WEST FARGO 鈥� On a chilly 50-degree night on the last day of April in 1993, Red River Valley Speedway public address announcer, the great Rod Miller, enthusiastically told an interning reporter that 15-year-old Donny Schatz would be running sprint cars for the first time at the track.

Thirty-two years later, this same reporter wanted to clarify something. So now I had to ask, was that Schatz鈥檚 first race?

鈥淎ctually, we went to two race tracks in Missouri,鈥� Schatz told the Sports Time Machine. 鈥淢y first laps competitively. The first track was in Sedelia, Missouri, it鈥檚 a big half mile, and just because we could go race in early April. Jefferson City and Sedalia were my first competitive laps.鈥�

Today, Schatz ranks among the greatest in the history of sprint car racing. His 316 World of Outlaws wins are third behind retired drivers Steve Kinser (690) and Sammy Swindell (394). From his roots in Minot, North Dakota, and now in Fargo, the 47-year-old driver remains on the circuit with no thoughts of backing off the throttle.

The World of Outlaws returns to the Red River Valley with dates at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks on May 30 and West Fargo on May 31.

A champion go-kart racer who received his regular driver's permit at 14 and license at 15, it all started when Schatz took some hot laps in Todd Mack鈥檚 sprint car at River Cities Speedway in the fall of 1992. That winter, Donny, along with his sprint car racing father, Danny, began to build a car.

Schatz said those two races in Missouri had limited fields and everyone raced the feature, but it was the experience he needed before the 1993 opener at the then half-mile RRVS track.

鈥淭o me, at that young age when I showed up at Red River Valley Speedway, it was very intimidating,鈥� Schatz recalled. 鈥淩ed River Valley Speedway had a massive crowd for a Friday night. They had 5,000 people on a Friday night so it was really a great stage and you look back on it and say, 鈥淢an, those were obviously the prime days in sprint car racing.鈥�

Michael Vosburg / The Forum

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know any of the guys I raced against. To me, they were all superheroes. I was just trying to make my way and fit in.鈥�

Schatz did, winning his first heat ahead of veteran driver Mike Sitzmann and finishing sixth in the feature.

鈥淎ge has nothing to do with that guy,鈥� Sitzmann said after claiming the feature. 鈥淗e runs a really straight line.鈥�

It was that trust he needed from his peers while handling a 900-horsepower sprint car that can exceed 100 mph, sometimes with cars within inches on all four sides and countersteering in the corners that makes it a spectacle.

As veteran sprint car driver Chuck Swenson of Watertown, South Dakota, said after that 1993 race, 鈥淚f I was 15 years old, I鈥檇 be scared.鈥�

Schatz wasn鈥檛. Even in front of 5,600 fans on that opening night.

鈥淭he people don鈥檛 bother me, it鈥檚 the speeds and the quicker reactions you have to have,鈥� Schatz said following his RRVS debut. 鈥淚t makes you nervous every once in a while, but once I get into the car and get strapped down, I settle down.鈥�

A few weeks later, The Forum printed T-shirts with Schatz鈥檚 first race on the front. Racing was enjoying its prime, and Schatz was loving every minute of it.

The physical aspect would come, saying after his first race he would need to improve his strength and endurance behind the wheel. The athleticism was there. He was named the most improved player at the University of North Dakota hockey school in 1987 and continued 鈥� though as he says with limited success 鈥� to play high school hockey in Minot until he graduated in 1995.

Darren Gibbins / The Forum

鈥淚 was not a very big guy,鈥� recalled Schatz. 鈥淚 was young and wasn鈥檛 fully developed. Sprint cars are man-handling machines, and I really wasn鈥檛 fit enough for it, but the fitness side of it is really mental toughness, but there鈥檚 a huge physical side to it too.鈥�

Two weeks before the World of Outlaws would make its 1993 stop in West Fargo, Schatz wrecked his car. 鈥淲e saved the motor and me,鈥� he said at the time.

Schatz went on to win the Wissota Sprint Car rookie of the year award in 1993. By 1994, as Schatz put it, his father continued his encouragement even while opening up the Petro Stopping Center in Fargo. Money was tight, Schatz recalls, but Danny, who died in 2022 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, helped his son鈥檚 team secure funding to set up a World of Outlaws run.

In 1994, he won the national Wissota championships.

Schatz had seven World of Outlaws starts in 1995 and 24 in 1996. He admits trying to finish high school and dreaming of his first victory on the big circuit were both vying for his attention.

鈥淏ut my father and my mother (Diane) were pretty adamant that schooling is very important and you need to do it because you鈥檙e not going to get anywhere in life and I firmly believe that,鈥� Schatz said.

He attended college for a year or so but dropped out, persuading his parents to believe he could make a living driving sprint cars on the Outlaws circuit.

鈥淲as it the right decision?鈥� Schatz asked himself. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you can look back and say there was right or wrong about it. It doesn鈥檛 work out for everyone, but it worked out for me. It was tricky and it was hard to navigate, but as I get older, I wish I had more education for some of the business side of stuff, but it is what it is.鈥�

With additional help from Dick Bellerud and his family, along with Trace Walker at Blue Beacon, the Schatz No. 15 team was setting course for WoO in 1997. That season, he earned three top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 82 starts.

He won his first WoO feature race in 1998. He peaked in 2015 when he won 31 times.

He鈥檚 had opportunities to move up. In the early 2000s, a minor league ARCA program had his attention 鈥� momentarily at least 鈥� for a possible NASCAR career. His reasoning was sound. He didn鈥檛 want to move to North Carolina, he didn鈥檛 want to invest more money for fewer races, and he had, in his mind, a lot of dominating years ahead of him in a sprint car.

Mike Spieker / Special to The Forum

Eighteen years ago, he joined Tony Stewart鈥檚 racing team. In 2021, he drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Knoxville, Iowa. That was a one-time deal.

Today, Schatz is a 10-time season champion, second only to Kinser. In his own words, his career has been nothing short of remarkable.

While his wins since 2018 have dropped into the single digits, he feels fortunate to never miss a race due to injury. Yes, he鈥檚 had concussions, but the cars have become safer, too. He鈥檚 still driving the same frame since 2000.

When Schatz began racing, especially on that cold night in West Fargo in 1993, Kinser was 鈥淭he King.鈥� For years now, Schatz has been the face of the Outlaws.

鈥淚鈥檝e never really looked at it that way,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was something I never signed up for, but I think that longevity run 鈥� and throw a little bit of winning in there 鈥� you find yourself naturally there. I鈥檝e been the constant. I take great pride in that, and obviously, you鈥檙e not going to make everybody happy, nor is that the goal in life. There is no such thing, but I鈥檓 very appreciative of that.鈥�

He's sprinted thousands of miles from that chilly night in West Fargo.

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