SYLVANIA, Ga.: Donny Schatz is hoping for a big season in his 25th year with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

But in order to do that, Schatz and his team need to fine tune some things with the Ford motor program. So, that led the 10-time Outlaw champion to take in some “Preseason” events to get more laps and track time.

It paid dividends Friday night. Schatz looked in top form, blasting to the front to claim the victory in the 30-Lap All Star Circuit of Champions season opener at Georgia’s Screven Motor Speedway.

“There is a lot of emotion mixed in with it,” said Schatz in regard to his 25th season with the World of Outlaws. “You’ve got a lot of fans and supporters who have been there since Day 1, and I’ve got to thank them.

“I got to race with a lot of great people and learned a lot of great things over the years, but I’m not done. Twenty-five is just a number, and I have a lot left in me. I’m very fortunate to be aligned with a lot of great people at Tony Stewart Racing, Ford, Carquest, and all these guys keep working, working, and working to make me happy. This was one of those nights.”

Sam Hafertepe Jr. grabbed the lead from Sheldon Haudenschild at the start, but Sean Rayhall got into the Turn 3 fence and went upside down to bring out the red flag. There was a 25-minute delay for fence repair before a complete restart.

Just like the initial green flag, Hafertepe was too much for Haudenschild on the start. The lead was short-lived, however, as Haudenschild muscled into the top spot by the time the third circuit was scored.

Schatz, meanwhile, battled Tyler Courtney for the third position. While Haudenschild drove away, Schatz kept trying the low groove through Turns 1 and 2, with Courtney rocketing around the top to hold the position off the second corner.

“It’s not frustrating, it’s the way it should be,” Schatz said. “It’s 2021, and most guys would’ve probably drove across and forced the guy to either run into the fence or get out of the way, but that’s not me.

“So, I just kept trying to make a groove work. We knew the top was going to be good, but hats off to this whole Carquest team. These guys have been digging. They tried some things to get the car better, and it’s just great to be back racing again.”

Haudenschild started to check out from the field, but any chance he had at a first-place check ended on Lap 7. Tony Stewart, Scotty Thiel, and Kyle Reinhardt were sitting in Turn 2, which left the leader with nowhere to go.

The incident put Hafertepe up front on the Lap 7 restart. Two laps later, Haudenschild got sideways in the first and second corner and collected Thiel and RJ Jacobs to bring out the final caution.

Hafertepe led on the restart, but Courtney and Schatz were close behind. When Hafertepe got caught behind a lapped car and slipped high in the third corner, Courtney got a run on the bottom and took the lead on the 15th circuit. Schatz also got by entering Turn 1 on the next lap.

Courtney started to migrate off the cushion into the middle of the speedway. Schatz went one groove lower and stalked the former USAC champion before slipped by at the exit of Turn 4 on Lap 18.

“The racetracks change,” Schatz said. “This dirt changes quite a bit from beginning to end. It got a lot slicker than I thought and kind of came in in the middle and bottom for me.

“I think the longer we ran these tires, the better we got. You run the same tire all night long … that’s a pretty neat deal. You kind of save them and don’t abuse them in the heats, so like I said, hats off to this crew. They had an awesome racecar, and it didn’t really go anywhere. It was just up to me to not give it away.”

Once out front, it was check out time for Schatz. He knifed through traffic with ease and pulled away from the field.

Meanwhile, Courtney was left to deal with Aaron Reutzel. The two swapped the runner-up position multiple times, with Reutzel finally taking it for good on Lap 27.

At the finish, it was all Schatz. Reutzel was second, followed by Courtney, Carson Short, and Hafertepe, who fell to fifth in the running order.

“All of these preseason races are really good, so it gives us a chance to work on some things,” Schatz said after the $8,000 win. “It worked out tonight. Those guys are the ones who won this, not me. I just went where the car in front of me wasn’t, and it worked out.”

Sprint Car Feature Finish, 30 Laps: 1. Donny Schatz; 2. Aaron Reutzel; 3. Tyler Courtney; 4. Carson Short; 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr.; 6. Cory Eliason; 7. Gio Scelzi; 8. Hunter Schuerenberg; 9. Justin Peck; 10. Ian Madsen; 11. Brent Marks; 12. Kerry Madsen; 13. Tony Stewart; 14. Mason Daniel; 15. Cale Conley; 16. Anthony Macri; 17. RJ Jacobs; 18. Scotty Thiel; 19. Danny Dietrich; 20. Skylar Gee; 21. Sheldon Haudenschild; 22. Kyle Reinhardt; 23. Kraig Kinser; 24. Sean Rayhall.