By Bob Baker
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.