Ogilvie Crash Sends Schatz Over To Lunstra Motorsports

The Lunstra Motorsports sprint car for Donny Schatz at Jackson Motorplex. (Photo Courtesy of Donny Schatz)
JACKSON, Minn. – Friday night’s opening-lap flip at Ogilvie Raceway has 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz on the move again.
After the crash severely damaged Schatz’s Big Game Motorsports No. 15, the Fargo, N.D., veteran revealed in a social media video Saturday afternoon that the team elected to focus on its championship effort with series leader David Gravel before they evaluate if the second chassis can be repaired.
With that decision, Schatz found a last-minute opportunity to drive for Lunstra Motorsports Saturday night at Jackson Motorplex, ironically one of the two tracks owned by Big Game Motorsports owner Tod Quiring.
The Lunstra effort will still carry Schatz’s familiar No. 15 onboard as the Outlaws’ modern-era master attempts to piece together the balance of the season.
“Things are going to be a little different tonight than anticipated and expected,” said Schatz. “When Tod [Quiring] and Cody [Jacobs, crew chief] and all the Big Game guys presented me the opportunity to run these seven races, it was really based on the pretense of not tearing stuff up and not having any engine issues – two things that really don’t happen around me or them, either one.
“Unfortunately, we tore up last night pretty good, so that leads us to we won’t be in Jackson tonight with the Big Game No. 15 ShopHusets.com car. It needs some frame repair,” Schatz continued. “But thanks to Dave Lunstra, I will be at Jackson tonight racing. I’ll be driving the Lunstra Motorsports car with the No. 15 on it.
“Huge thanks to Dave for the opportunity and presenting this to me for tonight, and after that, we just have to take and analyze where everything is at [with Big Game Motorsports]. There are no guarantees on anything. We’ll see what happens [and] see if the car can be fixed or not fixed.
“I appreciate everyone’s support. I guess that’s just the way the racing world is. When it rains, it pours.”
Schatz’s drive for Lunstra Motorsports marks his second team affiliation in as many races, following his release from Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing Tuesday after an 18-year driving partnership.
Ranking third on the Outlaws’ all-time win list, Schatz owns 316 checkered flags with The Greatest Show on Dirt, including four at Jackson Motorplex.
He won there most recently on Aug. 17, 2024, during the big-money FENDT Jackson Nationals.
Lunstra Motorsports is coming off of a Knoxville Nationals run with Daryn Pittman, where the team locked into the championship feature on Hard Knox Friday before finishing 23rd in the grand finale.
Its past drivers include the likes of Pittman, California’s Tim Kaeding, and North Dakota’s Mark Dobmeier.
Every lap of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season is available live with a DIRTvision subscription.