Donny Schatz wins Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in final laps at Lernerville Speedway
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With two laps to go in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway on Tuesday, Donny Schatz was running in the top three.
The Fargo, N.D., native had led for most of the race, but lost his lead to Brad Sweet during the 28th lap. At that point, Schatz knew he needed to make a move.
“When you’re running second sometimes you got nothing to lose, and I certainly didn’t have anything to lose running third,” Schatz said.
After taking the inside to get through lap traffic in the final 10 laps, Schatz was passed by Kyle Larson, who was suspended from NASCAR earlier this year after using a racial slur during an iRacing event. But, Schatz said he realized his mistake, worked his way back to the outside and overcame Larson.
Then, Schatz made his move in the final two laps to get by Sweet and captured the $25,000 prize, his first Silver Cup trophy since 2017 and his ninth overall win at Lernerville.
“I had nothing to lose, I went for the dive on (turn) 1, he (Sweet) went up top so I went across there and never seen him after that,” Schatz said. “Sometimes when that happens to you, you get startled and you might spin your tires.”
.@DIRTVision REPLAY: I N C R E D I B L E ❗️
Those last 10 laps of the Silver Cup at @Lernerville Speedway was some of the best racing we have ever seen! @DonnySchatz, Kyle Larson, and @BradSweet49 battling for the win! ? #LiveNOS pic.twitter.com/c8dYbn6UQV
— World of Outlaws (@WorldofOutlaws) July 22, 2020
Over the past few races, Schatz has been on somewhat of a hot streak, but hasn’t been able to break through with a victory. He finished in the top five in the past four races and in three of those races he earned a second-place finish. So, it felt good to finally break through on Tuesday night, he said.
“We’re here to win every night, but the reality is that you’re not going to,” Schatz said. “You got to run second when you got to run second and you have to run third when you run third. Last weekend was consistency with three seconds and a fourth and that’s all you can ask for, and that’s without our best motor.”
There were lead changes throughout the night as Sweet started in the pole position and Schatz overtook him on the eighth lap after they jockeyed for position on laps six and seven. But the two drivers battled through restarts over the course of the 40-lap race and stuck near the top of the leaderboard.
When it came down to the final few laps, Sweet said he knew both Larson and Schatz were breathing down his neck as both racers attempted to make a move and eventually did.
“That was something that I had to do better as the driver,” Sweet said. “You know you have two of the best drivers in the world right behind you and you spin your tires off the corner a little. I probably should’ve protected, but I felt like I was kind of just hanging on a little bit the last few laps there and couldn’t quite get the momentum built back up.”
Larson also creeped past Sweet in the final laps to claim second place. The Elk Grove, Calif., native had tallied four wins on the World of Outlaws series this year and had claimed first in the last three series events he entered. He failed to lead a lap Tuesday night and was a little disappointed he had let Schatz slip by late in the race.
“I hate that I had let him by because I feel like I would’ve had a good shot at Brad (Sweet),” Larson said. “I had caught them both from ways back, but yeah, it was a fun race and it was fun to battle for a win there at the end. But we just came up a little bit short.”
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will stay in Pa. for the remainder of the week as they head to the Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln Speedway on Thursday and the Champion Racing Oil Summer Nationals at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday and Saturday.