Donny Schatz opens Sugarlands Shine Southern Tour with $8,000 victory at Screven
SYLVANIA, Georgia (January 29, 2021) – Ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, etched his name in sprint car racing history books yet again, this time by claiming the first round of the inaugural Sugarlands Shine Southern Tour presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Georgia. Schatz, who now owns 19-career All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victories, scored his triumph from the outside of row two, eventually working by Indianapolis, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney to take control on lap 18. The Fargo, North Dakota-native earned $8,000 for his efforts, also solidifying a first-ever All Star win in Sylvania.
“It’s great to be back racing, first and foremost,” Donny Schatz said in Screven victory lane, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Carquest Auto Parts/Curb Records/Ford Performance/No. 15 sprint car. “Hats off to this entire Carquest team. These guys have been digging and working as hard as they can to get the car better. All of these preseason races are great for us because it gives us an opportunity to try some things. I just tried to go where the car in front of me wasn’t and it all worked out.”
Before Schatz took command on lap 18, it was a shootout for the top spot. Former ASCS national champion, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., took command from the outside-pole position to lead the first two circuits, eventually overtaken by Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild with a wicked slider through turns three and four on lap three. Haudenschild’s campaign at the front of the field was short-lived, as the pilot of the Stenhouse Jr Marshall Racing No. 17 was forced to spin to avoid involvement in an incident involving lap cars; Sam Hafertepe, Jr. inherited control on lap seven.
All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 rookie contender, Tyler Courtney was next to throw his hat into the ring, making his move around Hafertepe to earn the race lead on lap 15. Courtney was a threat on a few attempts prior to his official takeover, but Hafertepe was able to fend off the charge.
Meanwhile, Donny Schatz lurked just behind the pair of front-runners. Utilizing the very bottom groove of Screven Motor Speedway, the ten-time WoO champ followed Courtney by Hafertepe on lap 16, only to miss a slide job attempt on Courtney on lap 17. Schatz redeemed himself the next circuit and squeezed by Courtney at the exit of turn four to take control.
“We knew the top was going to be good. I just tried to find a line that was going to work the best for us,” Schatz continued. “This surface changed so much over the course of the race and it actually got a lot slicker than I thought it would. It really came in nice for me through the middle and bottom. You could really go anywhere.”
Aaron Reutzel finished second on Friday night after a late move around Courtney on lap 24, followed by Tyler Courtney, Carson Short, and Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
Screven Motor Speedway’s Winter Freeze XI will continue on Saturday evening, January 30, with a second, full program featuring the All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1. The two-day Sugarlands Shine Southern Tour presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts finale will award a $10,000 top prize.
For those who can not make the journey to Georgia and Florida for the seven-day/six-race All Star Southern Tour, FloRacing, the official media partner and live broadcast provider of the All Star Circuit of Champions, has you covered. Each and every event on the 2021 All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 schedule will be broadcast live exclusively at www.floracing.com.
Contingency Awards/Results: Screven Motor Speedway – January 29, 2020:
Event: Sugarlands Shine Southern Tour presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts | Winter Freeze XI
Entries: 34
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Sheldon Haudenschild | 14.455
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Donny Schatz | 13.216
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Anthony Macri
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Carson Short
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Sheldon Haudenschild
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Sheldon Haudenschild
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash #2 Winner: Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Kyle Reinhardt
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Carson McCarl
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Donny Schatz
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Aaron Reutzel (+5)
Sugarlands Shine Lap 21 Leader: Donny Schatz
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 14.339; 2. 25-Chris Myers, 14.370; 3. 73-Scotty Thiel, 14.512; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri, 14.540; 5. 33M-Mason Daniel, 14.742; 6. 101-Kerry Madsen, 14.819; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.872; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard, 14.975; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.364
Group (B)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 14.109; 2. 21-Carson Short, 14.165; 3. 14R-Sean Rayhall, 14.366; 4. 11-Ian Madsen, 14.401; 5. 1-Jamie Myers, 14.535; 6. 14-Tony Stewart, 14.542; 7. O8-Brandon Conkel, 14.835; 8. 22C-Cole Duncan, 14.900; 9. 75-Tyler Ross, 14.913
Group (C)
1. 18-Gio Scelzi, 13.732; 2. 13-Justin Peck, 13.963; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.971; 4. 5-Brent Marks, 14.532; 5. 27-Carson McCarl, 14.856; 6. 28-Skylar Gee, 15.032; 7. 70-Nick Tucker, 15.164; 8. 4-Danny Smith, 15.540
Group (D)
1. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.216; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.595; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.608; 4. 83-Aaron Reutzel, 13.926; 5. 3C-Cale Conley, 14.032; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 14.259; 7. 18J-RJ Jacobs, 14.307; 8. 27c-Craig Pellegrini, 15.316
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 39M-Anthony Macri [1]; 2. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [4]; 3. 101-Kerry Madsen [6]; 4. 73-Scotty Thiel [2]; 5. 33M-Mason Daniel [5]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [9]; 8. 25-Chris Myers [3]; 9. 49H-Bradley Howard [8]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 21-Carson Short [3]; 2. 11-Ian Madsen [1]; 3. 14R-Sean Rayhall [2]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [6]; 6. 75-Tyler Ross [9]; 7. 22C-Cole Duncan [8]; 8. 1-Jamie Myers [5]; 9. O8-Brandon Conkel [7]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [2]; 2. 5-Brent Marks [1]; 3. 13-Justin Peck [3]; 4. 18-Gio Scelzi [4]; 5. 28-Skylar Gee [6]; 6. 27-Carson McCarl [5]; 7. 4-Danny Smith [8]; 8. 70-Nick Tucker [7]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 83-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 5. 3C-Cale Conley [5]; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [6]; 7. 18J-RJ Jacobs [7]; 8. 27C-Craig Pellegrini [8]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [1]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [4]; 4. 83-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 3. 21-Carson Short [2]; 4. 18-Gio Scelzi [3]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [5]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [1]; 2. 18J-RJ Jacobs [2]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 5. 27-Carson McCarl [3]; 6. 25-Chris Myers [9]; 7. 75-Tyler Ross [5]; 8. 22C-Cole Duncan [6]; 9. 49H-Bradley Howard [14]; 10. 4-Danny Smith [8]; 11. 70-Nick Tucker [11]; 12. 1-Jamie Myers [10]; 13. O8-Brandon Conkel [13]; 14. 27C-Craig Pellegrini [12]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 2. 83-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 4. 21-Carson Short [6]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [2]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 7. 18-Gio Scelzi [8]; 8. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 9. 13-Justin Peck [13]; 10. 11-Ian Madsen [11]; 11. 5-Brent Marks [12]; 12. 101-Kerry Madsen [15]; 13. 14-Tony Stewart [18]; 14. 33M-Mason Daniel [19]; 15. 3C-Cale Conley [17]; 16. 39M-Anthony Macri [10]; 17. 18J-RJ Jacobs [22]; 18. 73-Scotty Thiel [16]; 19. 48-Danny Dietrich [24]; 20. 28-Skylar Gee [20]; 21. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 22. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [21]; 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23]; 24. 14R-Sean Rayhall [14] Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (1, 2), Sheldon Haudenschild (3-6), Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (7-14), Tyler Courtney (15-17), Donny Schatz (18-30)
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 29, 2021): Donny Schatz
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Standings:
**Southern Tour events do not accumulate points
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
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About Sugarlands Distilling Company:
Sugarlands Distilling Company, located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a craft-distillery producing award-winning moonshine, rum, cream liqueurs and rye whiskey. Nearly 1 million people visit Sugarlands’ downtown Gatlinburg distillery annually, and over 25,000 visitors have rated the distillery a five-star experience on Trip Advisor ranking it as the ‘#1 Thing to do in Gatlinburg’ as well as the ‘World’s Top-Rated Distillery Experience.’
Sugarlands distributes their award-winning line of spirits in 32 states nationwide, and their spirits are available for home delivery via Reserve Bar. Sugarlands hand-crafted cocktails can be sipped on in restaurants, bars and festivals across the country as well as on the Back Porch located at the downtown Gatlinburg, Tenn., distillery.
Since 2018, Sugarlands has entered partnerships with country music superstar Cole Swindell, the Atlanta Braves, baseball Hall-of-Famer and former Braves player, Chipper Jones, and Bristol Motor Speedway. In October 2018, Sugarlands announced its historic partnership with NASCAR as the official moonshine of NASCAR. Sugarlands Shine is also the official moonshine of Talladega Superspeedway, where they are the title partner of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Trucks Series fall race, the Sugarlands Shine 250.
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About Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts:
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts is an authorized inTech Trailer, United, Featherlite, ATC, Legend, Alumitech, Haulmark, and EZ Go dealership serving the greater Warsaw, Indiana-area. We are proud to carry a large selection of new and pre-owned inventory. When you are ready to invest in a new trailer, our friendly and knowledgeable sales, financing, service, and parts departments are prepared to make sure your experience is outstanding. To learn more, visit Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts online at www.elliottscustomtrailers.com, or call 800-766-1886.
Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo: DB3 Imaging