Fall of 360 Racing?

With so many rumors being circulated right now with the direction of 360 sprint car racing, I decided to look back at a article I wrote in March 2011 for Flat Out Magazine.  I compared costs of 410 and 360 racing with Tyler Swank at the time. Remember in 2010 when the 360 appeared to be winning the balance of car counts at races over 410?  At the end of the 2010 season both Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz raced and won some ASCS events.  At that moment I thought 360's might be tipping the scale for good. Maybe the WoO would change to 360 engines as a cost savings measure. That didn't happen and the balance has swung back in favor of 410 racing the past couple of years. The ASCS hNational series has cut back their schedule the past couple of years (67 in 2012, 54 in 2013, 46 in 2014). So what happened?  What changed?  Maybe I was on to something back then because it didn't make sense then why there were more 360 cars, and still doesn't today looking back.  A couple of things have happened over the past few years.  Engine costs for 360's has increased to be the equivalent of 410's, the 360 purse's haven't gone up to compete with 410 races, and the emergence of 305 sprint cars.  The answer isn't an easy one but it's in that combination somewhere I believe.  Enjoy this trip down memory lane...

Thankful for the NSL

The creation of Tod Quiring’s National Sprint League is a huge deal in the Midwest.  For years I have been hoping for something like this to happen and the NSL is exactly the right idea. Thank you to Tod Quiring for stepping up. Sprint car teams can race multiple nights a week in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, California, and now we have the same opportunity for teams and fans in the Midwest.

Knoxville is the hub of sprint car racing, yet you can’t find much sprint car racing surrounding the hub unless you drive 3 or 5 hours away from Knoxville (especially 410’s). So many people move to Iowa just to race at Knoxville: Kerry Madsen, Ian Madsen, Skip Jackson, Jayme Moyle, Wayne Johnson, RJ Johnson, and Keoni Texeira… all of them have moved from other countries or states to be able to race at the Mecca of dirt track racing.  They only had one or two places to race regularly, but now with the addition of the NSL the landscape changes.

Thank You Sammy

Studio 92 Photo - 2013

The career of Sammy Swindell at the Knoxville Raceway is something that I cherish being able to see in my lifetime.  There were so many ups and downs and dramatic moments.  He was cheered and jeered, and when Sammy spoke, people listened. And no driver will ever have the innovative engineering talents and skills Sammy has.  There is a lot to celebrate and remember about his career.

Sammy won 48 features here at Knoxville, which ranks fifth all time on our career wins list, and one of those was the 1983 Knoxville Nationals. Breaking down those 48 feature wins at Knoxville, 24 were World of Outlaws sanctioned events, 7 Nationals preliminary feature wins, 1 win in the only USAC sanctioned winged sprint car event at Knoxville in 1988, and in 1982 Sammy swept Twin Features night, one of only six drivers to accomplish that.  Sammy also won 3 features in the 360 class here, one of those being the last win of his career at this year’s 360 Knoxville Nationals preliminary night.

2014 Oskaloosa Southern Iowa Speedway Season Recap

Since two or three other Positively Racing Bloggers are typically in attendance I don’t write a weekly story about the races at Oskaloosa even though I am there almost every race night.  Dick & Joyce Eisele, and Jeff Broeg do a great job covering it weekly and I don’t know how many times we can all write the same story.  And with my commitments at Knoxville Raceway my time gets stretched thin and I’m not sure how I would find time to write it anyway without staying up past midnight more nights than I do already.  So I contribute to Osky weekly with live Twitter updates for the track @OskySIS (which has more followers now than the Facebook page by the way) and with an end of the season story.  I keep track of stats all season and I’ve started keeping a record of winners the past several years.  I’m hoping to one day complete a list of feature winners and track champions at Oskaloosa so if anyone reading this can help me fill in any blanks I would greatly appreciate it.

Knoxville Season Championship & Stats

Knoxville Raceway Season Championship

Car Count: 81 sprint cars were in the pits. (28-410, 27-360, 26-305).
For the sixth time we reached over 80 cars in the 12 “regular shows” this season. 28 cars in the 410 class was a season low, while the 360 and 305 classes were above the season average.

Weather:  84 degrees, 79% humidity, Winds East 8mph, Dew Point 77 degrees.
84 degrees ties for the hottest day of the year, and humidity and dew point were at a season high. After nearly 2” of rain overnight and in the morning, the track and infield were in great shape!

All three point championships were still up for grabs heading into the night.  In the 410 class the top six drivers were mathematically alive. That speaks to the level of competition at Knoxville Raceway this season. Ultimately all three point leaders would hold on to their leads and win. 

Can Brian Brown Win?

Brian Brown is the grandson of George Lasoski, nephew of four-time Knoxville Nationals champion Danny Lasoski, and he has been the runner-up the past two years at Knoxville the second Saturday night of August.  But this year is it Brown’s year to get it done?  Can he win the big one?  After a rough start to the season in 2014 he is certainly on a roll as of late and peaking at the right time winning the 24^th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals and the 19^th annual Front Row Challenge. One more race to go in Southern Iowa Speed Week. Can he make it a clean sweep? It’s time to find out as his journey begins on Thursday night at the 54^th annual FVP Knoxville Nationals, presented by Casey’s General Store.

Justin Henderson Having a Strong 2014!

Justin Henderson finished third at the Knoxville Nationals a year ago and although it was a career high moment for the 35 year old Sioux Falls native, he and the Bryan Sundby team are looking to move up the order on the podium. After racing in both the 360 and 410 classes this entire year at Knoxville Raceway they have more laps on the track than anyone else and should be a strong at the Nationals once again in 2014. With running both classes Justin is only eligible to win one of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series track championships as a driver, but owner Bryan Sundby is chasing owner’s points in both classes. They have won one feature in each class and have been leading the 360 points all season, while they sit second in 410 points. It’s been a grueling task to race two cars but they have been successful. Justin is a product of a racing family with his father Rod Henderson being a successful driver in the Midwest. Justin also comes from the rich sprint car heritage of the Sioux Falls area where everyone is chasing the shadow of hometown hero Doug Wolfgang. Henderson should have a legitimate shot to win the Nationals this year! 

Capitani Classic and Stats

The Capitani Classic was the best race all year up to this point at Knoxville Raceway.  Ian Madsen led every lap of the A-Main, but there was plenty of racing behind him.  Congrats to the KCP team on picking up win number three this season and grabbing the 410 points lead.

Ian drew 23rd in the qualifying order and timed 23rd overall which put him to in the second row of heat five and he would finish second to advance to the A-Main, where he would end up on the pole of with enough cars ahead of him in qualifying not being able to transfer out of their heat races with a stacked field of 71 cars.

BHG 410 Power Rankings

Each year the BHG assembles their power rankings and below is the cumulative rankings of the members scores.  If you're looking to handicap your Nationals Fantasy league, this is a good place to start.  Good luck to all of the competitors!

2014 Bus House Gang Knoxville Nationals Power Rankings
1. Schatz, 2. Madsen, 3. Brown, 4. Stewart, 5. Pittman, 6. Saldana, 7. McMahan, 8. K.Swindell, 9. Gravel, 10. McCarl, 11. Sweet, 12. Henderson, 13. Dollansky, 14. S.Swindell, 15. S.Smith, 16. Darrah, 17. Blaney, 18. Lasoski, 19. S.Kinser, 20. I.Madsen, 21. Hodnett, 22. Heskin, 23. K.Kinser, 24. Kemenah.

Just missing the top 24: Abreu, T.Kaeding, Maeschen, Dobmeier, McFadden, C.Bell, Jeffrey.

 

 

Just missed the cut:
Brad Loyet, Jac Haudenschild, Mark Dobmeier, Russ Hall,
Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jamie Ball.

360 Knoxville Nationals Report

The 360 Knoxville Nationals was another good show this year. Thursday was a fast narrow track, Friday was a better track and a better race, and Brian Brown drove away from everyone on Saturday night. There were some scary crashes and some disappointing showings by a few drivers that surprised me. 103 cars total entered this year.

Thursday
Joe Beaver set quick time 15.906. 47 cars entered.
Heat Winners: Kevin Swindell, Randi Miller, Jason Johnson, Cole Wood, Ryan Roberts.

Heskin led every lap, but had some close calls in lapped traffic with Jason Johnson right on his bumper on the last lap.  With some rain showers delaying the show on a couple of occasions it made for a fast tacky track all night.  It was a big night for Joe Beaver who would be the top point man and start on the front row for Saturday night.

BHG 360 Power Rankings

Each year the BHG assembles their power rankings and below is the cumulative rankings of the members scores.  We're not always right, but damn close.  If you're looking to handicap your Nationals Fantasy league, this is a good place to start.  Good luck to all of the competitors this week and check back here next week for the 410 Nationals BHG Power Rankings!

2014 Bus House Gang 360 Knoxville Nationals Power Rankings1. Kevin Swindell, 2. Brian Brown, 3. Justin Henderson, 4. Terry McCarl,

5. Danny Lasoski, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Clint Garner, 8. Randy Hannagan,

9. Tim Shaffer, 10. Davey Heskin, 11. Ian Madsen, 12. Jack Dover,

13. Joe Beaver, 14. Jason Johnson, 15. Jeff Swindell, 16. Billy Alley,

17. Wayne Johnson, 18. Brady Bacon, 19. Dusty Zomer, 20. Brooke Tatnell,

21. Jon Agan, 22. Sam Hafertepe Jr., 23. Jonathan Cornell, 24. Johnny Herrera.

Just missed the cut:
Brad Loyet, Jac Haudenschild, Mark Dobmeier, Russ Hall,
Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jamie Ball.

Madsen and Henderson win!

Saturday night 77 sprint cars in the pits. The weather was a nice 80 degrees and it was HUMID on this night, the highest all season at 74% and the dew point was 73 degrees. Vapor trails were seen on the wings which is always cool.

As we gear up for the Nationals, Outsiders testing in the 410 class were Sammy Swindell, Rico Abreu, Austen Wheatley, Jac Haudenschild, Brady Bacon, Bryan Clauson, and Jon Agan was racing in a 410 for the first time this season.

410 Report
Top 10 Qualifying:  Brian Brown was quick time followed by McCarl, Jeffrey, Swindell, Lasoski, Agan, Wood, Dollansky, Dobmeier, Maeschen.

Heat winners were Brown (started 6th), Clint Garner (2nd), Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1st) and Davey Heskin (3rd). Brian Brown won his heat race from the third row for the second week in a row. He has the heat race setup figured out.

Henderson, Zomer, and Kline win on 3M Night!

After 3 straight weeks of rain out’s we were able to race this Saturday night. We haven’t had 3 consecutive weeks washed out since 1993, and it happened twice that year, one of those was a 5 week stretch in there.  1993 was a bad year.

97 sprint cars filled the pit area to near maximum capacity. The record for a weekly show car count on my records is 98 cars on 7/28/2012, so just missed that. But I have only been keeping track for six years of that number. By comparison though we had 148 cars for the Harris Clash on Thursday night this week. Cars were parked in the cold pit area, the push off lanes, where the push trucks stage normally, it was quite a sight.

Now that we are getting close to Nationals that means several teams were here to test and tune. In the 410 class we had Sammy Swindell, Rico Abreu, Jason Johnson, and Joey Moughan. On the 360 class; Jeff Swindell, Jason Johnson, Wayne Johnson, Dusty Zomer, Bronson Maeschen, Chase Johnson of California, and Josh Baughman of Texas. Josh Riggins and Alan Zoutte also made their first appearances of the season at Knoxville.

54th FVP Knoxville Nationals Preview

Knoxville Nationals Preview - by Eric Arnold

The Knoxville Nationals is almost here and with a lot of rain outs here I've been able to gather up my annual preview blog early this year. I study a lot of stats, data, prior year finishes, and try to account how their current season is progressing to come up with my power rankings and predictions.  As I look into my crystal ball, this is what I how break down the field (as of today).

The Favorite:
1) Donny Schatz is a seven time champion, has won the last three Nationals, and seven of the last eight. His past ten Nationals, his average finish is 2.3.  For more than a decade he has dominated this race and although he struggled to an 11th place finish at the World of Outlaws show at Knoxville this year, it’s hard to bet against him winning another Nationals title.  If anyone other than Schatz wins, it will be considered an upset. 

Contenders:

2) Kerry Madsen is a real contender this year. The 2005 Knoxville Raceway Track Champion is having his best season ever on the Outlaws tour, winning six features, including the $50,000 to win Kings Royal. He is fifth in WoO points. His Nationals resume doesn’t stand out with making the Championship A-Main only four times in the past ten years, with an average ten year finish of 23.8.  But Madsen finished fifth in 2010, the best finish of any Australian at the Nationals. Last year he timed twelfth and finished second in his preliminary feature to start eighth on Saturday and fell to 16th. I look for the Mad Man to be better this year, and having ace Tyler Swank spinning the wrenches, a local guy who knows Knoxville very well helps his chances even more.

KXV Mid-Season Championship & HoF Night

This week at the Knoxville Raceway was Hall of Fame night as five new members were added to the Hall. Congratulations to Craig Agan, Randy Brisel, Tony Moro, Grant Rankin, and Jeff Tuttle. All of them were very deserving people who have helped make Knoxville Raceway what it has become today. The weather was gorgeous on this Saturday night with 84 degrees, sunshine, 51% humidity, and no wind as the night began. The Dunkin’s prepared a perfect racing surface this week, and the weather cooperated. The 360 and 410 features were amazing, probably the best races of the season in both classes.

Brad Sweet Wins at Knoxville!

The World of Outlaws STP sprint cars came to Knoxville Raceway this past Saturday night with (48) 410 cars entered for the night. A great crowd was on hand, one of the biggest non-Nationals crowds that I can remember. This was the only chance fans have this season to see the WoO compete at Knoxville before the Nationals in August. There was also a large contingent of AMA motorcycle fans in attendance on this night as their big race was on Sunday afternoon, so some cross-over fan building was happening.

It was a rough day weather wise with warm sunny conditions, 18mph winds, and gusts of 35. It was nearly impossible to get moisture to hold in the track, and the wind never did die down. Track conditions were demanding.

Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame: Randy Brisel

Randy Brisel of Newton is being inducted into the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame this coming Saturday night. Brisel is a life-long resident of Newton, husband to Judy, father to sons Dustin and Trent, and after 31 years he retired from Maytag. Back in July of 1973 Randy was asked by his supervisor Wendell Winters if he wanted to help with the safety crew for a night at Knoxville. After that first night Randy was hooked. Randy served on the Knoxville Raceway safety crew for the next 40 years, finally hanging up his fire suit at the end of the 2013 season. Only one other member of the safety crew has been inducted before him, Francis “Shorty” Hulgan in 1989. “Shorty” was a close friend to Randy. “That was so cool that Shorty was inducted back then, he was a good friend and taught me a lot, but no one else from the crew had been honored until now, so I didn’t think this was really ever going to happen. I am so honored that I was chosen,” said Brisel. “I’ve seen a lot change at Knoxville over the years, from a wooden grandstand to the facility it is today. I’m proud to have been a part of that, but I’m prouder that racing is way safer today than when I started. So many improvements in the cars, the track, the personal equipment the drivers have now with arm restraints, better helmets and seats, fire protection, head and neck restraints, it has come a long way.”

Hall of Fame and WoO Ramblings

Week #7 at Knoxville Raceway was washed out after time trials. All teams were given show up points and ticket stubs may be used this coming Saturday night, and kids will once again be free admission.  Hard to believe we made it through April and almost all of May without one rainout. The last time we made it this long without a rain out to start a season was 2010 when we raced the first seven weeks. We made it six weeks in a row to start the 2005 season.

Dollansky wins week #6 at Knoxville Raceway!

Race #6 of the Knoxville Championship Cup Series

Saturday was another great night for racing on this Memorial Day weekend. The weather was perfect and another nice crowd turned out for what I would say was the best 410 feature of the season.  The race track was nice and wide and the Dunkin track crew nailed it on this night with a top, bottom, and a middle groove at times once the loose stuff from the bottom was thrown to the middle.

31 cars entered in the 410 class, one shy to have a fourth heat race, which made the three heat format very intense as only 18 cars made the heat inversion instead of 24 cars with the four heat format.

Roger Crockett from Oregon was in the LaHaise BWW #82 this week, Jason Johnson and Brad Loyet were back again, one more week and I think we can consider them “Knoxville Regulars”.  Unfortunately Rico Abreu had a last minute change of plans as their 410 car isn’t quite ready yet and he opted to race midgets at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. 

Brian Brown Wins Third Straight!

Race #5 of the Knoxville Championship Cup Series

It was a chilly night on Saturday, the lowest temperature (63 degrees) and humidity (27%) we had seen all season. Thank goodness the wind was light. Two-time World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers made his debut in the Call/Holbrook 83 sprint car on this night. Four time ASCS champion Jason Johnson was also entered. It was great to have Meyers entered, who told me he will be back at Knoxville on June 14 for the WoO show, but may come back one more time if needed to be prepared for the Nationals. Meyers’ night didn’t go as well as he hoped, so that extra night option might be a possibility. Next Saturday night we are expecting another invader, Rico Abreu.

Brian Brown and Wayne Johnson were both entered in the 410 and 360 class. The Nationals is more than two months away but it’s never too soon to prepare for August. Heck Brown has been preparing since August 11 of last year. Brown would own this night wining the 410 and 360 features.

Knoxville Week 4

The Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series is tough, and it will get tougher each week leading up to the Nationals. This past week a season best car count in the 410 class of 36 cars entered and this next week it gets tougher as none other than two-time World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers is making his first appearance back at the big half-mile since the 2012 Knoxville Nationals.  The anticipation of the first MavTV broadcast of Knoxville Raceway’s “Dirt Dreams” is growing and it will air on Thursday night June 5^th. So if you don’t have MavTV call your cable or satellite provider and ask for it now.

410 Report
Top 10 Qualifying:  Terry McCarl set quick time for the second time this season with a lap of 15.404 (116.8 mph), followed by Jeffrey, Henderson, Lasoski, Brown, Zomer, Madsen, RJ Johnson, Craig Dollansky, and Tatnell.

Henderson and McCarl are dominating qualifying. Henderson has an average of 1.8 and accumulated 545 points in that event while McCarl’s average is 2.8 and has earned 525 points.

Heat winners were Jason Johnson, AJ Moeller, Brad Loyet, and Clint Garner. All four heat winners started on the pole of their respective heats. The top point earners in the heats this season so far are Dollansky with 72, Dobmeier 70, and Henderson with 66.

In the feature pole sitter RJ Johnson popped out of gear and rolled to a stop before the field took the green, forcing him to start at the tail. Ian Madsen took off from the front row and led the first 18 laps, but he couldn’t hold off a charging Brian Brown at the end. Maeschen and Heskin made some great moves to get into the top five. McCarl and Henderson were racing for 4^th and made contact on lap nine. That forced Henderson to spin and make contact with the turn two fence and he was done while McCarl restarted at the tail after changing a front tire and he drove up to 12^th. Wayne Johnson took the green and pitted right away with engine problems. Lasoski pulled in early. Dustin Selvage crashed hard on the front stretch but was OK.

410 A-Main Finish (started): 1. Brian Brown (4); 2. Ian Madsen (2); 3. Dusty Zomer (3); 4. Bronson Maeschen (12); 5. Davey Heskin (11); 6. Craig Dollansky (9); 7. Don Droud Jr. (23); 8. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 9. Ryan Bunton (13); 10. Mark Dobmeier (16); 11. Brooke Tatnell (10); 12. Terry McCarl (8); 13. Clint Garner (20); 14. Scott Winters (24); 15. Jason Johnson (17); 16. Brad Loyet (19); 17. Josh Schneiderman (15); 18. Garrett Dollansky (21); 19. AJ Moeller (18); 20. Justin Henderson (6); 21. Danny Lasoski (5); 22. RJ Johnson (1); 23. Dustin Selvage (22); 24. Wayne Johnson (14). Lap Leaders: I. Madsen 1-18, Brown 19-20. Hard-charger: Droud.

 

Sorry for the abbreviated version for this week...

Interview with Joe Beaver

Joe Beaver is off to a good start this season, winning three of the four races so far in the 360 class. Joe is a hometown hero in Knoxville, and a three time winner of the Junior Fan Club most popular driver award. He started racing as a ten year old in go-karts, but now in his 16^th season in a sprint car at Knoxville Raceway, things are coming together for the Beaver Motorsports team. Beaver started the season with 3 career feature wins before this season began, so to double his career wins total within the past month, that is impressive.He finished a close second in 360 points in 2013, and was fifth in 2012. This season his team has their sights set on winning the Lucas oil 360 Knoxville Championship Cup Series title.

EA: Knoxville has been tough over the years for you, but it’s all coming together now.  How have you done it?
Joe: Just a lot of hard work and having the right combination. We’ve been fortunate with qualifying working out like it has and being able to start toward the front in the feature, so it’s all just amazing and I’m thankful.  Wins are so hard to come by here.

Brown back on top at Knoxville!

Brian Brown - Jeff White photo

Week three of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series saw cooler temperatures and slower track conditions, making for great racing.  Heavy hitters and Nationals contenders Brian Brown, Terry McCarl, and Craig Dollansky took the podium.  It was 66 degrees at 6:45pm, at 55 at feature time.  It was chilly for the fans but with free kids night, free college night, and adults getting in free if they filled out an application at the job fair before the races, the crowd was good. 

It wasn’t a full moon this past Saturday, but a lot strange things happened.  The PA system went out during the singing of the national anthem.  The track safety lights had issues off and on.  The light pole in turn one with the cell tower connected to it went out.  The drone camera crashed on the track.  And we had 6 red flags for a total of 34 minutes in downtime.  But at least it was a safe night in the end with no drivers getting seriously hurt.  Cole Wood was taken to the hospital for a checkup on his ankle but it doesn’t sound too serious. 

Dollansky Wins Week 2 at Knoxville!

Night two of the Knoxville Raceway season was a busy one with all three classes competing once again.  The weather was the same temperature as last week but cloudy instead of sunny.  We saw outsiders Jeff Swindell and Ryan Roberts enter in the 360 class and on the 410 side we gained Wayne Johnson and Cap Henry, but we missed Brian Brown and Robert Bell.  Judging by Robert’s Facebook page he is contemplating retirement.  Danny Lasoski was out on the road with the World of Outlaws in the Roth 83 once again, but I have a hunch he is at Knoxville this weekend.  Don Droud Jr. and the Sonner 47 team struggled to get the car running all night.  With weather popping up on the radar to the west during the 360 feature  and sprinkles coming down the 410 feature was pushed off immediately to beat the weather.  The rain held off just long enough and the show was completed at 10:31pm.   

Knoxville Season Opener goes to Madsen!

Ryan Northcote Photo

The 61st season of racing at Knoxville Raceway got under way on Saturday night.  Perfect weather and free kid’s night brought in a great crowd for the season opener.  (My estimate is 3,500 in attendance)  After 4 of the last 6 season openers were rained out, including the last 2, the odds were in favor of a great day.  There are some great ticket discount promotions available this year as well so I’m sure that helped, but the weather always plays the biggest factor with attendance.

410 Report

Top 10 Qualifying:  Terry McCarl set quick time with a lap of 15.085 (119.3 mph), followed by Justin Henderson, Mark Dobmeier, Brian Brown, Davey Heskin, Dusty Zomer, Ian Madsen, Brooke Tatnell, Bronson Maeschen, and Craig Dollansky.

Dobmeier and Zomer qualified well.  They both have had struggles in qualifying the past couple of years. Zomer’s average last year was 10.2 while Dobs was 15.7.  If they can continue to qualify well, that bodes well for their championship hopes.  Good to see those signs of improvement. 

In the heat races, it was Craig Dollansky, Henderson, and Maeschen picking up the wins. Henderson looked strong driving up from sixth to first in his win. The track was wide and racy as no heat race was won from the front row.  We saw a lot of great racing in the heats. The fastest 8 cars all made their transfer positions giving the 8th and 7th fastest cars in qualifying the front row starting positions of the A-Main, which would be Madsen and Tatnell.

After nearly winning the track championship last year despite not getting a win at Knoxville, Australia’s Ian Madsen won the first feature of the season.  It was his third career win at the famed half-mile, but his first with the Nehring #18 car.  The win had to be a big relief for Ian to finally get the win for his car owner and sponsors.  Ian led wire to wire but he earned it, holding off challenges from Brooke Tatnell and weaving his way through lapped traffic. 

Dusty Zomer was settled in third most of the race, but the most excitement was watching the battle behind him as Terry McCarl, Brian Brown, Mark Dobmeier, Craig Dollansky, Justin Henderson, and Davey Heskin put on a great show racing hard for position.  To think we might have these guys going at it every week… oh man I can’t wait to see how this season turns out. 

Dollansky made contact with the turn two fence and stopped to bring out the only caution, and he was done for the night.  Dobmeier’s engine let go towards the end, sending him pit side.  In the end Henderson came from the fourth row and passed Zomer late to claim third while McCarl was fifth, followed by Brown, Maeschen, Clint Garner, Josh Schneiderman, and Dustin Selvage completed the top ten. 

Garner was impressive in his return to the 410 ranks, climbing from 17th to 8th.  Davey Heskin faded from fourth to eleventh. Don Droud Jr. lost an engine early before he could complete a lap.   

Henderson sits on top of the point standings after week one, followed closely by Madsen, McCarl, Tatnell, and Zomer.  Who would have thought Craig Dollansky would be 20th in points after week one?  His son Garrett is three points ahead of him.   

A main Finish (started): 1. Ian Madsen (2); 2. Brooke Tatnell (1); 3. Justin Henderson (7); 4. Dusty Zomer (3); 5. Terry McCarl (8); 6. Brian Brown (5); 7. Bronson Maeschen (9); 8. Clint Garner (17); 9. Josh Schneiderman (11); 10. Dustin Selvage (13); 11. Davey Heskin (4); 12. Lynton Jeffrey (12); 13. Cole Wood (18); 14. RJ Johnson (15); 15. Skylar Prochaska (22); 16. Rob Kubli (23); 17. Austin Johnson (16); 18. Garrett Dollansky (21); 19. Chris Martin (24); 20. Mark Dobmeier (6); 21. Craig Dollansky (10); 22. Larry Ball Jr. (19); 23. Ryan Bunton (20); 24. Don Droud Jr. (14).

360 Report
Justin Henderson set quick time at 15.731 (114.4 mph) beating second quick by 2 tenths of a second. He clearly has the fastest car in this class, but he is only racing for owners points. Heat winners were Calvin Landis, David Hall, and Lee Grosz.

Joe Beaver took off from the front row and led the distance.  Jon Agan passed him on lap seven, but the yellow came out before they completed the lap and Beaver was given the lead on the restart.  On the restart Henderson drove around Agan and was in pursuit of the lead, but Beaver made his way through lapped traffic and got the win. 

305 Report
Chris Walraven was quick time 17.211 (104.5 mph).  Heat winners were Jeff Wilke, J Kinder, and McKenna Haase.

Local legend Steve Breazeale kicked off his farewell season in style with a feature win, holding off Matthew Stelzer at the end.  The feature was marred by 3 yellows and 1 red flag, taking 20 minutes to run the 12 lap event. 

Notes

Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway there were three female competitors, which is a first for the track.  Serena Paul, McKenna Haase, and Andee Beirlee all in the 305 class.  I will have to arrange for a photo opp this coming week of all three together.

Not a whole bunch of stats to go over yet this early in the season, but be on the lookout for those in the coming weeks.

Top 30 360 Drivers at Knoxville Raceway

The Knoxville Raceway 360 class was created in 1983. It is hard to believe 30 years have gone by that this support class has been racing at the famed half-mile.  As track historian I have been looking at past season results and point standings and thought it was a good time to come up with my ranking for the top 30 360 drivers over the past 30 years (31 years now).  The criteria I used to determine this is 1 point for a feature win, 3 points for a track championship, 1 point for a top five point finish, and 1 point for a top ten point finish.  I counted 197 different drivers that have competed and finished in the end of the season points over that 30 year span.  Here are my rankings...

2014 Knoxville Raceway 360 Preview

Studio 92 Photo

The Knoxville Raceway 360 class will be interesting this season.  Clint Garner, the winner of the past five 360 track championships has moved up to the 410 class.  Justin Henderson and Ryan Bunton are 410 drivers, but plan to race in the 360 class as well all season to try to win the car owner championship.  But the race for the driver’s championship will be a tough one with several strong contenders.

2014 Knoxville Raceway 410 Preview

Thanks to Lucas Oil and MavTV national television, the 2014 Knoxville Championship Cup Series season will have a field of competitors that is stronger than ever.  A check for $20,000 awaits the KCCS champion at the end of the season and we have 17 nights of racing to see who comes out on top.  The season begins April 19 and the KCCS finals are August 23. 

Bronson Maeschen won the championship last year with one feature win and 10 top five finishes.  The farmer from Pleasantville has the same team back in 2014 and they should be ready to contend for another championship.  They made the trip to Volusia for the World of Outlaws three day show and were faster each night, winning their heat and making the dash on night three before crashing in the feature.

Dale Jr Wins - NASCAR Rant

Dale Jr. wins at Daytona! I'm happy for Junior. The guy has worked hard to get back on top and been so close with a few second place finishes in recent years. He is a class act and I thought it was great he went around and hugged his crew before he did a victory lane interview. With Dale Jr. winning, and if he can win a few more times this season, NASCAR could see some resurgence... maybe.

Once upon a time I was a big NASCAR fan. And for a while on Sunday night watching the Daytona 500 I was again. I've been to several NASCAR events. I went to Michigan a few times, Atlanta, the Brickyard, Kansas, and Chicago. I loved Dale Earnhardt, and after his death the torch was passed on to Dale Jr. Then in 2003 NASCAR got in its own way by taking long standing traditions out of the sport in hopes of growing the sport, and it did grow for a short while, but it receded in a few short years.

Strong Knoxville 410 Field

The 410 Knoxville Championship Cup Series is shaping up to be a LEGEN…. wait for it…. DARY season with more talent and quality cars than ever before.  This isn’t my season preview, but here is what I know at this point, 59 days before the season opener.

Last year’s track champion Bronson Maeschen is back in his own #96 and already started his season in Florida with the WoO. Had a decent showing, and looked like he had a top five car on the last night there but crashed, thankfully not too much was torn up.

Ian Madsen will be very tough in the Nehring #18.  The second season for this team together should produce some wins.

Knoxville Announces Facility Expansion

The announcement today of the Knoxville Raceway expansion project is the tip of the iceberg of the facility improvements coming over the next few years. If you haven’t read the press release on the Knoxville Raceway website better read that now…. www.knoxvilleraceway.com

First of all, the Skate Pit will be replaced with a new building elsewhere on the grounds, or it could be part of the new building.  So don’t freak out Knoxville residents, it’s not going away.  The Skate Pit is a great place for families in the local area to enjoy, but this building was constructed in 1955 and it’s not exactly nice and pretty on the outside to welcome anyone walking into the “stadium” on race night, the fair, or any other event.  It’s an old building and a new skating rink facility will be a nice upgrade.  And a new entrance in general would be a nice upgrade.

2014 World of Outlaws Preview

The 2014 season is going to be a good one.  Can Daryn Pittman do it again?  Will Schatz overcome his struggles in qualifying and win the championship? Tim Kaeding played the role of the spoiler last year, but full-time this year, and it’s the King’s last run at the title.

It appears we have 15 teams attempting to run the full season, with a handful of teams competing about half of the schedule.  I’ve never looked forward to the start of a new season as much as this one.  So here is my 2014 WoO Preview!

The EA WoO pre-season power rankings: 1. Schatz, 2. Pittman, 3. Saldana, 4. McMahan, 5. Kaeding, 6. S. Kinser, 7. Swindell, 8. Madsen, 9. Sweet, 10. Sides, 11. Darrah, 12. K. Kinser, 13. Schuchart, 14. Rose, 15. Allen.   

Donny Schatz is my pick to win the championship.  23 wins last year, but 14 points shy of the championship.  I think we will see Donny and Ricky Warner figure out the qualifying point situation, and it’s their second year with the same tires and rules.  Schatz got off to a slow start in 2013, which cost him the championship in my opinion.  That won't happen in 2014.  I have a hunch this could be his best season yet.

Keeping up Down Under

The winter racing blues are in full swing now that we are past the holidays and we have below zero temperatures hitting the Midwest states this week. But to get your fix you can always follow the racing “Down Under” this time of year. The presence of sprint car racing has been growing internationally for some time now, especially in Australia, but this year it seems that more of the main stream racing media is following along and giving it more attention. This is primarily thanks to social media today. Facebook, Twitter, and phone apps have made it very easy for even the casual sprint car fan to follow along with their favorite driver and how their winter months are going. Donny Schatz has won in both New Zealand and Australia this winter. Ian Madsen, Brad Sweet, Steve Kinser, and Kraig Kinser have all won races as well.

Knoxville Knights: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: 360 Nationals Qualifying

Car owner and mechanic Steve Bennett was ready for the 360 Nationals. The team had struggled in the beginning of the season, but had performed well in recent weeks. His black and white #42 with young driver Andy Zook in the seat had won three consecutive weeks in the Knoxville 410 class leading up to the 360 Nationals. It had been a couple of months since the team had raced with their 360 engine which had 19 nights of racing on it, but Steve thought the engine had enough left in it to make it a couple of more nights.