David Gravel got his first taste of qualifying for the main event of the Knoxville Nationals last year — and it left him wanting more. He will take to the track at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa this week for the 53rd Annual FVP Knoxville Nationals, which again this year will be sanctioned by the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series.
Once a driver experiences the thrill of winning sprint car racing’s biggest event — the Knoxville Nationals — it becomes a high priority to win it again. That competitive nature burns inside Kraig Kinser, who claimed the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, in just his third A-Feature start in the sport’s most prestigious event, joining his father Steve, a 12-time winner of the Nationals, as the only father/son duo in history to share the honor.
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa all have a deep history of USAC racing and this week each of the three Midwestern states will host Sprint Car and Midget races at a trio of venues. Tracy Hines has won plenty of races in Indiana and Illinois over the years and has come close on a few times to winning in Iowa and will have another opportunity to make his first trip to Victory Lane in the Hawkeye State this week.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 makes its last of three trips into Quebec on Aug. 9-11 for the JuliaWine.com 100 as part of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (Que.).
Brandon Watson (No.9 Shear Metal Products) led from flag-to-flag to earn his fourth victory of the 2013 season at Peterborough Speedway on Saturday night. After taking the lead on the first lap, Watson was never challenged for the top spot, leading by as much as a full straightaway at the Chase for the Colours event.
Gary McLean (No.8 McLean Industrial Design) started on the pole for the second consecutive weekend and led all 30 laps at Peterborough Speedway on Saturday night for his third win this year.
After being involved in an incident on the opening lap to the OSCAAR Super Late Model feature at Peterborough Speedway, Kevin Cornelius would finish eighth in the Chase for the Colors event.
The racing community woke up to some very shocking news Tuesday morning. Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart broke his right leg in a Sprint Car crash at Southern Iowa Speedway and will miss Watkins Glen.