Best in the Business Collide at 16th Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Best in the Business Collide at 16th Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals!
by Bill Wright – The best in the 360 business will be vying for a 360 Nationals title at Knoxville this Thursday, Friday and Saturday night! A large number of entries representing what may be the most competitive field of sprinters ever seen in one place. The bulging field of sprinters will be split in half, with one group qualifying on Thursday and the other on Friday. The format will be similar to that used in the 410 Nationals. The 16th Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals Champion will be crowned on Saturday night as the 410s will also be in action for their final tune-up before their 46th Annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals, held August 9-12.
A staggering 19 of the 25 drivers who topped the most recent National 360 Poll were pre-registered for the event at press time, led by the “Cajun Sensation”, Jason Johnson. Johnson has blitzed the competition of late, and recently destroyed the ASCS Speedweek field for that title. Fellow ASCoT pilot and 1998 360 Nationals Champion, Gary Wright, will also be on hand, as will Nick Smith, who led the ASCoT point standings for much of the season.
Jesse “the Rocket” Hockett will return to this familiar facility and has also run strong with ASCoT. Travis Rilat is always a force wherever he races and the Texan will be on hand. Other heavy hitters include ASCS-Sooner regulars, Sean McClelland and Sam Hafertepe Jr., ASCS-SOD shoes, Ken Mackey and Gary Fast, ASCS-NP points leader, Chuck Swenson, ASCS-MS points leader, Darren Stewart, and ASCS-Patriot points leader, Chuck Hebing.
The strong field takes on a Knoxville contingent led by two-time and defending points champion, Jake Peters, Jeff Mitrisin, Johnny Anderson, John Kearney and rookie sensation, Dustin Lindquist.
Several 410 pilots will aim for the big dough, led by two-time and defending 360 Nationals Champion, Billy Alley. Brian Brown has multiple 360 wins across the Midwest in 2006 and will be vying for his first 360 Nationals championship in the Tim and Gina Doogs #21. Veteran Stevie Smith will be making his first 360 appearance at Knoxville, as well. Jonathan Allard, fresh off a great Golden State Challenge season in California will be in, as will Knoxville 410 regulars, Jesse Giannetto, Dusty Zomer, Skip Jackson, Rager Phillips, Clint Garner, Ryan Anderson and Bronson Maeschen.
The United Racing Club (URC) will be well represented with Delaware’s Curt Michael and Pennsylvania’s Brook Weibley leading the charge. Empire Super Sprints (ESS) will be represented by Justin Barger, Jeff Van Dusen, Jeff Cook and talented sprint rookie, Jessica Zemken, who garnered her first ESS victory earlier this year.
For the first time in awhile the United Sprint Car Series (USCS) will have several representatives including Floridans Matt Tiffany and Danny Martin Jr., and Tom Winegardner Jr.
Randy Martin leads the Winged Outlaw Warriors (WOW) out of Missouri and is joined by Toby Brown. Others throwing their hat in the ring are West Coast sensation, Roger Crockett, Mississippi’s Jan and Dale Howard, Okie Danny Jennings, Kansan Tony Bruce Jr., Michigan’s Dustin Daggett and Sikeston, Missouri’s Jerrod Hull, who grabbed his first win here in 2004. Throw in Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem, and it’s going to be interesting!
The 360 Nationals will mark the beginning of ten straight nights of racing as Southern Iowa Sprintweek gets underway. The Brodix 360 Tournament of Champions at Knoxville Raceway will run Sunday, followed by the Front Row Challenge and Ultimate Challenge in Oskaloosa on Monday and Tuesday. The 46th running of the Super Clean Knoxville Nationals will round out the festivities.
Tickets for the 360 Nationals are $18 ($9 for children) for general admission and $20 ($10 for children) for reserved on Thursday and Friday, and $20 ($10 for children) and $25 ($12.50 for children) on Saturday. For more information on pricing or the latest pre-entries, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com.
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