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Donny Schatz Scores History-Making 30th Win of the Season on Final Lap of NAPA Auto Parts Berlin Brawl

Becomes the first driver since 1992 to win 30 races in a single season

MARNE, Mich. - Sept. 26, 2015 - The NAPA Auto Parts Berlin Brawl looked like it was Daryn Pittman's for the taking on Saturday night at Berlin Raceway as his 1.6 second lead with three laps to go appeared nearly insurmountable. Then Donny Schatz began moving. Schatz closed the gap with two to go and on the final lap, as Pittman worked the top in turns three and four, Schatz went to the bottom and drag raced the No. 9 to the checkered flag.

By .138 seconds Schatz scored his history-making 30th World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature win of the season. He is the first driver to win 30 features in a single-season since Steve Kinser achieved the feat in 1992 - Kinser ended that season with 31 wins. Kinser also did it in 1987 (46 wins) and 1991 (36 wins).

"It feels really good," Schatz said of the win. "Daryn had a good car. He was going through traffic so well but the last laps there, the track started changing. I don't know if it cleaned off or it felt like there was a little bit of rubber. My car started getting a little bit better and we kind of expected a little bit of that. I honestly didn't think we were going to get him. The last couple of laps I just drove it as hard as I could without trying to get myself in too much trouble."

"Just to be able to get him coming off four, (Pittman) was out there, and I don't know if he spun his tires a little bit, but we were just kind of locked down around the bottom and got by him to the checkered… Nothing like leading one corner, but I guess it's the right corner to lead."

Berlin's victory lane is a familiar place for Schatz who was the inaugural winner of the Berlin Brawl last season. The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing driver last stood in victory lane two weeks ago at Silver Dollar Speedway.

The night started out with another addition to the record books - this time to Pittman over Schatz. The Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb driver set quick time, his fifth of the season, and set a new track record of 14.391 seconds. The lap bested the previous track record of 15.616 seconds set by Schatz in 2014.

Jason Johnson and Logan Schuchart led the field to the green flag. Schuchart led lap one and quickly pulled away in his No. 1s Mark Pell Tire Service/Marty Thompson Investments car. He caught the back of the field as he completed lap five. With Pittman closing in, Schuchart worked to get around the cars but jumped the cushion in turn two and Pittman got around him on the bottom for the lead.

Through the next 20 laps Pittman ably maneuvered through traffic and made flawless restarts on two cautions. He consistently built his lead, at one point more than 3.5 seconds on second place. Then, as the laps wound down, the track began to change and Schatz made his move in his No. 15 Bad Boy Buggies/Chevrolet Performance car.

"I just ran the bottom two laps before in three and four and did not feel rubber at all," a dejected Pittman said after the race. "Just passed a lap car on the outside and you keep an eye on what lap cars are doing. If they start gaining ground on you, you figure something has changed on the track. Just didn't know what was there. It was a last second decision going down the backstretch, I told myself to go to the bottom and protect it but decided to stick with what I was doing the whole race and run the top and got beat."

Pittman said his No. 9 Great Clips/Sage Fruit team is working hard to make improvements and give him the equipment he needs to win. He said he and the other series regulars just are not doing what they need to do to beat Schatz.

"Half the problem is, none of us are smart enough to actually put 30 laps together to actually win a race," Pittman said. "Myself included. That's unacceptable. We had a car good enough to win the race. We should have won - I just didn't get the job done."

After slipping back to fourth on an earlier restart, Schuchart battled back to third and scored another podium finish for his Shark Racing team. The finish is the fifth top-five run for Schuchart this season.

"I'm proud of my guys - they all did a good job, they all work hard," Schuchart said. "It's good when we can get a podium... I just messed up one time in the beginning and Daryn got by me. Those guys are good, that's why they're out here. It's just a learning experience. We're just trying to get better every time we go out. We know we've got a good racecar and we're just looking forward to Williams Grove."

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series heads east to Central Pennsylvania to take on the Pennsylvania Posse at the Champion Racing Oil National Open. A new, extended format expands the annual tradition this season. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://woosprint.com/national-open.

Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.

Berlin Raceway Notebook

RACE NOTES: Daryn Pittman score the quick time tonight with a lap of 14.391. Pittman also set the new track record, besting Donny Schatz's old track record of 15.616 seconds set at this race last season… With his win tonight, Donny Schatz became just the second driver to win 30 or more features in a single season. Steve Kinser achieved the feat in 1987 (46), 1992 (36) and 1992 (31)… Donny Schatz is still the only winner of the Berlin Brawl, having won the event in its inaugural year in 2014… Ryan Ruhl was the KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing six positions to finish in 10th.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Jacob Allen; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Mobil 1 ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Lincoln Welders ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): David Gravel; Edelbrock ($50 cash): David Gravel; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Super Flow ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Sweet Manufacturing ($50 product certificate): Daryn Pittman;KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Ryan Ruhl; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz;Mobil 1 (20% off Mobil1RacingStore.com): Jacob Allen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Johnson; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Brad Lamberson.

SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 30 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset's Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 27, Lakeside Speedway on July 1, Dodge City Raceway Park on July 4, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 11, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 26, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 15, River Cities Speedway on Aug. 21, Nodak Speedway on Aug. 23, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 28, Grays Harbor Raceway on Sept. 7, Cottage Grove Speedway on Sept. 9, Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 12, Berlin Raceway on Sept. 27); Shane Stewart - 9 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12, Eldora Speedway on July 17, Eldora Speedway on July 18, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 8, Skagit Speedway on Sept. 5, Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 11); Daryn Pittman - 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 29, Antioch Speedway on Sept. 13); Brad Sweet - 4 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11, I-96 Speedway on June 25, Deer Creek Speedway on Sept. 19); Rico Abreu - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Dale Blaney - 2 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29, Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Paul McMahan - 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3); Joey Saldana - 2 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 12); Christopher Bell - 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Brian Brown - 1 (USA Raceway on March 7); Cody Darrah - 1 (Lernerville Speedway on July 21); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25); Stewart Friesen - 1 (Ohsweken Speedway on July 28); Greg Hodnett - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13); Tim Kaeding - 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13); Danny Lasoski - 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5); Kerry Madsen - 1 (Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 18); Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5); Jason Sides - 1 (Dodge City Raceway Park on July 3); Stevie Smith - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 25); Greg Wilson - 1 (Eldora Speedway on Sept. 25).

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