Donny Schatz Named North American 410 Sprint Car Poll “Driver of the Year” for 2007…Unanimously!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
DONNY SCHATZ NAMED NORTH AMERICAN 410 SPRINT CAR POLL “DRIVER OF THE YEAR” FOR 2007… UNANIMOUSLY
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (December 12, 2007) - For the second consecutive year, Donny Schatz of Fargo, North Dakota, was voted the 2007 “Driver of the Year” by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. The World of Outlaws (WoO) point champion and Knoxville Nationals winner earned all twenty-five (25) first place ballots cast in the year-end poll. His car owners and parents, Danny and Diane Schatz, also received the 2007 “Team of the Year” award for the second time and it was also a unanimous decision by the voting panel.
The ParkerStore-sponsored team also captured 19 A-Main feature events this season with the World of Outlaws and became the first sprint car driver in history to win the Knoxville Nationals, Eldora’s Kings Royal, the Williams Grove National Open, the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville and the Williams Grove Summer Nationals all in the same season. According to poll founder Tom Schmeh, “Donny, Danny and Diane Schatz, and the entire Donny Schatz Motorsports team, deserve every accolade bestowed upon them this season. It is not easy to convince every single poll voter, from Pennsylvania to California, that you are the lone ‘top dog’ of the sport, but they did it convincingly this year. In the history of the ‘410’ poll from 1985 to present, they join only Steve Kinser, who earned that distinction three times when he was unanimously voted ‘number one’ in the nation in 1988, 1994 and 2002!”
Those drivers ranked second through fifth, respectively, are WoO regulars Joey Saldana of Indiana, Danny Lasoski of Missouri, Steve Kinser of Indiana, and Daryn Pittman of Oklahoma. Rounding out the ‘top ten’ for the season are Jason Meyers, Craig Dollansky, Lincoln Speedway and Speed Dawg Central Pennsylvania Sprint Car Point Series champion Fred Rahmer, Greg Hodnett, and All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) titlist Greg Wilson, respectively.
Other post-season award winners are Roger Slack of The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway who claimed the “Promoter of the Year” title, and Chris Andrews of Ohio, who received the “Rookie of the Year” award in the ‘410’ division. Following a tie in the voting, Brian and Jeannie Butler of ButlerBuilt Seats and Ron Shaver of Shaver Engines will share the “Builder/Manufacturer of the Year” award. Also sharing the “Media Member of the Year” award are p.r. director Tony Veneziano of the World of Outlaws/World Racing Group and editor Justin Zoch of FlatOut magazine. Tim Kaeding claimed the “Wild Card Award” for his exciting sprint car performances in 2007, which is the award his father Brent claimed in 1991.
The North American 410 Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc., of Knoxville, Iowa. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2008 at tracks throughout North America.
Final 2007 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll
rank, driver (first place votes), hometown, state, points
1., Donny Schatz (25), Fargo, ND, 2400
2., Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN, 1300
3., Danny Lasoski, Higginsville, MO, 626
4., Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN, 624
5., Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK, 435
6., Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA, 432
7., Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN, 316
8., Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA, 183
9., Greg Hodnett, Memphis, TN, 148
tie, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH, 148
11., Danny Smith, Danville, IN, 118
12., Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA, 111
13., Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH, 97
14., Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 94
15., Jason Solwold, Mount Vernon, WA, 93
16., Todd Shaffer, Millerstown, PA, 83
17., Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA, 59
18., Paul McMahan, Oroville, CA, 56
19., Brian Brown, Higginsville, MO, 53
20., Brent Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 51
21., Tim Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 48
22., Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA, 38
23., Rod George, Kittanning, PA, 28
tie, Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, AUS, 28
25., Dale Blaney, Fowler, OH, 24
Also receiving multiple votes: Jonathan Allard, Chad Blonde, Doug Esh, Kerry Madsen, Jason Sides, Shane Stewart, Travis Whitney.
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