Knoxville Raceway
| Sprint Car Capital of the World | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | 1000 N Lincoln St Knoxville, Iowa 50138 |
| Capacity | 24,172 |
| Owner | Marion County Fair Association |
| Operator | Ralph Capitani- Toby Kruse 2012 |
| Opened | late 1800s as horse racing track |
| Major events | Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals Arnold Motor Supply 360 Nationals USAC Non-wing Knoxville Nationals |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
| Banking | 8 degrees |
| Lap record | 0:14.407 (Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing, 2006, World of Outlaws Sprint Series) |
Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway located at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa, USA. Races at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World" are held on Saturday nights though some special events may start as early as Wednesday and build up to Saturday. Regular events include 360 cubic inch and 410 cubic inch sprint car racing. Each August, the Raceway holds the paramount sprint car event in the United States, the Knoxville Nationals.[1] The track is governed a 24-member fairboard.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first weekly races were held at the Knoxville Raceway in 1954. After internal issues with the sanctioning body—the Southern Iowa Stock Car Racing Association—in 1956, Marion Robinson of Des Moines, Iowa was appointed as race promoter. During Robinson's tenure, the cars progressed from stock cars to modifieds to supermodifieds to sprint cars. Robinson created what would become the Knoxville Nationals in 1961. The event took place over two days and featured a $5,000 purse. P. Ray Grimes took over in 1974, but when he was unable to perform his duties following a snowmobile accident in 1977, Ralph Capitani became the new and current race director. On September 28, 2011 it was announced that Toby Kruse would be replacing retiring promoter Ralph Capitani, starting in the 2012 season. Kruse's Official title will be General Manager and Promoter.[2]
In 1983, the 360 cubic inch sprint cars started racing at Knoxville. In 1987, TNN began tape-delayed coverage of the Nationals until 1994, when it began its live coverage. The infield was paved in 2002.[3]
The current one-lap track record of 14.407 seconds was set by three-time Australian champion Brooke Tatnell on May 7, 2006.[4] During that night, 31 cars timed in the 14-second range and 26 cars beat the old track record set by Terry McCarl during the 2005 Knoxville Nationals.
The driver with the most 410 feature wins at the Knoxville Raceway is Danny Lasoski of Dover, Missouri with 92 feature wins.[5] The driver with the most 360 feature wins is David Hesmer of Marshalltown, Iowa with 65 feature wins.
The 50th running of the Knoxville Nationals took place place August 11 to 14, 2010. The total purse was $1,000,435 with $150,000 going to Saturday night's feature winner. Tim Shaffer won the A-main event.[6]
The 51st Goodyear Knoxville Nationals saw Donny Schatz taking home his 5th title in this prestigious event.[7]
[edit] Points Championships Since 2006
Billy Alley of Lincoln, Nebraska won his first 410 points championship in 2006 while Jake Peters of Sioux Falls, South Dakota won his third consecutive 360 championship. The 2007 410 and 360 championships went to Brian Brown of Grain Valley, Missouri and Josh Higday of Des Moines, Iowa respectively. In 2008, Danny Lasoski took home his eighth championship in the 410 division over Billy Alley while Matt Moro of Polk City, Iowa took home his first 360 championship over Jesse Gianetto. In 2009, the 1995 champion Johnny Herrera of Albuquerque, New Mexico picked up his second championship over Brian Brown as Clint Garner of Sioux Falls, South Dakota won his first 360 championship. In 2010, Brian Brown and Clint Garner won their second track championships (consecutively for Garner) in the 410 and 360 divisions respectively.
[edit] National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is located just outside of Turn 2 of the Knoxville Raceway. It features rotating exhibits to highlight the history of both winged and non-wing sprint cars.
[edit] References
- ^ "Schedule". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/Schedule.aspx. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ "Knoxville Raceway News". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/Article/1415. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "History". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/History.aspx. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ "Knoxville "Wing" Track Records". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/HistoricEvent.aspx?id=1. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ "Career Feature Wins 1954-2010". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/HistoricEvent.aspx?id=16. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ | title = 50th Annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil | url = http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/events.aspx?id=15 | accessdate = 26 May 2010}}
- ^ "Knoxville Raceway News". http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/Article/1404. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 41°19′38.97″N 93°6′42.27″W / 41.3274917°N 93.1117417°W
