Knoxville Raceway preview

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Knoxville Raceway Knoxville, IA-- June 3, 2008--Each and every time the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competes at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, it's a ...

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Knoxville Raceway

Knoxville, IA-- June 3, 2008--Each and every time the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competes at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, it's a big event. The pair of races this weekend will have an added importance, because they will serve as the last two tune-ups that the series drivers will have for the 48th Annual Knoxville Nationals in August. On top of that, the cameras from SPEED will be rolling both nights this weekend to capture all of the action for broadcast on June 15 and June 21.

Donny Schatz, the two-time defending series champion and two-time defending Knoxville Nationals winner heads to half-mile with plenty of momentum. He has won the last two series events at Attica Raceway Park and Eldora Speedway and in the process took over the championship point lead from Jason Meyers. Schatz won in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series first visit of the season to Knoxville Raceway on May 3, and has been victorious at the half-mile in each of the last three seasons. The North Dakota native is the only driver that has finished in the Top-10 in all 14 events this season.

Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion is the winningest series driver at the track, with over 50 careers wins at the track, including 12 triumphs in the Knoxville Nationals. The native of Bloomington, Indiana led a number of laps at the track last month en route to a fourth-place finish. He has won twice this year, including on a half-mile at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania.

Terry McCarl has 45 career wins at Knoxville, including his first with the World of Outlaws last season. The six-time track champion has three Top-Five finishes in his last four starts with the series at his home track. The Iowa native is currently ninth in the series standings.

Jason Meyers, who is second in the series standings, won his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature at Knoxville in 2001. He is the only driver in the 30-year history of the series that has accomplished this feat. The California native finished fifth last month at the half-mile.

Craig Dollansky has 10 wins in his career at Knoxville, including one in a World of Outlaws A-Feature event. He was sixth last month at the half-mile and has three consecutive finishes of sixth or better at the track. The former World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion has won twice this season and is third in points.

Joey Saldana has three A-Feature wins at the famed ½-mile with the World of Outlaws, including in 2006. He finished second last month at the track, and in two starts last season, he finished second and sixth with the series. He also has two consecutive runner-up finishes in the Knoxville Nationals. He is currently fourth in points, just two markers out of the third spot.

Jac Haudenschild has 17 career wins at Knoxville. He finished third last month at the track and is currently fifth in series points, on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes. The veteran driver is in the midst of his first season driving for the Carnahan Motorsports team.

Kerry Madsen won the 2005 Knoxville Raceway championship driving for Vermeer Motorsports, the same team he is driving for this season. He has 14 career wins at the track and finished eighth last month with the World of Outlaws. He is seventh in series points currently, just 14 markers out of the Top-Five.

Chad Kemenah has 13 career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville, with nine of those being in the Top-Five. The 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year is currently eighth in points on the strength of seven Top-10 finishes this season.

Shane Stewart won the Knoxville 360 Nationals last season. He has four career wins at the track, including a preliminary feature with the World of Outlaws in 2005. The native of Bixby, Oklahoma has Top-Five finishes in four of the last five World of Outlaws events and recently moved into the Top-10 in championship points.

Daryn Pittman has nearly 30 Top-10 finishes at Knoxville in his career, as he closes in on his first win at the legendary track. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma is just outside the Top-10 in points and is coming off a very strong fifth-place performance at Eldora Speedway last weekend.

Jason Sides, the 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year with the World of Outlaws, has nine career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville. He has a couple of Top-10 finishes this season and is just outside of the Top-10 in points.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. finished 12th last month at Knoxville. His best career finish at the track came in 2006, when he was fifth in the Brodix Tournament of Champions for 360-sprint cars. The native of Sunnyvale, Texas picked up his fourth Top-10 finish of the season last Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.

Kraig Kinser has two career wins at Knoxville, including the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, which made him and his father Steve, the first father/son duo to win sprint car racing's biggest event.

Tim Shaffer has one career win at Knoxville Raceway, which is the home track for his car owner Lonnie Parsons.

Lucas Wolfe will make his fourth career start at the half-mile on Friday, June 6, as he continues his rookie season with the World of Outlaws. The native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has three Top-10 finishes this season.

Tony Bruce Jr. has four career Top-10 finishes at Knoxville Raceway in a limited number of starts. His best career finish at the track was a sixth in 2004, driving a 360-sprint car.

Chad Hillier continues his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws in 2008. He turned in a very solid seventh-place performance in time trials last weekend at Eldora. He has made a handful of starts at Knoxville in his young career.

2008 Race Recaps: Donny Schatz won his first World of Outlaws A-Feature event driving for Tony Stewart Racing on May 3 at Knoxville Raceway.

The two-time defending series champion took the lead on the 18th lap, powering his way past Steve Kinser on the high-side of the track exiting the fourth turn. One lap earlier he nearly took the lead at the same spot on the track with a similar move. He quickly opened an advantage en route to his 71st career Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature win, which moved him into the fifth spot on the all-time win list ahead of 1995 series champion Dave Blaney. He pocketed $10,000 for the win, which was the eighth of his career at Knoxville Raceway.

Schatz lined up third for the 25-lap event which took three full starts to get going due to a yellow flag and then a red flag for a Tim Shaffer flip. On the third start, Schatz quickly challenged Jac Haudenschild for the runner-up spot, passing him a couple of time coming off the fourth corner, only to have Haudenschild win a drag race down the front stretch. This allowed Kinser to open a sizeable lead. Schatz ran third for the first five laps, before getting around Haudenschild and setting his sights on Kinser. He used lapped traffic to his advantage as he chased down the 20-time series champion as the laps wound down.

After Schatz took the lead, Kinser had his hands full with a hard charging Joey Saldana, as the pair battled for the second position for five laps. At the same time, Haudenschild closed back in and slipped into the second spot with just two laps remaining. On the last lap, Saldana powered around him exiting the fourth turn to snare the runner-up spot.

Haudenschild finished third, with Kinser fourth and Jason Meyers fifth.

What to look for at Knoxville Raceway:

* Donny Schatz, the two-time defending series champion, has won five events over the last two seasons at the famed half-mile, including the series first event this season at the track on May 3, in addition to the last two Knoxville Nationals. He has six consecutive Top-Five finishes in World of Outlaws events at the track.

* Steve Kinser, has over 50 career wins at Knoxville Raceway, including 12 victories in the Knoxville Nationals. He led a number of laps at the track last month en route to a fourth-place finish.

* Terry McCarl has 45 career wins at Knoxville, including his first with the World of Outlaws last season. The six-time track champion has three Top-Five finishes in his last four starts with the series at the half-mile in his home state.

* Jason Meyers won his first career World of Outlaws A-Feature event at Knoxville in 2001, becoming the first driver in series history to accomplish that feat. He finished fifth at the track last month.

* Craig Dollansky has 10 wins in his career at Knoxville, including one in a World of Outlaws A-Feature. He was sixth last month at the half-mile and has three consecutive finishes of sixth or better at the track.

* Joey Saldana has three A-Feature wins at the famed ½-mile with the World of Outlaws, including in 2006. He finished second last month at the track, and in two starts last season, he finished second and sixth in two events with the series. He also has two consecutive runner-up finishes in the Knoxville Nationals.

* Kerry Madsen won the 2005 Knoxville Raceway championship driving for Vermeer Motorsports, the same team he is driving for this season. He has 14 career wins at the track and finished eighth last month with the World of Outlaws.

* Kraig Kinser has two career wins at Knoxville, including the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, which made him and his father Steve, the first father/son duo to win sprint car racing's biggest event.

* Shane Stewart won the Knoxville 360 Nationals last season. He has four career wins at the track, including a preliminary feature with the World of Outlaws in 2005. The native of Bixby, Oklahoma has Top-Five finishes in four of the last five World of Outlaws events and recently moved into the Top-10 in championship points.

By the Numbers- Knoxville Raceway:

0.5- Miles around Knoxville Raceway

5- Drivers that have won A-Feature events on half-mile tracks this season with the World of Outlaws

6- Track championships at Knoxville Raceway for Terry McCarl; Drivers that have won a World of Outlaws A-Feature event this season

7- Laps led by Donny Schatz en route to winning at the half-mile with the World of Outlaws on May 3; Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws that have won A-Feature events with the series at the track

8- Degrees of banking in the turns at Knoxville Raceway

9- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws on half-mile tracks this season

12- Wins in the SuperClean Knoxville Nationals for Steve Kinser

13- Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature competition this season with the World of Outlaws

14.407- Track record established by Brooke Tatnell on May 6, 2006 in time trials

15- Drivers that have won a World of Outlaws A-Feature event at Knoxville Raceway dating back to 1979 (excluding the Knoxville Nationals)

17-Career wins for Jac Haudenschild at Knoxville Raceway; Laps led by Steve Kinser on May 3 at the track

21- A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway for Steve Kinser (excluding the Knoxville Nationals)

42- Career wins at Knoxville for Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa

45- Drivers that competed with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville Raceway on May 3

58- Career wins at Knoxville for Steve Kinser, including preliminary feature wins and SuperClean Knoxville Nationals titles

60- Number of feet wide that the back straightaway is at Knoxville Raceway

70- Number of feet wide that the turns are at the half-mile

78- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws at Knoxville excluding the Knoxville Nationals, dating back to 1979

80- Number of feet wide that the front straightaway is at the half-mile

114- Laps led by Jason Meyers in A-Feature events to lead the World of Outlaws through May 31

500-Seats at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum at Knoxville

1954- Year that weekly racing began at Knoxville Raceway

1979- Year that the World of Outlaws first raced at Knoxville Raceway

7,383- Seats in the back grandstand at the track

16,289- Seats in the main grandstand at Knoxville Raceway

24,172- Total seats at Knoxville Raceway.

Tickets: On Friday, June 6 at Knoxville Raceway, general admission tickets for adults will be $25, with general admission tickets for children $12.50. Reserved tickets for adults will be $27, with reserved tickets for children $13.50.

On Saturday, June 7 at Knoxville Raceway, general admission tickets for adults will be $25, with general admission tickets for children $12.50. Reserved tickets for adults will be $27, with reserved tickets for children $13.50. For ticket information visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com or call (641) 842-5431.

There will be an autograph session featuring World of Outlaws drivers each night at 5 p.m. Central under the grandstand by the main entrance gate.

Next Up: The series annual event at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway in Missouri, which benefits the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation on Wednesday, June 11.