SPEEDWAY LEGEND JOINS NASCAR TRUCK SERIES DIRT RACE

Speedway legend Donny Schatz will make his debut in the third-tier NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) on the dirt at Knoxville Raceway on July 9.

Schatz will drive the #17 Ford for David Gilliland Racing, an entry which has been steered by 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick among others.

It will be the first time the 10-time World of Outlaws (WoO) champion Schatz will have raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The whiz on dirt is optimistic he can convert his sprint car success to NASCAR.

“I am unbelievably excited to take part in my first NASCAR-sanctioned event as part of David Gilliland Racing,” Schatz said. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet David and his organisation’s record speaks for itself.

“DGR has a great group of people working with their team and I’m looking forward to making my debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with them at Knoxville Raceway in July.

“The fact that my first NASCAR sanctioned event will take place on dirt and in a truck fit perfectly into the path that my career has taken.

“To make my truck series debut at Knoxville, a place that has been so good to me over the years is also very fitting. I’m hoping to represent our partners and the sprint car community well.”

Although the upcoming NCWTS race at Knoxville will be Schatz’s first time in a National NASCAR Series race, he is certainly not short of experience at the venue.

He has accumulated 27 career wins at the track, including 17 in WoO and 10 Knoxville Nationals triumphs between 2006 and 2017.

“Donny is a legend in the dirt car world and has an incredible track record at Knoxville in the World of Outlaws,” said David Gilliland.

“His experience level and knowledge of dirt track racing and Knoxville Raceway will make him a great addition to the team for the first ever truck race there. We are super excited to welcome him aboard.”

Although it is the first NASCAR Truck Series dirt race at the venue, it is not for the series. The series ran an annual dirt round at the Eldora Speedway from 2013-2019.

In 2021 the premier NASCAR category returned to dirt for the first time since 1970 and proved incredibly popular globally.

Although well-known in the USA, Schatz has raced successfully Down Under. In 2002, he won the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool.

He was also twice a runner-up in World Series Sprintcars at the start of the millennium.

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