2015 Knoxville Raceway 360 Preview

The Knoxville Raceway 360 class should be highly competitive.  Justin Henderson returns in the BDS Motorsports #1 and will try to defend their 2014 owner’s championship while Henderson will compete for 410 driver points only.  The driver’s championship will be a tough one with several strong contenders.

Joe Beaver won his first Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup in 2014 and won three features. Beaver has to be considered the favorite coming into the season but he will have the target on his back this year with several good drivers trying to win the championship.

Jon Agan is sure to be a contender for his first championship. He finished 177 points behind Beaver last year and although he didn’t get a win at Knoxville he had just as many top five finishes (seven) as Beaver did, and he won the Sprint Invaders championship. I look for Agan to be better in 2015 and win some features.

Jamie Ball exceeded expectation in 2014 and finished third in points and won his first 360 feature. Ball will once again be piloting the 5J and the 24 year-old is becoming a seasoned driver with a bright future ahead of him. Can he win more races in 2015? Can he compete for a championship? The answer to those questions are likely to be, yes.

Russ Hall was seventh in points in 2013 and he improved to fourth in 2014. The 2013 Sprint Invaders series champion has been one of the best drivers in the 360 class in recent years and he has won two features.  If the 29 team can improve their qualifying effort and start closer to the front look for them to win some races.

Nate Van Haaften has been one of the best 360 drivers in recent years, winning four features the past four seasons. He was third in 2013 points and fifth in 2014.  He was voted 360 most improved driver in 2011.  Look for Nate to be eyeing his first championship and getting a win.    

Dylan Peterson from South Dakota surprised everyone last year finishing sixth in points and grabbing the rookie of the year title. After finishing in the top ten in three of his last five features Peterson shot up the standings. You could see his improvement as the season went with more experience and confidence.  Look for Peterson to maybe get his first feature win this year.

Jarrod Schneiderman competed in the 360 class in 2014 and finished seventh in points. Jarrod has shown improvement the past couple of years and could be another guy who could get his first win this year at Knoxville.

Matt Moro ended the 2014 season by winning on season championship night. The 2008 champion of the 360 class is looking to bounce back from a tenth place points finish last year and get back into the hunt for a second championship.

After taking five years off from racing Calvin Landis came back in 2014 driving the #10 car owned by Mike VanderEcken.  The Arizona native who now calls Knoxville home finished eighth in points and just maybe we will see him in victory lane.

Other drivers that should be competing each week are Alan Ambers, David Hall, Laney Feight, Tyler Groenendyk, Mike Houseman Jr., Tom Lenz, Ricky Montgomery, Sawyer Phillips, Tony Shilling, and Alan Zoutte.  The only 360 Rookie scheduled to compete this year is Mike Philben who is moving up from the 305 class.  

Come out Saturday night for the Pella Motors, Race For Your School night as we open up our 62nd season of weekly racing!  Kids 19 and under are free admission!