Midgets Going Five-Wide, 13 to be Inducted This Weekend!!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Hall of Fame weekend is upon us again, and this year’s version proves to be better than ever! The Pepsi/Mountain Dew Midget Nationals has expanded to two full nights of racing. The midgets will take to the half-mile, pitching it sideways into the corners, four and five-wide, while the motors whine for more from the Marion County black gumbo. Passing points will be used to settle Friday night’s “King Doodlebug” feature lineup as well as Saturday’s Midget Nationals finale.
The entry list has swelled to record numbers. Well over 50 midgets are expected to take to the most famous dirt track in the world Friday and Saturday. Leading the charge of pre-entries is this year’s National Midget Driver of the Year points leader Brad Kuhn, BMARA points leader, Davey Ray, former Midget Nationals champions Mike Hess and Chad DeSelle and current Knoxville 410 pilot, Don Droud Jr. With other entries in the form of many-time ARDC champ Ray Bull, Danny Stratton, 2004 BMARA and former Chili Bowl winner Scott Hatton on board, the action just to make the main event will be intense! Don’t miss it!
In addition to the Midgets, join us for the Hoosier Tire Masters Classic on Friday. Two-time defending champion Jimmy Sills leads the charge. He’ll have to fend off the likes of another two-time winner of this race, Roger Rager. Throw in Dick Mahoney, Dan Oswalt and another former winner in Jerry Crabb and we should have a barn-burner!
Saturday will be a special day for another reason. Twelve new members of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum will be enshrined at the induction banquet from 12:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Dyer-Hudson Hall.
Drivers Steve Kinser, Steve Butler, Robbie Stanley, Elmer George, Bill Holland, Bob Carey and Ray Tilley, car builder Don Brown, mechanics Dick Simonek and Kenny Woodruff, publicist Norm Witte, promoter Jim Raper and photographer John Mahoney will all be inducted into the hallowed halls. Call the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum at 1-800-874-4488 for more information.
Saturday night the 410s will join the midgets in what proves to be a rocking show! Last week, we saw someone finally break through the stranglehold Wayne Johnson and Kerry Madsen had on victory lane for our weekly shows. Tim St. Arnold claimed his first 410 career feature win, running a steady race. The veteran will be looking to make it two in a row this weekend. Can he do it, or will we see someone else rise up to the occasion.
One new 410 competitor this week will be 2004 360 champion, Dusty Zomer. With the 360s off this week, Zomer will be shaking down his 410 almost two weeks after tasting 410 victory at Huset’s Speedway (SD) for the first time. It should be interesting to see what the youngster can pull off. Wally Pankratz will be doing double duty in the Midgets and the Masters Classic, so it should be interesting to see how the Californian pulls it off. There are surprises every weekend, so we hope to see you here!
Website Updates
Pre-entries keep rolling in for all of our events. Keep up to date by coming back to the website often.
If you are a driver, find entry forms at the right-hand side of the home page and get them in! The 45th Annual Knoxville Nationals form needs to be turned in by the middle of July to ensure a lower entry fee!
Remember, the place to check out the points is the “Drivers” section.
We’re always receiving new photos. Check out updates to “Driver Photos” and “2005 Pit Shots” this week.
If you physically can’t make it to Knoxville this weekend, the next best thing is checking in on our live results on the “Results”, tuning in to the American Dirt Network for the live broadcast (www.americandirtnetwork.com), or both!
Until next week…
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