The Summer Classic Sizzles This Weekend!!!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The action will be intense this weekend at the Summer Classic presented by Iowa Telecom! Join us as the 410 class will be in action both Friday and Saturday (July 21 and 22). Many visitors are expected as the IRA makes their second visit of the season. Other outsiders including Sammy Swindell, Kevin Swindell, Randy Hannagan and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will also be racing for some serious cash, in addition to preparing for the big events that August holds in store. You will be treated to two complete 410 programs on Friday night, with each feature paying $3,000 to the winner. Competitors will be separated into two groups. Heats will be run by draw, so show up early as there will not be time trials either night. The 360 class will join the 410s in their Summer Classic finale on Saturday, which will pay $10,000 to the victor.
The Summer Classic was originally billed the 1200 lb. Nationals with its inception in 2001. Don Droud Jr. won that event on a crazy night of events. Jeff Shepard stood atop the podium in 2002, while Terry McCarl made late race passes of Jason Meyers and Tim
Shaffer pay off in 2003. Last year’s event was a wash, with Kerry Madsen and McCarl winning the preliminary features. Who will win this year’s Classic?
An autograph session from 4-5:30 on Saturday behind the grandstands under Iowa Telecom’s big tent (it will be in the Dyer-Hudson Hall if weather is a factor) will feature many of the 410 drivers competing this weekend. Drivers scheduled to appear include Sammy and Kevin Swindell, Randy Hannagan, Ricky Logan, Madsen, Brian Brown, Skip Jackson, Wayne Johnson, and IRA drivers Scott Neitzel, Scott Young, Joe Roe, Steve Meyer and Mike Kertscher.
Neitzel leads Young by 107 points in the 2005 IRA race. Nine-time IRA champ Roe sits third, while Meyer, Kertscher, Matt Folstad (Rookie of the Year candidate), Kim Mock, Scott Uttech, Scott Biertzer and Ty Bartz round out the top ten. Expect a 25-30 cars to make the tow to Knoxville with the IRA.
Two warriors continue to go at it in the Knoxville points standings. Madsen, propelled by his win a week ago, holds a scant 35 point lead over Johnson. Logan sits ready to pounce in third, while a surging Brown and Jackson round out the top five. Justin Henderson has seized the sixth spot riding a string of good qualifying efforts, while Billy Alley, Droud, Matt Moro and Jesse Giannetto round out the top ten in the standings.
Jake Peters extended his 360 point lead to 83 points over Johnny Anderson last Saturday. Larry Ball Jr. sits in third, followed by John Kearney, John Schulz, Josh Higday, Joe Beaver, Brett Mather, David Hall and Dusty Zomer. Second year driver, Bronson Maeschen, nailed down his first career 360 victory at Knoxville last Saturday night. The win boosted him to 11th in points, just 27 tallies behind Zomer. With only four points events left for the 360s, you know they’ll be going full bore this Saturday!
Thursday, July 21, is the Harris Clash for the Modifieds, featuring the best in the Midwest in that division. Admission is $10 for adults, and $3 for the kids. Hot laps are at 6:45. Don’t miss the last day of the Marion County fair!
The pre-entries for the big events in August continue to come in faster than we can get them up. As of this writing, we’re up to 96 entries for the August 4-5 15th Annual 360 Nationals, 72 entries for the August 6-7 7th Annual Brodix Tournament of Champions weekend and 97 entries for the 45th Annual Knoxville Nationals presented by Midwest Ford Dealers. Check our pre-entry lists often in our “Events” sections on the home page.
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