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Chesson, Logan look for same fun in Kele World Challenge as South Pacific Championship. Memphis, TN - PJ Chesson and Ricky Logan are both entered to compete in the Kele World Challenge on August 9th at Knoxville Raceway during the Mopar Parts ...

Published: Jul 16, 2002, 1:44 PM

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Chesson, Logan look for same fun in Kele World Challenge as South Pacific Championship.

Memphis, TN - PJ Chesson and Ricky Logan are both entered to compete in the Kele World Challenge on August 9th at Knoxville Raceway during the Mopar Parts Knoxville Nationals. Both drivers qualified for the event by running in the South Pacific Championship at Western Springs Speedway in Auckland, New Zealand.

"It was kind of crazy how it all came together, but I went down there and had a good time," said Chesson, who won the South Pacific Championship on February 2nd. "Tom Schmeh really worked hard and put it together. Racing down there is much more laid back versus here. They race about 14 times a year and after each race everyone hangs out and enjoys the company. We did things like skydiving into the track and had a lot of fun. It's like this Kele World Challenge where it is a fan's race with the inverted start. I know there's a lot of pressure at the Nationals, so to have a race for fun and a lot of money is a cool thing."

Chesson entered last year's Knoxville Nationals on a career-high after winning the $100,000 Historical Big One the weekend before, and just last weekend in Fargo, he won his first World of Outlaws feature race when he took his #76 Eagle to victory lane in the second Duel in Dakotas preliminary feature.

Logan who is having a career best season racing weekly at Knoxville Raceway and at as many other events as possible is excited about the chance to race for $10,000 in a 16-lap race.

"There's a lot of money on the line, but also a lot of people to make an impression on," said Logan, who drives the #3s of Mike Hulbert. "Any time you get an extra chance to race in front of 30,000 fans you do it. Roger Johnson has a great program and I just hope we can do it every year."

The Kele World Challenge is a joint effort between Knoxville Raceway and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville, Iowa, and the Kele Companies of Memphis, Tennessee.

RACE FACTS: Twenty drivers are expected to enter this year's Kele World Challenge and the lineup will be determined by qualifying points for the Mopar Parts Knoxville Nationals. In order to qualify for the 16-lap race, an eligible driver must compete in the Nationals and earn points on either the Wednesday or Thursday qualification nights. The top 16 eligible drivers in the top 106 in points will then be inverted for the start of the Kele World Challenge race, with the remaining drivers tagging the dash lineup in order by points.

THE FIELD: 20 drivers are expected to enter the race including: Brent Antill (USA), PJ Chesson (USA), Max Dumesny (AUS), Brad Furr (USA), Jeff Hodgson (CAN), Skip Jackson (AUS), Lynton Jeffrey (AUS), Chad Kemenah (USA), Danny Lasoski (USA), Ricky Logan (USA), Kerry Madsen (AUS), David Murcott (AUS), Peter Murphy (AUS), Daryn Pittman (USA), Donny Schatz (USA), Jeff Shepard (USA), Danny Smith (USA), Brooke Tatnell (AUS), Tommy Tarlton (USA), Kurt Winker (USA)

EVENT HISTORY: Since 1994, drivers that have competed in both the Knoxville Nationals and Warrambool Classic have been challenging to be the best "world" sprint car driver.

In 1995, the Australian/American Challenge had six competitors that were eligible for the title. Australians claimed the top three positions as Skip Jackson from Riverwood, New South Wales, Australia, easily beat Brooke Tatnell and Max Dumesny, and Americans Brent Antill, Greg Hodnett and Danny Smith.

-kwc-

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