World Nationals at Marshalltown Speedway

I was hoping for an IMCA Modified Nationals event at Knoxville, but I will settle for Marshalltown instead! Toby Kruse announced a couple of weeks ago that Marshalltown Speedway will be hosting an event labeled the 7th Annual World Nationals (formerly known as the Havoc on the Highbanks) and putting up $10,000 to win! To compare how big that number is, the Knoxville Harris Clash pays $2,000 to win, the sports “super bowl”, the Boone Super Nationals has a base winning payout of $2,000, the catch is the contingency money ($100 per sanctioned event competed in capped at 50 events) with the potential to win up to $7,000. Richie Gustin won $5,700 in 2011 and Jeff Taylor won $2,700 in 2012. So for a guaranteed $10,000 to win race in the IMCA Modified ranks is a big deal, and Marshalltown is a perfect site for it that will offer close short track racing.

The one rule that sticks out for this event is that teams with a Crate motor are ineligible to compete. From Marshalltown Speedway Press Release:
The 2013 “World Nationals” will be a Hawkeye Dirt Tour event. It is with great pride that Marshalltown Speedway is able to partner with PBM Performance/Erson Cam/World Products to become the title sponsor of this high profile event. With this new sponsorship package in place, during the 2013 “World Nationals”, the IMCA Modifieds will be running built motors only, this in appreciation for the support of local machine shops and high performance engine builders.

This is a big step for IMCA Modified racing. As the costs of racing continue to increase, the purses have held steady. IMCA historically hasn’t wanted to have big payouts thinking that would control the cost of racing and help the competitive balance. But in recent years teams have been building more expensive engines in the Modified class, and the days of teams claiming an engine seem to be gone. So if the environment is such that teams can spend more money, it makes sense that we have an upper tier event that pays more money. The car count will be interesting to see how it pans out with probably half the teams in Iowa racing a crate, but I have a feeling some of those teams will go find an engine somewhere for this event. Just to clarify, the crate engines will be allowed in the other classes that compete that weekend.

With Carl Moyer (Karl Chevrolet) being such a large marketing partner and presence for local IMCA dirt track racing in Iowa and a proponent of the crate engine program, I’m a little surprised about the crate rule. But I’m guessing there is enough support from PBM Performance/Erson and Cam/World Products to make all this happen.

I’m excited for this event and think it’s a great idea by promoter Toby Kruse to put on something like this. Toby tells me there will be more details announced in the coming weeks about this event, including how much the Modified race will pay for second, third, and so forth.

Brian Stickel named Knoxville Raceway GM

Knoxville Raceway announced today that Brian Stickel has been promoted to the General Manager position, replacing Toby Kruse who resigned in September. John McCoy stays put as the Director of Competition. Gary Schumacher will now take on the role of the Office Manager along with his accounting duties (Director of Accounting and Human Resources). Stickel has been the Director of Marketing and Sales at Knoxville since 2006 and he will continue to oversee those areas as the GM. So not much is changing at the raceway, basically one management position has been eliminated compared to last year.

Stickel is a familiar face at the track with a proven track record. His background is quite extensive within racing and business and I think he is a good choice by the Marion County Fair Board to represent the Knoxville Raceway and help to continue its traditions while also trying to help it grow in the future. I have had a good experience working with Brian the past few years with press credentials, stories for the Nationals programs, planning a company outing, and Twitter. I approached Brian two years ago about why the track should use Twitter, how it could be used, and the benefits. So he agreed to let me post the results and news and it’s worked out well. It’s amazing how when you talk to people face to face, or over the phone, how much more receptive they are to any idea you may have, and you are taken more seriously.

Looking over the resume for 52 year old Stickle is quite impressive. He is a native of nearby Pleasantville and now resides south of Knoxville not too far away from the English Creek Speedway. Here is a summary of Brian’s past work experience in chronological order (thanks to Brian for sharing his resume with me).

Owned his own company that promoted mountain biking events in Vermont.
Director of Competition: National Off-Road Bicycle Association.
Deputy Competition Manger: Mountain Biking 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Executive Director: Greater Des Moines Sport Authority.
Pacific Division Director: NHRA.
Drag Strip Director: Mid-America Motorplex (Pacific Junction, Iowa).
Executive Director: Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development.

As you can see he has a background in a lot of other areas besides sprint car racing, and I think that is a good thing. But his heart is where his home is, and that is Knoxville Raceway. Brian has a passion for sprint car racing and he also understands the business side of things as well. I look forward to the 2013 season and what the new management team has in store for us race fans.