Defending World of Outlaws Sprint Series champion Donny Schatz had to take a backseat to 16-year-old Austin Dillon Friday night as a sell-out crowd of more than 14,000 people filled the grandstands at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the Eckerd Outlaw Showdown. Schatz passed Paul McMahan for the lead with just three laps remaining and went on to win the 30-lap sprint car finale, while Dillon, grandson of Nextel Cup Series team owner Richard Childress, put a familiar black #3 back in victory lane by winning the Goodyear Fastrak Challenge late model feature. “I don’t think I’ve been more nervous trying to win the Daytona 500,” Childress said with pride. “Seeing the black #3 back up there and my family running it, it’s just great. He did a great job tonight and I’m proud of Austin.” Schatz, who started fifth in the 26-car World of Outlaws feature, passed McMahan for the lead on lap 27 and went on to claim his first victory at the four-tenths-mile clay oval since Oct. 5, 2000. Dillon started seventh in the 24-car Goodyear Fastrak Challenge late model finale and took the lead on lap 20 of the 25-lap race following a side-by-side battle with veteran Jack Pennington and Timbo Mangnum. Clint Bowyer, who drives for Childress in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series, started 16th and passed Pennington for second on lap 23. He chased Dillon under the checkered flag to claim the runner-up money while Pennington settled for third.(LMS PR)(5-26-2007)
