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“KING DOODLEBUG MIDGET CLASSIC” GOES INTERNATIONAL;
MORE ENTRIES FOR “KNOXVILLE MASTERS SPRINT CLASSIC”
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (May 23, 2009) - On Friday night, May 29, Michael “Slim”
Pickens of Auckland, New Zealand, and Matt Smith of Newcastle, New South
Wales, Australia, will take Knoxville Raceway’s Pepsi-sponsored “King
Doodlebug Classic” for United States Auto Club (USAC) midget cars to the
next level -- international status. Said Knoxville director of racing Ralph
Capitani this week, “Fans are going to see the best in the world compete
here this coming Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, as Americans Jerry Coons,
Jr., J.J. Yeley, Bobby East, Josh Wise, Brad Kuhn, Tracy Hines, Kevin
Swindell, Bryan Clauson and others take on the cream of the crop from
Australia and New Zealand. Friday’s 20-lap King Doodlebug Classic and
Saturday’s 25-lap Pepsi Knoxville Midget Nationals presented by Iowa Telecom
should be real barn-burners!”
Over fifty (50) entrants from USAC, Southern Midget Racing Series (SMRS),
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) and POWRi have entered next
weekend’s two-day show at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World”, including
past King Doodlebug Classic winners Brad Sweet (2008), Darren Hagen (2007),
Jerry Coons, Jr. (2004, ‘06), and Danny Stratton (2005), and past Midget
Knoxville Nationals champions Brad Sweet (2008), Jerry Coons, Jr. (2004),
and Mike Hess (2002). Other top-ranked entrants include Cole Whitt, Don
Droud, Jr., Gary Taylor, Brad Loyet, Aaron Fiscus, Bryan Stanfill, Scott
Hatton, Chris Windom, Kody Swanson, Levi Jones, Chad Boat, Shane Hmiel,
Casey Shuman, Donnie Ray Crawford, A.J. Fike and Brady Bacon.
Bob Wente holds the one-lap qualifying record for USAC midget cars at
Knoxville Raceway with a time of 22.22 seconds, set on July 31, 1968. USAC
midget cars have never run 20- nor 25- lap feature races non-stop at
Knoxville Raceway in the past, thus there are no existing USAC midget car
track records for those distances on the half-mile dirt track.
In addition, defending Knoxville Masters Classic winner Randy Smith of Iowa,
Allan Unruh of Kansas, and David Gailley of Texas have officially entered
the seventeenth annual event this year, set for Friday, May 29. The
Knoxville Masters Classic winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car race for drivers
age 50 and over will pay $3,000 to win, and has already attracted such
veteran entrants as Carl "Midge" Miller, Greg Rilat, Earnest Jennings,
Lonnie Jensen, Judi Bates, Mike Peters, Wayne Redmond, Regan Kitchen and Joe
McCarthy. Said Ralph Capitani this week, “I’m still hearing rumors of other
late entries for this year’s Masters Classic, including those for Shane
Carson, Rocky Hodges, Roland Johnson and Tommie Estes, Jr. I expect we’ll
have a quality-laden field of 24 sprint car racing veterans taking the green
flag for 22 laps on Friday night.”
Randy Smith holds the one-lap qualifying record for the Knoxville Masters
Classic with a time of 16.004 seconds, set on May 20, 2008. National Sprint
Car Hall of Famer Rick Ferkel holds the 22-lap feature record with a time of
7 minutes, 54.8 seconds, set on June 10, 1995.
Knoxville Raceway will host an open track practice for the Masters Classic
competitors on Thursday, May 28, from 7 until 9 p.m. The Knoxville Masters
Classic & the Iowa Telecom King Doodlebug Midget Classic will take place on
Friday, May 29, starting at 6:45 p.m. The eighth annual Pepsi Knoxville
Midget Nationals and the winged 410-cubic-inch sprinters will conclude the
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction weekend of racing on Saturday,
May 30, also starting at 6:45 p.m.
For information on the Friday and Saturday night races, individuals are
urged to visit the track’s web site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com. For tickets
to the twentieth 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 30, people are urged to call Lori DeMoss at
800-874-4488 or e-mail her at ldemoss@sprintcarhof.com. The banquet will
again be emceed by Dave Argabright and Dr. Pat Sullivan. Tickets are just
twenty dollars each, but they need to be reserved in advance.
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