From Bryan Stickel
Knoxville, IA — (October 3, 2012) — The Western Springs Speedway in Auckland, New Zealand, the Robertson Holden International Speedway in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, have all set the dates of their international qualifiers for the 2013 SPEED SPORT Knoxville World Challenge, to be held Friday, August 9, at the Knoxville Raceway.
The first international qualifier will be held on Saturday, November 24, at the Western Springs Speedway in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. Several Americans are expected to be in the field for the World Sprintcar Classic at Western Springs, including three-time and defending SPEED SPORT World Challenge winner and six-time and defending Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz.
The Robertson Holden International Speedway in Palmerston North, New Zealand, will host the second qualifier on Saturday, December 8. It is expected that several Americans will be competing in the International Sprintcars event.
The final international qualifier will take place on January 26-27, 2013, as the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, hosts the 41st annual Lucas Oil Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic (GASC), which will pay $30,000 to the winner. Combined with the $6,000-to-win preliminary night Australia/America Challenge Cup, presented by Oval Express, a large contingent of Americans are expected to converge on this popular seaside city for Australia’s version of the Knoxville Nationals. In fact, World of Outlaws (WoO) veteran Joey Saldana has already indicated his intentions to compete in the GASC.
Knoxville Raceway director of marketing Brian Stickel said today, “This is the earliest that we’ve ever been able to announce the dates of our international qualifying events, so we really appreciate the efforts of Lewis Dawson at Western Springs, Bruce Robertson at Palmerston North, and David Mills at Warrnambool. Obviously the earlier that we can let American drivers know the dates and venues for our ‘Down Under’ qualifiers, the greater the chances are of them finding rides and qualifying for our Speed Sport Knoxville World Challenge race next August. This year we set a record with 23 drivers competing in our World Challenge race and we hope to even better than number for our twentieth annual edition in 2013.”
For more information on the Knoxville Raceway and its twentieth annual Knoxville World Challenge during the 53rd Knoxville Nationals, fans are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com. For news on the three international qualifiers, they can visit:
Western Springs Speedway – http://springsspeedway.com/
Robertson Holden International Speedway – http://www.pnspeedway.co.nz/
Premier Speedway – http://www.premierspeedway.