Great Loss and Great Opportunity

It's been a tough winter.  It's been a tough year or so honestly.  A couple of weeks ago we lost Ralph Capitani, the most beloved person associated with Knoxville Raceway. He was our leader for so long and there aren't enough words to describe how grateful we should all be that he chose to take that leadership role in 1978. He not only helped Knoxville, but other dirt tracks and racing organizations benefited indirectly in my opinion.

In the past year we have lost Cappy, former promoter Ray Grimes and his wife Naomi, car owner and mechanic Gil Sonner, car owner and chassis builder Bob Troslte, jack of all trades mechanic Lenard McCarl, announcer Tim Trier, long-time official Dave Beede, driver Bryan Clauson, and winner of the inaugural Knoxville Nationals Roy Robbins.

Southern Iowa Speedway 2016 Recap & Stats

At the conclusion of the race season I always like to go back and look at stats from my still somewhat new hometown track of the Southern Iowa Speedway.  I know most of you might read this column for sprint car news but I have become a fan of our local IMCA dirt track racing as well over the past 8-10 years. I do not typically write much about Osky because #1 I don’t have the time with my real job and part-time job at Knoxville Raceway, #2 we typically have two or three other reporters at Osky for Positively Racing there so one more guy like me is a bit overkill. #3 with my kids in baseball and softball I miss a handful of nights at the track.  That is why I contribute at Osky with a twitter account for them and post results there as I get them or when I am there I am quicker.

The 2016 season at Osky can be summed up with a few names. Cayden Carter, Curtis VanDerWal, Dustin Griffiths, and Mother Nature.  These three drivers dominated this season at the historic half-mile. Ma Nature stuck it to us with no events run during the month of July and washing out the Fair week racing.

The Race Against the Clock

As one of Knoxville Raceway’s Track Historians and keeper of records, one of the most important statistics we keep track of is the clock on race nights. Time management has been something Knoxville Raceway has strived to improve, so that events are completed at a decent time. Race Director, John McCoy, continuously reviews the track’s performance and how we can ensure that fans of all ages have an enjoyable experience at Knoxville. 

In 2015 our average time of the final checkered flag for weekly events was 11:07 p.m. Our goal in 2016 was to improve that number to 10:30 p.m. 

We made a huge stride in 2016 with the average finish of our weekly events being 10:16 p.m -- an improvement of 51 minutes this season for the final checkered flag. 

Brian Brown Wins!

We are through four weeks of racing so far this season at Knoxville Raceway. Only one rain out at this point which is great. We had a nice crowd this past Saturday despite the cool temperatures. Thank You to all of you who came out! The forecast so far for this coming Saturday looks much better.

This was the last weekly show of the season before we go to National Sprint League events for the next three weeks before the Outlaws come to town.

410 Report
25 cars signed in. Time Trials top eight was Bronson Maeschen 14.885, Brian Brown, Ian Madsen, Austin McCarl, Scott Bogucki, Danny Lasoski, Matt Juhl, and Brooke Tatnell. Good to see Bronson go out 21st in the order and lay down a good time. In hot laps Brian Brown had a lap of 14.507, exactly 0.100 off the ten year old track record of 14.407. With the weather conditions it made for some fast time in hot laps, but the track fell off in time trials a bit and the track widened out. Heat Race winners were; Mark Dobmeier, Brian Brown, and AJ Moeller. 

Clasuon Steals the Show at Knoxville Opener!

The Knoxville Raceway 63rd Season Opener was Saturday and we were blessed with great weather! Sunny, 77 degrees, a little breeze, and low humidity at 28%.

31 cars signed in. Time Trials top eight was Kerry Madsen 15.786, Brian Brown, Danny Lasoski, Justin Henderson, Davey Heskin, Bryan Clauson, Wayne Johnson, and Sammy Swindell.  Henderson was fast on lap one, but the engine let go on lap two and they had to scratch the 410 car for the night.

 Drivers going double duty on this night in the 410 and 360 class were Justin Henderson and Bryan Clauson. We also had outlaws Sammy Swindell and Kerry Madsen in attendance. We had several ASCS 360 teams entered with Wayne Johnson and Johnny Herrera dropping in a 410 on this night.

Remembering Brett Golik

This column originally appeared in the Newton Daily News after the death of Brett Golik. Today marks the five year anniversary of his death and looking back, Brett is still missed and I thought this serves as a good reminder of what to be thankful for today.
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The community of Newton and the Knoxville Raceway sprint car family lost a courageous competitor this past week with the passing of 40 year old Brett Golik. Brett battled brain cancer for two and half years and in that time frame, Brett made an effort to try to right the wrongs in his life. He became an inspiration trying to make people aware of supporting cancer research and his faith.
I didn’t know Brett personally, but as an avid race fan I followed Brett’s career at Knoxville. I respected Brett for chasing his dream. He worked at Maytag in the factory for ten years and found a way to put a yellow numbered 5G sprint car on the famed half mile oval for 18 seasons. It took Brett a few years to become competitive but he was able to pick up three wins in the 360 division. One of those wins was a classic battle with Knoxville legend David Hesmer from Marshalltown who is a four time track champion and is the all time wins leader in the 360 class. Hesmer remembered the night Golik had the better car and beat him to the finish line.

Henderson Wins Two, Knoxville & Jackson Notes

Knoxville Raceway Season Championship night always sneaks up on us too fast at the end of the season doesn't it?  I’m still catching up on racing stuff post-Nationals so I apologize for the lateness of my blog here. I haven't been able to come up with my Nationals story yet. The next few weeks we still have some sprint car racing happening in the Midwest with WoO, ASCS, NSL, Sprint Invaders, so get out there and catch them while you can. The 410 and 360 championships were locked up coming into the night, but the 305 was still up for grabs.

410 Report
26 cars enterted. Top 10 Qualifying:  Justin Henderson set quick time for the fourth time this season with a lap of 14.922. He also set quick time four times in 2014. The rest of the top ten were Dusty Zomer, Brian Brown, Bronson Maeschen, Ian Madsen, Bryan Clauson, Mark Dobmeier, Austin McCarl, Danny Lasoski, and AJ Moeller.