By TONY VENEZIANO

World of Outlaws

Concord, NC--May June 22, 2009--

Keeping the hardware in the home state: For winning the overall title of the three-race Duel in the Dakotas, Donny Schatz received a beautiful hand-crafted and one of a kind wooden trophy with a clock which was designed and built by Charlie Nelson of Willmar, Minnesota. Schatz won the opener of the Duel on Friday night at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, finished fourth at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo on Saturday night and wrapped up the weekend with a fifth-place performance at Nodak Speedway in Minot.

"It's great to see everyone out here," said Schatz. "We always enjoy coming here and putting on these events. Thanks so much to Kevin Hanson at Gerdau Ameristeel. He has been instrumental in all of these events in North Dakota for a long time."

Picking up some more hardware: Schatz also received a plaque on Sunday night for being the 2008 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll Driver of the Year from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. Dave Forthum from Minot, representing the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame presented the award to Schatz on the front straightaway after the dash draw at Nodak Speedway. It was the third consecutive year that he received the honor.

"It's a great honor to receive this again," said Schatz. "To get it here in front of all the fans that have support me for so long is pretty special. Thank you so much."

Dakota hospitality: Jason Meyers always enjoys racing in North Dakota and has run strong in the state for the last several years. A strong weekend in the Duel in the Dakota vaulted him to third in the World of Outlaws championship standings, after a win at Red River Valley Speedway, a third-place effort at Nodak Speedway and an eighth in the opener at River Cities.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight," said Meyers after his win on Saturday. "This has been some of the best crowds we have seen the last couple of nights. We love coming up here."

Strong up north: Danny Lasoski's win on Sunday night at Nodak Speedway was the sixth of his career in North Dakota. He has now won at three tracks in the state, with Red River Valley Speedway and River Cities Speedway the other two. The 2001 World of Outlaws champion has over 30 career Top-10 finishes in the Sioux state.

"I really do enjoy coming up here," said Lasoski after his win on Sunday night. "I wish we could come here more often."

Closer and closer: Craig Dollansky picked up his best finish of the season on Saturday night at Red River Valley Speedway, coming home second. He led the first 11 laps of the race as he continues to chase his first win since joining Kasey Kahne Racing. The runner-up performance helped him move into the fifth spot in the series championship standings ahead of Jason Sides. He finished in the Top-10 in all three nights of the Duel in the Dakotas.

"We came up one spot short, but we are getting closer, that's for sure," said Dollansky on Saturday night. "This car is getting better. This team is getting closer and we'll keep working on it."

Building momentum: Kraig Kinser picked up two Top-10 finishes over the weekend, including capping off the trio of races with a fourth-place performance at Nodak Speedway, which was the second consecutive Top-Five for the third generation driver at the high-banked 3/8-mile.

"We definitely feel like we have some momentum right now," said Kinser. "Hopefully we can keep this up. We'll see if we can keep going with this next week."

A crowd favorite: Chris Shirek brought the crowd to their feet on Friday night at River Cities Speedway, winning the second heat race in a thriller over Joey Saldana to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash. The North Dakota native began the night by turning in the second fastest lap in time trials of the 30 drivers that took to the track.

"This is incredible," said Shirek during the dash draw on Friday night. "To be standing up here after winning a heat race is amazing."

Favorite stop: Tony Bruce Jr. made his third career start at River Cities Speedway on Friday night, racing his way into the Crane Cams Dash and eventually finishing ninth in the A-Feature. For the Kansas native, the bullring in Grand Forks, North Dakota is always one that he circles on his calendar. He wrapped the weekend up with a sixth-place finish at Nodak Speedway.

"This is my all-time favorite track," said Bruce when asked about the high-banked River Cities Speedway. "I always enjoy coming up here. The fans are great and the racing here is always exciting."

Photo Gallery: The Media Gallery section of www.WorldofOutlaws.com continues to be updated after each event. Visit http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint/MediaGallery.aspx to see Photo Galleries from 2009 World of Outlaws events. Photo Galleries from the first two nights of the Duel in the Dakotas is currently posted.

Keep up with all the action: The number of "Followers" keeping up with the World of Outlaws via Twitter online and through text messages on cell phones continues to grow. Updates are provided throughout race nights beginning with hot laps and continuing all the way through the final checkered flag of the night. To sign-up visit: http://twitter.com/worldofoutlaws and receive live race updates, anywhere, anytime.

Up next: The World of Outlaws return to the high-banked and ultra-fast U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Missouri on Friday, June 26, followed by a stop at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on Saturday, June 27.