If he wanted, there would be no shortage of reasons for Donny Schatz to be bitter or resentful over how the past seven years played out, but the 10-time World of Outlaws champion views everything through a different prism.
Schatz had won eight championships at Tony Stewart Racing from 2008 to 2025 but spent this decade working through an era defined by the development of the Ford Performance Stewart 410 engine.
The case could be made that the 48-year-old lost what is usually the tail-end of a peak for driver performance running through different parts and pieces to get the power plant across the development finish line.
A rebuttal, at best, was that Schatz was too rigid and not willing to buy into the changes from Tony Stewart and Ford. At worst, there were questions about the driver himself and what happens to all of them as they get deeper into their 40s.
For whatever reason, Schatz went from 22 wins in 2018 to 11 and then 5, 3, 5, 4, 5 and then 0. For the first time since 1997, Schatz failed to win a single World of Outlaws race in a season in which he was fired TSR.
After the Knoxville Nationals, Schatz went onto to finish the season with numerous teams in Big Game Motorsports, Works Limited and Sides Motorsports.
Again, to put it simply, Schatz may have had his performance affected by changes he never wanted and ultimately after delivering eight championships and 234 WoO victories, he was dismissed in an unceremonious fashion.
But he says it didn’t leave him with a chip on his shoulder.
“We were presented with an experimental engine program and we did what you do, work with your partners and got to work with those guys on it,” Schatz told Motorsport.com on Thursday. “Everyone forgets that we hit the ground running and won right out of the box with it at Port Royal.
“There were a lot of things outside of my control, or the engine builder’s control, with supply chain things. So I don’t throw rocks on the past five years.”
As for how things ended with TSR?
“I do throw rocks on the way it ended and the things I was portrayed as that wasn’t realistic,” he said. “But that’s the nature of the beast. That’s the world we live in. Everyone has to put their spin on the story to make it sound the way they want.
“Sometimes, you’re the butt-end of that and sometimes you’re the head-in. It’s just business. It’s the way the world turns and I’m looking forward to getting out there and be back racing with the guys I want racing with me.”
To wit, Schatz is more interested in talking about 2026, his 30th consecutive year on the World of Outlaws, and one that will come with CJB Motorsports in a No. 15 wrenched by Barry Jackson.
Schatz says he gets pictures from Jackson at Midnight eastern time over what they’re working on. He says everyone is excited to get this partnership underway at Volusia next week.
“These guys are burning the midnight oil,” said Schatz. “I think there are butterflies in everyone’s stomachs right now. It’s not going to be perfect. Right now, it’s stuff that shouldn’t affect us on the track. We don’t have our primary tuck and trailer or all the parts we’ll need to make it through 85 races but we’re going to build on it.”
Schatz also said he’s not dictating to Jackson what he wants. He has faith in Jackson’s resume, one that reads over 200 victories in 410 Sprint Car competition, that the team will have what they need to win. Schatz was asked if he had a list of needs from any team he joined and he said that wasn’t the case.
Team owner Chad Clemens already has the kind of team Schatz wanted to join.
“I’m relying on someone who has that 16-year relationship with Chad to have what they need,” Schatz said. “At one point, I had my own team where I had everything in place that was successful and it transitioned to TSR and eventually got picked apart piece-by-piece-by-piece.
“So, going into this, I’m fitting into what they have. They’re open to anything I want to do but we’re going to start with their platform and will more than likely be successful with that.
“There are certain things a driver likes -- brakes, steering wheels, seats, inserts, stuff like that and those are things I have and will continue to use. But when it comes from a parts and chassis, engine standpoint, that’s Barry’s call.”
Schatz also has no trepidation working with a big personality that Jackson either. After all, he’s a big personality that has worked with some of the biggest personalities there is, like his tenure with Stewart.
“That part is easy, you just have to be the leader,” Schatz said. “I haven’t been able to be a leader the last couple of years, kind of got looked down on. So I have an opportunity with me and Barry to look at each other as equals.
“There will come a time where he has to stand his ground on something and we’re going to be alright. There will be times I will need to tell Barry ‘hey, settle down, I’ve got this,’ and that’s part of it.
“You know, driver and crew chiefs don’t necessarily spend a lot of time off the track together but when they walk into the track together, they have to compliment each other and do what the other doesn’t. I think this is the perfect combination for me.”
