Donny Schatz doesn't have to prove to anyone how good he is behind the wheel. He's won back-to-back World of Outlaws titles, making him the king of dirt tracks.

Yet when Schatz agreed to drive for Tony Stewart this year, he had to prove to his new boss that he has what it takes to three-peat -- and, maybe, compete in either the Nationwide or Sprint Cup series.

Schatz said yesterday that he'll consider all options if Stewart decides to leave Joe Gibbs Racing to form a NASCAR team. Stewart acknowledged last month that he has considered opting out of the final year of his contract with JGR to explore ownership options.

"I don't know exactly what Tony is thinking of doing," Schatz said. "If something else comes along, I'll evaluate it and maybe want to make a move. The main focus for us right now is to be on the dirt [tracks].

"I feel like I can race with those [NASCAR] guys, and sure it's in the back of my mind. It's not something I'm dead-set on doing, and I'm not going to trade the ranch for it, but it's definitely something I would try given the right opportunity."

The North Dakota native will compete tonight in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at Virginia Motor Speedway. It's the series' first-ever event at the half-mile dirt track near Saluda.

Schatz and his Outlaw rivals -- including 20-time champion Steve Kinser -- are eager to take on a new venue. "There are several things you look at the first time you go somewhere new," Schatz said. "Obviously, I've been racing for a long time and have been to a ton of places.

"You try to compare the track to another place where you've been and look up what you did there. Gears, stagger, torsion bars and tires are the basics. And then you go out and hot-lap and see where you're at. One thing you've got to do is pay attention to the racing surface.

"Sometimes, looks can be deceiving, and you don't want to guess wrong on what it's going to do at the end of the night," added Schatz, who has 32 consecutive top-10 finishes dating to Aug. 14. "We're looking forward to going someplace new. I've heard some good stuff about Virginia Motor Speedway, and anytime we can go into a new market, it's a chance for us to gain some new fans."

Schatz, a 12-year Outlaws veteran, is looking to gain ground on Kinser. He is third in the points standings, but his 71 career wins fall far short of Kinser's all-time wins record, which he extended to 544 with a win in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Thursday. "I don't know if you can ever knock Steve out of the limelight," Schatz said. "We've been around a long time and finally got a feel for how things work. If you work at something hard and long enough, you put yourself in position to win."

With Stewart, Schatz figures he'll have an even better chance at winning another title. However, he isn't feeling the heat to impress.

"Once you've won it, the pressure is really off," Schatz said. "If we don't win, it'll be a letdown. We've pushed our level of expectations.

"The first championship was the hardest. But now we're finding out just how hard you have to work at staying on top."

So far, one of Schatz's biggest challenges this season has been bad weather, which has led to 14 of 23 scheduled events being canceled or postponed.

"If we could control Mother Nature, we would be a lot happier," Schatz said. "It's not been as bad as it seems because a lot of the races were canceled before the trucks left the shop. I'm just glad it looks as if we're going to race in Virginia."