Toby Kruse named GM of Knoxville Raceway

On Wednesday, Knoxville Raceway announced that Toby Kruse had been selected by the Marion County Fair Board as general manager and promoter of the raceway.  Kruse will take over from retiring Ralph "Cappy" Capitani at the end of the year.

Kruse has extensive experience in motorsports, ranging from announcing, flagging, occasionally driving, and managing both Marshalltown Speedway and Beatrice Speedway.

As someone who has attended many races at Marshalltown and Knoxville, I am excited that Toby will be taking the helm and I anticipate good things!

Things I learned the 50th Knoxville Nationals

Last night was the 50th running of the Knoxville Nationals.  A crowd of over 23,000 watched the 50 lap feature.  I spent most of the day volunteering at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (one of my favorite places).  Here is what I learned while in Knoxville all day.

1.  Aussies love sprint car racing.  Each year, more and more Aussies show up at Knoxville.  One man I spoke with last night estimated that a couple thousand Aussies were at the Nationals.  Amazingly, the local and national media haven't picked up on this story - that Aussies come to America to visit IOWA to watch racing.

2.  Race Fans Can't Recognize Drivers.  Fans wearing Tony Stewart gear won't recognize Smoke, even if he holds the door for them and waits with them for an elevator.  Fans are no better at seeing Kasey Kahne when he is walking around either.  Apparently, remove the firesuit, become invisible.

3.  Aussies are flirts.  Do I really need to explain this?


4.  It ain't over until it's over.  With 5 to go, it appeared that the race would either go to Donny Schatz or Sammy Swindell.  The pair started swapping the lead each turn until with 3 to go, Swindell's left rear tire blew.  Then everyone presumed Schatz would win (some fans left the stands at this point).  Then on the restart, Schatz's engine started to go and Tim Shaffer motored to the win.

5.  Good guys can finish first. I met Tim several years ago when he made a special trip into the museum to sign some items for a benefit. This was despite the fact he was unable to race at the time because of an injury.  But he still made the trip and followed through with the things he had committed to do.  That speaks volumes for his character.

50th Knoxville Nationals

Tomorrow night is the 50th Knoxville Nationals.  It won't be broadcast live on SPEED this year, but it will be on SPEED later this month.


All this week, sprint car drivers have been battling for a spot in the A Main.  Tonight, a scramble will be held to actually line up the top point-getting cars.  The top 20 drivers, who are locked into the show, are:


1. 21 Brian Brown 484
2. 1s Sammy Swindell 482
3. 22 Greg Hodnett 477
4. 15 Donny Schatz 477
5. 11 Steve Kinser 474
6. 13x Daryn Pittman 473
7. 83 Tim Shaffer 470
8. 57 Shane Stewart 470
9. 41 Jason Johnson 468
10. 2B Dale Blaney 468
11. 3 Kerry Madsen 464
12. 2 Skip Jackson 463
13. 12 Lynton Jeffrey 461
14. 7s Jason Sides 461
15. 91 Dusty Zomer 455
16. 56 Davey Heskin 452
17. 63 Chad Kemenah 452
18. 9 Joey Saldana 447
19. 98 Erin Crocker 445
20. 7TW Brandon Wimmer 442



So, on Saturday, the drivers not in the A Main will try to charge through the field and start at the back of the A Main, hoping they can make it to the front of the pack.  Everyone will be gunning for Donny Schatz, who is attempting to win his fifth Knoxville Nationals in a row.


Attempting to win this year are a father-son duo from Australia, Max and Mitch Dumesny, neither is currently in the A Main.  Another father-son duo, who have both won the Nationals, are Steve & Kraig Kinser - Kraig is in the D Main and Steve is in the A Main.  Other family connections are Brian Brown (the top point-getter) is the nephew of Danny Lasoski, who is in the C Main.


Tomorrow night, they all will have one last shot at immortality.  Not only does a Knoxville Nationals trophy put you on the sprint car map, it pays well, with a total purse of over $1 million.  

It's Dirt Track Season!

With Easter in the rear view mirror, the dirt tracks in Iowa are in full swing. This week marks the first points race of the season at many Iowa tracks, with the exception of Knoxville, which opens May 1.

So before spring blends into summer, start planning your trip to the dirt track. Need ideas? Here are a few events I wouldn't miss:

Memorial Day Weekend - pick any track, there is usually a special event that weekend

June 5 - National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Weekend at Knoxville Raceway

July 4th - again, most tracks have a special (with fireworks on and off the track)

August 14th - 50th Knoxville Nationals

September 6-11 - IMCA Supernationals - Boone Speedway

Knoxville Nationals

Last week began the annual dirt track orgy in Iowa.  Knoxville Raceway was host to the three day Knoxville 360 Nationals, followed by a USAC Silver Crown Non-Wing Nationals on Sunday.

If four days wasn't enough, tonight was the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa, Iowa for winged sprint cars.  Rumor has it Kasey Kahne was going to Osky immediately following his run at the Glen.

Tomorrow night, Osky runs non-wing sprint cars.  Then the Granddaddy of them all starts on Wednesday at Knoxville as qualifying runs, heats and features start.

The Knoxville Nationals culminate with the A Main broadcast on SPEED on Saturday night.  But before that, there are lots of great drivers to be seen, races to be run, and homemade pie to eat. (Thank God the Rotary has the pie tent back this year!  I think I'll gain about 10 pounds thinking of it.).

What drivers will be around, you ask? Kasey Kahne hangs around Knoxville until he has to go to Michigan.  Tony Stewart can be spotted frequently too.  Mario Andretti will be at the Hall of Fame tomorrow (he was inducted in 1996).  Doug Wolfgang usually appears, as does Shane Carson, and Sammy Swindell (he will be running this year).   Erin Crocker is running the Nationals, as is Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Terry McCarl, Danny Lasoski and many other WoO drivers.  USAC regular Daron Clayton, California ace Tim Kaeding, Tyler Walker and several members of the Pennsylvania Posse:  Lucas Wolfe, Ed Lynch Jr,  Fast Freddy Rahmer, and Cody Darrah will all be at Knoxville this week.

Dirt Track Racing

I'll be honest - I've never been a big fan of summer.  I much prefer fall or spring.  Summer in Iowa is a sticky, hot mess.  If you aren't dodging hail & a tornado, it's probably hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk.

However, summer does mean one thing in Iowa:  Dirt Track Racing.  So every weekend has nearly unlimited options for dirt track lovers.  Two of my favorites are quickly approaching: the Knoxville Nationals (in August) and the Boone Supernationals (in September).

The Knoxville Nationals are in their 49th year of racing sprint cars.  While the cars have evolved from their original non-wing form to the current winged configuration, the racing remains exciting.  The Nationals are a four day sprint car extravaganza with a nice side show of sweet corn on the cob, turkey legs, and homemade pie.  

The Boone Supernationals are a completely different animal.  Hundreds of cars arrive to race their way into the Saturday night show, and spend all week trying to do it.  The Supernationals are sanctioned by IMCA, so there are Late Models, Modifieds, Sport Modifieds (both Southern & Northern), Sprint Cars, Hobby Stock cars, and Stock Cars.  Typically, by the start of the Modified qualifiers on Wednesday, the races start at 3 p.m. and end at 3 a.m. (give or take an hour or more).  Naturally, a good seat cushion is a must!

So, while there is still time this summer, get out to the dirt track and take in a show.  If your local track isn't exciting enough, plan to go to a big event.  And if you need any ideas, I'm sure I can come up with a few!