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Why Donny and Tony Stewart Racing really needed a night like this
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They needed this.
Damn, everyone associated with Tony Stewart Racing really needed this, winning Kings Royal XL on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.
Listen, it’s no secret that the past three years have not offered the best versions of Donny Schatz and the No. 15 team. There have been numerous changes to the program and just as much adversity to overcome but there’s also been countless achievements to celebrate.
It’s incredible to think about, but despite a significant performance drop-off over the past three seasons, this stretch has also featured some of their most memorable triumphs -- the 2020 Williams Grove National Open, his 300th win at Dubuque in 2021, the 2022 Knoxville Nationals and now his sixth Kings Royal in 2023.
Schatz lives for these moments but it’s not the moment that immediately comes to mind.
This isn’t about winning the marquee events, or the crown jewels as much as it’s about winning against the best competition on any given night against the World of Outlaws. For Schatz, it’s not enough to simply race a Sprint Car at the highest level, because for the better part of two decades, he was The Level.
He was the standard that everyone else aspired towards.
So, make no mistake, it’s extremely satisfying for Schatz to occasionally emerge victorious in the biggest races of the year, but Saturday night doesn’t mean everything is immediately fine. By no means is Schatz counting this season as a success now that he’s won a handful of races in each of the past three years.
"Tonight buys us some fun time," Schatz said before offering a brutal assessment even amidst a literal crowning achievement.
"Our performance has honestly been pathetic some nights," Schatz said. "I mean, it's not what I want. It's not what the team wants and it's not what Tony (Stewart) wants, but it's what we've had."
What they’ve had has been the continued development of the Ford Performance 410, downsizing to just a one-car program and the full-time switch to Steve ‘Scuba’ Swensen as the No. 15’s crew chief. Since losing the 2019 World of Outlaws championship to Brad Sweet by a mere four points, Schatz has went from perennially winning 20 races a year to averaging less than five.
"I'm getting my ass kicked by these kids," Schatz said. "They're good but the competition level is also just very close right now."
So, Schatz is now consumed by getting back to that level, the consistency and volume of victories needed to compete for the elusive 11th championship because it’s not enough for Schatz to just show up and race with the World of Outlaws .
It never was to the now 45-year-old from Minot, North Dakota.
"It's not about having something to prove," Schatz said. "I never did this to prove anything. It's about being competitive. There isn't anyone who wants to stay out here in anything that isn't competitive. I mean, just driving a Sprint Car to say you drive a Sprint Car, that's kind of silly to be honest with you."
This is a guy who has his own plane, a license to fly it, with the means to chase any number of thrill rides if that’s what this was about.
It isn’t.
"That's never resonated to me," said Schatz of just racing a Sprint Car. "I wanted to get to a point to where I could win and then I wanted to win again."
Three decades later and Schatz is still just trying to win the next race on a nightly basis, something that hasn’t gone particularly well over the past three seasons. Schatz has been outspoken to various degrees about the communication level within Tony Stewart Racing and he underscored that sentiment on Saturday night.
"There's been a gap in communication, no doubt about it," Schatz said. "I think we're all frustrated. Everyone is frustrated. And sometimes, when there is frustration, the communication just goes the hell out the window."
Schatz says he hasn't talked to the team's program manager in a month, for example. It's been well-documented that Stewart himself has a tremendous amount of obligations right now across NASCAR television, SRX and the NHRA program.
"Tony doesn't come around and push buttons," Schatz said. "He doesn't come around and tell us to get our ass in gear. He doesn't do that. From day one at TSR, he has hired the people he wanted and lets them do their job. He doesn't step on their toes.
"Now, I can't say that about the drag racing team because I’ve seen him with them. He’s over there and involved. Kudos to him. He enjoys it and he loves it, but he's never done that with us no matter how bad we’ve run."
Translation: There have been various times where everyone at Tony Stewart Racing has warranted an ass-chewing over the past three years and didn’t get one.
"I know he's frustrated with some of the things I do," Schatz said. "I'm frustrated with some of the things he does but that's racing and we're adults. I tell him what I don't like and he does the same with me. That doesn't mean we hate each other. We want the same things and sometimes we just don't find the right path to get there. We take a curved road left and do the hook-back around to get where we started."
But sometimes, if you make a circle and end up right back where you started, you risk taking the same path you just came from. To that point, Schatz really hopes that winning a race of this magnitude takes off some of the edge with himself, Scuba and their team.
He hopes having the chance to hang out with Stewart this week broke the ice on some much-needed conversations. He hopes this could be the reset that everyone at Tony Stewart Racing needed, because again, they really needed it.
"Everyone gets in ruts where they're not enjoying it," Schatz said. "They're scratching their heads on what is the right move here and there. And sometimes, it just takes a little reset, one good night to make it happen, and obviously I think tonight is one of those nights."
It was a night they really, really needed.
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