10-time World of Outlaws champion
315 wins
11-time Knoxville Nationals winner
Donny Schatz has a reputation of being something of a perfectionist with a dirt 410 Sprint Car resume to support it. He is one of the all-time greats, a Mount Rushmore figure in the sport, and one that isn’t quite done yet.
But, for the past five years, Schatz hasn’t been the man. Now 47-years-old, ‘Red Hot’ is six years removed from his last championship, five years removed from his last double-digit win season and didn’t win a major last year despite an overall uptick in performance.
Make no mistake, Schatz is still driven to win but the unhealthy obsession with it isn’t there and it doesn’t make him feel any less complete not being at his previous level right now.
“You know, I never set out to race the way I do trying to be the man,” Schatz said. “I started out wanting to win a World of Outlaws race, and then I won an Outlaws race and I wanted to win another one, all the way up to the championship.
“I will tell you, it’s an honor and a blessing to be on top of this game and I’ve been there a long time. I absolutely miss it but I don’t go into every day that being my goal. I just want to get back there.”
While he wants to return to championship form, and maybe even again become the dominant force, he doesn’t want to slip back into some habits that happened along the way. Further, he doesn’t feel like he has to nor have to in the first place.
“The person I became in becoming that, neglected his family,” Schatz said. “It was all about climbing atop the world and winning these races and neglect all these important things in your life. I ignored the woman I’m married to because she was not as important as winning a championship or being the most competitive person in the world in your game.
“So you live all these things and then you kind of look back at it and go, ‘was that really necessary’ and I believe I could have done that without doing all that but no point in crying over spilled milk. But I have been able to take a step back and appreciate the people around me more.”
Beyond family, and appreciating them more, Schatz says he tries to take care of him fans better than he did in his strongest days.
“I was so wrapped up in thinking that the world revolves around getting a trophy at the end of the night, or whatever,” Schatz said. “I mean, obviously, this is what we all want to do but you have to have good balance.
“And believe me, when I had things going the right way, I did not balance it. I could not balance it. I can tell you that’s not these days anymore. I enjoy the balance I’ve created and I’m still competitive. There are days that it’s an uphill battle and hurdle but as you get older, these things happen anyway. I don’t look at anyone (who is winning the most races and championships) and envy them.
“I’ve had it thrown in my face a few times and I’ve needed to remind them, yeah, when you get to double digit championships, we’ll talk. I’ve been very fortunate and made a lot of great memories … but we’re in the position that we still want to get over the hurdle and that keeps me motivated. It keeps me going but I enjoy the process a lot more than what I used to.
His 29th consecutive season with The Greatest Show on Dirt, and his 18th with Tony Stewart Racing, will have a drastically different look from previous season. Todd Devnich will take over as crew chief for Steve Swenson after serving as car chief in recent season. Devnich also got his start with the Schatz family team in the 90s before an engineering career that once took him to the NASCAR Cup Series.
Gary Patellaro has made the move from Roth Enterprises to serve as car chief and Ian Lyon has come aboard as tire specialist.
Schatz is excited for the fresh ideas and a rejuvenated team and what that can mean for TSR now past the development of the Ford Performance Stewart 410 engine.
“It’s going to be a completely different atmosphere, going into the races that first week, and it’s probably going to take a little but for all of us to learn each other in a certain sense,” Schatz said. “But we’re going to work through those and once we do, that will let us know where your expectations should be.”
Another thing about this more reflective Donny Schatz is that he better understands the leadership role he needs to take within his team now.
When things were at their lowest in 2020 and 2021, Schatz concedes that he was not as hands-on as he should have been in trying to right the ship. Schatz said that the communication level fell apart from the owner down to his driver and road crew down to everyone else involved in TSR.
“You always have to be that person,” Schatz said. “You know, I caused a lot of problems, maybe not being in the right frame of mind, not being that leader and recognizing that all our guys feed off me. I have the experience now and have been around a long time and seen a lot of things.
“We all have to pull the rope in the same direction, and sometimes, I have to take that rope and swat someone on the ass with it. That’s where we’re at. We’re going to take that rope and use it to our advantage.”
Lastly, Schatz doesn’t know how much longer he has to do this at a high level, but he is as motivated as ever to win races, win crown jewels and contend for that 11th championship.
“It’s hard to say what motivation is,” Schatz said. “You win one championship and you don’t really understand it. When I won the first one, it was the greatest thing ever. I won the second one and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I thought the same with 3-10 but what else hasn’t changed is the drive to be on top. I still have that drive and competitive drive.
“Is it more of an uphill battle? Absolutely. At 47-years-old, I don’t think I’m anywhere near the end of what people would consider a career. Steve and Sammy did it into their sixties and did it competitively.
“Am I going to go that far? Probably not. A lot of that is how the younger generation races. They go at it a little differently than my era did. We worked on the cars, I’ve owned cars, and done all those things. Today’s generation, they go for it all every lap and the cost in doing so doesn’t matter to them. It’s just about the results.
“So I’m not going to change what got me here, or the person I am in trying to do those things. I’m still going to incorporate all the things that brought me 10 championships and I hope it will come back around to getting me number 11.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.