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KNOXVILLE TRULY THE “SPRINT CAR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” ON JUNE
3-4-5 FOR HALL OF FAME INDUCTION WEEKEND
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (May 23, 2010) - Knoxville, Iowa, will truly be the “Sprint
Car Capital of the World” on June 3-4-5 as sprint car racing greats, past
and present, will converge on the Marion County Fairgrounds for the
twenty-first annual National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) induction
weekend and the inaugural World of Outlaws-sanctioned “Hall of Fame Classic”
winged sprint car races. Fans taking in the three nights of racing and one
afternoon induction banquet will get to visit one-on-one with the likes of
Steve Kinser, Lynn Paxton, Sammy Swindell, Bobbie Adamson, Doug Wolfgang,
Casey Luna, Jac Haudenschild, Fred Linder, Jason Meyers, Jack Miller, Rollie
Beale, Danny Lasoski, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Donny Schatz, Lanny Edwards,
Erin Crocker, Jack Elam, Joey Saldana, Harold Leep, A.J. “Skip” Jackson,
Bobby Ward, Brian Brown, Bob Trostle, Jim McElreath, “Speedy” Bill Smith,
Ray Lee Goodwin, Bob Elder, Allan Brown, Ralph Capitani, Terry McCarl and
many, many others.
According to National Sprint Car Museum curator Tom Schmeh, “I honestly
don’t know if people realize just how special this weekend will be when you
combine the World of Outlaws (WoO) national tour with our national induction
weekend, as we will draw this year’s inductees, past Hall of Famers,
National Induction Committee members, and museum board members, past and
present. Some of the most influential people in sprint car racing over the
past thirty years will be gathering here for all three days. Then we also
have Knoxville’s winged 410-, 360-, and 305-cubic-inch sprint car teams in
action over the three nights. And finally we have the eighteenth annual
Knoxville Masters Classic, drawing even more sprint car racing veterans to
the festival. This will be one weekend that fans from throughout North
America won’t want to miss!”
The Thursday night, June 3, show features full-point programs for both the
World of Outlaws and the highly competitive winged 305-cubic-inch sprint
cars. Finishing in the ‘top 20’ of the Mediacom Shootout will be paramount
for the World of Outlaws heading into Friday night’s program. Drivers such
as Joey Saldana, Jason Meyers, 12-time Knoxville Nationals champion Steve
Kinser, four-time and defending Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz,
Jason Sides, Paul McMahan, Jac Haudenschild, Craig Dollansky, Lucas Wolfe,
and 2005 Knoxville Nationals champion Kraig Kinser will battling it out
against Knoxville’s best, including Brian Brown, Don Droud, Jr., Australian
Lynton Jeffrey, Mark Dobmeier, Bronson Maeschen, Aussie A.J. “Skip” Jackson
and others.
On Friday night, June 4, the intensity raises a notch as the top 20 feature
finishers with the WoO on Thursday night will be inverted for a special
non-point feature, presented by Mediacom. The remaining 410-cubic-inch
sprint car drivers will compete in a pair of ‘B’ mains to determine the
final four starters for the inverted feature. The finale should showcase
some of the most exciting action witnessed on the big half-mile oval in
2010. Also on Friday, the eighteenth annual Masters Classic will run a full
winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car program for drivers age 50 and over. The
event will feature time trials, heats and the 22-lap feature. Eight-time
Knoxville track champion and all-time feature winner, Danny Lasoski, is
already entered in Classic, as are six-time Knoxville track champion Randy
Smith, two-time National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) champion
Mike Peters, veteran Earnest Jennings, and ‘rookie-of-the-race’ candidate
Keith Prutzman of Central Pennsylvania. Smith won the Masters Classic in
2008, while Sammy Swindell took home the Masters Classic wreath in ’09.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame will stage its twenty-first annual
induction banquet, hosted by Dr. Pat Sullivan, on Saturday afternoon, June
5. It will be held from Noon until 3:30 p.m. in the Dyer-Hudson Hall on the
Marion County Fairgrounds. Inductees this year include Bobbie Adamson, Hank
Arnold, Fred Linder, Frank Riddle, Hal Robson, Herman Schurch, Clyde Adams,
Casey Luna, Don Shepherd, George Bentel, Fred Brownfield and Ben Krasner.
Past inductees expected to be on hand include Jack Miller, Jim McElreath,
Lynn Paxton, Ray Lee Goodwin, Ralph Capitani, Lanny Edwards, “Speedy” Bill
Smith, Bob Trostle, Rollie Beale, Jerry “Scratch” Daniels, Jack Elam, Harold
Leep, Allan Brown and others.
On Saturday night, the World of Outlaws will race another full-point
program, entitled the “Hall of Fame Classic”, again pitting racers like
Saldana, Schatz, Meyers, Schatz, Kinser, four-time Knoxville Nationals
champion Danny Lasoski, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Chad Kemenah, Ben Gregg, Brian
Ellenberger and Canadian Toni Lutar against Knoxville’s regulars like Brown,
Droud, Austin McCarl, Josh Schneiderman, Australian Ian Madsen, Robby
Wolfgang, Dusty Zomer and Davey Heskin. Amongst the invaders expected to be
in the field all three nights are 1983 Knoxville Nationals champion Sammy
Swindell and Erin Crocker, who remains the only female to put her sprint car
into the championship ‘A’ feature of the Knoxville Nationals in its 49-year
history. The Saturday night program will also feature a regular Mediacom-sponsored
event for Knoxville’s winged 360-cubic-inch sprint cars, featuring drivers
like Clint Garner, Dennis Moore, Jr., Johnny Anderson, Dustin Selvage, and
Matt Moro.
Those seeking more information on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame,
Knoxville Raceway and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series are encouraged
to visit www.sprintcarhof.com ,
www.knoxvilleraceway.com
and www.worldofoutlaws.com ,
respectively.
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