The Knoxville Nationals qualifying scoring system is something I get questions about frequently. I thought it would be nice to have an explanation in the blog to reference to. The Knoxville Nationals Points System was created by promoter Ray Grimes and his wife Naomi.
Hawkeye Ovals
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Harris Clash to Strickler
Saturday, July 6, 2013
My Iowa Speedweek
I’m extremely fortunate to have a wife that likes racing, and this week she decided we should go to Marshalltown Tuesday, Osky Wednesday, Farley Thursday, Columbus Junction on Friday. Farley and CJ makes it 14 ovals I’ve seen races at in Iowa, out of 45 total by my count in the state. My goal is to see a race at them all, but it’s going to take some time. If you follow me on twitter and Instagram I have pictures and some video of each night.
Marshalltown on Tuesday was a short show for the stock shootout, which was fine for a week night and work night. The best race of the week was here in the SportMod feature with Travis Peterson getting the win on the last lap with a pass over Jared Van Deest. Donavan Smith won the Stock Car race as he stalked Jay Schmidt before finally making the pass stick. Devin Smith walked away from the field in Hobby Stocks. Marshalltown was the best racing I saw all week, not a surprise really.
Wednesday night at Oskaloosa Todd Shute won Modifieds, Zack VanderBeek won stock cars, Curtis VanDerWal won SportMod, and the big upset of the night was Danny Thrasher holding off Mike Hughes to win Hobby. Joyce and Dick Eisele have the full report of Osky and Marshalltown in the 4D Fan Report.
Thursday we made the nearly 3 hour trek to Farley Speedway for the $10,000 to win Modifieds, $5,000 to win SportMod, Aftermarket Nationals. This was a declaration of independence of sorts for the non crate motor side of Modified racing. I’m smelling a split in the Modified division long term if more of these events keep coming, like the Marshalltown World Nationals coming this fall. This was a lot of money to race for, and they had a good crowd of more than 2,000 in the stands. But the racing was awful and as the race track was not prepared well at all. With only four races on the schedule for the night, it was disappointing. After hot laps the track was basically gone. The track crew attempted to rework it after the SportMod B main and in one lap it was bone dry again. Both races turned into asphalt races with rubber down conditions. I am spoiled going to nice facilities like Knoxville, but this was a small half-mile track and it has been reconfigured to a 3/8. The light poles are still set of the old configuration, so no lighting in turns three and four was a little strange. If you are going to go to all the trouble of reconfiguring the track, why would you not move the plush Musco lighting with it? Otherwise the stands and concession facilities are decent.
Eric Pollard started on the pole of the SportMOd feature and won, Shawn Kilgore started outside row one, and won the Modified feature leading the whole 50 lap parade. Kyle Strickler was fun to watch coming from 26th to 7th, but half the cars he passed spun out or broke. Andy Eckrich was impressive passing cars as well finishing third. Good to see big names like Strickler and Kelly Shryock there. The track also didn’t use radios to communicate with drivers and had to lineup them up on restarts the old fashioned way, which was a pain for fans to have sit and wait, and wait, and wait. We drove home disappointed, but since I had driven to Farley twice in the past, and was rained out both times, I felt like I conquered the track to finally see a race there.
Friday started with a meet and greet with Big Daddy Don Garlits at Musco headquarters in Oskaloosa, where he fired up an old swamp rat dragster, which was just simply awesome. The old man is 81 years old, and proud of it. He will be making an appearance at Eddyville Raceway Park on Saturday.
Friday night we made the drive to CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction. This again was an old half mile reconfigured to a 4/10, or big 3/8. I hate to complain about seeing a race once again, but this facility was filled with mosquito’s, bees, and spiders. And the pit area sits about four feet higher than the racing surface while the stands are not elevated and we couldn’t see the cars most of the way down the backstretch or entering turn three. There was a truck division, and when I say truck, I mean that in a singular way, one truck. The Mod LItes were entertaining, Mods were fast but couldn’t pass on a narrow track. Thankfully Nathan Wood made a good race out of the $750 stock car special and won after clawing his way from third at one point. This track was narrow and difficult to pass until the top slowed down enough to make the bottom groove about equal. Another disappointing night in general, but it’s another dirt track in my log.
I can’t wait to get back to Knoxville on Saturday night!!!
Marshalltown on Tuesday was a short show for the stock shootout, which was fine for a week night and work night. The best race of the week was here in the SportMod feature with Travis Peterson getting the win on the last lap with a pass over Jared Van Deest. Donavan Smith won the Stock Car race as he stalked Jay Schmidt before finally making the pass stick. Devin Smith walked away from the field in Hobby Stocks. Marshalltown was the best racing I saw all week, not a surprise really.
Wednesday night at Oskaloosa Todd Shute won Modifieds, Zack VanderBeek won stock cars, Curtis VanDerWal won SportMod, and the big upset of the night was Danny Thrasher holding off Mike Hughes to win Hobby. Joyce and Dick Eisele have the full report of Osky and Marshalltown in the 4D Fan Report.
Thursday we made the nearly 3 hour trek to Farley Speedway for the $10,000 to win Modifieds, $5,000 to win SportMod, Aftermarket Nationals. This was a declaration of independence of sorts for the non crate motor side of Modified racing. I’m smelling a split in the Modified division long term if more of these events keep coming, like the Marshalltown World Nationals coming this fall. This was a lot of money to race for, and they had a good crowd of more than 2,000 in the stands. But the racing was awful and as the race track was not prepared well at all. With only four races on the schedule for the night, it was disappointing. After hot laps the track was basically gone. The track crew attempted to rework it after the SportMod B main and in one lap it was bone dry again. Both races turned into asphalt races with rubber down conditions. I am spoiled going to nice facilities like Knoxville, but this was a small half-mile track and it has been reconfigured to a 3/8. The light poles are still set of the old configuration, so no lighting in turns three and four was a little strange. If you are going to go to all the trouble of reconfiguring the track, why would you not move the plush Musco lighting with it? Otherwise the stands and concession facilities are decent.
Eric Pollard started on the pole of the SportMOd feature and won, Shawn Kilgore started outside row one, and won the Modified feature leading the whole 50 lap parade. Kyle Strickler was fun to watch coming from 26th to 7th, but half the cars he passed spun out or broke. Andy Eckrich was impressive passing cars as well finishing third. Good to see big names like Strickler and Kelly Shryock there. The track also didn’t use radios to communicate with drivers and had to lineup them up on restarts the old fashioned way, which was a pain for fans to have sit and wait, and wait, and wait. We drove home disappointed, but since I had driven to Farley twice in the past, and was rained out both times, I felt like I conquered the track to finally see a race there.
Friday started with a meet and greet with Big Daddy Don Garlits at Musco headquarters in Oskaloosa, where he fired up an old swamp rat dragster, which was just simply awesome. The old man is 81 years old, and proud of it. He will be making an appearance at Eddyville Raceway Park on Saturday.
Friday night we made the drive to CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction. This again was an old half mile reconfigured to a 4/10, or big 3/8. I hate to complain about seeing a race once again, but this facility was filled with mosquito’s, bees, and spiders. And the pit area sits about four feet higher than the racing surface while the stands are not elevated and we couldn’t see the cars most of the way down the backstretch or entering turn three. There was a truck division, and when I say truck, I mean that in a singular way, one truck. The Mod LItes were entertaining, Mods were fast but couldn’t pass on a narrow track. Thankfully Nathan Wood made a good race out of the $750 stock car special and won after clawing his way from third at one point. This track was narrow and difficult to pass until the top slowed down enough to make the bottom groove about equal. Another disappointing night in general, but it’s another dirt track in my log.
I can’t wait to get back to Knoxville on Saturday night!!!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Catching Up with Osky & Marshalltown
It’s been a while since I’ve written about IMCA racing. My time has been occupied with getting married, moving to Oskaloosa, and writing a book about the Knoxville Nationals since January. Come July you will hear more about this book when it’s printed and ready for sale. But now that it’s done, I’ve been able to catch some races at Oskaloosa and Marshalltown and as I write this on Saturday with a rain out at Knoxville, I finally found time! You will notice that Hawkeye Ovals is now for IMCA type racing and my blog for sprint cars is now under the Knoxville Raceway banner at the following link, http://blog.knoxvilleraceway.com/ I had to separate the two as being the Blogger for Knoxville has been a good opportunity and since they actually pay me money, I had to segregate the two blogs and give them as much traffic as possible.Osky has been lucky avoiding weather more than some tracks as of late. With the first three weeks were cancelled due to weather (and new dirt not getting worked in) they have been on a run with five weeks in row now. But mother nature hasn’t cooperated even the nights they we have raced with it being cold and windy. June is almost here so it has to start warming up soon…. right?
The Osky Modified class has been healthy with car counts staying in the 11-12 range. Winners this season so far Cayden Carter, Jesse Sobbing, Jacob Murray, and Tyler Groenenyk. It appears the points will come down to Carter, Groenendyk, Bill Gibson, and Murray. Sobbing is not racing for points but the weeks has been to Osky he looks fast and will likely win the IMCA Modified rookie of the year honors after moving up from SportMod last season. Adam Larson and Todd Shute have been frequent visitors and looked stong as well. I’m just so happy that this class is growing. This past week Tyler Groenendyk made slide job on Brandon Banks with two laps to go to get the win.
Sport Mods at Osky has seen Curtis Van Der Wal win twice, Jason McDaniel, Ryan Fullenkamp, and Brett Lowry win features. Van Der Wal appears to be the class of the field but has had some bad luck come his way. Otherwise this class is wide open with a handful of drivers able to win the track championship. Brayton Carter almost won last week, leading the entire distance and holding off Lowry for several laps, he drove it a little too hard into turn one after taking the white flag and brushed the fence, losing his momentum and Lawry went by to steal the win. Brayton came home to second.
Stock Cars have been competitive as ever at Osky. Zack VabderBeek probably has the fastest car but isn’t competing every week. Nathan Wood is my pick to win the track championship at this point. He hasn’t won a feature but been close. Feature winners are VanderBeek, Damon Murty, Jason Minnehan, and Jeff Joldersma who won in his furst appearance at Osky last week. Murty has been fast, and so was Joldersma last week.
Hobby Stock has been all Mike Hughes so far this season. Hughes missed week one with the car not ready but won his first three at Osky, plus the Knoxville Shootout. This past week the track was tacky and fast and Hughes finished sixth, but when the track dries out he is unbeatable. Dale Porter got the win this past week, and Dustin Griffiths won in week one. Bill Bonnett has looked so far this season as well contending for wins.
Sport Compact class is still a 5-6 car field. Merv Chandler, Bill and John Whalen are the usual suspects. This class needs to grow to be more entertaining for me.
It’s been great to see Late Models on the schedule once a month this season. Spencer Diercks has won both features so far this season. Man I love to watch these cars race. The car count was fifteen the first week and last week dropped to ten. Ten is about what I expected to see each week they raced. Really wish we still had a Deery Bros show at Osky and Knoxville. They put on great shows.
I’ve only been to Marshalltown once this season. They have four weeks in and almost got the fifth week in this Friday before rains came after the heat races. Glad to see Kyle Brown get a couple of Modified wins already this season. Jimmy Gustin and Cayden Carter have won features as well. Still early in the season but Carter was the point leader coming into this past Friday and he wasn’t there in the heat races. Look for Gustin, Jon Snyder, Adam Larson, Racer Hulin, Luke Wanninger, Ronn Lauritzen and Brown to be the top contenders. Marshalltown is one of my favorite race tracks, and it’s a shame more race fans don’t’ make their way there on Friday nights.
I can’t believe how many races Joyse & Dick Eisele attend each week. And the work they do in their blog is impressive. I hear they are going to be in the upcoming Speedway Illustrated. Should be a great story! See you around the Hawkeye Ovals….
Monday, May 6, 2013
Knoxville-WoO Preview
If you have the racing blues due to the bad weather like I do, at least this coming Saturday, May 11 the World of Outlaws will be at Knoxville Raceway! The Outlaws are headlined by five time series champion Donny Schatz and twenty time champion Steve Kinser. Schatz is off to a slow start by his standards currently sitting third in the series point standings, but has two wins. His first ten races he had an average finish of 9.3, and his last nine that has lowered to 6.7. Once Schatz and crew chief Ricky Warner dial-in the new Hoosier tires they will tough to beat as usual. Schatz is the defending and five time champion of the Knoxville Nationals and will be the favorite on May 11. Season Stats: Wins-2, Top five-7, Top ten-13, Avg, finish-8.7.
Over the winter Daryn Pittman was hired to race the Kasey Kahne Racing #9 and is off to a strong start leading the points and has a series leading four wins. Through nineteen races Pittman has an impressive sixteen top ten finishes, the most of anyone on the WoO tour. Stats: Wins-4, Top five-13, Top ten-16, Avg, finish-5.5.
Schatz’s and Pittman’s best competition at Knoxville on May 11 will likely be the 2012 Nationals runner-up Brian Brown, who nearly won the Outlaws race Saturday at Eldora before Daryn Pittman passed him with only a handful of laps remaining. Brown has competed with the WoO on twelve occasions this season and has recorded five top ten’s. Look for Brown to make a strong showing on his home track at Knoxville!
Paul McMahan is driving the #51 this season and sits second in the point standings with one win. The Pennsylvania based CJB Motorsports team is looking to make their mark in their debut season with the Outlaws, and McMahan is in the prime of his career. Stats: Wins-1, Top five-9, Top ten-12, Avg, finish-8.6.
Joey Saldana has changed rides and now wheels the 71m Motter Motorsports machine. It’s been about a decade since the Motter team has fielded a sprinter. The resurrected 71m is off to a good start sitting fourth in points, but still looking for their first win. Stats: Wins-0, Top five-5, Top ten-12, Avg, finish-9.4.
Sammy Swindell is fifth in points and has collected one win so far. Look for Sammy to be on top of his game at Knoxville. Stats: Wins-1, Top five-4, Top ten-11, Avg, finish-9.7.
David Gravel started the season racing in Florida in his family owned #89G sprint car. When Bill Rose was injured in the third race of the season, Gravel was hired to fill in and he has put himself sixth in the point standings and is now on the full time tour. Stats: Wins-0, Top five-4, Top ten-10, Avg, finish-10.1.
Craig Dollansky (former Knoxville Regular) has two wins this season, but sits seventh in the Outlaws points. I would look for Dollansky and his #7 team to make big strides in the coming weeks and improve that position. The wins are there, and the consistency will follow. The Minnesota native always performs well at Knoxville. Stats: Wins-2, Top five-4, Top ten-10, Avg, finish-10.4.
Cody Darrah is currently in eighth in the WoO points. In his third full season with the Outlaws, Darrah has struggled this season, but has been close to winning on a couple of occasions. With his teammate Pittman leading the points, you have to think that Darrah will improve soon. Stats: Wins-0, Top five-2, Top ten-7, Avg, finish-12.3.
Steve Kinser finds himself ninth in the point standings with one feature win. In nineteen races he has one top five finish. The 58 year old “King of the Outlaws” is not off to a good start. It was only three years ago that he was competing for the win at the Nationals when his engine let go while running third. But he failed to qualify for the Nationals A main last season. Is the King’s age finally catching up with him? I wouldn’t ever count him out of winning more races. Stats: Wins-1, Top five-1, Top ten-7, Avg, finish-13.1.
2005 Knoxville track champion Kerry Madsen has been struggling this season, sitting eleventh in the points is not where I expected him to be. The team missed three features earlier in the season and has recently made a change at crew chief. Madsen won his first race of the season last Friday at Eldora, but followed that up with a finish of twenty-fourth the following night. The Keneric #29 team is based out of Knoxville and they won the June Outlaws event in 2012 at Knoxville, so I am sure they are excited to be back racing on their home turf. Stats: Wins-1, Top five-3, Top ten-8, Avg, finish-14.3.
2005 Knoxville Nationals champion Kraig Kinser isn’t off to the start he hoped for with only eight top ten finishes, and not making the feature at Merced, CA. After improving each of the last three seasons in the points by finishing tenth, eighth, and sixth from 2010-2012 respectively, it appeared that the 11K team was gaining momentum. It is still early in the season, but hopefully Kraig can win some races and rebound. Stats: Wins-0, Top five-3, Top ten-8, Avg, finish-13.5.
Jason Sides started the season strong with five straight top ten finishes, but has since struggled and missed the feature on a few nights. Sides is a talented driver with not as much funding as most teams on the tour. He hasn’t had the best of luck at Knoxville historically, but hopefully he can turn that around this weekend. Stats: Wins-0, Top five-2, Top ten-7, Avg, finish-15.3.
Although Tim Kaeding isn’t considered a full-time driver with the Outlaws, he has been the most impressive of anyone on the tour. In fourteen starts TK has three wins, nine top five’s, and eleven top ten’s. His average feature finish was 4.6 before last weekend, best of anyone on the tour, but he didn’t have a good weekend at Eldora with a twenty-sixth, and sixteenth place finishes. Look for Kaeding to be tough at Knoxville.
I would also keep a lookout for Lucas Wolfe in the Todd and Susan LaHaise #82. Wolfe is off the full-time Outlaws tour this season, but has found a solid ride. This car has performed well at Knoxville in the past, including winning the Knoxville Nationals Friday “Hard Knox” feature with Justin Henderson in the seat. Wolfe finished eighth and twelfth last weekend with the Outlaws at Eldora.
The “Knoxville Regulars” will be on hand to try to defend their home track, which hasn’t been an easy task over the years. There have been 132 World of Outlaws features (not including the Knoxville Nationals) at Knoxville Raceway since the series started racing here in 1979, and only twice has a “Regular” weekly competitor came away with a victory (Lasoski 1993, McCarl 2009).
Terry McCarl won an Outlaws race earlier this season in Florida, so he will be in contention for a win and looked good at the season opener. Brian Brown clearly has a chance to get the win. Bronson Maeschen won the Capitani Classic last August with several of the Outlaws competitors in that field. Mark Dobmeier won an Outlaws feature last year at Huset’s Speedway. Brooke Tatnell is a “Regular” this year and won an Outlaws feature in the 2010 season at Knoxville. Davey Heskin has finished in the top ten twice within the past three years at the Nationals, and he always qualifies well. Ian Madsen was really fast in the Nehring #18 at the season opener, as was Dusty Zomer. The chances of one of the “Regulars” beating the Outlaws, is higher than ever!
The Knoxville 360 class will be racing as well on May 11. See you in the stands!
Knoxville Raceway World of Outlaws career feature wins (not including Knoxville Nationals): 26-Steve Kinser, 24-Sammy Swindell, 14-Danny Lasoski, 14-Mark Kinser, 11-Doug Wolfgang, 9-Jac Haudenschild, 5-Donny Schatz, 5-Stevie Smith, 3-Craig Dollansky, 3-Joey Saldana, Tied with 2; Brad Doty, Dave Blaney, Johnny Herrera, Terry McCarl. Tied with 1 win; Bobby Davis Jr., Brooke Tatnell, Danny Smith, Jason Meyers, Jeff Swindell, Keith Kauffman, Kerry Madsen, Kraig Kinser, Shane Stewart, Tim Green.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Knoxville Raceway Season Opener Notes
The 60th Knoxville Raceway season opener saw 33-410’s, 28-360’s, and 21-305’s for a total of 82 cars drive through the pit gate, a healthy car count to start the season.410 Class:
Brian Brown went out thirteenth in the qualifying order and established quick time with a lap of 15.039. Ian Madsen was second quick despite going out thirtieth in the order. Dustin Selvage won the first heat with Mark Dobmeier on his tail. Brian Brown had moved from sixth to second when his car seemed to have come out of gear and he stopped in turn two. Brown was towed to the pit and would start the B main. Heat two saw the start get called back with Garrett Dollanksy not in line on the front row. He moved to the third row which moved up Terry McCarl and Ian Madsen. Madsen had a great start and was around McCarl on the first corner. Madsen looked impressive and pulled away to an easy win. Heat three was all Shane Stewart coming from the third row. Stewart picked off cars easily after the field sorted itself out. Davey Heskin took a little longer to get by some cars but looked impressive the last few laps and finished third. In the B main Brian Brown pulled away to win easily. I had clocked him at 15.9, 15.4, 15.8 most laps he was in clean air so the track was still fast around the cushion. The Dunkin track preparation was spot on with a low groove, a high groove, and the middle came in as the moisture in the low groove was kicked up the track.
With Droud and McCarl starting on the front row of the feature it looked like they would duel it out for the win, but Shane Stewart drove his #71 around both of them on lap two and threaded his way through lapped traffic with no problems making it look easy on his way to victory. The race behind Stewart for second was heated with Droud, McCarl, and Zomer for several laps until a lap nine caution for Austin McCarl who had a fire under his car. The safety workers were there right away to extinguish it, but it wasn’t the night A-Mac had hoped for. Stewart again pulled away on the restart and was never challenged. McCarl would take runner-up honors with Ian Madsen getting by Droud and Zomer late for third place. Brian Brown came from nineteenth to fifth.
410 Thoughts:
Shane Stewart is fast in any car he drives. How this guy hasn’t landed a full-time WoO ride is mind boggling to me. But it was great to see him come join us for a weekly show in the Indy Race Parts 71.
Terry McCarl is the man to beat for the championship. No one is better at “racing” in the features than he is. His experience makes up for whatever his car might be lacking.
I’m impressed with Ian Madsen and his new Nehring 18 team. They were very fast off the trailer and I think he will be McCarl’s toughest competition.
I was glad to see Dusty Zomer qualify well (fourth) which is what he was lacking last season. If he continues to qualify well and start up front in the features, he will win some races.
Davey Heskin qualified third, looked good in his heat race, but he didn’t go forward in the feature starting seventh and finishing eighth. I will be watching him closely next week to see if this was a one night deal where they struggled with the set-up, or maybe the competition has got better around him.
I was disappointed with the 55 of Brooke Tatnell. Tatnell qualified fifth, went from fifth to fourth in his heat race, and fifth to eleventh in the feature. I was expecting more but I think they will improve as the season goes.
Bronson Maeschen started ninth and finished ninth in the feature. Like Heskin I will keep an eye on Bronson to see if he improves next week.
Mark Dobmeier qualified thirteenth and drove from twelfth to seventh. Qualifying has hurt them in years past, and that is something they need to improve upon to win a track championship and win races.
Good to have Brian Brown in attendance. What a tough break for him, losing the rear end in his heat race. It would have been interesting to see him and Stewart battle for the win. But he looked faster than anyone else all night.
The return of David Hesmer will have to wait one more week as his team burnt a piston in their engine on practice night.
360 Class:
Jamie Ball was fastest in group qualifying with a 16.305. Randy Martin, Thomas Kennedy, and Tony Schilling were the heat race winners. Tyler Groenendyk appeared to have the feature in hand, leading by half a straightaway at one point. As Groenendyk entered lapped traffic he switched his line from the cushion to the middle and lower grooves and lost his momentum. This allowed veteran Clint Garner to pounce on the opportunity and get by for the win. Groenendyk still had an impressive run in second as he held off a charging Nate Van Haaften the last few laps for the position.
360 Thoughts:
Clint Garner is still the driver to beat in this class. It was good to see Groenendyk have a good showing after struggling last season. I hope that Tyler keeps progressing throughout the season. Although the track was perfect for passing and slide jobs, I didn’t see much of that with most of field finishing close to where they started, which left me scratching my head. Was it just the first night and teams adjusting to new rules and tires? Are the cars are more equal this year?
305 Class:
Matt Stephenson set a new 305 track record in qualifying with a lap of 16.846. Matthew Stelzer won the first heat race on the last corner by passing Mike Mayberry on the outside. Larry Ball Jr. destroyed the field in heat two. In the feature J Kinder had the early lead with rookie Jake Strayer keeping pace, but Larry Ball Jr. worked his way from eighth to the front as they raced through lapped traffic and picked up the win. Kinder and Strayer would finish second and third respectively. Last year’s 305 track champion Stelzer finished fourth while Matt Stephenson rounded out the top five.
Wrap-up:
I’m looking forward to next Saturday night already. Had the chicken bites this week, now I have to decide on tenderloin or nachos for next week... decisions. The #4 of Dakota Hendrickson is my early season vote for best appearing car, although Ian Madsen’s #18 is a close second. It was nice to see the return of a weekly program of sorts with the Full Throttle program being sold for $1 under the stands. It has a scorecard inside, and people keeping score in the stands is a lost art. When I was a kid, half the people in the stands would write down lineups and finishes. I guess we are spoiled today with lineups on our smart phones with Twitter and the Mobile App. I’m pleased to see the return of my friend Rustin Nelson writing a column in that program as well, he is always colorful. And what a great crowd on opening night!!! I hope that continues. See you in the stands.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
2013 Knoxville Raceway Season Preview
The 2013 Knoxville Championship Cup Series season is shaping up to be one of the most competitive I can remember, especially in the 410 class. Many teams are coming into the season with experience. Some are brand new teams. And most of them have won races and have excellent equipment. With teams changing from Goodyear to Hoosier tires and harder-narrower tires than they have used before, it will be interesting to see who adapts the quickest to the new tire rules. Twin Features night is always a pivotal night in the points season, and this year it will pay full winnings for both features. Kudos to Brian Stickel and the Fair Board for that decision! The Capitani Classic event is just as important as twin features night and a lot can be gained or lost by making the A main as we saw last season. 2012 saw eight different winners in thirteen weekly shows in the 410 class, and it is hard to believe the competition is tougher in 2013, but it is.
410 Class:
The Favorite:
Seven time track champion Terry McCarl is the man to beat. Although McCarl didn’t have a stellar 2012 season in qualifying, he was the only driver to have an average finish of five or better (4.9) in 2012. T-Mac is the clear favorite to win in my eyes and he already has one World of Outlaws feature win in 2013 in Florida.
The Contenders:
Davey Heskin was the point leader most of the season last year and showed maturity behind the wheel. He won two features and his equipment held up all season. Losing the point battle late in the season was tough to swallow as McCarl outperformed Heskin at the Capitani Classic. I look for Heskin, with one more of year experience under his belts, to be right there again in 2013.
Dusty Zomer was second in points in 2011 but is coming off of a disappointing fourth place finish in 2012 with no feature wins. I look for the Ingalls #91 team to come back strong this season, win some races, and challenge for the title.
Bronson Maeschen won two races in 2012, including the Capitani Classic, and finished third in points. Something seemed to click last year for Maeschen and he proved he has the ability to compete for feature wins, not just great qualifying times. It will be interesting to see if Maeschen can sustain that type of effort in 2013.
Mark Dobmeier is another driver to keep your eyes on. He also struggled in qualifying in 2012, and then raced his way up front consistently as he was third in average feature finishes with an average of 7.3. Dobmeier won a World of Outlaws feature in 2012 at Huset’s and has the ability to win at any time. The Lunstra 13 team races racing three nights a week, which helps in a lot of ways, but I also wonder if that hinders them at times with not having fresh equipment at the big Knoxville half-mile. Dobmeier is due for a great points season, and this might be his year.
Australian Brooke Tatnell announced he will be making a run at the Knoxville track championship in 2013 driving the #11AU Barry Lewis owned car. Although Tatnell is a veteran with eleven World of Outlaws career feature wins and four career wins at Knoxville, this is his first real attempt to race for a championship at Knoxville. His only other season competing full time at Knoxville was 1994. Tatnell will be a force in the 410 class as a Knoxville Regular.
Another Aussie, Ian Madsen is coming off of an impressive 2012 season where he showed a lot of improvement at Knoxville winning one feature and finishing sixth in points. He also won the Sydney Speedway $50,000 challenge this winter in Australia after starting at the back of the field. Ian will be driving for a new team this season, the #18 Bret Nehring owned sprint car.
Wild Cards:
Don Droud Jr. will be back in the familiar Gil Sonner 47. Droud has finished seventh in points the past two seasons after finishing second in 2010. They could rebound and be a contender to the championship if they can qualify better. Droud is one of the best drivers in the pit area with a lot of experience.
Lynton Jeffrey was eighth in points in 2012. He didn’t win a feature last season, but if he has the funding and the power under the hood, he can drive his #12 Vortex Wings car to the front.
David Hesmer is coming back after an eight year layoff in the new #1 Bryan Sundby team. This team is focused on winning some races and competing solely at Knoxville. They will have a fast car and I look for them to be tougher in the second half of the season as long as their equipment holds up.
Dustin Selvage is entering his third season in the 410 class. He has performed well at times the past two seasons, and is still looking for his first feature win. Consistency has been his downfall, but I see a lot of potential in this driver. He will change from his family owned team to drive the Williams 7K.
The Field: Josh Schneiderman, Ryan Bunton, Rob Kubli, AJ Moeller, Mike Moore, Dennis Moore Jr., Rager Phillips, Tasker Phillips, Glen Saville, Jarrod Schneiderman.
All of these drivers have experience and most have shown improvement. Ryan Bunton and AJ Moeller both had good qualifying efforts in 2012 but their lack of experience showed in features. Dennis Moore Jr. is moving back into the 410 class after racing in the 360 division the past few seasons. Rager Phillips has moved back into the #10 VaderEcken car and were fast at times two years ago when they combined their efforts, especially at the Nationals. Josh Schneiderman was tenth in points a year ago, but that was down from previous seasons. It will be interesting to see if he can rebound in 2013.
Sentimental Favorite: Robert Bell. Let’s hope we see the #71 back on the track in 2013.
Rookies: Dakota Hendrickson of Omaha, Nebraska, Jordan Goldesberry and Joey Moughan both of Springfield, IL.
Maybe: If Austin McCarl can pull some sponsorship dollars together we could see his #17a back on the track. He is a talented driver who could compete for some wins. I’ve also heard that the #19 of Bob Weuve from Newton might be coming back after taking last season off.
The Part-Timers: No doubt we will see heavyweights Brian Brown, Wayne Johnson, and Danny Lasoski at Knoxville a handful of times this year.
Invaders: It’s already been documented that some teams are planning to visit Knoxville Raceway more often this year to be more prepared for the Knoxville Nationals in August. Listening to recent Winged Nation broadcasts on MRN Radio, Dale Blaney said that he intends to show up on June 1 during the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend as his father Lou Blaney will be enshrined. Greg Hodnett also alluded to making a couple of extra trips from Pennsylvania this year to make some laps after being disappointed with his Nationals results missing the Saturday A main the past two years. California driver Rico Abreu has also mentioned that he intends to race a few times in his bid to win Rookie of the Nationals. IRA champion Bill Balog has also mentioned that he will be at Knoxville more frequently this season.
360 Class:
The favorite is four time track champion Clint Garner, who absolutely dominated the points battle in 2012 with four wins. Ganrer will attempt to win his fifth consecutive championship in 2013, which would break the tie of him and David Hesmer with four track championships each. Garner alluded to trying the 410 division in 2013 at the end of last season but his team has since decided to stay with the same program this season.
The drivers hoping to end the rein of Garner are Nate Van Haaften who won two features last season, Jon Agan, Matt Moro, Josh Higday, and Joe Beaver. Agan and Moro both won one feature in 2012 and Beaver was consistently in the top ten. Higday and Moro are both experienced enough, and if they have the equipment and a little luck to stay up front they could do very well. I also think we will see Carson McCarl improve this year in his sophomore season in the 360 class and if he can get a feature win early in the season, that confidence boost might propel him to more wins and be someone to challenge for a top five point finish.
My Wild Cards are Russ Hall, Jamie Ball, RJ Johnson, and Casey Friedrichsen. All of these drivers have the capability to win features on any given night, but consistency is something they need to work on. Thankfully Jamie Ball is healthy and back racing after a serious crash a year ago. Alan Ambers will move up from the 305 class to 360 this year.
Part-Timers: While Randy Martin only runs a part-time schedule, when he is at Knoxville he is consistently in the top five. And with the field opened up to allow 410 competitors to race every week in both classes, I think we could see some teams trying their 360 equipment more frequently to gear up for the 360 Nationals. Brian Brown and Jason Johnson both entered the 360 class twice last season but might do it more often this year when they do show up since they are able to race both classes.
305 Class:
This class is hard to predict but Matthew Stelzer is the defending champion and is likely to be the driver to beat again. Mike Van Haaften and Mitchell Alexander were his top competition a year ago. Cody Ambers and J Kinder will likely show improvement. Matt Stephenson has always been competitive in his #55 and with some rookies coming in I think it will be a tough field of cars. This class is growing, and I have a hunch we will see car counts in this class continue to grow. The one rookie I have my eye on is Newton teenager Jake Strayer, who has had a successful career in SportMods in recent years at Marshalltown Speedway and he started the last race of the season at Knoxville in the 305’s in 2012.
The best part of a new season is that we really don’t know how it will all turn out. From week to week we see teams evolve. Some get better and some get worse as they struggle to keep up with the wear and tear throughout the season. It is the best reality show in my opinion. My favorite part of opening night though is walking through the ticket entrance tunnel and walking up the ramp to my seat, soaking in the environment with some chicken bites, and then watching the push trucks drop the hammer to help fire off the cars. The smell of the methanol is intoxicating as the cars idle by slowly. The anticipation of that first Doug Clark green flag builds. And then the track is packed down tight and the command is given to turn em’ loose! Ahhh it is heaven. As I have grown older a lot of things in life change, but the feeling I still get with that first green flag stays the same and it takes me back to sitting with my father in the stands as a child. Those are some of the best memories of my life, and I hope you make great memories as well this season with your friends at family at Knoxville Raceway in 2013. Good luck to all the competitors and I hope it’s a safe season for all involved.
410 Class:
The Favorite:
Seven time track champion Terry McCarl is the man to beat. Although McCarl didn’t have a stellar 2012 season in qualifying, he was the only driver to have an average finish of five or better (4.9) in 2012. T-Mac is the clear favorite to win in my eyes and he already has one World of Outlaws feature win in 2013 in Florida.
The Contenders:
Davey Heskin was the point leader most of the season last year and showed maturity behind the wheel. He won two features and his equipment held up all season. Losing the point battle late in the season was tough to swallow as McCarl outperformed Heskin at the Capitani Classic. I look for Heskin, with one more of year experience under his belts, to be right there again in 2013.
Dusty Zomer was second in points in 2011 but is coming off of a disappointing fourth place finish in 2012 with no feature wins. I look for the Ingalls #91 team to come back strong this season, win some races, and challenge for the title.
Bronson Maeschen won two races in 2012, including the Capitani Classic, and finished third in points. Something seemed to click last year for Maeschen and he proved he has the ability to compete for feature wins, not just great qualifying times. It will be interesting to see if Maeschen can sustain that type of effort in 2013.
Mark Dobmeier is another driver to keep your eyes on. He also struggled in qualifying in 2012, and then raced his way up front consistently as he was third in average feature finishes with an average of 7.3. Dobmeier won a World of Outlaws feature in 2012 at Huset’s and has the ability to win at any time. The Lunstra 13 team races racing three nights a week, which helps in a lot of ways, but I also wonder if that hinders them at times with not having fresh equipment at the big Knoxville half-mile. Dobmeier is due for a great points season, and this might be his year.
Australian Brooke Tatnell announced he will be making a run at the Knoxville track championship in 2013 driving the #11AU Barry Lewis owned car. Although Tatnell is a veteran with eleven World of Outlaws career feature wins and four career wins at Knoxville, this is his first real attempt to race for a championship at Knoxville. His only other season competing full time at Knoxville was 1994. Tatnell will be a force in the 410 class as a Knoxville Regular.
Another Aussie, Ian Madsen is coming off of an impressive 2012 season where he showed a lot of improvement at Knoxville winning one feature and finishing sixth in points. He also won the Sydney Speedway $50,000 challenge this winter in Australia after starting at the back of the field. Ian will be driving for a new team this season, the #18 Bret Nehring owned sprint car.
Wild Cards:
Don Droud Jr. will be back in the familiar Gil Sonner 47. Droud has finished seventh in points the past two seasons after finishing second in 2010. They could rebound and be a contender to the championship if they can qualify better. Droud is one of the best drivers in the pit area with a lot of experience.
Lynton Jeffrey was eighth in points in 2012. He didn’t win a feature last season, but if he has the funding and the power under the hood, he can drive his #12 Vortex Wings car to the front.
David Hesmer is coming back after an eight year layoff in the new #1 Bryan Sundby team. This team is focused on winning some races and competing solely at Knoxville. They will have a fast car and I look for them to be tougher in the second half of the season as long as their equipment holds up.
Dustin Selvage is entering his third season in the 410 class. He has performed well at times the past two seasons, and is still looking for his first feature win. Consistency has been his downfall, but I see a lot of potential in this driver. He will change from his family owned team to drive the Williams 7K.
The Field: Josh Schneiderman, Ryan Bunton, Rob Kubli, AJ Moeller, Mike Moore, Dennis Moore Jr., Rager Phillips, Tasker Phillips, Glen Saville, Jarrod Schneiderman.
All of these drivers have experience and most have shown improvement. Ryan Bunton and AJ Moeller both had good qualifying efforts in 2012 but their lack of experience showed in features. Dennis Moore Jr. is moving back into the 410 class after racing in the 360 division the past few seasons. Rager Phillips has moved back into the #10 VaderEcken car and were fast at times two years ago when they combined their efforts, especially at the Nationals. Josh Schneiderman was tenth in points a year ago, but that was down from previous seasons. It will be interesting to see if he can rebound in 2013.
Sentimental Favorite: Robert Bell. Let’s hope we see the #71 back on the track in 2013.
Rookies: Dakota Hendrickson of Omaha, Nebraska, Jordan Goldesberry and Joey Moughan both of Springfield, IL.
Maybe: If Austin McCarl can pull some sponsorship dollars together we could see his #17a back on the track. He is a talented driver who could compete for some wins. I’ve also heard that the #19 of Bob Weuve from Newton might be coming back after taking last season off.
The Part-Timers: No doubt we will see heavyweights Brian Brown, Wayne Johnson, and Danny Lasoski at Knoxville a handful of times this year.
Invaders: It’s already been documented that some teams are planning to visit Knoxville Raceway more often this year to be more prepared for the Knoxville Nationals in August. Listening to recent Winged Nation broadcasts on MRN Radio, Dale Blaney said that he intends to show up on June 1 during the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend as his father Lou Blaney will be enshrined. Greg Hodnett also alluded to making a couple of extra trips from Pennsylvania this year to make some laps after being disappointed with his Nationals results missing the Saturday A main the past two years. California driver Rico Abreu has also mentioned that he intends to race a few times in his bid to win Rookie of the Nationals. IRA champion Bill Balog has also mentioned that he will be at Knoxville more frequently this season.
360 Class:
The favorite is four time track champion Clint Garner, who absolutely dominated the points battle in 2012 with four wins. Ganrer will attempt to win his fifth consecutive championship in 2013, which would break the tie of him and David Hesmer with four track championships each. Garner alluded to trying the 410 division in 2013 at the end of last season but his team has since decided to stay with the same program this season.
The drivers hoping to end the rein of Garner are Nate Van Haaften who won two features last season, Jon Agan, Matt Moro, Josh Higday, and Joe Beaver. Agan and Moro both won one feature in 2012 and Beaver was consistently in the top ten. Higday and Moro are both experienced enough, and if they have the equipment and a little luck to stay up front they could do very well. I also think we will see Carson McCarl improve this year in his sophomore season in the 360 class and if he can get a feature win early in the season, that confidence boost might propel him to more wins and be someone to challenge for a top five point finish.
My Wild Cards are Russ Hall, Jamie Ball, RJ Johnson, and Casey Friedrichsen. All of these drivers have the capability to win features on any given night, but consistency is something they need to work on. Thankfully Jamie Ball is healthy and back racing after a serious crash a year ago. Alan Ambers will move up from the 305 class to 360 this year.
Part-Timers: While Randy Martin only runs a part-time schedule, when he is at Knoxville he is consistently in the top five. And with the field opened up to allow 410 competitors to race every week in both classes, I think we could see some teams trying their 360 equipment more frequently to gear up for the 360 Nationals. Brian Brown and Jason Johnson both entered the 360 class twice last season but might do it more often this year when they do show up since they are able to race both classes.
305 Class:
This class is hard to predict but Matthew Stelzer is the defending champion and is likely to be the driver to beat again. Mike Van Haaften and Mitchell Alexander were his top competition a year ago. Cody Ambers and J Kinder will likely show improvement. Matt Stephenson has always been competitive in his #55 and with some rookies coming in I think it will be a tough field of cars. This class is growing, and I have a hunch we will see car counts in this class continue to grow. The one rookie I have my eye on is Newton teenager Jake Strayer, who has had a successful career in SportMods in recent years at Marshalltown Speedway and he started the last race of the season at Knoxville in the 305’s in 2012.
The best part of a new season is that we really don’t know how it will all turn out. From week to week we see teams evolve. Some get better and some get worse as they struggle to keep up with the wear and tear throughout the season. It is the best reality show in my opinion. My favorite part of opening night though is walking through the ticket entrance tunnel and walking up the ramp to my seat, soaking in the environment with some chicken bites, and then watching the push trucks drop the hammer to help fire off the cars. The smell of the methanol is intoxicating as the cars idle by slowly. The anticipation of that first Doug Clark green flag builds. And then the track is packed down tight and the command is given to turn em’ loose! Ahhh it is heaven. As I have grown older a lot of things in life change, but the feeling I still get with that first green flag stays the same and it takes me back to sitting with my father in the stands as a child. Those are some of the best memories of my life, and I hope you make great memories as well this season with your friends at family at Knoxville Raceway in 2013. Good luck to all the competitors and I hope it’s a safe season for all involved.
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