Introducing New Announcer Team
Kyle Luetters & Kris Krug
Friday, May 30, 2014
Get to Know the Announcers
by Eric Arnold
We have new voices calling the racing action this season at the Knoxville Raceway and introductions are in order! Their names are Kyle Luetters, Kris Krug, and Scott Watson. These gentlemen have big shoes to fill as former announcers Tony Bokhoven, Blake Anderson, and Dave Reiff have all used the Knoxville Raceway to propel them to bigger things in the racing media.
Kyle Luetters is 25 years-old, his hometown is Garden City, Kansas and he now resides in St. Louis, Missouri. He has a B.A. in Communications from Cameron University. You may recognize Kyle from his work with the World of Outlaws in recent years.
Kyle broke into racing when he produced a documentary (One Dream: Dirt Track Racing) that featured Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser and several more dirt track drivers. He did this with a summer class and it premiered at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in August of 2009. After graduation from college he received a call from Chris Dolack at World Racing Group which led to Kyle becoming the PR Coordinator with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in 2011. From there Kyle became the Marketing and Communications Director for WoO champion Jason Meyers and Elite Racing, which became CL Motorsports for the 2012 season. Once that team folded, Kyle was offered the same position with R&R Enterprises where he still works today, which is a screen printing company in St. Louis that is well known for producing the 1:18th and 1:64th scale die cast sprint cars.
Kyle began announcing in 2010. He became the regular announcer at Lawton Speedway in Oklahoma and went to Devils Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas for their Winter Nationals. He has since been an announcer at Eldora Speedway and filled in there on an as needed basis.
Kyle certainly has his hands full with a full-time job and driving five hours to Knoxville on Saturday nights. “In my day job, I handle the marketing and communications for R&R and the many divisions under our roof,” said Kyle. “I also maintain our websites and web store, produce videos and podcasts and plan the companies trips to trade shows, race tracks and more. Outside of racing, I am very active in Big Brothers Big Sisters with a "little" named Ray. He is 13 and we've been paired up for nearly a year and have a blast together. I am also active in my church in the Tech Arts department as well as small groups. Member of the St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce. Outside of that, I enjoy sports of all types, traveling on my off weekends, fitness, and am an avid reader.”
"It's a great honor to be a part of the tradition that is the Knoxville Raceway. This is a track that has been operational for race cars since 1901 and the history here is second to none. I am looking forward to working with Kris Krug, Brian Stickel, Brandon Bingham and the entire staff at Knoxville when it comes to delivering a world class experience to the fans that come through our gates. Since I was a little kid, I have had a passion for telling the stories of racers, their families and their teams and this is a fantastic opportunity in which to do that. Learning the new names and faces will be a challenge but I am confident that I will be able to rise to the occasion. Announcing at Knoxville is the opportunity of a lifetime. It's a chance to be a part of this historic raceway and to be a part of an excellent team that is adding yet another chapter in the Knoxville Raceway story."
Kris Krug is 25 years-old and his hometown is Omaha, Nebraska. He went to Plattsmouth High School where his mother taught math. Kris has a B.A. in Broadcasting from University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Growing up Kris went to I-80 Speedway in Nebraska to help his cousin that raced a dirt late model and that got him hooked on racing. Kris raced go-karts in 2005 and 2006, but gave it in 2007 to help his cousin in the ARCA series as a crew member. Then he was off to college and that’s where his broadcasting career took off hosting a local radio show about racing.
“One night I called the owner of Mid-Nebraska Speedway to be a guest on the radio show and after the interview he invited me to come on Saturday nights and help call races with Brad Fossberg who was the announcer for the track. Brad was extremely welcoming and I learned so much from him! I honestly can't thank him enough for teaching me the ropes!”
From there Kris found his way to Tennessee for a year. “For my final semester of college I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to attend the University of Tennessee in a National Student Exchange program. I put some resumes out to some tracks and I ended up getting an internship with Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, but I didn't call any races there,” said Kris. That opportunity gave Kris a lead to start announcing at Smokey Mountain Speedway in Maryville, TN. “After I graduated, I lived in Knoxville, Tennessee for the summer washing cars for $8 an hour just so I could call races at Smokey Mountain. I really loved what I did on Saturday nights and I wasn't ready to give it up.”
Last year Kris moved to Knoxville, Iowa when an opportunity came his way to work for local radio station KNIA/KRLS. “I came to Iowa to cover Pleasantville athletics and to be the infield reporter at Knoxville Raceway, which is the primary reason I put in a resume to the station,” commented Kris. I got to know Tony Bokhoven last season and when I found out Blake Anderson was on his way to North Carolina I told Tony I was interested in being in the booth. Tony was really inviting of me in the booth. Without his help, I would not be up there this season. I can't thank him enough! Everyone at Knoxville Raceway, Brian Stickel, Tony, they have all been great to work with. It hasn't sunk in that I'm working for the greatest dirt track, not just in America, but in the world. It's been a blessing so far.”
Kris is an avid golfer and movie buff, and was thinking of being a movie critic at one time. He is also a fan of NASCAR, and follows the national touring series’ for sprint cars and late models closely. Of course being from Nebraska he is a big Husker football fan.
Scott Watson will also be announcing this season on a part-time basis. Scott is from Douds, Iowa, about a 90 minute drive to Knoxville. Scott is a familiar voice to race fans in the southern Iowa area at local race tracks. Scott has been announcing races for 25 years and has been on the mic at several places over years, including the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Eldon Raceway, and most notably at Eddyville Raceway Park for over 10 years. He has also announced national and divisional events in drag racing for IHRA and NHRA. Scott is a professional auctioneer and ringman, working for Rick Van Donsler Auctions out of Knoxville. “I consider it an honor to announce at Knoxville Raceway,” said Scott. “I look forward to contributing when I can and giving the fans a great show.”
These men are passionate about racing, they understand the history of the Knoxville Raceway and the privilege of being the voices to call the action at the historic half-mile. They are also motivated to learn as much as possible to do a quality job on race night for the race fans. Welcome to the announcer booth Kyle, Kris, and Scott!
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