JILL GEORGE, TONY BOKHOVEN & TONY STEWART'S AUTOGRAPHED
DOOR PANEL TO BE FEATURED AT KNOXVILLE L.M. DINNER
by: Thomas J Schmeh

KNOXVILLE, IA (Sept. 20, 2006) - The Knoxville Late Model Celebrity Waiter Dinner & Auction on Saturday afternoon, September 30, continues to grow as dirt late model racer Jill George, veteran motorsports announcer Tony Bokhoven, and NASCAR Nextel Cup star Tony Stewart’s autographed door panel have been added to the mix for the third annual fundraiser. Mark Richards of Rocket Chassis is donating the right-side door panel, which came off Tony’s ‘Prelude to the Dream’ winning dirt late model at Eldora Speedway earlier this month. The Stewart-autographed door panel will be auctioned off following the celebrity waiter dinner by auctioneer Lynn Richard.

Knoxville Raceway announcer Tony Bokhoven of nearby Pella has again graciously agreed to help with the annual fund-raising event, which is held in conjunction with the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals and benefits both the host National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville and the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in Florence, Kentucky. The affable Bokhoven works on Speed Channel broadcasts of the Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals and the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, and has in the past worked on the ESPN broadcast of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With Tony in the house, the dinner and auction is guaranteed to be a ‘Jim Dandy’.

Jill George of Cedar Falls is the latest dirt late model driver to commit to serving food and drink to the Celebrity Waiter luncheon diners, joining both Chris Smyser of Missouri and Josh Richards of West Virginia. George, a chiropractor by profession, is a former Division I athlete in track and field at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and is an accomplished boxer with a Golden Gloves championship under her belt. Her AEM-powered Mastersbilt number 22 late model is owned by husband Rick Hartzell and crewed by Jeff “Wally” Lawless.

Additional celebrity waiters will be announced in the coming ten days for the third annual event, which will be held on the second floor of the National Sprint Car Museum at 12 Noon on Saturday, September 30. Tickets are just $15 apiece and can be reserved by calling the museum at 1-800-874-4488. Also, more unique autographed motorsports items to be auctioned on September 30 will be identified in the days remaining.

Those seeking information on the museum are urged to visit the web site at www.sprintcarhof.com. Those seeking information on the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals can go to www.knoxvilleraceway.com . And those wishing to learn more about ‘First Lady’ Jill George can check out www.jillgeorgeracing.com .