Saturday with a green 15 car, this time fielded by Lunstra Motorsports. When asked on Saturday by Always Race Day, Schatz explained that part of his deal with Big Game Motorsports was dependent on not tearing up equipment, something that both parties are typically pretty good at not doing. Lunstra was already letting the team use a truck/trailer to get the car to the track, so when Friday’s situation happened, they chipped in a car. They even went the extra mile and put Donny’s 15 on the side of it.
Looking Forward
The Greatest Show on Dirt races four times this week, beginning Tuesday night when the series visits Mississippi Thunder Speedway for the first time ever. Get tickets at WorldofOutlaws.com or watch live on DirtVision.