World's Best Sprint Car Drivers to Compete at 49th Annual Knoxville Nationals

Jason Meyers in only 55 points behind Donny Schatz in the World of Outlaws Series, he is competing at Knoxville along with the best of the best sprint car drivers
Jason Meyers in only 55 points behind Donny Schatz in the World of Outlaws Series, he is competing at Knoxville along with the best of the best sprint car drivers

Sprint car driver Randy Hannagan hopes to take home $150,000 purse and bragging rights at the Knoxville Nationals
Sprint car driver Randy Hannagan hopes to take home $150,000 purse and bragging rights at the Knoxville Nationals

Sprint car racer Brian Brown uses K&Nproducts for extra power and filtration on the track. He is ready for the Knoxville Nationals, photo by John Lee High Fly'N Photos
Sprint car racer Brian Brown uses K&N products for extra power and filtration on the track. He is ready for the Knoxville Nationals, photo by John Lee High Fly'N Photos
Jonathan Allard will compete in the Knoxville Nationals in the K&NNo. 0
Jonathan Allard will compete in the Knoxville Nationals in the K&NNo. 0

Terry McCarl of Big Game Motorsports is ready for Knoxville Nationals
Terry McCarl of Big Game Motorsports is ready for Knoxville Nationals

Ricky Logan of Little Rock, Arkansas will also compete in the 40th Annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, photo by DaveHillsRacingImages.com
Ricky Logan of Little Rock, Arkansas will also compete in the 40th Annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, photo by DaveHillsRacingImages.com
The 49th annual Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil are underway. The so-called Granddaddy of all races is taking place at Knoxville Raceway from August 12-15 and it will be filled with K&N supported racers.

Sprint car racers from across the country will try to win Saturday night’s feature and a check for $150,000. That’s only part of the prize pool as the world’s best sprint car drivers battle it out for over $900,000 in prize money.

A large portion of the racing field uses K&N products. K&N supported racers at the event are Jonathan Allard of Chico California, Randy Hannagan from Pittsboro, Indiana, Skip Jackson from Knoxville, Iowa, Johnny Harrera of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Danny Lasoski of Dover, Maryland, Ricky Logan of Little Rock, Arkansas, Jason Meyers of Clovis, California, Bill Balog of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Brian Brown of Grain Valley, Missouri, Billy Alley of Lincoln, Nebraska, Brian Ellenberger of Butler, Pennsylvania, Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa, Jason Johnson of Eunice, Louisiana, Joey Moughan, of Springfield, Illinois and Jordan Goldesberry also of Springfield, Illinois.

Drivers will battle it out lap after lap, for 40 laps to try and take the title away from Donny Schatz. Schatz won in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The four-day format showcases drivers who come from all over the United States, Australia and British Columbia. Those who are included in  the list of winners can say they have beaten the best of the best in the Sprint Car World.

Currently Jason Meyers is only 55 points behind Schatz in the World of Outlaws series. He’s had consistent top five and top ten finishes in the 2009 season leading up to the Knoxville Nationals. “K&N filters are absolutely the best and that is why you will find them in every application within our team,” said Meyers. “We work hard to make horsepower and K&N air filters give us excellent filtration and protect our motors from track debris under the worst conditions.”

The first hurdle drivers have to face at the Knoxville Nationals is the so called pill. It’s a ball stamped with digits that tells racers where they will line up for qualifying time trials. Drivers pull a number that can be high or low. K&N sponsored racer Jonathan Allard drew the No. 1 pill once. “I really thought that would be our year,” said Allard. “But the scoring system messed up. We were left on the track and our tires were cooked. We’re just hoping some good luck comes our way this year.”

The top possible score in the Knoxville Nationals is 500, 200 for quick time, 100 for a heat win and 200 for a preliminary feature win. Points are compiled after the field competes two nights of qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday. The top 20 drivers get a spot in Saturday’s $150,000 to win championship feature.

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