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BOBBY BECKER & JUDI BATES ENTER KNOXVILLE MASTERS CLASSIC KNOXVILLE, IOWA (Feb 22) - 2006 Knoxville Masters Classic ‘Rookie of the Year’ Bobby Becker, Jr., of Nebraska and 2005 Port Royal Speedway ‘410’ feature winner Judi Bates of Pennsylvania are the first two entrants for the sixteenth annual Knoxville Masters Classic to be run on Friday, May 30, at Knoxville Raceway. Bates, a multi-time winged 305-cubic-inch sprint car feature winner, becomes the first female racer to enter the winged 360 c.i. sprint car event which is only open to drivers age fifty and over. According to Knoxville’s director of racing Ralph Capitani, “We are thrilled to welcome Judi Bates back to Knoxville, this time for the Masters Classic. She is a very talented racer who brings a lot of experience and excitement to the sixteen-year-old event. It’s funny, but I remember reading an internet interview with Judi back in 2005 and she said her ultimate goal in racing was to ‘win several 410 races, then in three years run the Masters Classic at Knoxville, after that I'm going to semi retire, so I can spend more time with the grandchildren’. It’s pretty neat that she’s able to fulfill her dream here at Knoxville in 2008.” Continued ‘Cappy’, “Bobby Becker ran sixth and seventh, respectively, the last two years in the Masters, so I expect him to be tough again in late May. And we hope that last year’s ‘top five’ of A.J. Weaver of Texas, Kenny Jacobs of Ohio, Mike Peters of Kansas, Tim Gee of Alberta, Canada, and Greg Rilat of Texas, will all be back again.” Becker will wheel his own Egan Equipment/Steel Fabricators-sponsored, L&L-powered Wolfweld number 8B in the Classic. Bates will steer Jack Mourar’s Bates Roofing & Siding-sponsored, Shaw-built number 121 sprinter in the $3,000-to-win race. Knoxville Raceway will host an open track practice for the Masters Classic competitors on Thursday, May 29, from 7 until 9 p.m. The Knoxville Masters Classic & 305 Shootout will take place on Friday, May 30, starting at 6:45 p.m. The Carquest Night of 360- and 410-cubic-inch sprinters will conclude the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend of racing on Saturday, May 31, also starting at 6:45 p.m. For information on the Knoxville Masters Classic & 305 Shootout on Friday, May 30, and the Carquest Night of winged 360- and 410 c.i. sprint car racing on Saturday, May 31, at the Knoxville Raceway, individuals are urged to visit the track’s web site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com . For tickets to the nineteenth National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction banquet, to take place in the Dyer-Hudson Building on the Marion County Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon, May 31, individuals are urged to call Lori DeMoss at 1-800-874-4488 or e-mail her at ldemoss@sprintcarhof.com . The banquet will be co-emceed by Dr. Pat Sullivan and Tom Savage. Tickets are just twenty dollars each, but they need to be reserved in advance. |