From Bob Baker
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (December 24, 2010) – The thirteenth annual International Reel Wheel Film Festival, celebrating the automobile and auto racing in film, will move to April 22-24 in 2011, and will feature two new documentaries, Sean Buckley’s “Follow the Corn” about Indiana non-winged sprint car racing and Randy Anderson’s “Stateline Speedway, the First Ten Years” about the Busti, New York, dirt track. Also being screened in the theater on the second floor of the host National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum over the three days are “Red Dirt Rising”, “Racing Dreams” and “Short Track”. Knoxville Raceway’s 2011 practice night for winged 305-, 360- and 410-cubic-inch sprint cars is scheduled for Saturday evening, April 23.
According to museum curator Tom Schmeh, “For the past several years, we’ve held the film festival during the Knoxville Nationals. But, this past year’s Friday night weather-related postponement of racing forced us to cancel our film festival in the fan fair, which was very disappointing. Thus, we’ve decided to move the thirteenth annual film fest to Knoxville Raceway’s practice night weekend, making it a great kick-off to the 2011 racing season here. In fact, we also have scheduled our Sprint Car 101 Third Thursday Series program for Thursday, April 21, and it will be a ‘Salute to Gil Sonner’. We think we have an all-star line-up for those four days and nights now!”
The thirteenth annual International Reel Wheel Film Festival (IRWFF) event schedule is as follows:
Friday, April 22
7 p.m. – “Stateline Speedway: the First Ten Years, 1956-65” documentary (2010)
by Randy Anderson
– The first ten years of Stateline Speedway in Busti, New York (90 minutes)
8:30 p.m. – “Follow the Corn” documentary (2010)
by Sean Buckley
– Inside the world of Indiana sprint car racing (66 minutes)
Saturday, April 23
10 a.m. – “Stateline Speedway: the First Ten Years, 1956-65” documentary (2010)
by Randy Anderson ** encore presentation **
– The first ten years of Stateline Speedway in Busti, New York (90 minutes)
11:30 a.m. – “Short Track” film (2008)
by Marie Hopkins
– Life experiences of five-time stock car racing champion (100 minutes)
1:30 p.m. – “Racing Dreams” documentary (2009)
by Marshall Curry and Bristol Baughan
– The lives of three young aspiring World Karting Association racers (96 min.)
3:30 p.m. – “Red Dirt Rising” film (2010)
by James Suttles and Kathleen Bobak
– Based on a true story of three stock car racers in the 1940’s (90 minutes)
5 p.m. – “Follow the Corn” documentary (2010)
by Sean Buckley ** encore presentation **
– Inside the world of Indiana sprint car racing (66 minutes)
Sunday, April 24
12 Noon – 5 p.m. – To Be Announced
The “Salute to Gil Sonner” will be held on Thursday, April 21, from 7 until 9 p.m. on the second floor of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. The free and open-to-the-public program about the life and career of the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame inductee from Des Moines will be both educational and entertaining. “Practice Night at Knoxville Raceway” will be held on Saturday, April 23, from 7 until 10 p.m., with free admission in the grandstands. Those individuals interested in the thirteenth annual International Reel Wheel Film Festival, whose admission is just four dollars per day or ten dollars for the three-day pass, are encouraged to visit the museum’s web site at www.sprintcarhof.com.