Schatz used a strong restart with five laps to go to move from fifth to third. He would gain one more spot after the checkered flag to finish second for the fifth time this season, after Keel who lead the first 17 laps of the race was disqualified for being too light at the scales. Schatz also picked up the KSE Race Products Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars in the A-Feature.

“That’s what we had to do,” said the two-time defending series champion of passing the most cars on the night. “We started back there and just kept plugging away. The race track was really good. I wish we would have had a 30-lapper. It is what it is, and it’s over. We probably didn’t go far enough with the race car and we can go and get better. We’re happy to be in the position that we are in.”

Schatz had a very long night, as his team had to change engines twice over the course of the event. The first time came during time trials. He came back from that to turn the fastest lap of the 47 cars that took time, but by way of World of Outlaws rules, the best he could be scored was 17th due to taking a lap at the end of qualifying, because he never completed his initial lap, after taking the green flag. After finishing third in the first heat race, his Tony Stewart Racing team, led by crew chief Ricky Warner again swapped powerplants. The hard work paid off, as he gained significant points on Jason Meyers and Craig Dollansky in the standings.

“My team is definitely one of the best in the business,” said the North Dakota native. “We came here and everyone was excited. We overcame a lot of adversity and it really was a great night. We were here to win and wanted to win and we got the next best thing to it.”

Joey Saldana had a night that was very similar to Schatz’s, as he lost an engine in hot laps, as well a rear end on the car, forcing the team to utilize their back-up car. He promptly went out and turned the second fastest lap in time trials, with a car that had never seen the track. He then had trouble with the engine in the A-Feature, as a water fitting broke. Through it all, he soldiered on to a third-place finish aboard the Budweiser/Open Joist Mopar-powered JEI.

“Tonight is the type of night that helps win championships,” explained Saldana. “To come back from what we had and have a good solid run is what it’s all about. My team busted their butts all night. To come home third for everything that went on is a great effort by the Budweiser crew. At least we got a good finish out of it.”

Saldana started eighth on Thursday night and got around Greg Hodnett on the opening lap, before setting his sights on Mike Erdley and Todd Shaffer. He got around Shaffer on the 10th go-around to move into the Top-Five. After getting around Doug Esh, he used a late pass of Lucas Wolfe to move into fourth. He too gained a spot after the disqualification of Keel.

“I needed to keep running because the motor would not pick up and run,” he shared. “The restarts were killing me. I got by Lucas (Wolfe) on the first one and then on the one two later, (Donny) Schatz got by both of us. I think I had a car that was capable of winning.”

Doug Esh wound up fourth in the Pancho’s Racing Products J&J, while Wolfe earned his first Top-Five finish of the season aboard the Hunter Truck Sales/Peterbuilt Maxim.

Jac Haudenschild was sixth driving the Owen-Corning Fiberglass Maxim, with Todd Shaffer seventh in the McCoy Brothers Construction JEI. Mike Erdley wound up eighth in the Lisi Shell Maxim, with Greg Hodnett ninth in the Macri Concrete J&J. Jeff Shepard was 10th in the Zemco Speed Equipment Maxim.

Current series point leader Jason Meyers would up 11th in the GLR Investments KPC, with Craig Dollansky who is second in points, two spots behind him in the Auto Value Parts Stores Maxim. Meyers continues to lead the standings by five markers over Dollansky, with Schatz just seven points behind in third.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action on Friday, May 16 with the finale at Williams Grove Speedway, which also will be taped by SPEED for broadcast on June 8. The winner on Friday night will receive $12,000.

WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NIGHT #1 NOTEBOOK
• FAST QUALIFIER: Greg Hodnett paced the 48 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the semi-banked 1/2-mile oval at 16.752 seconds at 107.450 mph. For his qualifying effort, Hodnett earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Joey Saldana (4), Cody Darrah (3), Jac Haudenschild (2), and Alan Cole (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Jeff Shepard, Lucas Wolfe, Doug Esh and Kerry Madsen won heat races… Jason Johnson won the C-Main… Craig Keel won the Crane Cams Dash… Pat Cannon won the B-Main.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There have been nine Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature events held in 2008. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Volusia Speedway Park, Manzanita Speedway, I-55 Raceway and Lernerville Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Volusia Speedway Park and Eldora Speedway), Steve Kinser (Williams Grove Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Volusia Speedway Park) and Donny Schatz (Knoxville Raceway).
• 1/2-WINNERS: Williams Grove Speedway is a semi-banked half-mile oval. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series have raced seven times this season on a track that size. The winners include: Jason Meyers (Volusia Speedway Park and Manzanita Speedway), Craig Dollansky (Volusia Speedway Park and Eldora Speedway), Steve Kinser (Williams Grove Speedway), Danny Lasoski (Volusia Speedway Park) and Donny Schatz (Knoxville Raceway).
• ON THE WEB: The Official Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Web site is at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. Among the features are updated driver biographies with individual statistics and pictures, race-by-race statistics, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases. Also, links to the 2008 Official Rulebook can be found at the bottom of the home page.
• LISTEN ONLINE: If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the excitement of the World of Outlaws live on DIRTVision.com through the DIRT Radio Network. To listen to the audio broadcasts, log on to www.DIRTVision.com and click on the DIRT Radio Network logo. Listeners will need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to listen to the DIRT Radio Network. For technical support or questions, e-mail webmaster@DIRTVision.com.
• UP NEXT: The final night at the famed Williams Grove Speedway, which will also be taped for broadcast on SPEED. That event will air on June 8.
• UPCOMING EVENTS: A stop at Orange County Fair Speedway, on Sunday, May 18, followed by the Rite Aid Outlaws Showdown at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway which will be broadcast LIVE on SPEED on May 23, followed by the inaugural race at Virginia Motor Speedway on May 24.