Knoxville Raceway event news 2010-06-02

CROCKER, DEWEASE, HERRERA, LYNCH, JR., MADSEN, PITTMAN, TATNELL, WALKER, WILT, ZEMKEN & ZIMMERLY

CONFIRM RACE PLANS; CARSON, WOODRUFF, OSKIE & LYNCH TO ATTEND BANQUET

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (June 2, 2010) - The June 3-5 World of Outlaws (WoO) Mediacom Shootout at Knoxville Raceway, featuring the June 4 fully-inverted Hall of Fame Classic, just got bigger as invaders Erin Crocker, Lance Dewease, Johnny Herrera, Ed Lynch, Jr., Kerry Madsen, Daryn Pittman, Tyler Walker, Adam Wilt, Jessica Zemken and Zach Zimmerly have confirmed their participation. In addition, National Sprint Car Hall of Famers Kenny Woodruff, Shane Carson and Jimmy Oskie, and 2009 Lernerville Speedway Hall of Fame inductee Jean Lynch have all confirmed their attendance at the twenty-first National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) induction banquet on June 5.

Crocker remains the only female to put her sprint car into the championship 'A' feature of the Knoxville Nationals in its 49-year history. Dewease won at Knoxville Raceway on the night that his then-car-owner Al Hamilton was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2003. Herrera is the defending Knoxville Raceway track champion in the winged 410-cubic-inch sprint car division, which is sponsored by Lucas Oil. Lynch is a multi-time track champion in native western Pennsylvania. Madsen is a former Knoxville World Challenge winner who was born in New Zealand but now considers himself a proud Australian. Pittman, originally from Oklahoma, won three races and last weekend's Keystone Cup title in central Pennsylvania. Tatnell, from New South Wales, Australia, is the current Knoxville Raceway one-lap track record-holder. Walker is originally from southern California, but now considers himself part of the 'Pennsylvania Posse' like Pittman. Wilt, from central Pennsylvania, was the 2009 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll "Rookie of the Year". Zemken won last weekend's Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS) race in her native upstate New York and Zimmerly is headed to Knoxville from his native Washington State, making it a true coast-to-coast, border-to-border affair.

Said Knoxville director of racing Ralph Capitani this weekend, "Gang, this thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Maybe we should have brought back the 'Mini-Nationals' name for this event. Where else are you going to mix and mingle with the likes of Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Doug Wolfgang, Bobbie Adamson, Casey Luna, Fred Linder, Don Shepherd, Kenny Woodruff, Jim McElreath, Lynn Paxton, Jack Miller, Jerry 'Scratch' Daniels, Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Jason Meyers, Harold Leep, Lanny Edwards, Ray Lee Goodwin, Danny Lasoski, Randy Smith, Terry McCarl, A.J. "Skip" Jackson, Kerry Madsen, Brooke Tatnell, Toni Lutar, Bob Trostle, Shane Carson, Erin Crocker, Jean Lynch, Jack Elam, Jac Haudenschild, Jimmy Oskie, Allan Brown, Lance Dewease, Bobby Ward, Tyler Walker, Jessica Zemken, Ron Shaver and 'Speedy' Bill Smith for three straight days?"

The Thursday night, June 3, show features full-point programs for both the World of Outlaws and the highly competitive winged 305-cubic-inch sprint cars. Finishing in the 'top 20' of Thursday's Mediacom Shootout will be paramount for the World of Outlaws heading into Friday night's program. Drivers such as Joey Saldana, Jason Meyers, 12-time Knoxville Nationals champion Steve Kinser, four-time and defending Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz, Jason Sides, Paul McMahan, Jac Haudenschild, Craig Dollansky, Lucas Wolfe, and 2005 Knoxville Nationals champion Kraig Kinser will battling it out against Knoxville's best, including Brian Brown, Don Droud, Jr., Australian Lynton Jeffrey, Mark Dobmeier, Bronson Maeschen, Aussie A.J. "Skip" Jackson and others.

On Friday night, June 4, the intensity raises a notch as the top 20 feature finishers with the WoO on Thursday night will be inverted for a special non-point feature, known as the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic presented by Mediacom. The remaining 410-cubic-inch sprint car drivers will compete in a pair of 'B' mains to determine the final four starters for the inverted feature. The finale should showcase some of the most exciting action witnessed on the big half-mile oval in 2010. Also on Friday, the eighteenth annual Masters Classic will run a full winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car program for drivers age 50 and over. The event will feature time trials, heats and the 22-lap feature. Eight-time Knoxville track champion and all-time feature winner, Danny Lasoski, is already entered in Classic, as are six-time Knoxville track champion Randy Smith, two-time National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) champion Mike Peters, former Knoxville '360' champions Mackie Heimbaugh and Dwight Snodgrass, veteran Earnest Jennings, and 'rookie-of-the-race' candidate Keith Prutzman of Central Pennsylvania. Smith won the Masters Classic in 2008, while Sammy Swindell took home the Masters Classic wreath in '09.

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame will stage its twenty-first annual induction banquet, hosted by Dr. Pat Sullivan, on Saturday afternoon, June 5. It will be held from Noon until 3:30 p.m. in the Dyer-Hudson Hall on the Marion County Fairgrounds. Inductees this year include Bobbie Adamson, Hank Arnold, Fred Linder, Frank Riddle, Hal Robson, Herman Schurch, Clyde Adams, Casey Luna, Don Shepherd, George Bentel, Fred Brownfield and Ben Krasner. Past inductees expected to be on hand include Jack Miller, Jim McElreath, Lynn Paxton, Ray Lee Goodwin, Ralph Capitani, Lanny Edwards, "Speedy" Bill Smith, Bob Trostle, Jerry "Scratch" Daniels, Jack Elam, Harold Leep, Allan Brown, Shane Carson, Jimmy Oskie, Kenny Woodruff and others.

On Saturday night, the World of Outlaws will race another full-point Mediacom Shootout program, again pitting racers like Saldana, Schatz, Meyers, Schatz, Kinser, four-time Knoxville Nationals champion Danny Lasoski, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Chad Kemenah, Ben Gregg, Brian Ellenberger and Canadian Toni Lutar against Knoxville's regulars like Brown, Droud, Austin McCarl, Josh Schneiderman, Australian Ian Madsen, Robby Wolfgang, Dusty Zomer and Davey Heskin. The Saturday night program will also feature a regular event for Knoxville's winged 360-cubic-inch sprint cars, featuring drivers like Clint Garner, Dennis Moore, Jr., Johnny Anderson, Dustin Selvage, and Matt Moro.

Those seeking more information on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Knoxville Raceway and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series are encouraged to visit www.sprintcarhof.com

-source: www.knoxvilleraceway.com