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 | Marion County Fair Association |
| 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 Harris Clash |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Length | 0.5 mi (0.8 km) |
| Banking | 8 degrees |
| Lap record | 0:14.407 (Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing, 2006) |
Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile dirt oval located at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa, United States. Races at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World" are held on Saturday nights from April through September each year. Some special events may start as early as Wednesday and build up to Saturday. Regular events include 305 cubic inch, 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. The track is governed by the 24-member fair board elected by Marion County residents.
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 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 where today it is now nearly one million dollars.
The current 410 one-lap track record of 14.407 seconds was set by multiple Australian champion Brooke Tatnell on May 7, 2006. 360 track record is held bye Joe Beaver 15.520. The driver with the most 410 feature wins at the Knoxville Raceway is Danny Lasoski of Dover, Missouri with 111 feature wins. The driver with the most 360 feature wins is David Hesmer of Marshalltown, Iowa with 65 feature wins.
410 Class: 1954 Kenny Crook, 1955 Kenny Crook, 1956 Jack Delano, 1957 Dean Sylvester, 1958 Earl Wagner, 1959 Earl Wagner, 1960 Jerry Hayes, 1961 Earl Wagner, 1962 Bud McCune, 1963 Greg Weld, 1964 Bill Utz, 1965 Jerry Blundy, 1966 Jerry Blundy, 1967 Bill Utz, 1968 Dick Sutcliffe, 1969 Bob Williams, 1970 Joe Saldana, 1971 Ray Lee Goodwin, 1972 Lonnie Jensen, 1973 Dick Sutcliffe, 1974 Lonnie Jensen, 1975 Roger Rager, 1976 Doug Wolfgang, 1977 Doug Wolfgang, 1978 Shane Carson, 1979 Richard Smith, 1980 Ricky Hood, 1981 Tim Green, 1982 Tim Green, 1983 Randy Smith, 1984 Rocky Hodges, 1985 Randy Smith, 1986 Danny Lasoski, 1987 Randy Smith, 1988 Randy Smith, 1989 Danny Lasoski, 1990 Danny Lasoski, 1991 Randy Smith, 1992 Danny Lasoski, 1993 Danny Lasoski, 1994 Danny Lasoski, 1995 Johnny Herrera, 1996 Danny Lasoski, 1997 Skip Jackson, 1998 Skip Jackson, 1999 Terry McCarl, 2000 Terry McCarl, 2001 Terry McCarl, 2002 Terry McCarl, 2003 Terry McCarl, 2004 Terry McCarl, 2005 Kerry Madsen, 2006 Billy Alley, 2007 Brian Brown, 2008 Danny Lasoski, 2009 Johnny Herrera, 2010 Brian Brown, 2011 Danny Lasoski, 2012 Terry McCarl, 2013 Bronson Maeschen, 2014 Ian Madsen, 2015 Danny Lasoski, 2016 Danny Lasoski.
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