BEACH, NICHOLAS, HINES, COONS, JONES & WISE ENTER
USAC PEPSI/MT. DEW KNOXVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS
by: Thomas J Schmeh

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (May 8, 2006) - Things are starting to heat up at the offices of the Knoxville Raceway as official entries have been received for the United States Auto Club (USAC)-sanctioned Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals, June 2-3, from such up-and-comers and veterans as Teddy Beach of Ohio, Kyle Nicholas of Florida, Tracy Hines of Indiana, Jerry Coons, Jr., of Arizona, Levi Jones of Illinois, and Josh Wise of California. Of those pre-entered thus far, only Coons has won in midget car racing at the famed Knoxville half-mile as he swept the 2004 Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals weekend, which included the preliminary night's King Doodlebug Classic.

Coons will wheel the Wilke/Pak Mopar-powered Spike chassis midget number 11, while current NASCAR driver Tracy Hines will pilot the Wilke Racers Mopar/Spike team car number 1. Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises has entered three Mopar/Bass Pro Shops-sponsored Mopar machines for Nicholas (Spike number 29), Jones (Spike number 21) and Wise (Maxim number 20). Beach has entered his own Mopar-powered Beast midget number 125. Levi Jones is the defending North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll “Driver of the Year”, while Josh Wise is the 2005 USAC National Midget Car Series champion.

While USAC and its National Midget Car Series will be the sanctioning body for the fifth annual event, four additional regional sanctioning organizations have agreed to be affiliated with the two-day show on the Marion County Fairgrounds. American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC), Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association (RMMRA), Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) and the Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS) will all be affiliated with racing which be televised later on The Outdoor Channel. The Friday night, June 2, King Doodlebug Classic preliminary show will pay $1,650 to win, while the Saturday night, June 3, Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals will pay a record $3,350 to win.

Due to the additional affiliations, the television package and the increased purse, entries have also been received from Joe Liguori of Florida, Brad Loyet of Missouri, Darren Hagen of California, Garett Hood of Kansas, Doug Dewitt of California, Russ Harper of Colorado, and Leroy Holler of Missouri. If the winner of the Saturday feature utilizes a Mopar powerplant, that driver will receive a $5,000 MoPowered bonus check, courtesy of Mopar. All entrants competing with Mopar power are eligible for the Mopar Bonus Challenge at Knoxville.

For more information on the Knoxville Raceway and the June 2-3 Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals, individuals are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com . For more information on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) induction weekend, also June 2-4, people are encouraged to visit www.sprintcarhof.com . For more information regarding Mopar, the Mopar Challenge Bonus, or USAC Racing, log on to www.moparspeed.com , www.mopar.com , or www.usacracing.com . The other midget car sanctioning affiliate web sites are as follows: www.mararacing.com , www.rmmra.org , www.smrsmidgets.com  and www.ardcmidgets.com .