Donny Schatz

Donny Schatz (born August 10, 1977 in Minot, North Dakota) is a World of Outlaws sprint car driver. Schatz started his racing career at 11 in go karts and moved to 410 sprints as a 15-year-old at Red River Valley Speedway. Schatz moved to 358 sprints and The World of Outlaws series three seasons later as an 18-year-old. He won the 1997 World of Outlaws rookie of the year, and picked up his first A-feature win in 1998.

Career

World of Outlaws

Since winning the 1997 WoO Rookie of The Year Award, Schatz has gone on to win 8 driver points championships 2006–2009, 2012, and 2014-2016. Prestigious wins include the Knoxville Nationals nine times, (2006–09, 2011–15), the 2007, 2009 and 2016 King's Royal at Eldora Speedway, the 2006 and 2007 Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, the 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007 National Open at William's Grove Speedway, and the inaugural World of Outlaws World Finals at the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2008. He also holds the record for farthest in the field a winner of the Knoxville Nationals has started, when he won from the 21st starting position in 2013. He became only the second driver to win the points championship four years in a row, with the other being Steve Kinser. Since 2006 he has recorded a top two points finish, with three second places to go along with the eighth championships. In 2008 he moved to Tony Stewart Racing, and continues to drive for that team today. As of the end of the 2016 season Schatz has 229 WoO wins, third most all-time behind Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell.

Australia

Schatz has spent time racing in Australia during his career. He won the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria in 2002, and was runner up in the 1999/2000 and 2001/02 World Series Sprintcars series.

Personal life

He was a 1995 graduate of Minot High School. He currently lives in Fargo, North Dakota. He and his wife, Erica, have a daughter, Savanna. Among Schatz's hobbies includes hunting.