Donny does it again!

Aug. 16—KNOXVILLE — With 25 laps to go on Saturday, it appeared Donny Schatz might be in store for more disappointment at the 61st Knoxville Nationals.

"I just did not do a good job at the beginning of the race," Schatz said. "I was actually pretty mad at myself. I felt like we maybe made some changes that we shouldn't have. I made that pretty clear at the halfway point, so they did the 911 and it worked."

Schatz made a late charge from seventh place all the way up to the front of the field, ultimately holding off 2019 champion David Gravel as drivers that started the 50-lap A-Main race found their way battling at the front of the field with less than 10 laps left.

Schatz gained momentum low and caught Gravel with four laps to go, sliding across turn three to take the point and never looked back capturing an emotional 11th Knoxville Nationals championship in front of a sold-out Knoxville Raceway. The Fargo, North Dakota native recently lost his father Danny, making Saturday's trip to Victory Lane at Knoxville the first for Schatz without his dad by his side to celebrate.

"I could hear him telling me to 'gather it up and settle down.' It worked," Schatz said of his father, who there in spirit as his son drove to victory once again at the Sprint Car Capital of the World. "I was raised a certain way. My father criticized me pretty hard at times. That's how you learn. I've been hard on myself and I can tell you I made a lot of mistakes early in the race. It could have been worse. We were able to pick guys off one by one. None of those guys were easy to get by. We just had to keep digging and kept working to get through it."

The $175,000 triumph came aboard the Tony Stewart Racing No. 15, making the 12th owner championship for Stewart moving into second all-time just two behind the 14 triumphs of Karl Kinser. Schatz, meanwhile, is now on the verge of tying Steve Kinser for the most all-time titles at the Knoxville Nationals needing one more win to tie Kinser's 12 victories.

"When we were in seventh after starting the night third, I looked up at the suite and started thinking I might be getting my walking papers after the race," Schatz joked. "I felt like we made the wrong move with the nozzles at the beginning of the race, but it came back around later in the race. I just needed to buy my time. It was a give-and-take situation. I just kept searching around the race track for something that worked. It bit me at the beginning, but it came back to help me win in the end."

The 50-lap championship event got off to a rocky start. J.J. Hickle flipped wildly in turn one after the green flag fell, and collected Parker Price-Miller, who was transported by ambulance for observation.

"It was so fast on one and two after they tilled it up. It was like riding wide open up there," Gravel said of the quick opening turns where Hickle and Price-Miller came together on the opening lap. "I had a couple wiggles myself up there in one and two. I got pretty close to the wall.

Austin McCarl, who earned the pole by collecting the most points in qualifying (477), would lead only one lap in his bid to become the first Iowa native to win the Knoxville Nationals. McCarl would ultimately become the second of three drivers in the race to suffer a flat tire, surrendering his fourth-place run with 13 laps left.

After getting by McCarl after the opening lap, the first half of the Knoxville Nationals A-Main was dominated by Tyler Courtney. Despite three cautions that continued to shrink his lead, Courtney would dash on away on each restart ultimately building a two-second lead over Gravel before all cars were brought into the pits for the mandatory mid-race stop.

"Leading this race is probably the coolest thing I've ever had the chance to do," Courtney said. "It's something you dream about as a sprint car driver. I got to experience being in front at the Knoxville Nationals and I felt like we were just as good in the second half of the race."

Defending Knoxville Nationals and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Larson made his move from sixth at the start of the race into the top five early after making it to the track just over an hour before the white flag waved on the A-Main feature after earning the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Richmond, Virginia earlier in the day. Larson's bid to be the fastest car in Knoxville, however, was thwarted on lap 12 as his right rear tire came apart exiting the second turn, sending the defending champion to the back of the 22-car field.

Courtney led McCarl, Gravel, Carson Macedo and Brad Sweet on the restart. Gio Scelzi, the 360 Nationals champion from 2020, got into the wall on the restart slowing things yet again.

Gravel moved behind Courtney, but could not catch him during the first 25 laps trailing by 2.1 seconds at the mid-race break. Out of the restart to begin the second half of the race, Gravel battled back and forth with Courtney as the drivers exchanged the lead five times over the first three laps with Gravel finally taking the lead away from Courtney for the final time with 21 laps remaining.

"Sometimes, it's better running in second. You can search around a little bit and you have a little bit less to lose," Gravel said. ""We had a great car. I was a little aggressive early, but I wanted to put a couple guys behind us. I felt so good on the top. I didn't want to get off it and didn't have to all race."

Gravel led Courtney, Schatz, Macedo and a charging Logan Schuchart before Macedo suffered a flat right rear on lap 39. Gravel took off again, but Schatz moved past Courtney into second while Shark Racing teammates Schuchart and Jacob Allen battled each other for the fourth spot as the somewhat surprising A-Main winners from Wednesday and Thursday night found themselves battling for the podium at Knoxville.

"I'm just happy in the moment right now coming from 17th to finish third, winning the Capitani Classic and winning the Wednesday night feature," Schuchart said. "I'm really excited for our team. Jacob ran fifth. That's his best finish here. I feel like we're still learning and we've made some mistakes at certain tracks, but I feel like we've worked harder. I have a lot of faith in my team. We're going to keep trying to make our car and our race team even better."

Gravel held on for an $80,000 score in second while Schuchart took third and $40,000 with two to go. Courtney was fourth and Allen was fifth.

Larson, Marks, hard-charger Sheldon Haudenschild, Sweet and Daryn Pittman rounded out the top 10 at the 2022 Knoxville Nationals. Schuchart won the B main, Kyle Reinhardt took the C-Main, Blake Hahn claimed the D-Main and Dylan Westbrook won the E-Main opener on Saturday.

Aaron Reutzel won the Beaver Drill & Tool Jesse Hockett "Mr. Sprintcar" title and the $6,500 that went with it after claiming the 360 Nationals title last weekend. Buddy Kofoid was the $1,000 Jetco Rookie of the Year for the 2022 Knoxville Nationals.

The season championship at the Knoxville Raceway will conclude on Saturday, Aug. 27 with all three sprint classes in action. Several drivers will move on to race next week to race at the AGCO Jackson Nationals in Minnesota.

Schatz, however, truly soaked in his 11th Knoxville Nationals title following Saturday's thrilling race. With his father no longer by his side, except in spirit, every chance to compete and win for Schatz has become that much more precious.

"The perspective of this is that you need to enjoy every day as if it's the last," Schatz said. "You never know if this is going to be my last opportunity to win at Knoxville. You just don't know. When you get out here and you race with the World of Outlaws, we're all fierce competitors. We get caught up in that. You can sometimes take everything else for granted. Nothing else matters other than what we do trying to get here. That perspective has changed a little bit in my life.

"We're all going to lose family members. We're all going to lose people in our lives that our close to us. It's definitely opened my eyes to enjoy everything for the moment and enjoy what it is today, because you never know if or when it's going to be the last opportunity."

AUTO RACING

61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey's Results

E main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. 47x, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. (2); 2. 1x, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (5); 3. 15m, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (1); 4. 97, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (4); 5. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (6); 6. 19w, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (12); 7. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (8); 8. 17c, Carson Short, Marion, IL (9); 9. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (3); 10. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (15); 11. 4w, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN (7); 12. 7w, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (17); 13. 12, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (10); 14. 2KK, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (14); 15. 97G, Alan Gilbertson, Kasson, MN (16); 16. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (11); 17. 10, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (13) DNS — 14H, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA; 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE; 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA; 6A, Adam Cruea, Troy OH

D main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (4); 2. 2m, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (2); 3. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (9); 4. 101, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (1); 5. 17s, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (3) / 6. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (6); 7. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (8); 8. 7s, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (12); 9. Jake Bubak (18); 10. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (11); 11. Chris Windom (22); 12. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (15); 13. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (13); 14. Bobby Mincer (19); 15. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (16); 16. Jordan Goldesberry (23); 17. Greg Wilson (20); 18. 35K, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (7); 19. Harli White (21); 20. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (5); 21. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (14); 22. Dylan Westbrook (17); 23. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (10) DNS — 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD; 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK

C main (started), 15 Laps, 4:24.4: 1. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (1); 2. 71, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (6); 3. 55, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (9); 4. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (2) / 5. 1AU, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (7); 6. 1, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (4); 7. 17w, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (14); 8. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (3); 9. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (11); 10. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (8); 11. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxivlle, IA (12); 12. 49x, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (5); 13. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (18); 14. Rusty Hickman (22); 15. Blake Hahn (20); 16. Davey Heskin (21); 17. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (15); 18. Lachlan McHugh (23); 19. 1m, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (16); 20. 55W, Mike Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (19); 21. 73, Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (13); 22. Sammy Swindell (24); 23. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (10); 24. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (17) DNS — 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD

B main (started), 22 Laps, NT: 1. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (2); 2. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (1); 3. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (6); 4. 83, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, Aust. (5) / 5. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (3); 6. 3TK, Tim Kaeding, Campbell, CA (10); 7. 14J, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (7); 8. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (4); 9. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (9); 10. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (15); 11. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (11); 12. 3z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (20); 13. 7, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (14); 14. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (19); 15. Cory Eliason (22); 16. 2KS, Ian Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (8); 17. 16, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (17); 18. Hunter Schuerenberg (23); 19. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (12); 20. Kyle Reinhardt (21); 21. McKenna Haase (24); 22. 5c, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (16); 23. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (13); 24. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (18)

A main (started), 50 Laps, NT: 1. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (3); 2. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (4); 3. Logan Schuchart (17); 4. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (2); 5. 1a, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (11); 6. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (6); 7. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (7); 8. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (23); 9. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (9); 10. 27H, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (8); 11. 11x, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (14); 12. Justin Peck (19) 13. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (21); 14. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (16); 15. 83JR, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (22); 16. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1); 17. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (5); 18. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15); 19. James McFadden (20); 20. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (24); 21. 39, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (13); 22. Gio Scelzi (18); 23. 25, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (10); 23. 11M, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (12); 24. Justin Peck (19). Lap Leaders: A. McCarl 1, Courtney 2-26, Gravel 27-45, Schatz 46-50. MPI Hard-charger: Haudenschild.

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.