Tony Stewart Racing announced that it has replaced Donny Schatz with Kerry Madsen to drive its No. 15 sprint car in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Stewart said in a press release, “Donny has been an incredible part of TSR for nearly two decades, he’s helped build this organization into what it is today. We’ve had a driver/team owner relationship that has gone beyond that partnership, he’s become part of my extended family through the years, and I have the utmost respect for him and what his career represents – a generational driving talent.”

“The achievements we’ve accomplished together are something that I’ll always be proud of,” added Stewart. “But in the past few years we’ve weathered changes in the sport and our performance hasn’t been to the level that both Donny and I expect. We’re both competitors to our core and we both hold ourselves to a high standard of performance that we’ve struggled to obtain. Making a change now gives each of us the chance to reset and refocus before 2026.”

“Kerry’s been in our car before and is a proven winner, so bringing him back feels natural. He knows our team, we know his capabilities, and I’m confident he’ll give us everything he’s got as we close out the season,” he concluded.

Schatz is currently 6th in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, but he’s 506 points behind current leader David Gravel. Additionally, he’s not won a single race this year only garnering 8 Top 5s and 26 Top 10s. He most recently finished 11th after starting 20th during the A-Main of the Knoxville Nationals on August 9th. He raced his win into the A-Main after starting 11th in a B-Main and finishing fourth.

The team previously admitted it was struggling earlier in the year when it announced a change to its engine program at the end of March. It shared, “For more than nine years, TSR has worked collaboratively with Ford Performance and Shaver Specialty Racing Engines on the development of the FPS410 Engine. While that development will continue, TSR will take a step back from running Ford engines during points-paying races beginning tonight at Lawton Speedway. We’re extremely proud of, and grateful to, the respective teams at Ford Performance and Shaver Engines for their support over the last decade.”

Statement from Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing regarding our engine program ⬇️@TonyStewart_Rcg | @TonyStewart | @WorldofOutlaws pic.twitter.com/5MU6Pk4P3y

— Donny Schatz (@DonnySchatz) March 28, 2025

Stewart explained the reason they were no longer using the Ford Engine in points races in an interview with The Chaz, “We don’t have enough parts to run them right now. That is the full extent of the Ford deal.”

He added, “Where we stand right now, we just don’t have parts. If we stayed with the program as scheduled, by the time we got to the Knoxville Nationals, we would not have motors to compete at the Knoxville Nationals.”

Furthermore, he shared, “We kind of been down this path long enough and had enough setbacks that it’s starting to affect my guys, and, obviously, Donny as a driver. So we’re all committed to it getting fixed. But right now I can’t be the guinea pig in the process. I can’t just keep going down the path we’re on. So I need to do some stuff to fix my program and get us in a better spot.”

Schatz had been with Tony Stewart Racing for almost 18 years and they won eight World of Outlaws championships and amassed 234 victories including nine Knoxville Nationals wins.

Madsen had been competing locally at Knoxville Raceway this year. He’s currently third in points behind Austin McCarl and Brian Brown. In 14 features, he’s had 7 Top 5s and 10 Top 10s. He plans to compete in the final race of the season on August 23rd. Tony Stewart Racing will announce an interim driver for the World of Outlaws events on August 22-23 at a later date. Madsen will be in the No. 15 when the World of Outlaws heads to Ogilvie Raceway this Friday.

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