By T.J. Buffenbarger
(July 29, 2024) — The 2024 edition of the 360 Knoxville Nationals scheduled to start Thursday at Knoxville Raceway appears to have drawn one of the stronger entry lists in recent memory for the event. Multiple factors in sprint car racing have created an opportunity to see some names competing we typically would not see until the 410 Nationals.
The 360 Nationals is a part of the ASCS National Tour again in 2024 with the top 13 in their point standings filing entries for the event as of Monday. Seth Bergman currently leads the series point standings coming into Knoxville by 96 points over Sam Hafertepe Jr, who is very quick around the Marion County Fairgrounds half-mile oval but has yet to capture a 360 Knoxville Nationals title.
ASCS is also bringing some new faces to the party such as Hank Davis under the tutelage of veteran driver Wayne Johnson, who won the event in 2008, Andrew Deal, Terry Easum, Michael Day, and Austyn Gossel.
Tyler Courtney leads a small portion of the High Limit Sprint Car Series teams as an entrant in the 360 Nationals for 2024. Courtney last competed in the 360 Nationals in 2022 and ran at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night in both the 410 and 360 sprint car classes, garnering pair of fourth place finishes. Other High Limit teams competing include Corey Eliason, Justin Peck, Zeb Wise, Parker Price-Miller, Kasey Kahne, and as of last night Tanner Thorson.
Former World of Outlaws champion Daryn Pittman has been a competitor off and on throughout the years in the 360 Nationals, but the Kreitz Racing #69K is making an extremely rare 360 start this week to tune up for next week’s Nationals. Pittman showed a lot of speed with the Kreitz team earlier this year with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville and expectations are extremely high for a team coming in with a driver that competes on a part time basis.
The Kreitz entry is joined by another Central Pennsylvania standout Danny Dietrich, who is arriving in Iowa early coming off his first career Late Model start to get some extra laps at Knoxville. Dietrich has 10 wins this season at six different racetracks coming into Knoxville. Dietrich also racked up 10 straight top 10 finishes centered around Ohio and Pennsylvania Speedweek in early July
Four former 360 Knoxville Nationals champions are in the field including Aaron Reutzel, who has dominated 360 division at Knoxville this season picking up five feature wins in the division this season at the Marion County Fairgrounds to accompany his pair of victories in the 410 division.
Two of the former winners in the field, Brian Brown and Terry McCarl, have made more starts in the A-main of the 360 Nationals than any other drivers with 22 and 20 appearances respectively.
Former winner Clint Garner, who may have produced the longest celebration after winning the 360 Nationals in event history, will attempt to make his 11th 360 Knoxville Nationals while his son Cole contests for Rookie of the Year honors in the event.
Joining the younger Garner chasing rookie honors at 360 Nationals will be a star-studded affair as with plenty of other experience under their belt. Last Saturday’s 360 sprint car feature winner Emerson Axsom, Devon Borden, Cole Macedo, and Hunter Schuerenberg among the 22 drivers on the currently on the entry list that will be chasing that honor.
Other Notes…
• The feel-good story of the past weekend was T.J. Stutts’ upset of the World of Outlaws at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night. Having a PA Posse driver score a World of Outlaws victory on their home turf is typically not an upset, but Stutts was not a name many people would have put among the local favorites to pull off a win on Friday.
Stutts best finish in the 10 races leading up to Friday’s event was a 5th place finish on July 6th at Port Royal Speedway during Pa Speedweek and had seven finishes of 12th or lower during that stretch.
• Stevie Sussex was released from the hospital on Saturday following a scary fire during the Indiana Sprint Week Opener with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series Friday at Lincoln Park Speedway. Sussex will be out of action for a while with some burns to his hands, arms, and legs. Look for some fundraising efforts for Sussex throughout Indiana Sprint Week as he will face some physical therapy and other treatment following his hospital release.
Indiana Sprint Week continues Tuesday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
• 51 entries have been filed for the Belleville 305 Sprint Car Nationals taking place Friday and Saturday. Kaylee Bryson, the USAC Silver Crown Series winner at Belleville earlier this season, is among them making her first career winged 305 sprint car start.
Jeremy Campbell, formerly of Michigan and now residing in Wichita, Kansas, is the defending champion at Belleville and will be looking to make it two straight victories.
• As mentioned above, Danny Dietrich’s first attempt at late model racing Sunday at Hagerstown Speedway netted him a 21st place finish after being caught up in a couple of incidents throughout the evening. Dietrich remarked that the late model felt the opposite of what he is used to with a sprint car but didn’t rule out another attempt with fenders with more seat time leading into the event.