Tony Stewart Racing New York events preview

STEVE KINSER & DONNY SCHATZ
Tony Stewart Racing Outlaw Drivers To Participate in Super DIRT Week

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 7, 2010) -- No matter where the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series races, it seems the excitement finds a way to follow. After last weekend's $50,000-to-win Morgan Hughes National Open, next on the docket for the traveling winged warriors is a Saturday night special during Super DIRT Week, the biggest week of dirt track racing of the season in the Northeast. Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz are eager to be the most excited drivers when the checkered flag falls in the WoO portion of the event at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y.

Kinser, pilot of the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/JD Byrider Maxim, and Schatz, driver of the TSR No. 15 Armor All/STP/ParkerStore J&J, are both previous winners at the 5/8-mile dirt oval in central New York. With time running out on the season, victories are the only thing that can help their chances of catching Jason Meyers in the battle for the 2010 WoO crown.

Kinser, the 20-time WoO champion, has competed in all 27 Outlaw races held at Rolling Wheels. He has 10 victories, 20 top-five finishes and never finished outside the top-10. He won at the track for the first time in June 1981 and, most recently, was victorious in May 2008. In 1992, Kinser celebrated his 38th birthday by winning the 314th A-Feature of his WoO career. Last year, Kinser qualified second in the field and finished third in the 25-lap New Yorker A-Feature.

Schatz has competed at Rolling Wheels every season he's been racing with the Outlaws. Saturday's appearance will be the 14th for the four-time and reigning WoO Champion. The Fargo, N.D., racer has two career victories at the facility. His first came in 2004, when he spoiled Kinser's 50th birthday by racing past "The King of the Outlaws" with only two laps remaining. He also won in 2006, the year of his first WoO title. Last season, Schatz started second, took the lead midway through the race, and ultimately finished second.

Kinser and Schatz only have four more races in the 2010 campaign to close the gap in the championship. Last weekend, they were hoping to be big winners in the National Open, but Meyers posted consistent finishes both nights while Kinser and Schatz failed to crack the top-10. Kinser ranks second in the standings, 102 points behind Meyers, while Schatz is in third, 111 points back. Following Saturday's run in New York, they'll return to Indiana for the final Midwest stop before concluding the season with the World Finals in Charlotte.

Saturday at Rolling Wheels, the pit gates will open at 1 p.m. EDT with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. For more details and ticket information, call the track at (315) 834-6606 or visit www.rollingwheelsraceway.com.

Race fans unable to attend this weekend's races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, "Voice of the Outlaws," calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

Steve Kinser, Driver of the No. 11 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/J.D. Byrider Maxim:

There are specific tracks on the World of Outlaws schedule that you really excel on. Rolling Wheels Raceway happens to be one of those places where you always are in the hunt. What's the biggest reason for that?

"There are some places that we'd like to be at every week, and I'd say Rolling Wheels is one of those. It's a track we really seem to run well at every time we go there. It seems to fit my driving style and the way we prepare our racecars. I know when we always go back and look at our notes, a lot of things seem to be repeated there. Maybe we can get up there this week and have everything go our way. It's been a while since we had a night like that. We won the last time we raced in New York, so maybe we can keep that streak going."

With only four races left, the championship most likely is going to come down to whether or not Jason Meyers has any problems. You've been in his shoes many times. What's the key to sewing up a title down the stretch?

"I wish we were the ones in that position, but you just never know. Two weeks ago, Joey is leading the standings and he crashes and has to miss a race. I crashed twice last week, and Donny crashed, too. So, it's like all of us who were going for the title, except for Jason, have stubbed our toes, here. Our only chance is to win Saturday night and see where he finishes. As far as the championship goes, if you are in the lead, you just have to be smart. Go forward when you can, and don't take a lot of chances. That's one of the good things about having a bigger lead -- you don't have to take a lot risks."

Donny Schatz, Driver of the No. 15 TSR/Armor All/Chevy/ParkerStore J&J:

After last weekend's 11th-place finishes, you have to be looking forward to returning to action. Does the fact that you've been pretty good at Rolling Wheels in the past give you more confidence?

"We always enjoy getting back to the track. One of the things we do is try to forget the last race as quickly as we can. Win or lose. It makes everyone focus on what's next. We wanted to have a little better showing last weekend but, like a lot of times this year, things just didn't go our way. We had an awesome car on Friday night before the crash at the start of the race, and from there, we were just playing catch up it seemed. Last year, we had a good run going at Rolling Wheels, but I didn't have the best restart and got passed. We've been working on a bunch of things the past few weeks trying to get a head start on next year. Hopefully, we'll have the right combination Saturday."

Rolling Wheels is one of the biggest tracks you race on all season. What sort of challenges do the bigger tracks present?

"I guess that's one of the fun parts about racing with the Outlaws. You have to be good on all kinds of tracks. I like racing on the bigger tracks. It's about getting the maximum horsepower out of these engines and getting your car to roll well enough to use it all. That's true at Rolling Wheels, for sure. One of the challenges is keeping up with the leaders. If you don't start close to the front, it can be tough to track them down. Sometimes, these cars get spread out and that makes it tough to do a lot of passing. That's where the challenge comes back to having a team that can give you the best car. If you have the best car, chances are you'll have a shot. We're hoping to be that team and are really excited to be back as part of the Super DIRT Week again this year."

-source: tsr