Newsmaker of the Week // Donny Schatz

For the eleventh time in his incredible driving career, Donny Schatz has won the Knoxville Nationals. He did so while in the midst of several consecutive frustrating seasons. He came from way off the pace in the first half of the race to pass car after car, and finally got the job done with a slider-to-end-all-sliders to take the lead and quash David Gravel’s hopes.

Schatz came to Knoxville this year after having recently lost his father after a siege of ill health, the man who was his racing mentor. The Schatz Knoxville Nationals win was also a triumph for Tony Stewart’s Sprint Car operation and the first win of any consequence for a Ford-powered Sprint Car.

Make no mistake about it – this Knoxville Nationals was a huge event, a showcase for Sprint Car racing, and it was won by one of the all time Sprint Car greats, Newsmaker Donny Schatz!