Be There on Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises/Lion's Club Night!
Monday, May 1, 2006
by Bill Wright (www.knoxvilleraceway.com) - One thing is certain with Knoxville’s weekly program this year. It will be unpredictable! With opening night behind us, mysteries abound and everything should be clean after last weekend’s washouts. At Knoxville Raceway, you just never know who may pop in through the pitgate to match their skills against the locals. This year, those mysteries are at an all-time high. A combination of both 410 and 360 touring series schedules have opened up opportunities for visits to Knoxville Raceway, and this weekend should be no different with the National Sprint Tour having an off-weekend. Who will tow to Knoxville? You have to be here to find out!!!
Opening night on April 22 saw 85 sprint cars competing and the action was intense until the last checkered flag fell. When the smoke cleared, 6-time Knoxville track champ and World of Outlaws regular, Terry McCarl, scored win number 42 in the 410 class at this historic fairgrounds. Despite the “outside” talent present, Skip Jackson, Kerry Madsen and Clint Garner led the local contingent by following McCarl to the stripe. Wayne Johnson, Billy Alley, Brian Brown and Jesse Giannetto were not too far behind, and will be locked and loaded for this weekend’s action along with Ryan Anderson, Lynton Jeffrey, Matt Moro, Tim St. Arnold, Chad Meyer, Kaley Gharst and a host of others.
The crop of 410 rookies impressed as well. When Dusty Zomer fell out of a transfer spot in the B main with a flat tire, fellow rookie Trevor Green took advantage. Rager Phillips had a rough night ending in a hard flip after a stop broke in turns three and four. The Pleasantville 18 year old is expected to be back in action this Saturday. Bronson Maeschen was involved in the incident as well, but is also expected back. Tony Shilling and Dave Saffell are also newcomers to the 410 class and were steady throughout the evening.
Veteran Chuck Swenson found victory lane for the first time at Knoxville in the 360 event. Fellow South Dakotan and two-time and defending track champ Jake Peters followed him. Another former track champ, John Kearney, ran a strong third, while Johnny Anderson and Jeff Mitrisin, who came out of the B main, were not far behind.
With 46 cars in the 360 class on opening night, you never know who will be in the field, but you do know it will be entertaining! Saturday night marks Justice Brothers/Gillund Enterprises/Lion's Club Night, with hot laps scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Admission is the usual bargain of $12 for adults and $3 for children.
The WDRL Late Model race that was washed out last Friday has been moved to Friday, May 12 and will proceed the Knoxville vs. IRA Shootout on Saturday, May 13. Also the World of Outlaw show that was rained out last Saturday night was rescheduled for Saturday, October 7. Reserved and General admission tickets for the WoO date can be exchanged at the track for either of the June dates, Friday the 23 or Saturday, the 24th, or the October 7th show. For more information contact the track at (641) 842-5431.
Web Updates
Relive opening weekend through our photo galleries. Find new shots in Dave Hill Photography (2006), Conrad Nelson Photos, Doug Johnson Photos and some amateur shots from yours truly in 2006 Pit Shots.
Keep up to date on driver bios as they are changing daily. Simply click on any drivers name in the “Results” or “Drivers” section for more information on drivers.
If you haven’t checked out our new “History” section, what are you waiting for? Click on the scroll down menu on the right-hand side of the “History” page to find lots of goodies about the past.
For any questions and comments, please e-mail me at editor@knoxvilleraceway.com. See you at the races!
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