Tim Shaffer held off last weekend's winner Donny Schatz as he charged into the lead in the final laps of The Night Before the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, over the weekend. Shaffer, who has been strong at the track all year, earned the victory by winning his heat and the Craftsman Club Dash to grab the pole and give him excellent track position to start.

Shane Stewart lined up on the outside of Shaffer after moving from fourth to second in the dash. He has been on a hot streak lately, but lost a front tire while running second and finished 12th -- which was uncannily similar to what happened in the last night at Calistoga last weekend.

When Stewart fell back, Schatz moved up and was the only driver who had a chance of reeling Shaffer in. Shaffer couldn't be matched in clean air, but Schatz had the chance when the leader hit lapped traffic. He closed the gap on trip around the track during the final 10. Schatz was especially strong in the third and fourth corners.

By the final two laps, Schatz pulled himself in position to pass for the lead, but could not make the bottom groove work. The eight-time champion was gunning for his second-consecutive win after an off month. Shaffer won by .227 seconds. The winner had nothing but respect for Schatz's run on him.



"That's a great team," Shaffer said. "We have a great team too. We keep building and getting better. We've got wins all over this year, but to get an Outlaw win at Eldora is really special. This is one tough place."

Schatz was not happy with second, but will take it and recalibrate before the Commonwealth Clash at Lernerville (PA) Speedway on Saturday night.

"Second sucks -- we just couldn't find a way around them," Schatz said. "They were really good. We'll take it and move on."

Joey Saldana joined the Outlaws this week and racked up a podium finish after starting in sixth. Jac Haudenschild, who drives in Saldana's old sprinter, finished 10th.

Jason Johnson and David Gravel completed the top five.

Top 10 Finishers
1. Tim Shaffer
2. Donny Schatz
3. Joey Saldana
4. Jason Johnson
5. David Gravel
6. Brad Sweet
7. Rico Abreu
8. Brent Marks
9. Chad Kemenah
10. Jac Haudenschild

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