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Schatz consistent in Mississippi, Louisiana; Texas Two-Step ahead

Date: Friday, March 12th
Event: The Outlaws visit The Mag
Series: World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
Track: Magnolia Motor Speedway (Columbus, Mississippi)
Donny Schatz A-Main Finish (Start): 4th (6th)

Date: Saturday, March 13th
Event: Outlaws debut at The Rev
Series: World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
Track: The Rev (Monroe, Louisiana)
Donny Schatz A-Main Finish (Start): 3rd (6th)

2021 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Championship Standings: 4th | 834 points [22 points behind championship leader, Logan Schuchart]

BROWNSBURG, Indiana (March 15, 2021) - Ten-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, Donny Schatz, exhibited the definition of consistency during the recent weekend and turned a two-day swing through the heart of Mississippi and Louisiana into back-to-back top-five outcomes, one of which a podium finish during a first-ever visit to The Rev in Monroe, Louisiana, on Saturday, March 13.

The Fargo, North Dakota-native started sixth on The Rev’s starting lineup, earning his way into the $10,000-to-win program by finishing second during his respective heat race.

“All you can do is be in the mix,” Schatz spoke on his team’s consistency after their podium at The Rev. “I thought we had a shot there, but we were too good early and faded at the end. The race track was really great, though. You could rip the top if you needed to, you could kind of slide through the middle, and run down on the bottom. It’s great to see a full house, as well.”

One night prior at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi, Schatz and the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Carquest Auto Parts/Curb Records/Ford Performance/Sage Fruit/Digital Ally/Advance Auto Parts/Rush Truck Centers/Absolute Automation and Security/Hunt Brothers Pizza/J&J Auto Racing/No. 15 team earned their first top-five of the weekend, this time advancing two sports from sixth to finish fourth. Schatz worked his way to third and pressured for second, but a hard-fought battle with Sweet for third ultimately ended in the defending WoO champion’s favor.

A near-perfect start to his evening at The Mag, Schatz won his respective heat race, finishing sixth in the evening’s dash shortly thereafter. Donny Schatz now owns five top-five appearances in six Series starts.

Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing will continue their 2021 World of Outlaws campaign with a doubleheader in the Lone Star State, this time invading Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, on Friday and Saturday, March 19-20. Dubbed the Texas Two-Step, each night of the Cotton Bowl invasion will award $10,000 top prizes. Schatz will enter the weekend fourth in the World of Outlaws championship standings, trailing point leader Logan Schuchart by 22 markers with only six Series races in the books.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA:
Fans are encouraged to follow the progress of Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing and the No. 15/Carquest Auto Parts/Curb Records/Ford Performance/Sage Fruit/Digital Ally/Advance Auto Parts/Rush Truck Centers/Absolute Automation and Security/Hunt Brothers Pizza/J&J Auto Racing motorsports team on the Web and on social media.

Broadcast Coverage:
Watch the World of Outlaws online at www.dirtvision.com.

Donny Schatz:
Web: www.donnyschatzmotorsports.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DonnySchatz
Twitter: www.twitter.com/donnySchatz
Instagram www.instagram.com/donnyschatz

Tony Stewart Racing:
Web: www.tonystewartracing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TonyStewartRacing
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Tonystewart_rcg
Instagram: www.instagram.com/@TonyStewart_Rcg

2021 Donny Schatz / Tony Stewart Racing Overall Statistics:
Races: 14
Wins: 2
Top-5s: 10
Top-10s: 13
**Numbers reflect overall statistics

2021 Donny Schatz / Tony Stewart Racing WoO Statistics:
World of Outlaws Races: 6
World of Outlaws Wins: 0
World of Outlaws Top-5s: 5
World of Outlaws Top-10s: 5
**Numbers reflect WoO statistics, only

###

CONTACT:
Photo Credit: Trent Gower Photography
Tyler Altmeyer
Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com

Wheatland, Missouri (March 15, 2021) – Californian Jason Papich finished his 2020 Lucas Oil MLRA campaign on an upward swing of momentum, and looks to ride that wave into the start of the upcoming MLRA season. When action gets underway next month he will go to work on a bucket list of accomplishments for the season ahead, which includes notching his first MLRA win and being in contention for the series title come October.

After stepping away from the driver’s seat for a number of years, Papich returned full time one year ago and has intentions of another full MLRA run in 2021. He admits to the team struggling at the onset of last year, but is excited by the strides they have taken and by the momentum that his team will carry into the season ahead.

“We were trying a lot of stuff last year early on and unfortunately we just kept going backwards,” explained Papich. “We finally decided to bite the bullet and make a change last year around the “Show-Me”(100) and got us a Longhorn. We were really fast the last couple of races and had some good qualifying spots. We took that info and got another new Longhorn, made some additional improvements to it, and I think we showed pretty well with it in Arizona (Wild West Shootout)”.

Papich’s improvement showed in the stretch run of the 2020 season, where he compiled four top ten finishes in the last five races, which included an MLRA career best runner-up finish at the MLRA Fall Nationals at Lucas Oil Speedway. Not to be outdone, he proceeded to grab his first Slick Mist Fast Time award of the season one week later at the season finale at Tri-City Speedway.

The now 42-year-old, first set out to chase the MLRA back in 2016. After holding down the series point lead for a period early in the season, he made the decision to step away from the series to focus more time on his young and growing family at home, putting his racing on the sidelines for the next few years.

“My wife is certainly supportive and was not part of the reason of why I stepped aside before, it was a decision I made. My kids are old enough now where they are easier to travel with, so I am hopeful they will be able to get out here and watch some of our races. My girls love racing and my son is four years old now and a lot easier to handle around the race track, so that will be extra support that helps me having them come out and not having to be away from them every race.”

Like most MLRA drivers, he has become accustomed to juggling work priorities and family time while still finding a way to enjoy his passion of dirt late model racing. Papich finds his way to the track from half-way across the country from his home in Arroyo Grande, CA to compete with the series. While the frequent flyer miles may be adding up, he admits it comes with its share of challenges.

“It’s variable based on where we are racing, it’s sometimes challenging in certain rural areas,” he said of the travel. “We might have to fly out the day before, often times we try to fly out the day of but that’s been another thing affected by Covid, where flights are more limited and then there is always the variability of weather along the way that makes it interesting.”

“On Sundays it’s an early flight out, gaining a couple hours going west and trying to spend the rest of the Sunday with the family and then tending to the business right up until the last minute when we have to fly out to the next race.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeremy Shields (shields@msrmafia.com)
March 15, 2021

Ricky Thornton Jr. Grabs $10,000 in Spring 50 at Florence
Bristol Dirt Nationals, Atomic, and Brownstown this Week

ADEL, Iowa (03/15/21) – Ricky Thornton Jr. powered his SSI Motorsports No. 20RT Dyno One Inc./ Excel Floor Covering/ Sub-Surface of Indiana/ Longhorn Chassis/ Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model to a $10,000 payday on Saturday.

Regaining the lead with seven laps remaining, Thornton cruised to his third victory of the season in Florence (Ky.) Speedway’s 45th Annual Spring 50.

After qualifying fourth overall, Thornton went on to win a battle with Tyler Erb to claim a 10-lap heat race victory – earning him the pole position for the 50-lap A-Main.

Thornton led the first three laps, but after fellow front-row starter Jimmy Owens went around him in turn four on the fourth circuit, Thornton dropped all the way back to fifth a lap later.

"My crew guy was yelling at me early, like, 'Slow down, just let those guys go,' " Thornton said.

After rough and tumble track conditions knocked out several other front runners, Thornton found himself back in contention as the race entered the late stages. He moved up to second and began stalking Owens when the leader's car hit a rough patch in turn two and violently bounced, forcing the leader to try and gather his car while Thornton dove into the lead in turn three.

Thornton nipped Owens at the line on the 44th lap, then led the rest of the way for a $10,000 victory. He took the checkered flag ahead of Bobby Pierce, Owens, Darrell Lanigan, and Tyler Erb.

"Our gameplan there was just to kind of ride around the bottom as long as we could, and kind of save our stuff," Thornton said in victory lane, adding that he did his best to find the smoothest way round the track.

"I think I was way worse if I was hitting the holes," he added, but "overall, it really wasn't that bad. You could still race. So that part was really nice."

For complete results from this event, please visit www.FlorenceSpeedway.com.

A busy week lies ahead for Ricky Thornton Jr. and the SSI Motorsports team. Traveling south, Thornton will enter the IMCA Modified portion of the Bristol Dirt Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Monday and Wednesday.

Later in the week, he’ll continue his 2021 campaign with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The tour visits Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio for a $12,000-to-win program on Friday before heading to Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway for $15,000-to-win on Saturday.

To learn more about these upcoming events, visit www.BristolDirt.com and www.LucasDirt.com.

Ricky Thornton Jr. would like to thank all of his marketing partners, which include: Dyno One Inc., Excel Floor Covering, Certified Inspection Service Co. Inc., D&E Outside Services, Deines-Nitz Soultions & Powdercoating, West Side Tractor Sales Co., SSI Motorsports, Shelby Materials, EMD Wraps, Lethal Chassis, Dylan Earven Foundation, Tire Demon, Hoker Trucking, Tanner Racing, High Performance Lubricants, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Midwest Sheet Metal, Dirtvision, Simpson Race Products, JE Pistons, Edelbrock, MSD, iRacing, E-Z-GO, Powers Performance, COMP Cams, Quarter Master, Cometic Gasket, Drydene, Winters Performance Products, Snap-on by Ryan Marsh, NGK Spark Plugs, Schoenfeld Headers, NAPA, Swift Springs, Penske Racing Shocks, Winning Edge Carburetion, Longhorn Chassis, Clements Racing Engines, Dynamic Drivelines, Superior Fuel Cells, Finish Line Body & Parts, Wehrs Machine, Dirt Defender, CPD racing Shocks, Bassett, Integra Racing Shocks, and MSR Mafia Marketing Services.

Visit the team’s official website at www.TwentyRT.com often for the latest team information. You can also stay connected with Ricky Thornton Jr. on social media at https://www.facebook.com/rickythorntonjrracing on Facebook, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RThornton20rt.